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'.

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

SF 002

Here's Strange Flora 002 - 5'10" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4". I'm pretty proud of this board, as it's my first original template. At first, though, I wasn't too happy with how it came out. It seems the stringer is pretty bowed, and the blank was twisted but I only realized it was twisted after I had a lot of it shaped - I was rushing (I really wanted a new board). So after I finished, while the glass job came out beautifully - I did a gloss even though shortboards don't usually have them (I love how they look and I wanted the practice) - I wasn't too pleased with it...until I took it for a test ride Thanksgiving morning in some waist to chest high surf. It was a nice November morning, and though the waves weren't bad, the sections were lining up as well as I would have liked them. But still, I could feel the looseness, as soon as I step on the tail to whip it up the lip, it would go.

It wasn't until the next day, however, that I really got to test it out. Hard offshore winds, almost straight offshore, which really hollowed out the waist to head high waves. There were decent size barrels with nice mellow faces and the waves were really lining up. It was a perfect test-track. The board is definitely loose and has some nice drive to it. I can really feel when I step on the back it just takes off up the face. Shift my weight forward, it trims nicely. I can't wait to try it out again, but already I feel myself surfing differently on it than I ever have on a shortboard before. It's a great feeling.

I really like how the lam came out this time - Last time with the yellow over the lam it didn't come out so clearly, but this is clear and solid black and looks like it could be professional. Although when you eye the board you can tell it's not. Whatever, I ride it and love how it rides and someday I'll make another that's not twisted. But, for now, let's do the twist....