Who is this Man?

 Got a good surf in this morning. More pictures to come once I get my film developed. That is all.

Some Fins

 

     Glassed some fins last night and hotcoated one side, the other side still has to be hotcoated. I also glassed the flats of the two rear quad fins for the 002 experiment, but they still have to be cut out and foiled. I'm not sure how these fins will hold up because they are made of plywood. I mean, plywood is pretty strong when it comes down to it, and these have two layers of 6 oz. on each side, but still. I'm not so concerned with the Spitfire type fin, because that's the full 9-ply, but with the Future Hatchet fin I had to sand it down to about 5-ply, which should still be good. I'm wondering about the attachment points of the Hatchet because it gets so thin there, and there is a lot of force on those points, but I cut the notches bigger than they needed to be, and I'm going to fill it in solid with resin and little bits of glass, that way it's something stronger than plywood that the screw is pushing against and the bar of the box fits into. It's funny, after I started making the Hatchet fin, a set of Future Scimitar fins with the 450 Hatchet were posted to Craigslist, brand new, for $30 bucks. Still, these plywood fins are cheap to make. The 24" x 30" piece of marine ply I am using cost $11.99, and I think I can probably get at least 30 fins out of one panel, so that's about 40 cents a fin. The cloth I used for these are all scraps, and I think I've used less than five ounces of resin so far. So they're real cheap. A little more time consuming than going out and buying them, but it's fun and I feel like I learn a lot by making them. When you handle something and sand down all the curves, it kind of gives you a sense of how the water will flow over the surface. Trying to envision that as I make it kind of gives me a better understanding of the way all this stuff works. Not to mention, with the Probox finboxes I plan on using on my next board, I can make all three fins, since all the bases are straight (unlike Futures, which have the cant built into the fins), so then I'll be having even more fun. Did I mention it's cheaper too?

     

     In other (and pretty huge) news, this large shed will probably be the future home of  Strange Flora surfboards. Stay tuned for more details. 

     I was listening to the radio while glassing this stuff last night at around 3 AM, and my buddy Alice Cooper told me he was about to play a song so deep from the archives that I wouldn't believe I was hearing it on the radio. "Try me, Alice," I thought. Then, after he told me that he used to live off the song he was about to play, he introduced it: "Astronomy Domine," the 1st track from Pink Floyd's 1967 debut LP The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Now, if your familiar with me or this blog, then you know that I kind of love Pink Floyd. Sometimes their first album is my absolute favorite of theirs, and without a doubt this early time in the life of the band is my favorite. Their live experimentation was phenomenal in the years leading up to Dark Side of the Moon. Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Side..., but live during that time they'd play pretty much the same sets, the album through followed by a couple older gems, which is understandable because it's an amazing album that should be heard straight through every time and they were touring to support it. But early on in their career, their live shows were like a blank canvas that they spattered with songs, noises, and sound effects blended to perfection. Some of the bootlegs I have are really amazing, you can just get lost in them.  

     Yeah, so this video is from probably '67 or '68, and starts off with "Astronomy Domine," followed by "Flaming" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun." While there's not that much experimentation here based on the fact that the songs are pretty similar to the album versions, it's cool to see them make the music live that they achieved in the studio. Enjoy.

The Song Remains The Same

    
     I meant to add this song as the Oldies 1340 AM Song of the Day, and while the day has changed, the song remains the same. No, it's not Led Zeppelin, it's We Five, with their 1965 version of "You Were On My Mind." Such a good song. I love those key changes from verse to verse and that twelve-string jangling outro.Also, in this video the band looks like they're really having fun, which they probably were.

     That's enough of that. As far as Strange Flora related things, I've been working on a template for Frank's board, and I recently made this fin here, a trailer fin for a thruster copied from a Future fin template (which is their take on the Weber "Hatchet" fin that came with the Performer way back when). I wanted to try it, but they don't have it on a the fin tree, so I made it. Seems like with the narrow base, it'll make a board looser, but with the full tip also hold in really well. I really want to try it on my old Cannibal "Rocketfish" since that's what I've decided to take to Puerto Rico. It's my most versatile board when it comes down to it, and is also older and seen better days, so if the baggage handlers get rough with it, I won't be so bummed (although I'd rather bring 002 and have them smash i, but that's another thing).  I'm also going to make glass-on rear fins for 002, to make it a quad and try it that way. We'll see how it goes. Forecast for next week is looking pretty good, and not a moment too soon because I'm jonesin'.

Only Time Will Tell If We Stand theTest of Time

There's no explaining the human mind, many things have no explanation. That being said, I woke up with this morning with this song song stuck fast in my head. I don't know why, but if I've got to suffer, so do you.

Have a great day!

A New Project and New Blog

     OK, first of all, started a new project today. Frank brought over a big old fish that he's had for a while, and we figured I could skin it and use the blank to make something out of. It was a Natural Progression, which is kind of funny because what we're doing to it is kind of a natural progression. But yeah, so after skinning it, it looks like we're gonna go for a 5'4" Dumpster Diver type thing, which should be really fun. Stay tuned!

 

I and I Survive!

 

 

     In other news, I've created another blog, which really has been a long time coming, of restaurant reviews. It's called I'll Never Go There Again and which feature my thoughts on restaurants and eateries I go to. First review up now: Roberto's Dolce Vita. The big question: Will I ever go there again? Read to find out!

Lastly, check out Mark's surfing blog Life As A Number, it's got some good thoughts and pictures on NJ surfing and surfing in general, and also has a pretty funny picture of myself.

And lastly, for real, here's a song for my Love, Jeannine, on this St.Valentine's Day evening.

Jeff Mangum, of Neutral Milk Hotel and countless other bands, performing "I Love How You Love Me," a song popularized by the Phil Spector produced Paris Sisters' 1961 hit. This is from the album Live At Jittery Joes.

Blue Cheer

     While the band Blue Cheer may have gotten their name from a variety of LSD, I have just given the name to a condition previously known as Surfer's High. Yesterday I believe I experienced the previously-known-as-Surfer's High-but-now-called-Blue Cheer, which is something akin to the fabled Runner's High. When in this state, the athlete in question is consumed with a euphoria above and beyond that normally experienced when doing the sport in question. The athlete in this case being a surfer, and the sport, surfing. On all three boards I rode over four hours yesterday I had more than a blast. The waves were waist to chest, and the sandbar at WJ and off the rockpile has built up just right so these lefts just came in and peeled for hundreds (!) of yards, they looked like something you'd see photographs of California, something more like a point break. The elation I felt was far above that of a normal session, it was definitely my favorite surf of the winter, maybe of the summer, fall, and winter combined. It was the best and most consistent I have surfed in a long time, and that made me feel really, really good. Great. Blue Cheer.

     Back to Blue Cheer. Possibly one of my current favorite bands from the late-60s. Definitely the best power trio from that time (sorry Cream), unless you count The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but I'm not, because then I think I'd have to say that Jimi was better, but then again, as I write this, and while it can't be denied Hendrix was a better guitar player, I don't know...

     Blue Cheer's version of "Rock Me Baby," the second track on their 1968 debut Vincebus Eruptum. At 2:14, do they forget they're a band? The threads holding the musicians together seem to be stretched thin, almost snapped, as each seems to pay minimal attention to the other, the drummer Eric Albronda's primal skin-smashing, guitarist Leigh Stephens just wailing away, sometimes seemingly uncontrolled, and singer/bassist Dickie Peterson deciding to give his throat a rest and take it easy on the bass. Then, they snap back into synch, and continue to tear this blues-rock apart. But wait there's more...

     "Doctor Please," the third track off of the same album. As I was writing that last paragraph I started thinking how good this song is too, so there it is. Also, their manager was an ex-Hell's Angel named Guts.

     Back to surfboards, one of the boards I rode for a little bit yesterday was Frank's Chemistry "Boombastik" set up as a quad. I fell in love. I had ridden it once before but on less-than-great waves. This board just hooked into the pocket and hung in the barrel, and when I wanted it to go it went and how. It's shorter than a lot of boards at 5'7" but paddles really well with a little bit of a fuller template. I might shape the fish blank I have into something like it, maybe a different tail or try different bottom contours or something, or maybe just leave it. The funny thing is, minus a few inches, it's kind of the same idea I was going for with 002, but didn't get by a little (a lot). Alright, that's it, oh wait, no it's not...



The Jimi Hendrix Experience, "Rock Me Baby," Live at Monterey Pop, 1967.



Disclaimer: Whenever I state any musical opinions (and I don't mean opinions put to a tune) or any opinions at all for that matter, keep in mind these opinions are apt to change at any time, without notice.

Yesterday's Gone...

...but we still have photographs. Here are some from Sunday, which may seem a little redundant but I love how the first picture, while not nearly the best wave of the day, shows how the bar is built up just right so the waves at WJ bend with the bottom. Almost looks like a point break type wave. I don't really like how the horizon isn't leveled in this picture, but it was about 13 degrees out and I think at this point my hands were frozen...

 

 

 

 

Chad & Jeremy - Yesterday's Gone

The World is a Snowball

When I Woke Up...

     I woke up at 5:30 and fixed myself a bowl of oatmeal with pumpkin puree, walnuts, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and then sat down at the computer to check the weather. It was 10 degrees with the wind chill. Usually I would try to get to ocean by sun up, but today I figured I'd wait just a little bit for old Helios to swing that sun a little higher.

     So I got over to Holgate at about 7:45, took some pictures, then got in the water at 8. I was the only one out for at least an hour, which was something I thought about while I was out there: All alone with super clean waist-to-chest high waves and the sunshine warm on my face. A dream? No. As a succession of duck-dives took my breath away, the cold reality made me realize that maybe that was the reason I was the only one out. Still, after being in for three hours, I never got cold, except for my hands, but that's because the glue I had used to patch the holes came off, and my gloves were getting flushed pretty constantly. Looks like it might be time for new gloves, which is a bummer, since I just bought them this past fall. I don't think the slices in them are defects, but I don't know where they came from since they are usually either in my wetsuit bag or on the back dash. Mysteries and Wonders. But at least this may give me an excuse to pick up some 7mm mitts, which will pretty much guarantee that I won't get the wintertime blue fingertips again. We'll see. 

     But yeah, back to surfing. As you can see from the pictures above, the waves were a little soft this morning, but these pictures don't really do them justice, and they definitely hollowed out a lot more as the tide filled in. I took my hull out and the first long left I caught was a decent length barrel which I flew through just narrowly escaping. For the first hour and forty-five minutes I had a blast on that board, I think I'm getting the hang of riding it, stepping forward or back to trim, getting down really low and feeling the board just take off like a shot down the line, and no pumping it. And it has such a smooth feel to it. The leaning-way-over bottom turns are a blast every time, getting down so low then flying up the face. I had a lot of long swooping lefts on the board today. But I guess I started to get tired or something because I kept screwing up and making dumb mistakes. So I went to grab 002, my new thruster.

     Anyone want to buy my deformed child? $100. Just kidding. Kind of. I've had plenty of really nice rides on 002, it's the board in my quiver that I prefer for large, powerful rights. But the problem with the board and softish waves is that since I accidentally shaped too much rocker into it, it is slower than I want it to be. Right in the curls not a problem, but on slower, smaller, or less powerful waves, when the board gets ahead of the wave it just stalls. Like some cars I've had. It's extremely frustrating. Plus, every time I look at the board and see the twist, I become disgusted. Also, the nose is too pointy. I might chop it off.

     I guess the board teaches me a couple lessons: 1) Don't just shape rocker into a board without taking time to take measurements and really think things through. I kind of just dove into it and figured what would happen would happen. This is what happens. 2) Take your time. I don't know if the twist happened in the shaping process, but if it did, I shouldn't have let it happen. Even if it is my second board. I still don't know if I feel the twist when riding, but it absolutely has to make some difference. And since a picture hanging crooked drives me bonkers, just imagine what a twisted board does to me. 

     In a way, it's kind of good that the board doesn't work perfectly, because I think if it did I would just be cool with it and that would be that. But since it has these problems, I pick at it and feel for them when I ride, and try to think of ways to make it better. I think someone sometime somewhere said you learn more from your failures than your successes. I don't know about that, but there's some truth to it anyway. 

All I know is that these sandpipers were there before I went surfing, and they were there when I got done, running away from the whitewater then chasing it back to pick up whatever remnants it let behind. I hope they had a good session, because I know I did

The forecast for LBI on Sunday...

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodbye Cruel World...

     ...I've gone to join the circus! Not really, I've just been up in the great white north doing a little cold-weather flat-spell research on a close sibling of the surfboard. That's right, shredding some pow. It was my first time snowboarding in I believe 10 years or so, and after a few minutes getting myself acclimated to my feet being strapped in and my stance a little further apart, not to mention the lack of fins and the board being completely on top of the surface instead of submerged, I picked it back up relatively quickly. Every time I've snowboarded in my life I've gotten the hang of it pretty fast, I think it's because of a healthy lack of caution. Had a few fun falls, but nothing too bad. In fact, I was about 100x more sore after sledding on a hill by our cabin than I was after snowboarding. But that's what the Snow Thrasher will do to you...

 

     We all had a lot of fun, and of course it went too soon, but maybe I'll get to go again this year. I don't know if it's accurate or not, but snowboarding seemed to be similar to surfing my newest board, the displacement hull. I think it might be because both boards are very dependent on the edge of the board digging into the face of whatever medium you're on. Maybe it's because on the hull, your more forward, leaning with the board, as opposed to a normal thruster setup, which takes uses a lot of back foot over the two forward fins action. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm full of it. All I know is that when I'd take a sharp left bend frontside on the snowboard, leaning way, way over, back arched and hands clasped behind me, all I needed to do was trade the snowpants for a wetsuit and I'd be doing a big, long, leaning bottom turn on a driving left in Holgate. It was fun. 

     Almost every day, at least every day at work, and a lot of days in my car, I listen to AM 1340 Classic Oldies WMID. This is the best station on the radio, FM or AM, satellite or HD or whatever. And that's not just my opinion. That's a fact. If you want to hear where rock and roll came from, and I'm talking pre-Beatles, listen to this station for half an hour and be amazed. Want to hear the where Lou Reed got about 90% of his inspiration? While the other rock outfits of the time were looking to blues for their influence, Lou was adoring the girl groups and doo wop of the 50s and early 60s, all of which can be found on 1340. But all that aside, it's just good music. Most of it. I'll admit, sometimes a song will be way too dated, but then it's kind of funny. Besides, it balances out when you take into account it has a fraction of the commercials and none of the DJ garbage that FM stations have.
     But yeah, so I've decided that from now on, there may or may not be an Oldies 1340 song of the day. If I hear something during the day that really catches my ears, then I'll post one. If not, then I won't.
The song for today is "Goodbye Cruel World" by James Darren. This is one of those oldies that you can't really take too seriously, but then again, it wasn't meant to be (taken too seriously). Whenever that circus music line that opens the song comes on the radio, followed by lyrics "goodbye cruel world," I can't help but laugh. And I hope you can't help it too.

 

  

     A couple weeks ago Jeannine surprised me with these two cameras as an early Valentine's Day gift. They are an Olympus OM-1 and OM-4. A co-worker of hers was selling them, and it was a good deal for how good the cameras are, but I couldn't really afford it. So she bought them for me, along with a case, a couple lenses, the original manuals, and other odds-and-ends. She's too good to me, and that's a fact. But anyway, I've been taking some pictures with them, mainly the OM-4, and I just got them back today, so I figured I'd scan in some of the ones I like and post them. So, like it or not, here they are:

 

Barrel!

     Looks like good swell for this Sunday. It'll be nice to get back in the water, especially if the forecast holds true. That's all for now, a long post but that's what happens when I have to battle a virus on my computer for two days. Watch out for the Internet Security 2010 rogue antivirus program virus. It's a blast.