tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78711025860323267852024-03-19T03:03:30.867+00:00A Board, Some Wax and a LeashMy North Devon based surfing journey — from the beginning.Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-57046408367348749942017-03-16T11:41:00.000+00:002017-03-16T11:41:01.207+00:00Stoke by Proxy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GMJ3zet0ivc/WMp39UyVbxI/AAAAAAAABik/-3R8gf0Zn3QS806PCAfoE1gQkk0lg4wtgCLcB/s1600/Waiting-15-3-2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="409" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GMJ3zet0ivc/WMp39UyVbxI/AAAAAAAABik/-3R8gf0Zn3QS806PCAfoE1gQkk0lg4wtgCLcB/s640/Waiting-15-3-2017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I took this photo yesterday at Woolacombe in a lull between the overhead sets. The grey calm between frantically chaotic moments or swooshes of good fortune. I haven't got enough calm in my life at the moment or enough time to surf in these shorter daylight seasons.<br />
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I did have a wonderful surf on Saturday. Three of us went out with two boards I'd made. It was my first surf on the Twinzer and I was really happy to find it felt really good. Balanced, fast and with nice turns. The best moments were seeing friends cut out of waves with grins on their faces. Seeing someone mine some good stoke on a board that you've made is wonderful stoke by proxy. Like watching your child getting their first waves.Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-29850727862288695802016-08-11T13:42:00.002+01:002016-08-11T13:42:45.379+01:00I Just Finished Making a Twinzer: the Gentleman's Slipper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gZIkTWHhIKw/V6xxfSmfvwI/AAAAAAAABho/F5SLTG3e6kM6u9U5yNh8AeHzDn0-wriLACLcB/s1600/IMG_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gZIkTWHhIKw/V6xxfSmfvwI/AAAAAAAABho/F5SLTG3e6kM6u9U5yNh8AeHzDn0-wriLACLcB/s400/IMG_0060.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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It was really tricky to do the glass-on fins (which I made out of Birch ply). Probably spent longer on the fins than the rest of the board. First ride report from the friend who bought it was good! I've never surfed a twinzer so it was a bit of a risk and I can't wait to have a go on it.</div>
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It's the best board I've made so far. Slowly starting to get the hang of the glassing, but I was most pleased with the foil on this one. It's got a bellied nose into full width concave and then double concave with vee out through the fins to give the water a nice wooshy exit. Flattened the rocker under the feet so it should be fast under the front foot but give fun turns when weighting the back foot.</div>
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I've called this model the "Gentleman's Slipper".</div>
<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-59869280278069048722016-06-27T09:22:00.000+01:002016-06-27T09:27:19.423+01:00Is Surfing's Relationship with "Cool" its Downfall?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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One of the great things about shaping your own boards is the freedom it offers you. Freedom from brands, stock shapes, the mythology of shapers features and your apparent downfall if you buy a shortboard without carbon rail tape on it - for example. I absolutely love surfing my own boards and discovering that despite their flaws they work really well. The think I realised the other day was that, apart from shaping my own copy/version of a Tyler Warren "Bar of Soap" the boards I'm thinking of making are largely not the same as boards I was previously thinking of buying; that I was <i>wanting</i>. Why is that? I can only think it's the influence of 'cool', brands and received ideas.<br />
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It's subtle as well as unsubtle. The magazines we look at, the surf films we watch. Flashes of templates, fins, what's Joel Tudor surfing? Hey, Slater's cutback was amazing, just like I want to do. If I could just lay into a cool bottom turn like Al Knost... We believe the big double page Billabong ad is not sucking us in, we're above that. But even if that were true, the cool photographs, video clips, Instagrams are all constantly filling us with desire to emulate. How many boards or fins do you quietly and quickly think you'd like to own per day? Jamie O'Brien even makes you want to get a big foamie!<br />
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But unlike other sports surfing has a special relationship with 'cool'. Even outside of the world of people who take part in the sport it has a whole spectrum of desirable signification. Surfing is used throughout movies and advertisements to signify someone who is 'cool'. Stupid unwaxed surfboards are always in the background in movie scenes. We can't escape it. When I tell people I surf they often say "oh, cool!" When I tell them I have a shaping bay and make custom surfboards they say "oh, that's <i>really</i> cool!". Roland Barthes muses over the manipulation of meaning in the media in his book "Mythologies" and discusses how objects in the media are given extra meaning (meta-language) over and above its straightforward meaning. Surfing really struggles with this and further complicates surfing's appearance. Loads of people would love to go to Hawaii. Lots of people want to be tanned. We want to be fit and healthy. We want to be risky, dramatic, impressive. We want to be sexy (<i>yeah baby!</i>). A single photograph of Julian Wilson or Stephanie Gilmore getting barrelled can give us all those things in a single photograph. Sure, there are other sports that give us lots of those things (footballers, tennis players etc) but they are just not as 'cool'.<br />
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So, as surfers, the appearance of the sport we love in the media is always messed about with. Mythologised. And it fucks with our desire if we're not careful. I haven't been beyond thinking I'd love a Merrick "Semi-Pro". The thing is (apart from the mass-production) these are good shapes. A Channel Islands "Mini" would be a great shape in the waves I go out in. But the the way we're fed the brands is with an extra dose of sugary sweetness that coats them in an "Emperor's New Clothes" of desire. When people ask what longboard I have I'll inevitably first say a Christenson "Dead Sled". Rather than the truth: a 9'6 traditional single fin log, with slightly narrowed nose, pinched rails and a nice fat cedar stringer. The second answer has more actual surfing meaning. The first tells more of desire and brand.<br />
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The worst thing for surfing is that because it has to appear 'super cool' to the general public there will inevitably be big 'brand destroying' fluctuations in popularity and finances. (There is also big financial problem that the viewing of the sport doesn't generate income in the way that football does for example, people want to look like surfers, but aren't so interested in watching the World Surf League and standing on the beach is free.)<br />
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My point really is that surfing has this wonderful undercurrent of purity and idea of being spontaneous and in touch with nature. The unfortunate thing is that the way we lap it up on a day to day basis has a tendency to cloud all that and fill you with materialistic thoughts and distracting judgements about the 'coolness' of things. It's hard to strip away the myth and just stick to the craft under your arm, the wax and the sand between your toes. At this point it has to be mentioned that the "craft" under your arm is important: there is a difference between the beauty and craft in a well made surfboard (which is delicious to enjoy and savour) and it's 'coolness'. Peeling the veneer of coolness from the board - or any other product - is what I'm thinking about.<br />
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I've wanted lots (and lots!) of boards over the years, but a lovely surf the other day on my own board, getting fun waves, getting muddled in the froth, tumbling and gliding in the champagne foam that was glistening with sunlight reminded me what it's all about. And what it isn't. The sea is wonderful, beautiful, never resting, ever-changing and ties thousands of surfers around the world together in a unified global skin. When I sit in the water and look at the Atlantic stretching off to meet surfers on Long Island it's heartwarming to think of people sitting there on their boards too, looking out to the horizon. It's got nothing to do with being cool.Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-91293699559041786362016-03-16T11:56:00.000+00:002016-03-16T11:56:14.187+00:00My Second Board. My Own Design. The "Fishish".I've finally finished my second board. Lots more mistakes and lots of learning - including the special act of drilling FCS plug holes in the wrong place (and one right through the board!). Black makes it hard to see the stringer/centre line. I had to forget the idea of a trailer fin option! It was a bit of a fancy anyway... I crossed out my mistakes. That's what I was taught to do at school.<br />
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It surfs really well. It's basically based on my Bing Dharma, but with pulled-in nose with more rocker and a slightly pulled in tail. Twin fin rather than quad so it's ended up feeling a bit like a Dharma crossed with an MR Twin I think. Yesterday I had the most amazing surf: pink sunset water, brushed head high rights chugging through at Saunton and not many out. Really found the sweet spot for my back foot between the fins thanks to the extra time on the wave that Saunton gives you.<br />
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The crucial aspect of this board was trying to copy what I loved about the foil of the Dharma: that is a thin light nose and thickest part of the board behind centre. The Dharma has a lovely balance - I've had more than one board that feel a bit 'front heavy' for me or that simply don't seem to balance nicely under my feet. The Dharma and this board - I'm delighted to say - seem to me to have a good balance. I'm thinking that the foam distribution compared to outline shape is perhaps the most key aspect to shaping a board that feels good.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-footer="true" data-header="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thossharpe/albums/72157665844674311" title="Two"><img alt="Two" height="640" src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1631/25805988986_2cba93e78e_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-24051865792456451742016-02-10T09:56:00.001+00:002016-02-10T18:40:56.277+00:00The Eddie 2016Can't wait to watch "The Eddie" (Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau) this afternoon! On for the first time in six years this event that only takes place when the waves are over 20 ft on the North Shore of Oahu. Eddie Aikau was a big wave surfer and Waimea lifeguard who was tragically lost at sea. The event has only taken place eight times!<br />
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Watch it: on the <a href="http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2015/spec/1182/quiksilver-in-memory-of-eddie-aikau" target="_blank">WSL website</a>.<br />
Read about it: on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiksilver_Big_Wave_Invitational" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>.<br />
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Amazing line-up of surfers. The only person missing, as far as I'm concerned, is our own UK big wave surfer Andrew Cotton! Ha ha! #cottywouldgo<br />
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UPDATE: Spoke too soon. It's not on today.<br />
<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-22299204446313103652016-02-05T17:14:00.004+00:002016-02-05T17:14:45.222+00:00Surfboard Design, Fins & Dave ParmenterOne of the hardest things about shaping surfboards yourself is working out what is true and what isn't. It's one thing copying a board you own or copying a familiar design like a Lis Fish. But when you're actually thinking about concaves and fins on a design that is more your own blend - it takes a lot of reading along with experience of surfing different boards to try to remove the flotsam of received ideas that you've been fed by surfboard ads and popular media.<br />
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I really like Dave Parmenter - inventor of the Widowmaker surfboard design and champion of single fins and channel bottoms - who I discovered through Andrew Kidman's movies, especially "Lost in the Ether". He's <i>very</i> articulate, incredibly experienced in terms of both shaping and being an excellent surfer and as interested in deconstructing received ideas as developing his shapes.<br />
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The reason I'm writing this now is that I've just read the most marvellous article of his in "The Surfer's Journal" (25.1) called "Must We Burn the Single Blade." Sometimes I wonder why I spend a fortune on "The Surfer's Journal" and every so often an article like this comes along that reminds me. Not only is it nicely written with his usual wit and depth of knowledge (he refers to thruster surfing as surfing you're constantly "starting a lawnmower"!) but in it he describes how the speed that you get from a thruster is actually based on increased drag. That sounds counter-intuitive but what he explains helps you to grasp the fact that the thruster design is about helping you to grip the wave face in order to be able to generate speed by quickly pumping or turning. To me, as someone who hand shapes boards now, that is such a wonderfully key concept - and he describes it beautifully. We often forget the key elements of design by being caught up in the whirlwind and hypnotic detail of contemporary design fashions. It's great to have a voice that calmly reminds you to keep 'right mind'. My Dad used to say that moving to the countryside taught him how to tell the difference between horse-shit and bull-shit. Much thanks to Dave Parmenter for trying to help us with that in surfing.<br />
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(I should also mention that I contacted Dave a while back about trying to get hold of some of his Widowmaker fins. Not only did he reply but he took it upon himself to ask about the board they were going to be for and emailed back and forth a few times, volunteering information and advice - I was amazed and delighted that he showed such totally unexpected interest and generosity of his time.)Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-81635720128486057412015-12-15T17:29:00.001+00:002015-12-15T17:33:24.727+00:00I've Made My First Garage Board (Solo)!<span style="font-family: inherit;">Good grief, so it's come to this! I've copied as closely as possible my 5'4 Tyler Warren (Hobie) "Bar of Soap". Really pleased with the shape, I've managed to get closer than I thought I would with the rocker, foil and rails. There's a slight difference in the nose rocker and I've got a little more volume in mine as I've left a bit more foam by having a flatter, less convex, deck.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My main problem was that I didn't mix enough resin for the first lamination (the bottom). I know it's the first rule "mix more than enough" but I got a bit muddled about quantities - largely because of all this talk of "quarts" on Swaylocks and stuff. Stupid quarts. I only mixed 800mls. I'm on my second board now and I mixed double that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hand foiled the fins from marine ply, glassed them on (should've doubled up the rovings because I don't think they were quite thick enough). Made a leash loop because since I wasn't drilling fin plugs I thought it would be nice to not drill anything into the board at all. Also, I simply wanted to try as many techniques as possible to learn as much as I could.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QjsQUzgcUco/VnBLd5D-DII/AAAAAAAABgg/j-PJPUKZluo/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-12-04%2Bat%2B11.00.04.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QjsQUzgcUco/VnBLd5D-DII/AAAAAAAABgg/j-PJPUKZluo/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-12-04%2Bat%2B11.00.04.png" width="398" /></a><br />
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Here's a Flickr gallery with more photographs of the process and showing a comparison of my board to the original "Soap":<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thossharpe/albums/72157661407082920" title="One"><img alt="One" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5771/22866547783_4eb6e1891e_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-40454174319206075142015-10-02T12:13:00.000+01:002015-10-02T15:31:35.023+01:00This is Getting Seriously Close to Being Real: A Garage Shaper!?! Me?!I can't believe that buying a surfboard a few short years ago has led to this! I've been working hard to convert a garage into shaping and glassing bays. I've got fins to make... materials to buy... decisions to confront...
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="false" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thossharpe/albums/72157658146428860" title="Building a Shaping Garage"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/587/21351703846_19f89c3fcb_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Building a Shaping Garage"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-72190834345700560472015-09-22T19:08:00.003+01:002015-09-22T19:08:49.872+01:00Sennen CoveI really enjoyed surfing Sennen Cove recently. It's amazing how different new beaches feel. It was a bit messy and funky and then as it neared high tide it became clean & fun head high almost beach-break waves. All the kids appeared popping airs and getting covered-up. A really different fun performance vibe from where I've been surfing recently. Maybe it's the tropical looking water?<br />
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I enjoyed my 5'4 Tyler Warren "Bar of Soap". Love this board - it's thinner and more lively feeling than you might think. A bit of a bugger to paddle but really, really fun on a nice clean wave, steep or not. It does prefer clean waves though. Chop tends to throw it off its game. It's no 3" thick Mini-Simmons floater-bloater that's for sure!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6JzuzebyZg/VgGXlJbz-uI/AAAAAAAABgM/AJax4meb85Y/s1600/IMG_7879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6JzuzebyZg/VgGXlJbz-uI/AAAAAAAABgM/AJax4meb85Y/s1600/IMG_7879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6JzuzebyZg/VgGXlJbz-uI/AAAAAAAABgM/AJax4meb85Y/s400/IMG_7879.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-52601395681295438312015-09-13T10:29:00.000+01:002015-09-13T10:32:42.697+01:00Making a Shaping RackThis little Flickr gallery shows how I've made myself a shaping rack. Hope it works! I used wood I'd found in the garage so a lot cheaper than buying expensive metal ones online. Still got my Mum's empty garage to convert though so there's lots to do. Hope I'll be buying a blank before too long!
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thossharpe/albums/72157656235431723" title="Making My Shaping Rack"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/680/21191050009_2b282882df_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Making My Shaping Rack"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This surfing journey is becoming more than I expected!Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-89742992355926970482015-08-27T17:18:00.000+01:002015-08-27T17:23:57.975+01:00I've Made My First Surfboard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p-mdK-g7E-A/Vd82NGHmEtI/AAAAAAAABf0/bLgHphEBqX0/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p-mdK-g7E-A/Vd82NGHmEtI/AAAAAAAABf0/bLgHphEBqX0/s320/IMG_0037.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is very exciting!!! A whole new step along the path to, well, I guess my whole life being absorbed by what started out as a dip in the water a few years ago. (Actually, I've labelled this board "Number 0.5" as it's not really my first because I made it under instruction.)<br />
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I went down to visit Chris Hartop of <a href="http://www.lovefoam.co.uk/" target="_blank">Lovefoam</a> and he showed me how to do it at his workshop. I'd highly recommend it if you've ever had an inkling that you'd like to make a board. The main think is that I've ended up with a board that I want to surf and DO enjoy surfing. It's not a 'first board shocker' pre-prepared for the local tip! (Focussed on the foil not being too thick.)<br />
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I took the measurements of a Lis Fish and compared them with my Bing Dharma and the Skip Frye fish discussed by Andrew Kidman in his recent Surfer's Journal article. Basically ending up with a fish with 12" between the pins and a slightly pulled in nose.<br />
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I've started clearing my Mum's garage... uh oh!<br />
<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-37986444234977232272015-08-21T11:31:00.001+01:002015-08-21T11:31:34.222+01:00Stoke Is......seeing your daughter catch the first little wave ever surfed on the first surfboard you've made yourself!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vHJlg58Ja4/Vdb93yRlsuI/AAAAAAAABfg/JmTCt2qDsXk/s1600/Matilda%2Bstoked%2Bafter%2Bfirst%2Bwave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vHJlg58Ja4/Vdb93yRlsuI/AAAAAAAABfg/JmTCt2qDsXk/s400/Matilda%2Bstoked%2Bafter%2Bfirst%2Bwave.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span id="goog_109042336"></span><span id="goog_109042337"></span><br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-82129191785521493472015-03-19T13:35:00.000+00:002015-03-19T13:35:19.454+00:00I Like the Silver Colour of Winter Surfing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W_io4ecfgts/VQrO4Ik2EQI/AAAAAAAABfA/eqwZ1nWD8R0/s1600/Barrel-Croyde-15-3-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W_io4ecfgts/VQrO4Ik2EQI/AAAAAAAABfA/eqwZ1nWD8R0/s1600/Barrel-Croyde-15-3-2015.jpg" height="146" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just took a few photos of people enjoying the waves at Croyde on Mothering Sunday. Instead of surfing I was cooking lunch and then walking to Baggy Point. I didn't mind though - I've just been discovering the joys of a good swell at Saunton combined with my 6'6 Archie's Left. Plenty of nice clean waves last week basically and a promising few days to come. Nice, joyous waves, after a frustratingly dark winter of paddling through tons of work rather than surfing.<div>
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Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-35877648409528371822015-01-26T16:02:00.001+00:002015-01-26T16:21:13.067+00:00A Rare Photo of Me Surfing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ben Barnes took this photo of me near Woolacombe - he did well managing to get a few snaps after the drop before the waves closed out on me! They were breaking too fast at the shit pipe the other day. He'll take photos of you surfing for a few quid. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bbphotography.me?fref=ts" target="_blank">Get in touch with him via Facebook here >></a>Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-18095325710637682872015-01-22T18:09:00.000+00:002015-01-22T18:09:01.112+00:00Heavy Cotton<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://sharevideo.redbull.com/?dynamicStreaming=true&bckey=AQ~~,AAABTw4lHzE~,sr1E9bdX6d4wCdvdlD8QKdNij3uKs2K9&isUI=true&labels=http://www.redbull.com/cs/RedBull2Misc/brightcove/en_INT_labels.xml&link=http://www.redbull.com/en/surfing&bcpid=1684512102001&isRTL=false&closedCaptionsHover=Subtitles&qualityHover=Change quality&socialHover=Share or embed&templateErrorHandler=document.getElementById('myExperience').errorHandler&htmlFallback=true&bgcolor=#000000&logoHover=Visit RedBull.com/Surfing&linkBaseURL=http://www.redbull.com/en/surfing/stories/1331700670940/mullaghmore-ireland-goes-large&autoStart=false&filter=channel:Surfing&startTime=1421852397670&bctid=3998360692001&bctid=3998360692001&onsiteSettings=false,false,false,true&jumpHover=Jump backwards&bcpid=1684512102001&videoID=3998360692001&bckey=AQ~~,AAABTw4lHzE~,sr1E9bdX6d4wCdvdlD8QKdNij3uKs2K9&purl=http://sharevideo.redbull.com/?logoHover=Visit%20RedBull.com/Surfing&labels=http://www.redbull.com/cs/RedBull2Misc/brightcove/en_INT_labels.xml&linkBaseURL=http://www.redbull.com/en/surfing/stories/1331700670940/mullaghmore-ireland-goes-large&link=http://www.redbull.com/en/surfing&socialHover=Share%20or%20embed&startTime=1421852397670&jumpHover=Jump%20backwards&qualityHover=Change%20quality&closedCaptionsHover=Subtitles&bckey=AQ~~,AAABTw4lHzE~,sr1E9bdX6d4wCdvdlD8QKdNij3uKs2K9&isRTL=false&relatedcontent=true,true&bctid=3998360692001&autoStart=false&htmlFallback=true&bcpid=1684512102001&dynamicStreaming=true&filter=channel:Surfing&bgcolor=&isVid=true&relatedcontent=true,true" width="640"></iframe><br />
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It struck me while watching this how insane this all is. I wonder if I'm going to get a good wave when I go for a surf, but I travel a handful of miles and go for 15 to 30 waves in a session I suppose. I think it's a bit far to go down the coast and nervously explore an unfamiliar break. Andrew Cotton (like other big wave surfers) plan a few days ahead, travel to different countries and all in the hope that they might find that one significant ride. (Not to mention the fact that he's doing this coming from Devon when most big wave surfers will come from Hawaii, California, Australia or other places blessed with grand local surf.)<br />
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I mean - how hard do you want to make it? How unlikely and how much of the whole experience gets shifted into the framework of logistics, travel, preparation and training? Cotty deserves his own biographical movie. He's a compelling surfer and as a person is achieving amazing things considering he wasn't born near a world class surf break. He looked so bloody happy chatting after that amazing left - you could see the joy of all that preparation, gambling, risk and hope paying off with a ride he deserved to find.<br />
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Super film and editing work by Mikey Corker to bring these adventures home to us too.Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-16176417064880925062014-11-13T17:13:00.002+00:002014-11-13T18:19:03.885+00:00Life vs Surfing<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/111758920" width="650" height="366" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Been so busy with work and life. I've not surfed so little since I started - especially with the early dark now. Probably only getting in once a week. I've become a 'weekend warrior' while living five minutes from the beach. Again this morning I had to watch people surfing for five minutes before getting back to the computer. I'm complaining, but I deeply understand the spoiled and imbalanced nature of my complaint when placed in world perspective.<br />
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This was Woolacombe this morning before the wind trashed it.Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-9177483866477274722014-07-22T14:41:00.000+01:002014-07-22T14:42:16.260+01:00Tom Curren, J-Bay 19th July, 2014Did you watch the ASP J-Bay Open, live online? Specifically the Occy vs Curren heat?<br />
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I've warmed to the ASP World Tour over the years, realising that it promotes and helps the sport to support itself when surf companies are struggling to survive and it also, due to it's competitive nature, gives us surfing moments with a drama that otherwise wouldn't exist. (<a href="http://youtu.be/-wYQk9Ww5IY" target="_blank">Who can forget Slater unbelievably emerging from that 'Perfect 10' scoring barrel at Hossegor 2010?</a>) The excitement is further enhanced for me by the fact that my Fantasy Surfer team is currently seventh overall! Anyway, I was looking forward to J-Bay anyway.<br />
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It also happened that I watched the surf movie <a href="http://tsjvod.thesurfnetwork.com/product?product=75808a1a85aa339c2b6e3e25486c52d2235034c49d904be6" target="_blank">"Instruments of Change" by Simon Saffigna</a> the other day. We all know, or should, a bit about Tom Curren and Mark Occhilupo. It was Tom Curren who I was interested in though. I've been amazed by the style of his famous 'first wave' of his at J-Bay (his smooth bottom turns appear 'jet-propelled'!) ever since reading about it in <a href="http://tomandersonbooks.com/portfolio/riding-the-magic-carpet/" target="_blank">Tom Anderson's wonderful book "Riding the Magic Carpet"</a>. I'm still dying to see the Rip Curl "Search" movie, so if anyone can help me get a copy on DVD I'd be eternally grateful. I've loved Tom's surfing in other films like "Idiosyncrasies", however, I wasn't prepared for what a pleasure "Instruments of Change" is. Especially as an older surfer it's really compelling to watch the seasoned style and warm stoke of Curren and Occy - not to mention Gary Elkerton (filmed getting a bomb of a barrel!) compared directly with the jumpy, staccato performance surfing of the groms they take with them (Pat Curren, Kalani Ball and Keanu Asing). The ability of these elder statesmen, with their new-found middle-aged girth (of varying degrees), is astounding and it's beautiful to watch; not to mention inspiring to middle-aged surfers like me. Not only is the surfing great, but it's beautifully filmed with the camera following them from just behind the lip of the wave, I guess filmed from a jetski or something, but it felt like something I'd not quite seen before and really makes you feel like you're following the surfers along the wave.<br />
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So, because of this, I made sure I was sitting down to watch the Curren vs Occy heat live on my laptop. I'm not kidding - Curren's first good wave nearly brought a tear to my eye. After watching the current pros lose their positioning and make mistakes the unbelievable fluid precision with which Curren negotiated his a wave was just mesmerising. To see someone combine such style along with a scientist's eye for trajectory was exciting and an education - and at fifty years of age on good sized pumping J-Bay walls! Curren's 10 scoring wave that rocked up next though was unbelievable. It was surfing unfolding - live - in a way that seemed unimaginable. It's perhaps, for me, the greatest sporting live event I've ever watched. I don't quite know why I feel so emotional about it but it felt like watching his first J-Bay wave, combined with Michael Peterson's cutback, Hynson & August surfing Cape St Francis and Miki Dora surfing Malibu, but LIVE. It felt like the history I would've loved to be part of being performed in front of me: now. Something significant. Dear Tom Curren: thankyou! And thankyou J-Bay for showing up with a well-timed swell and rubbing out the plague of air-reverses.<br />
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Now if you haven't watched that wave then watch it now. And then watch it again…
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/z6Y_iNWeSI4" width="640"></iframe>Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-41700283315529457092014-06-09T16:45:00.002+01:002014-06-09T16:45:46.301+01:00Five Years of SurfingFive years of surfing now, have finally led to me surfing a tricky spot that I've been looking at for years. (These are not me - they're pics I took while browsing.)<br />
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A bad move and you end up on the rocks (I did once with–luckily–no damage), there's lots of paddling to do to keep in the right spot but had the best waves of my life and left super stoked! It's spots like this that you find it's clear why you shouldn't rock up and surf it to tick off a box. It's sketchy and pretty unnerving to see your fins flying so close to the rocks now and again. But oh - so nice!!!!</div>
<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-41796032115890162842014-03-27T19:27:00.001+00:002014-03-27T19:27:31.564+00:00It's Been a Winter of Big Swells<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Big waves, sketchy windy days, I haven't had the time to go and find the sheltered/better spots so it's been lots of testing surfs. Some good, some bad. Really enjoyed a surf in clean 2ft the other day, simply because it made a refreshing change from overhead stuff. This Winter's sorted out the surfers who have the time, dedication and skills to go and find the super waves from most of us who've been carrying on grabbing waves at our local breaks when winds/tides allow. So for some it's been the best Winter in years, for most of us it's been difficult: for everyone pretty tiring! Looking forward to some eeeeeeeeaaaaaasy summer surfs...Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-58050769754795302322014-01-31T18:58:00.001+00:002014-01-31T18:58:48.226+00:00At Last a Bit of Offshore Wind to Complement the Swell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some super fun waves - wish it was like this more often! Had loads of thoughts in the water: this is perfect, I'm not making the most of it, shit that wave is a bit big, I love this board, I'm a shit surfer, I'm not a bad surfer, this is beautiful, shite my shoulders hurt, I wish there was no such thing as getting tired, getting old, I'll never get barrelled, voooooooom, freeeeeezing. I don't think I particularly enjoy those 'one good wave - session save' days, I prefer a fun solid session with lots and lots of waves. Surfing's hard and I've had enough of it being too hard. A bit of ease/confidence is good for your surfing progression. More waves = more turns = more improvement. I bet you could improve more on one wave at Bells than ten short rides at Wooly? What bloody lovely surf. Lovely. I think when you can do a proper carving, full-speed roundhouse is when you move from being an average surfer to pretty good. Pleasure in surfing is so fickle. You have to enjoy the whole experience. I love my new 7mm round toe boots this winter. Love them. My toes love them. Getting too cold is a spoiler. A friend had gastroenteritis and missed these two good days. I'm glad I didn't have gastroenteritis. Surfing really, really is like drug addiction - hit hunting. It's also a lot like fishing. It's like fishing for crack.</div>
<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-20507331591017965362013-11-26T11:03:00.000+00:002013-11-27T18:50:54.593+00:00The Pop UpThis is wrong already.<br />
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As we progress in surfing people talk about nailing your pop up. Getting your pop up right. But that is already the essential mistake: from the moment you start surfing there is a tendency to talk about your pop-up in the singular.<br />
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'Popping up' is actually - it becomes clear - a whole set of manoevres and skills as varied as airs or bottom turns. There is the long glide into slow pop-up, there is the emergency speed pop-up as you fall down the face of a late take-off and everything in between. That is why popping up remains one of the main things you're constantly learning as you progress in surfing. When I remember learning, optimistically studying 'the' pop-up (hands under your chest, one movement jump into squatting - they say,) and I remember what an idealistic idea I had of getting to my feet: that it was something that could be 'sorted out'. Done. Learned with an end to it. I mean, my popping up is undoubtedly much improved: I will make most and have taken a healthy step towards the other end of the scale. I enjoy late drops with that feeling of weightlessness until the fins grip the face, though at my age I prefer an early take-off, planing before I pop-up and perhaps with time for a little fade before the first bottom turn. But, I know how different my pop-ups are between boards and waves and states of physical exhaustion!<br />
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All I'm saying is that if you're at the beginning of your surfing journey - just don't think of "the" pop-up as singular in kind or that popping-up a minor obstacle before you surf that wave. Getting to your feet has to become skilled, spontaneous, varied and part of surfing: you're surfing <i>before</i> you pop-up. Think of <i>the pop-ups</i> as manoevres to be enjoyed: we all know a successful late drop is ecstatically heart-warming. As you get better you paddle, you have time to look along the wave as you catch it, you're surfing now - you're a bodyboarder. Then, while you're surfing you have a split second to decide how best to launch yourself onto your feet, transform into a stand-up surfer and scoot down the face; how you do this will define your first bottom turn; how you then manage your first bottom turn will set up the whole wave.<br />
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Enjoy the pop-ups!Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-83125074664875919072013-10-15T10:08:00.001+01:002013-10-15T10:08:47.119+01:00"North of the Sun" Surf Movie at The Thatch for The Museum of British Surfing. (And: Easyfundrasing)Next Monday 21st October, The Museum of British Surfing is presenting "North of the Sun" at The Thatch, in Croyde. More details of this <a href="http://www.museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk/events/north-of-the-sun/" target="_blank">charity surf movie night on The Museum of British Surfing website</a>.<br />
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While I'm on the subject - another great way to support The Museum of British Surfing is using the <a href="http://www.museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk/events/north-of-the-sun/" target="_blank">Easyfundraising</a> website. Once you register with the site a percentage of any purchase at loads of online retailers (like Amazon, M&S, Ebay, Argos etc etc) will be donated to the Museum. I costs you nothing so it's a really good way to help raise funds to support The Museum of British Surfing. You used to have to remember to go to the Easyfundraising website before shopping online, which was a pain and didn't work so well, however, you can now install a fantastic tool that just pops up a bar at the top of your browser when you visit a site that's taking part. So you don't have to remember: just click the 'claim your donation' checkbox when it pops up. This is what you see:</div>
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Simple! I've found there are a lot more sites than you'd realise that are involved so once you install this it makes things really, really simple. Do it now! It's only a small donation so the Museum really needs lots of people to register and help out.</div>
<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-22222354041967129572013-09-30T12:45:00.002+01:002013-09-30T14:40:10.274+01:00Fancy Dress Surf, Woolacombe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On the 8th September Richie Richardo organised a Fancy Dress surf at Woolacombe in aid of the North Devon Hospice. It was really good fun and may well become an annual event.</div>
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Advice: don't wear a 'onesie' costume. Rob weighed his after walking back home and it was still 7kg! He had to paddle 'breast stroke' style underwater. My overalls were pretty bad, mainly because they were too tight and I really struggled to pop up. But it was really good fun - Dig won best costume for his Batman outfit. Even though it was last minute lots of people took part. Looking forward to the next one.</div>
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Working it.</div>
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Overseeing Batman's adherence to safety procedures.</div>
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Group shot... Richie in the middle in particularly fetching drag.</div>
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Hammering down the line.</div>
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Strolling out, Reservoir Dogs style...</div>
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Suited up and frothing for a surf! Andy Bramwell looking particularly smart, me in the middle and Rob Adderley about to discover how heavy an elephant really feels.</div>
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<br />Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-65732853793003161102013-09-06T11:03:00.001+01:002013-09-06T11:09:07.378+01:00UK Vintage Surf Meet 2013<div style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0; width: 500px;">
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thossharpe/sets/72157635353848688/">UK Vintage Surf Meet 2013</a>, a set on Flickr.</div>
The surf meet last Sunday at The Museum of British Surfing had some nice old boards on show. This is a little gallery of some of the photos I took.Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7871102586032326785.post-79808668686476106252013-08-22T11:43:00.000+01:002013-08-22T11:44:34.683+01:00And So, the Sun Went Down on a Few Bugbears<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unaccountably I had possibly the best, most fun, surf I've ever had yesterday. It was lumpy, touching head high occasionally and... Putsborough! I expected nothing much and except for the fact that I've really been enjoying my McCallum/Kookbox Twin-Pin recently there was little sign that this would be anything more than a regular surfy-surf.<br />
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While I was in the water a lot of things seemed to fall into place. What happens in this plateau of being an average/improving surfer is that you taste the turns at the beginning but it seems to take forever to become Dane Reynolds. What's really happening is that you're upping the probabilities, the consistency and banishing bugbears.<br />
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My shadowy bugbears:<br />
1. I used to think things like: "I don't like surfing Putsborough; or Woolacombe for that matter..."<br />
2. I used to hate going left.<br />
3. Lumpy waves are shit - I want clean waves, the conditions <i>perfect</i> if possible please.<br />
4. I will fail my pop-up if the wave breaks early/on me.<br />
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It became clear yesterday that all of these thoughts have been well and truly banished from my surfy world. At Putsborough yesterday I caught mostly lefts, didn't fail a single pop-up and managed one flying right out of the whitewater when a set wave broke just too soon. This is largely what 'intermediacy' is about, not great leaps in performance surfing but a steady improvement in all the facets of surfing that allow you to get more, and longer, and 'funner' waves...<br />
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At this point too I'm having a bit of a change in attitude to board choice. The reason I love the McCallum is that it has a wide nose platform that eases wave catching and take-off but with a pintail rather than fishy/simmonsy width. My confidence went sky-high yesterday and this meant more turns, messy roundhouses, attempts, fails but definitely a focus on turns and speed control rather than wave catching & pop-ups. It could mark the end of struggling with smaller more difficult boards for a bit. As you progress you want to change your surfboard to go shorter (or longer), giving with one hand and taking with the other: as you get better you immediately make life more difficult for yourself with a change in surfboard to take you towards where you want to go. Surfing involves a lot of struggle and it's nice to have a little less of that for once. A point, junction, of peace with my equipment, my surf desires, dreams, hopes and fantasies.<br />
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Though: I would still dearly love to get barrelled one day... and I'm starting to fear I took up surfing too late for that?Thoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03745847702335928410noreply@blogger.com0