Sunday, December 30, 2007

Euro Fish Fry '08

Well, I must say that I am more than excited for this...

Last year's in the UK was great. I am sure this will be superb.

Keep posted here for more info:

Fish Brotherhood

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Local knowledge



Boxing day 2007, secret spot, Exuma, Bahamas

Am stuck without a boat this year, so have to make all my missions by car until the cavalry arrives friday. After that, back to the usual reef passes I have been missing for years. So, checked some inshore reefs in an area no one looks. Found a fun 2-3' left working with the normal crowd.....


the first boards of my out island quiver to be dug out. 6'10" egg, and a 6'2" assymetrical single fin, more suited to those hollow reef passes.


And then a cold one watching the sunset. All begs to know, "Why did I leave again?"


dey coming bouy...

Junkanoo 2007
Exuma, Bahamas
Much like carnival in Brasil, these groups make their own costumes out of paper mache, and carry these ornate creations while dancing and playing instruments. There are groups of dancers, brass bands, and huge goat skin drums so loud you feel it in your heart.

Big sense of African roots this year.
This groups' theme was Love
It starts at 4am on Boxing day, and goes on until the sun comes up. Everyone dancing, laughing, and generally having a great time. And, these groups make these costumes with money out of their own pockets. Now, if I could only get the music online for you to hear...

When the last of the group passes, you jump in behind, shake your things, and this is called 'rushing,' but its just plain fun.

"we go rushing, we go rushing through the crowd..."


Thursday, December 20, 2007

eh man, i gone....

After 16months of very little sun, and no water temps over 12C(mid 50s F)
its time for a vacation to warmer, less crowded, and more familiar climes.
Happy Holidays to everyone, see you next year!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Yes I, Mungos HIFI, Glasgow?!


One thing about the UK,
they love their dubplates...

Friday, December 14, 2007

California - UK?



1964 Ford Falcon, in the UK. Not only that, but not even close to the beach!
Now on Ebay. I can't belive how clean it is! Never seen one this clean in CA!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Another great one from Mani

Goes psssshhhhhhhhh....ka-koww! when you shred it on the breaking combers!
We as surfers have such a great history, and such charismatic characters in our midst.
Thank god we are not like other sports.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Logs


Made a couple logs for the guys at Orange Bus.
just need to glass...

Monday, December 10, 2007

Scenery

Somewhere in the UK...

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

My New Favourite Quote

"Damn. That thing's about as "retro" as next week. "

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Monday, November 26, 2007

daydreams....

levitating rock in the harbor, Gtown, Exuma...
Mysto Brasil, and no I'm not telling where....

Friday, November 23, 2007

this winter's work

Reclaimed timber drying out(from being in the rain) to turn into my 1st wooden board. As my real job is in the building industry, I have access to several commercial dumpsters. The amount of waste from a building site is criminal. These timbers are used solely for the base plates of scaffold to rest on so they don't sink in the mud. Now, new health and safety regulations declare them too narrow to use, so the builder has put 2 pallets of this wood into a dumpster. They say it will get recycled - basically turned into chipboard some kind. To me, that's wasteful at best. So, with any luck it will be transformed into a 6' +/- quad pod.
The other projects are 2 longboards for local Internet gurus OrangeBus. Picked the gear up today, and they are some seriously stoked guys.
Looking forward to these.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

man i miss floripa...

which way to go...
e ai? matadeiro, 2005..
man, i miss that board...

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

speed and the lack thereof

wonder what all that stuff in the back is...?


Friday, November 16, 2007

tweakin' part 2


I love Aps3000/AKUShaper...
Am lucky enough to have a pallet of 7x3x7ft timber fall into my lap.
Well, its re-claimed timber off a building site, destined for a skip. I couldn't let it go to waste, so am going to attempt some chambered wooden boards. Due to the added weight, am thinking I will need to pull some outlines in, to make it easier to transition from rail to rail.
Normally, this would involve hours(and wasted paper/card) of figuring, but within an hour, the templates are tweaked, and no trees were hurt in the process.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

6'2" zappy quad

heavily inspired by the pods i love, and the lazor Zap!


wide in the tail, for that fishy flat spot coverage
but with double concave for lift and drive.

just need some resin and cloth...

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Fin making made simple

I 'stole' this from Hi-Shred, but in the spirit of backyard boards - and all surfboard building really from a rebellious and necessity vs invention stand point - this is classic advice:
"The fins are made with unidirectional roving-- one way strands. Saturate the roving, place it in a plywood female mold, cover it with a matching male insert, and jack up a vehicle over it to squeeze out the excess resin."
Now go make some fins!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Long Winter Nights

Passing the early dark days....
Painted the bottom of my 5'6" with some poster paint,
covered in clear lacquer, with pink pinline to keep in touch
with my feminie side.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

busy, but fun nights...


Nothing like making a mess...

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

tweakin...


Just can't leave well enough alone,
I decided to pull the outline in a bit in the tail...

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Rides....

I really like this van, but don't think it would fit on the UK roads...
Bigfoots ride?
High(as in back away from the bong) aspirations...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Irmao de Sangue

Jeff Lopes doing some R&D
I'd say this guy should know if the thing works or not, hey?

Saturday, October 20, 2007

No Respect


I have always thought contest surfing was, well just not my thing. I always thought that surfing is a very subjective 'sport' and difficult to judge. Well, today I found out how hard, by being asked to do judge a pro level contest here in Newcastle. The difficulty in assigning points to a certain ride, and then remembering all the waves before, so you can be fair to everyone in your
scoring, is much more difficult than it seems.
The other thing is that guys livelihoods depend on your opinion weighed heavily on my mind as well. The perspective of the judges makes it hard to tell just how difficult the turn was, and sometimes I think rides were under/over scored. Just depends...
Anyway, I take back what I have said about contests, and judges.
However, it still isn't my thing...

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Alma Pura

sent to me by Jeff Lopes
doesn't get much more true to soul...

Monday, October 15, 2007

santa comes early



gotta love the combo of static charge

and damp climate...

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Happy Days(well nights really....)










Dust! Yeah baby, and not the Columbian kind...












Kept the rails thin, but round















6'6"x21x2 5/8
Low density EPS
1/8" ply stringer











Slight single to double.

Bonzer inspired, 2+1

Just have to wait to get paid to buy the

resin and cloth....

Monday, October 08, 2007

You've got mail...

After a shitty day on the slave-ship, came home to this email from a
friend I made a board for while in Brazil:
"Alright Mate,
Hows it going? Where are you living now?
Thought I'd let you know that I am in phuket now surfing some fun waves.
The fish is still working its magic.
Laters Mark"
Always nice to hear your work is appreciated.

Friday, October 05, 2007

latent potential



From one stage to another...
Man, I'm glad to have a workshop again...

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Ether

New book by Andrew Kidman of Litmus and Glass Love fame.
Can't wait to get a copy....

Monday, September 24, 2007

New Meaning of Water Hog


this pig was spotted swimming with some boaters

off one of the cays at home in Exuma...


Thursday, September 20, 2007

Progress...


Sorry for the lag in posts. Am moving house, and setting up a new workshop.
More soon!

Sunday, September 09, 2007

More Vans



I know this isn't a car/van blog, but I mean, like..
Shazam! Those are cool!
Who knew, Toyota?!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

A Simple Plan

Winter is coming, and will need a step up for those big, cold, 5mil and hood, days.
Never been a big fan of tri fins, but am thinking of giving the 2+1 another go
but, with admittedly a more widowmaker/hull fin placement.
Hope to be in a new flat, with garage in 2 weeks, and will be quickly
covering the floor with dust...

Sunday, September 02, 2007