Thursday, February 26, 2009

Great Shaping Video

This is a video of Tim Stamps shaping a board at FOAM-EZ'S new shaping room. This video is very well put together. Pretty much shows all the steps. Most videos that you see on the internet are quick teasers. It's always nice seeing someone else shape. Always learn something new.

As for the Shaping bay. FOAM-EZ are letting people rent it out (tools, vacuum, etc) to shape boards. Anyone can rent it, from first timers, to pro's, to old timers. It's a pretty good concept when you think about it. Would have been nice to have a decent room to shape my first few boards in. FOAM-EZ has always been a quality act as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes they may be a little more expensive than going directly to the source, but they make up for it in customer service. Everything that I have ever ordered from them has been shipped that day or the next day, and I've gotten it the day after. I wish they were driving distance, because I'd probably use them for everything.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Friday, February 13, 2009

Cow Bay

Since I've been so enthralled in cows and point breaks, A quick google search came up with this nice video. It's near Cow Bay in Nova Scotia. Now normally I wouldn't be posting a name of a break, but, since it's -15 out with the windchill, I'm pretty sure that the throngs aren't going to be charging up their to have a go. Even I would probably shy away. Don't know how often this place gets this good, but it sure does look like a fun place to ride a Keel.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Great Lakes Pointbreak

Did I tell you that I like rights. Well, this one was forwarded to me from a nice gentlemen in the Great Lakes named Grant. All the buildings in the background aren't really as they seem. They are barns that house cows, kind like the ones in my prior post, but different. It's a super undercover hybrid cow farm. Apparently prior to the cow farm, this was just a subpar beachbreak. Since the cow farm was established, apparently the runoff of these supercows has formed this perfect pointbreak. Not only has it formed this perfect, perpetually peeling, pointbreak, but it also seems to be a magnet for swell. This place used to deliver knee high dribble, but, since the supercows showed up, is head high +, all day, everyday.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

I Like Rights

Every so often some pictures will show up in my e-mail that just does it for me. They are usually from my buddy Pauly. We used to live across the street from each other a while back, when I was borrowing a room from my best friend. We then happened to buy houses in a new community and live pretty close to each other. We shared a very small cabin in a catamaran on our trip to the Mentawais a few years back. He proved to be a very good roomy and travel partner. Always stoked, except when I talked about my Keel Fish. He's still a little locked in the 80's and 90's when it comes to board design, but that's ok, don't think I know anyone as stoked on surfing as Pauly. Well, I just got a new shipment of pics from Pauly and I like what I see. Can't beat a head high peeling right point for pure fun factor. These pics were taken somewhere in Oregon. I could probably tell you where, but I don't want them loggers coming down and knocking on my door.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Board Art

My wife used to do alot of drawing back in the day. She kinda took a hiatus for about 6 years, pretty much after our first son was born. I remember going to San-O for the day and after surfing, she'd just hang out and sketch. One of the best sketches I think she ever did was of an overweight guy sitting in a lawn chair next to us. If we still had that, it'd definately be hanging on a wall somewhere in our house. Also drew Josh Hall's first logo. Over the last year or so, she's been lucky enough to have a few people ask her to draw on boards. I've been meaning to put a small offering together for my blog. So, finally, as I wait for the refrigerator repair man to show, I put together some of the things she has done. In my opinion, most of the pictures don't truly do these pieces justice. It would be easy to say I'm biased, which I am, but they look way better in person. Hopefully she'll have a new project soon, because in my mind, she has a talent that isn't being tapped.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

High School

Some loved it, some hated it. For me, now being over half my lifetime away, I'm not really sure which it is. I know it definately wasn't my favorite time in life. Merely just another four years of school. Actually, I think I felt more part of the school thing when I was in Middle School. I did wind up with two great friends that are still my best friends to this day. I have a third best friend, but we met in Kindergarten or the first grade, so, I guess we'll have to leave him out on this one.

I started surfing while in High School. My brother had just graduated, and he and his friend decided that they wanted to learn to surf. They were three and four years older than me. As they were just setting off into new found independance, I was just starting my sophemore year.

More than anything I think it was our own little rebellion against our parents. Not that they ever treated us bad, and in fact, treated us pretty damn good, but everyones got to have a little rebellion. Our parents really had no idea what surfing was. Thier idea of going to the beach was our annual trip to Mission Bay for Fourth of July. We were woken in the dark, packed into the Falcon Wagon (which in those days we hated) and driven over the hills as the sun breached the water. Dad cooked eggs and bacon on the barbeque. Then we spent all day, without sunscreen, getting sunburned with the rest of the uninitiated. Watch the Sea World fireworks. Then wait another year and repeat. The only white water we'd experience was from boat wakes.

So, in a way, the beach was a little forbidden fruit that we just had to taste. We would do whatever we had to do to get thier. Everyone would save their lunch money and we'd pack 3-4 into the VW Bug and head over the hill after or before school. Sometimes even both. I bought my first board from my brother. It was his first board past down. I think $25. Then continued buying his hand me downs, until I was able to work a summer job and buy a new custom, "JETS." During this time, not only did my grades dive, but also my school and baseball attendance.

I was pretty into baseball and was pretty decent at it too. My coach had high hopes for me. When he learned that I had been missing baseball practice to go surfing, he sat me down for a little lecture. From this lecture, one of the most profound statements of my life came. He said, "You will never get out of Surfing, what you could get out of Baseball." My coach was a great guy, and truly meaned well. But like my parents, really had no clue. In my High School graduating class, our team won the District. Seven of the Nine starting players were drafted. That is pretty amazing. Never before, and probably never again will that many players get drafted from one team, at least at my school. So getting back to his statement, out of those seven players that were drafted, how many do you think are still playing baseball? Yup, you guessed it. NONE.

Surfing has done great things for me. Besides all the fun it has brought, the best thing has to be helping to connect the lives of my wife and I. A distant second would be that i've been lucky and had the opportunity to travel a decent amount.

As would be expected, Travelling has slowed down a bit since the three rugrats came along. My last trip was to the Mentaweis a few years ago. It was a great trip and I was lucky enough to share it with two of my my best friends that I went to high school with.

As for the board, It's for one of those two buddies. It's called the "Barrel Rider." Another expression we've pretty much said our whole surfing lives. Anytime anyone stalls, and even gets a rear ear dip, they get the label. After Slater won the Pipe Masterson on a short stubby board, We'll call him Joey, came to me and said he wanted a barrel board for our local slab. Short, wide point forward, low entry rocker, etc.

As for the fins, yea, well, leave it to one of your best friends to forget his shiny new fins for the pictures.