back to work...

Ah well, better clean up, hey?

Almost Famous...

From the Chronicle, Newcastle, UK

link

Logs pt 2

9'0" red tint bottom, and white opaque deck

9'2" orange foam tint rail bands
For the guys at Orange Bus

My 1st two poly boards in years....

back to basics..

Whomping helps purify the soul....

Somewhere in The Bahamas

Island Cruising

My trusty steed in the Bahamas.

She's seen better days back in CA as the salt air eats everything in the islands, especially after 7 years. She still runs and can pull down a house. Perfect for trips into the bush looking for waves....

Blast from the Past

Fine Young Cannibals... ah the good ol' days, eh?

Irmaozinho de Sangue

Pietro em Rio Vermelho, Floripa, Brasil, 2006

Probably the first quad rider at Mocamba....
6'0" Eps/Epoxy quad.

Some of the best people in the world live in Floripa. I highly recommend a trip if you've never been.

style distilled

Alex Knost, in a maybe less familiar format.

more unsurfed goodness..

another day, my parents flying around with a friend spotted this and sent it to me.

they said it wasn't a stormy day, either.

can't imagine a good day...

stoked bros

Just got this picture from a friend I met in Brazil. He's now somewhere near Bangkok, teaching English, and surfing his way around Asia/Indo. The board is a stringerless, resin tinted EPS/epoxy quad stingered fish I made at the CCL fabrica in Floripa. Glad to see he's still stoked, and getting waves. Mark's got the life we all dream of. He's working for the UK government, travelling, teaching the Queen's english, and being an ambassador for goodwill.

Where do the rest of the dreamers among us sign up?!

still unspoilt

There are still waves out there to be found by those wanting/willing to go a bit further....

and don't ask, because i wont tell...

My Long Lost Pride and Joy - Carl Ekstrom asymetrical log

I know it doesn't look like much, but if you know the history of this board you will see why I am so stoked to have it in my quiver. I bought it in OB, San Diego before I left in 2002. It was just leaning up against this dude's house with a sign on it for $150. Needless to say I snapped it up, but didn't know the whole story, just recognised the name, and that it was a vintage board. I took it into Channin the next day to fix it during my shift hotcoating, and everyone fell out, They couldn't believe I got it for so cheap, and Randy Wong broke down the significance of the find for me. Since then it has been very closely guarded, and locked in my parents attic in the Bahamas for 3 years.

I can't say for sure the year, but I took it to the longboard Grotto in Encinitas after the freakout at Channin, to see what it was worth, and got some more cool info on it. They suggested a full restoration, but I couldn't afford it, and besides, it was meant to be ridden...

Dig the asymmetrical tail, and reverse cut fin. Full nose and tail woodblocks and 1" stringer. The foil in the nose is super thin, and the rails are knifey-thinned out. I can't wait to get it back home and into some long waves....

Here's a link about Carl Ekstrom:http://www.theshaperstree.com/tales/ekstrom.asp

and some info from the Hydrodynamica movie site here:http://www.unit3a.nu/hydro/hydro.swf

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

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..."

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!

Yes I, Mungos HIFI, Glasgow?!

Mungo HiFi

One thing about the UK,

they love their dubplates...

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!

Another great one from Mani

Goes psssshhhhhhhhh....ka-koww! when you shred it on the breaking combers!

The Swallowtail Society

We as surfers have such a great history, and such charismatic characters in our midst.

Thank god we are not like other sports.

Logs

Made a couple logs for the guys at Orange Bus.

just need to glass...

Scenery

Somewhere in the UK...

My New Favourite Quote

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

from the carbon DVS fish thread

when is the store gonna open?

I want my copy!!!!

O.C.D.

daydreams....

levitating rock in the harbor, Gtown, Exuma...

Mysto Brasil, and no I'm not telling where....

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.

man i miss floripa...

which way to go...
e ai? matadeiro, 2005..

man, i miss that board...

speed and the lack thereof

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

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.

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...

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!

STOKED!

Bring on the winter...

Patagonia Wetsuits

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.

busy, but fun nights...

Nothing like making a mess...

tweakin...

Just can't leave well enough alone,

I decided to pull the outline in a bit in the tail...