New Standup Board!

I got my first SUP board a year ago, and have been wanting a new board for about 10 months. Not that the 10'3'' Lopez is a bad board, but it is a bit of a tank. I have been looking at a number of boards, but the Paddle Surf Hawaii (http://www.paddlesurfhawaii.com/) boards have been of particular interest to me for a while. Their boards are molded boards, which is not necessarily a good thing, but they are really well made and are pretty light. They are also tested and ridden on the North Shore of Oahu, so they are made to surf not just paddle on the flat.

Paddle Surf Hawaii only sells through their outlets, and for the West Coast we only have one! Blueline Paddle Surf in Santa Barbara (http://www.bluelinepaddlesurf.com/). I decided to drive up and get one, because once I decided to pull the trigger, I couldn't wait to ship it. My wife was busy, so I made my dog Kai come with.

As I posted a few weeks ago, I thought that I had my mind set on the 9'3'' ripper. I rented one while in Hawaii and really liked it while surfing, but didn't think that it paddled that well. One of my favorite things about SUP is the distance that you can travel. I usually paddle about 3 miles surfing along the coast in the morning, and was now not sure what board to get. I next tried the 9'6'' Wide All around (the only other PSH board they had that was not over 10ft) and it was REALLY stable, but I really wanted a board with a pulled in nose and the "all arounder" has a nose closer to what my Lopez has. This lead me to a board that I had not tried or thought of previously, the 9'6'' Wide Ripper. After talking to the guy at Blueline, I bought one and drove home as fast as I could!

I had to stop at Rincon and take a pic with the new board on the roof! By the way, it was flat...

When I got home it was really windy.....Damn! The next morning at 6am it was already howling! What to do? Take pictures of the new board!

I love the lines of this board. The pulled in nose is really important in the beach brakes that I surf 9 out of 10 times. The board is less than an inch thicker that the standard ripper, but is much more stable.

The underbelly:

This is the standard set up; a 2+1 with 3.5 in side bites and a 7in center fin. I may mess around with a real thruster set up later....

I surfed it for the first time this morning, and it is everything that I hoped it would be. Surfs like a real surfboard and paddles well. Caught a ton of waves, and three of them really stand out, felt like the next level. Thanks to Blane Chambers and Paddle Surf Hawaii for a great board.

Maui Bound!

I have been planning this trip to Maui for about 6 months, and am finally going tomorrow! I have also been wanting to get a smaller standup board and I am going to pull the trigger while I am there. My current board is still great, but I want something that I can turn harder, and make more critical drops with. I think I have found the answer! Hopefully there is some swell when I am there. The reports are calling for head high waves, so here's hoping!

Paddle Surf Hawaii's 9'3'' "Ripper"

This board is like a giant blown up short board. When I first started SUP surfing, I thought that it was kinda like long boarding, but this has changed for me. I really have the most fun with trying to really dig in and turn the thing like a shortboard. These "ripper" SUB's are starting gain in popularity. I have never ridden one, so I am thrilled that I will get to rent it first and make sure that I can still stand on it, one, and two that I do like the ride.

I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and give feedback ASAP!

Convinced the Wife to SUP!

It has been almost a year now that I have been Stand Up Paddle surfing. It is such a great sport. I mean anyone can SUP and even if you aren't going to attempt to catch any waves it is a great way to exercise and to involve your self with nature. I have been trying to get my wife to try it for a while now, and this last weekend I got her in the water! She is not super adventurous, so I was stoked that she was willing to try it.

I rented a 10'6'' wide Oxbow from Olympus Board Shop in Hermosa beach. On a side note, ET is a much better shop, but they have stopped renting boards and Olympus only charges $30 per day. The Oxbow was perfect for her, she's only 5'3'', so it was about the right dimensions for her fist time. The paddle they rented was a super cheap P.O.S., but again for the first time it does not really matter.

She started off a little grumpy, but I knew that it was sort of an act, so I ignored her grumblings and just kept explaining what we were about to do.

Is this a great before shot or what? Talk about 1000 words!

Paddling out was a little tougher than I expected, as there was a little shore break and these big, thick boards can be a lot to handle. I decided to leave my board on the shore and help her get outside. I had her lay down paddle with the paddle blade under her chest and handle out past the nose. This was the best way and she got out no problem. I went back to grab my board. I hustled out because she was floating out there alone, and I knew that she would freak soon! Luckily a pod of dolphins came by just then and swam right under her! She was thrilled and much of the initial fear was forgotten.

My bet is that women pick up Stand Up Paddling faster than men for two reasons. One: they listen and don't let ego get it the way of trying something new. Two: most of the balance once standing is in your hips and this is more natural for women than it is for men. She was up and paddled for about a mile and only fell three times! She made my first time out look like a disaster!

Finding her balance.

30 minutes later, a natural!

Look! Dolphins!!!

I like the after picture better! Enjoying the ocean....

Evening Session

It has been really flat for about 10 days. I was digging through the hard drive and found a few cool, classic California, evening shots. I took these a few months ago with my Olympus waterproof camera. Olympus makes a few different waterproof models; this one is 8mp waterproof to 15ft. It is a really cool camera, because there is nothing about it that looks "waterproof". These shots are a little grainy because the light was really low, but they are still pretty good for a little point and shoot waterproof. I think that it is called the Stylus 850 SW.

Anyway, this particular day I got off work a little early and headed straight to the beach to meet up with my friend Alex. We had about two hours to surf before it would be pitch black. I wasn't expecting much, but the tides and the wind were all working and there was a little tiny clean swell coming in. It made for a really fun relaxed evening session.

Here's Alex setting up for a fun, clean wall:

Then a little cut back:

Just hanging out waiting for the next set:

This is a cool shot from behind, of Michael going right:

Dropping in on the setting sun:

Just as it was getting to dark, to really surf much longer, a pod of dolphins swam up and were literally under and all around us. A great end to a really fun session.

There is suppose to be a small South swell hitting tomorrow! Finally.....

The Chevelle Project

Besides family, I have two loves cars and surfing. This blog is really dedicated to surfing, but every once and a while I will write about cars. I have loved cars all my life and don't really have one particular collectible car type that I like best, but I have always had a certain affinity for Muscle cars of the late '60's. 1968 and 1969 are my favorite years for American Muscle. Three years ago I acquired a 1969 Chevelle 350 Malibu. I know, its not a SS, but "sleepers" are also very high on my list of what makes a Muscle car cool. Sure a Super Bee with its huge spoiler in Lime green is plenty cool, but remember in 1963 Pontiac dropped a 389 in their mild Tempest and they created the first Muscle Car. That car was a sleeper. Pulling up to a light and being able to destroy the guy next to you while driving a normal looking car is cool! The 396 is very cool too, but the 350 would be a sleeper the way I planned to make it.

I wanted this car to be totally original in form, but modernized. I didn't want some 396 Clone, so I am putting in a 350 crate motor that is stroked to 383. The interior is done to look completely original, but done in leather instead of vinyl. The stereo will be stock, with a iPod hook up hidden and the speakers hidden. Get it? Sleeper.

I had the motor done by the guys at Proformance Unlimited in new Jersey. They build unreal crate motors. This 383 is a full roller motor with 475hp and 465 lb/ft of torque.

Here is a shot of it still in NJ. I wanted it to look like a machine, so it is painted all silver. You can check out a video of my motor on their website here:

http://www.proformanceunlimited.com/specs/383_420drop.html

The body has been a real difficult undertaking. There was a decent amount of rust in the trunk area, so we had to replace a lot of metal.

It was not quite a frame off job, but it was taken down pretty far. Here is a shot of it with the fenders off primered.

I wanted to paint it black, so making sure that the body was straight was really important. I got the paint shop to agree to a single stage paint, which is not really allowed anymore, but it makes the paint look much deeper. The thing looks wet just sitting there. Here is a shot of it painted:

I don't have a picture of the interior, but it is done! The motor should be going in soon. I will make sure to post when it is complete.

Stand Up Paddle Surfing

Probably the worst thing about surfing in Southern California is the crowds. Everyone surfs here, or tries, and finding a spot to yourself is truly unheard of. About a year ago I tried Stand Up Paddle Surfing and I have been hooked ever since. The thing about S.U.P. is that with the paddle you can travel much greater distances with ease than you can while lying prone. Every surfer has had the experience of seeing a wave in the distance that looks perfect, but it too far to paddle to......this is not the case with Stand Up.

A Morning Session without anyone in Sight!

I walk down to the beach near 1st St in Manhattan Beach most mornings and paddle up past the pier and then up to El Porto and back (about 3 miles) and surf completely alone. This is all beach break, so there are many available peaks of which I surf up and down the coast. There are surfers that I pass, but I don't want to take their waves so I just get one past them. Most mornings from the Hermosa Pier to the Manhattan Pier I am the only one in the water.

Up before the sun:

Another amazing thing to me about Southern California is how much wildlife there is! Coming from Hawaii I always thought that California water was just brown, polluted and lifeless. Almost every morning I see Dolphins. Often times I see large pods of Dolphins. They do the same thing I do, cruise up and down the coast surfing and playing.

A Dolphin right under my board:

There are also all kinds of sea birds, fish, sharks, reys and seals that I see on a regular basis. Standing above the water really lets you see everything that you miss lying down on a prone surfboard.

For those of you wondering about these pictures; they were taken with a GoPro Camera that I have attached to my paddle. The only problem with the GoPro is that it takes a picture every 2 seconds for an hour, so you never know when it is going to take a picture! The GoPro is made to be placed on the front of your surf board, but it is so much more versatile attached to the paddle. I think it gives a better view of what I am seeing rather than just stuck on the board. I follow a great blog out of San Diego about SUP where John Ashley explains how to do this to your paddle: http://www.paddlesurf.net/2009/02/making-go-pro-paddle-cam-easy-way.html

Here is a picture of my "Paddle Cam":

MR Mega Twin A Closer Look

First of all, I am no expert and I have never shaped a board. I just love to look at board design and discuss what I have learned from people that are experts and hypothesize about design characteristics.

As I mentioned before the MR "Mega Twin" is a "twin fin" with a "trailer fin".

You can see that the side fins are glassed on, where as the center "trailer fin" is a FCS fin meaning that you can remove it all together and make it a true twin, or add a larger fin making it more thruster like. In layman's terms, less fins means less drag means more speed. This center fin makes this a pretty versatile board. If the waves are small you can remove the center fin and gain a little speed, not to mention fun throwing the tail out easier. Reversely, the larger the trailer fin the more drive and hold you have off the bottom on bigger stuff.

The tail design is a swallow tail with a stinger. The swallow tail aides in wave catching where the stinger (where the tail pulls in just aft of the twin fins) is for maneuverability. The pulled in tail makes it easier to turn but keeps the width there to provide volume to wave catching. Sounds like a wave catching machine that can still turn with ease, right?!? It is. I have only ridden the MR Mega Twin 3 times so far, and so far so good. This board is easy to paddle, fun and fast. Can't wait to really get this thing dialed in!

MR Mega Twin

I have been looking for a more progressive board for a while now. Something that is more performance oriented, thinner than my fish, but still paddles well. My last post I mentioned that I switched boards with my cousin and tried his MR. Well turns out that he was looking to sell it and I got a killer deal! This is a really cool board. It is Mark Richard's "Mega Twin". It has two large glassed on twin fins and a smaller trailer fin that is an FCS fin, so it can be removed for small fun stuff or a larger fin put in for bigger surf. This board is 2.5 inches thick and 19 3/4 inches wide, so it paddles well for a 6' board.

Most of the time I am surfing the beach breaks near my house, that means either right in front of my house in Hermosa Beach or up to 27th st or El Porto in Manhattan Beach. These spots require quick drops and are not real long rides. Having a board that is fast and responsive is crucial. A Twin fin like this can handle the drop, but has great speed to make to section before it closes out in front of you. The first time I rode it I realized how much more punch you get off the bottom than my Zippi Fish. Having boards for all these conditions is what it is all about for me. You can't beat the fish for wave catching or down the line speed, but it won't ever have the performance that a thinner board like this will have.

First thing I like to do when I get a pre-owned board to to strip off the wax and re-apply. It is way easier to do this with a good wax scraper. The kind that you get with your boardshorts are ok, but you can pick up one with a handle for cheap at your local shop.

Once all the wax is scraped off I use a wax remover like the one shown above by sticky bumps.

I love applying new wax. Start with a basecoat and then what ever wax works for your area. Cold water is usually for 58 F and below and Cool is for 58F to 65F and above that is WARM.

All Waxed up:

I love the colors on this board. Hopefully it surfs as good as it looks!

Last time I checked

Last night we had a few friends over for a game of "La Pod", more on that later, playing La Pod means that more than a few beers were consumed. Hangovers always seem to bring waves, and such was this morning. The wind has been onshore the last few days and today it wasn't! The waves weren't big, but nice clean a frames going both ways with a little punch. It was the combination of a South ground swell and a WNW wind swell, so there were plenty of peaks. It looked like too much fun to mess around with too many pictures, but I managed to take this one.

I was riding my Zippi Fish, which is a 5'11'' retro fish, but the tail is pulled in more and some other magic that Michael Zippi does that makes this thing FLY down the line and can hold in larger surf. Here is a picture of that board.

http://zippifish.wordpress.com/

I get in the water at about 6:50 am. The tide was rising with a high at 11am, so the rising tide was helping the waves and my cousin Dan and I had a really fun 2 hr session. Dan and I switched boards (he has a 6' MR twin with a trailer fin) and he was loving the Zippi. He had a new way to describe it every time he caught a wave. I think my favorite was "this thing is like a greased ice block! No a greased magnet!" I think he liked it....I can't say enough about it, it is really fun and makes me a better surfer than I really am.