There were a few big names in surfing around the southern California coast in the mid sixties when I was first a kook, then a grom and eventually an OK surfer. Surfers with a name in my neck of the woods would show up at the beach and of course heads would turn. It wouldn’t happen too often but I remember when it did.

Back then working in a surf shop making surfboards was like a regular job. You showed up for work everyday at 8 a.m. and put in your 8 hours. Unless the surf was really good, you didn’t go off and surf or just take off and go to the beach… you showed up for work and did what was required like any other job.

But, sometimes the surf was really good, that’s when the shop would shut down and the crew would go surfing… usually the whole crew. I remember a couple summer days at Malibu when there was a good swell and here comes Dewey Weber and his crew in the middle of the day. I can remember a couple times being at Rincon and seeing Renny Yater, or Bob Cooper. I was a teenager, these guys were the old guys, like 10 years older the me.

Then I got a job at the surf shop, still a teenager but, with a regular job. And a few times there would be a good swell and the shop would stop and go surfing. That was a treat, going to the beach with Tom Morey and the crew and getting some good surf.

Seeing Morey in the water heads would turn. He was a good surfer, not really a hotdoger, but had great wave knowledge and would draw nice lines with causal style. He never fell and would make every wave. Inspiring to watch. I was young, he seemed… old, smart, knowledgeable like he had a plan and was executing it. He was my boss so at work, I was at his command. In the water? He was more than my boss, he had the respect of everyone. He was the guy in the water, I was just a guy in the lineup, stoked to be out there, but just a guy in the lineup… and watching Morey like the rest.

It seemed the older guys in surfing back then were the guys that made surfboards. And back then the older guys were in their late twenties and early thirties. That’s hardly old, but to a teenager it seemed old.

Except for golf or bowling maybe, most sports are populated with young people. Surfing is no different. In the sixties when surfing started getting popular it was a very young sport so there weren’t too many older people doing it.

Now it’s quite different, there are people much older than 30 in the water everyday, and not just when the surf shop has gone out for a surf break because there is a good swell in the water. Some guys liked surfing enough when they were teenagers to say they’d surf for the rest of their lives…. Now they are doing just that!

D.R.

Designing a surfboard doesn’t take much.

All you need is a free software program and several hours figuring out how to use it. Borrow one of the surfboard files available with the program to make your learning curve shorter and you are on your way.

After you’ve got your surfboard file finished just give it to the cutting house and get your new surfboard design machined… at the fine setting of course, so you don’t have to much work to do getting your new surfboard sanded and ready for glassing.

Now you can’t glass your board yourself so you take your finished blank to the local lam shop and hand in your board for glassing.

About a week later you get a call from the lam shop and think… wow those guys are fast… but instead you hear the guy from the lam shop say “ you didn’t mark your fin lay out “. You say “ oh I didn’t know I needed to do that “

He says “ yes, it’s your board, we simply cut the fin boxes on the shapers marks”.

You say “Well, can you put the marks on the board for me”?

He says “no, I don’t know where you want them”

You say “ Put them where you normally would”

He says “I normally put them on the shapers marks, where ever they are. So you need to come in and mark where you want the fins”.

You don’t know fin lay out … even though that’s part of surfboard design. So now what?

Who knew?… fin lay out is a major thing, fin lay out can and will greatly effect how a surfboard performs. Sure put the fins anywhere, the board will still surf ok but, put them in the optimum place and the board will perform much better.

Surfboard design is more than a computer program, computer file and a blank.

D.R.

Random thoughts.

I hadn’t been sleeping very well this past week, always waking up in the middle of the night. The night of the day I surfed… no more insomnia.

Surfing takes care of insomnia.

How come the minute you say I’ll get one more wave and go in the sets just stop?

You get to the beach, there’s some nice surf and it isn’t crowded. You’re stoked, get suited up, paddle out get to the line up turn around and look at the beach only to see 20 guys getting ready to paddle out.

You find a ding in your board and have no idea how it got there.

You sit and wait your turn for a good set wave. You are in perfect position, turn around stroke into the wave, drop to the bottom set your edge and see 3 guys paddling right in your line of flight… messing your whole trip.

There’s a kook in the water that you see trying to catch waves but never can. So, the one time you decide to quickly turn around and paddle into a wave he’s trying for he actually catches… you’re behind him and he can only go straight.

The south wind picks up right when you’re walking to the waters edge for a go out. Note, in Southern California south winds blow out most spots, period.

You get to the beach and can’t find your towel.

Your board is as slippery as snot and you have no wax.

You don’t surf with a leash and fall on your first wave. No beg deal, because your board popped out of the wave and is close by but, then the next wave takes it all the way to the beach just before you get to it.

It’s better to have one board you really like than 2 that are just OK.

It’s hard to have a good time in the water if you’re not relaxed.

D.R.

Tim Nesbit riding a Stubbie Quad

The swell was forecast for Friday, and, Friday it was…. Which happened to be a holiday!

My son and I walked up to the railing to give the surf a look before suiting up. The waves… were there, maybe a head high plus set just coming through as we walked up.
But it was crowded. What would you expect, it was a holiday. I said that already.

So let’s do the numbers.

The sets were about 4 minutes apart, sometimes more than that. There were usually about 3 or 4 waves in a set, with the occasional rogue wave and of course there were insiders as well. Sitting on the inside then scratching through sets was not a real good approach with the crowd. It isn’t fun getting run over.

So if you didn’t sit on the inside you were only waiting for the sets.

With at least 40 guys in the water and the set waves pretty much running from the point through the inside, make able the whole way, it wasn’t to easy to get a wave. With say 20 guys in position at any one time for one of 4 set waves makes things hectic. 4 waves every 4 minutes is 60 waves per hour shared between 40 surfers? That makes for a rotation of 1.5 waves per surfer per hour.

If there was such a thing as even rotation it would be one thing. You could sit in the lineup, getting cold but, waiting your turn for your 1.5 waves per hour. You know what? There is no such thing as an even rotation. Some guys have all the luck and some guys don’t. And some guys are unkindly aggressive.

I watched one guy get a good one all the way down the point only to get back just in time to back door my son. Geez, what’s up with that?

Another guy got one of the rogue outsiders only to paddle back to the line up just in time to scoop up a nice set wave… while a hand full of us watched both of his rides and none of us got anything.

I was in the water one day some time back when one of the local guys noticed I was getting no chance. He said “ looks like you couldn’t buy a wave today”!

Friday was kind of like that.

D.R.

Scott Beckley on the H2 mini

Travis Riley riding the H2 mini

My story post 55. The day I broke into Dick Brewers house.

I moved to Kauai in late spring 1994 but it wasn’t until ’97 that there was full time surfboard work for me. It came via Max Medeiros at Hawaiian Blades. In ’97 Max returned to Kauai and set up shop in Lihue town. We connected and I started working for him, shaping, sanding, and laminating… depending on what was needed.

As his factory got rolling some of the guys that shaped on the island brought boards to the factory for laminating. One of those guys was Dick Brewer. Dick eventually needed some help with shaping, he had more work than he could do on his own, and I got asked to step in and help.

Most of the work I did for Brewer was what I’d call team shaping. 2 guys shaping one board. One guy would outline and rough out and the other guy would do the finish work. I did the finish work and one of the long time Kauai board builders, Mike Wellman, did the rough work… I think we were a good team even though I’d never see Mike.

Mike worked out of his place in Wiamea town. After he finished roughing out a number of boards they would get transported to either the Hawaiian Blades shop or back out to Brewers on the north side. So I would either finish boards in my shaping bay at Hawaiian Blades or drive out to the north side and finish boards in Dicks shaping room at his house.

Since I lived on the south side, when I got called to go out to Brewers it would be a full day deal. The drive was at least an hour so I didn’t want to go that distance unless there was a big load of boards to do, and Brewer guys would always work that out for me.

So one day I got a call to go shape but was told that Dick was going to Oahu and no one else would be at the house. “We’ll leave the key under the front door mat” I was told. And, “all the boards you need to do are in the normal spot out side the shaping bay.” Dicks shaping room was inside his house or at least attached at the end. It did have an outside door but I always accessed it from inside the house. Anyway, when I got to the house and looked under the door mat there was no key. Somebody forgot….

I tried the door but it was locked. I went around the back and tried the 2 back doors, they were locked. I tried the siding glass door at the family room… locked. I’m thinking ‘What????? I’m came all the way out here???” as I’m walking around the house… I stop and look up at the balcony. ‘ Is that sliding door up there open? I think so’.

I walked back around the other side of the house to the new and under construction garage/shop and to my surprise saw the extension ladder… perfect! Grabbed that thing, lugged it around to the balcony, set it up, climbed up and over the railing and in the house I went. Relieved, I unlocked the front door, put the ladder back, went back to the house and shaping room and went to work. Usually there were 10 or 12 boards to do and that day was no different.

A couple weeks later I got a call from Dick to come out and shape some boards. I told him “hey, last time I came out the place was locked up, but, I found a ladder and got in through the upstairs sliding door you know?’

Dick said “now there’s a man that wants to work!”

D.R.

From a page in the log book

My story post 54

My son ,Robin, started learning to surf when he was about six years old.

At first I’d take him out with me on my long board. Then he graduated to riding one of my short boards, which he didn’t like because he couldn’t get his arm around the thing so it was hard for him to carry. It bothered him enough that I made the width of his first surfboard the length of the inside of his arm… just to make sure he could get his arm around it.

When he was still a little guy I would worry about him in the water. Not when the surf was casual but when it got a little bet more serious for the kid. As the years progressed we became surf buddies.

This past week we had a pretty nice northwest swell so the two of us made plans to hit the surf together in the early afternoon Wednesday when the swell started to come on. We paddled out on the back side of the point and surfed our way down inside. The surf wasn’t really big, sets were a little over head but, the sets were strong with a good 8 waves or more.

After we were in the water for 20 minutes or so we both got caught inside… I hate getting caught inside. I was further out than Robin and that first wave of the set pounded me good enough to push me inside of Robin. We both ducked at least 2 more waves when Robin turned and looked back at me with a thumb up. I nod with a smile thinking he’s stoked that the surf is good and this is a great set… even though it’s giving us a lickin’.

I lost count of how many waves I had to push but eventually I was so beat I turned around and let some white water propel me to the beach… the first time ever. I thought I’d go in, catch my breath, wait for a lull and paddle back out.

After about 10 or 15 minutes I started walking up the point for another round when I saw Robin ride a wave way down inside and come in. I waited for him so we walked up the beach together and decided to head back to work.

As we were walking back to the van Robin asked if I was OK. Turns out he was worried that I might be in trouble because I got swept past him on that first wave and then couldn’t catch back up to him. He said ‘I don’t think that has ever happened before. That's why I gave the thumb up, I was asking if you were OK." I said “I was beat, how many waves were in that set anyway?”

As we walked up the beach another set started hitting the line up, so I started counting the waves... 14. “No wonder, I bet there were at least 10 waves in the set that picked us off.”

After I dropped him off at the FCD shop he went in to boast how he out paddled his Dad. Geez, his 33’d birthday was this past September. My 63’d birthday is next month!

Funny though, I worried about him, now he worries about me.

D.R.

Definition of BRAND
1
a : a charred piece of wood b : firebrand 1 c : something (as lightning) that resembles a firebrand
2
: sword
3
a (1) : a mark made by burning with a hot iron to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership (2) : a printed mark made for similar purposes : trademark b (1) : a mark put on criminals with a hot iron (2) : a mark of disgrace : stigma
4
a : a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer : make b : a characteristic or distinctive kind c : brand name 2
5
: a tool used to produce a brand

I recently heard someone refer to the surfboards they made as a brand. So my question is are all surfboards made a brand of surfboard? No matter who makes the board or how many they make, as long as there is a name on the surfboards is it a brand?

4a reads above …. A class of goods identified by name as the product single firm or manufacturer … so if your surfboard is a brand then it is also a product… even a manufactured product. Because something made by hand or with machinery is manufactured.

I don’t remember the early surfboard makers or manufacturers calling their surfboards a brand. It seems to me that someone that makes surfboards, has a label that they created and for the most part sells their boards on a local basis wouldn’t be called a brand. Because I’ve always thought a brand name is something recognized on a larger scale than something local. Maybe that thought is wrong and there are local brands.

Does calling your surfboard a brand take away the personnel aspect? If I say my surfboards are a brand make it sound more like I manufactured a product? Rather than hand craft something for riding waves that I’ve developed over a long time watching and riding waves to learn how they waves form and break, and continue to fine tune the boards I make?

If you shape a lot of boards and have a long list of dealers and have a bunch of pro surf types riding your boards or maybe even have your boards made over seas and market them nationally or internationally then you should call your boards a brand.

I’ve never considered what I make as a brand. It’s a hand crafted, mostly with my hands, surfboard. Something nice to look at and nice to ride.

D.R.

My first shaping shack was a lean to behind the shop/garage on the family house when I was a teenager. I talked about that here.

The second place I shaped surfboards at was Pacific Plastics in Ventura. Then I went on to Morey Pope and had a shaping bay at their facility when it was on Front street in Ventura.

After that I went out off the east end of Main street in Ventura and set up the William Dennis shop where I had a room to shape in. Later I went out to Saticoy and worked in a bay for MP again. Then I went to Santa Barbara and set up a shaping bay with Wilderness surfboards.

Over the years I’ve worked in or set up shaping areas at least a dozen other times that I can think of. I’ve had Black ones, Blue ones, Green ones, multiple colored ones. Small ones, medium sized ones, large ones, wood floor, cement floor, carpet floor… no dirt floors… that I can think of anyway, hot stuffy ones, air conditioned ones, one I could see the surf from even.

It’s important to set up your room right. You need the lights at the right height so they cast good light but not have glare. If there is too much light or is too bright in the room not only do your eyes fatigue but, you can’t see high or low spots or inconsistencies in your work. Then again you don’t want the blank to dark either. The height you like your shaping stands should dictate the height of your lights.

Since what we do when shaping is walk, walk , and walk some more, it’s also best that the floor is level and flat. If you get in a room with a cement floor and there are low and high places in the area you're set up in you will fatigue easier as well possibly develop back problems.

So basically setting up a shaping bay is more than a room with some lights on the walls. I’ve got my preferences and things I like so I’ve been seriously taking my time setting up the one that may be the last one I will ever have. And hopefully it will be home for where I work for many years to come.

I’m almost finished!

D.R.

For the most part I think surf flicks are boring. There are exceptions, and to qualify that line I’ve got to say I don’t watch many surf films… so there may be plenty I haven’t seen that are really good.

But now we have the internet video sites that you can watch all kids of short clips of surfing. Stuff from all over the world even. Or… pick your favorite pro surfer, type their name in the search box and most likely you’ll find clips to watch to reinforce why your favorite surfer is your favorite surfer.

This past week I even watched an 8 minute clip of some pros surfing my home break. The Bud Tour came to town, again. There was some surf for the event; I didn’t want to go near the beach because of the crowds and traffic. But I did get to see what the surf was like via the short clip of the event.

In the old days you’d go see a surf movie and get stoked to go surf and try to emulate the moves you’d see in the movie. I think it can help your surfing get better.

And now? You can watch a short clip on the net over and over again at night, then get up the next morning stoked to go surf and work on emulating what you saw. Or, maybe you’ve just got no stoke at all. But after finding some nice surf clips on the net your mental outlook will change and you get stoked to go surf.

Sometimes when you get to the beach and find mediocre surf it can be hard to get motivated. You’ll sit and watch the surf for awhile and try to talk yourself into going out. But if the surf is really good you almost can’t get in the water fast enough.

After watching some good surf and surfing on the net I’ll usually be ready to surf what ever I find at the beach, unless it’s totally blown out. Not quite like finding an epic day when you get to the beach but, good enough to get you in the water and psyched to surf!
D.R.

Does the surfboard industry have a reputation for poor management?

I hear stories about how someone has ordered a board and had to wait forever. Then, while waiting forever that someone goes surfing only to see the guy that’s shaping his board in the water surfing too. Of course the guy ain’t shaping that someone’s board if the guy is surfing!!!!

I hear stories of someone ordering a board and not getting what they ordered. I hear stories of colors not being right, etc, etc.

Really, it’s not a good thing when a customer has problems with their board order. And, if one guy has a bad reputation it makes things tough on others in the business too. But, is the surfboard industry the only business that people have trouble with.?

Last week I mentioned cell phones, this week lets do the regular phone company…

My wife had her mother’s phone service changed to her new address. The day of the switch we called her mother’s new number. We only got a busy signal. The next day I called the phone company and sure enough the line was messed up…. They would send a tech guy out the next day. The next day the tech guy fixed the problem.

So we tried to call Hawaii, but had no long distance, but there was supposed to be long distance on the service. So, we called the phone company again. They sent out a tech guy the next day to fix the long distance. The next day the tech guy came out and fixed the line.

How come when the service is switched there is no quality control to see if the line actually works and is working according to the service package ordered? So, what should only be a one day thing turns into a 4 day ordeal…

Maybe us surfboard guys should set things up like the phone company. We could have an 800 number for orders. The operator would take your call in the order it was received. And for English press one. If you’re calling about an existing order press 2, for new orders press 3, for all other questions press 4.

If you press 2, then you get.. if this is for a short board press 1, if this is for a long board press 2, for all other boards press 3, to hear this menu again press 4.

You pressed 3… if this is for a fish press 1, if this is for a hull press 2, if this is for a fun shape press 3, for all others hang up and start again…

Really, ordering and getting a new custom surfboard is usually a pretty good experience. After all you’re getting something hand made just for you. You usually only talk to one or two people in the process and the whole process is pretty simple. And when you get your new board you are stoked!

Beats the phone company by a long shot…

D.R.

I need a new phone, so I’m looking at an add for phones and you can get two phone for free when you sign up with a 2 yr commitment.

But, I don’t get this… If you look over the add it says the free phones are valued at $259.99 each. For a few bucks more than that you can buy a regular PC. Isn’t a phone just a small computer? But really it doesn’t matter what the “value” is because if you sign up for 2 years the phone is free. Why not say the phones are worth 20 bucks? Nah, that doesn’t sound good enough. Heck why not say the phone is worth $629.99 then, or a thousand dollars… it really doesn’t matter ‘cause the stupid things are being given away!

Maybe we should do that with surfboards. Jack the price up to $3889.99, but hey we’ve got them on sale for a special price of $889.99 Or, how about, if you promise to buy 4 bars of wax a month and a wet suit every 6 months for the next 2 years you get a surf board for free… I mean what good is wax and a wet suit without a surf board? The surf board is valued at $3889.99 buy the way.

I’ve got a better idea. How about doing a buy one get one free. Of equal or lesser value of course. Yeah, that’s a good one… buy one surfboard at the regular price of $3889.99 and get the second one free.

It just seems to me that if the cell phone company can give you a phone for free then they are making way too much money with there service fees. Why not just let us pay for the phone and get a good service package for a much lower price… yeah right.

Us surf board guys just don’t know how to market stuff I guess. Maybe I should have a price for each one of my models but have a valued price that is way above the sale price.

Would you like, a Tip Tool? OK, that’s $900, but the board is valued at $2200. No, what you really want is an H2. Valued at $1400. but I’m selling them for $650… today and today only.

$2200 for a Tip Tool? Well sure, look at that lamination. Did you know that the rails are lapped three times? 22 ounces of cloth. Resin pin lines, this is the board.

$1400 for the H2? Did you know that board has over 40 years of design history built into it? Yeah, and you could steal it for $650.

My problem is I don’t like selling surfboards. I really like making them though.

DR.

My story post 53. The lost files part 2

When you move you get rid of stuff… consolidate. I went through a box of old papers this week, stuff I don’t need to hold on to anymore. To my surprise at the bottom of the box I was going through I found a personal letter from the Wilderness crew dated 3/25/70.

How the letter got in the bottom of this box or how it survived all this time I have no idea. But, it answered a couple questions I’ve had for a long time about that time period. It also indicated a little more involvement by me in the initial startup of the Wilderness surfboard thing… at least it seems.

Basically the letter is about what was owed me for some of my work there. I’ve long wondered how much I made for shaping those Greenough boards back in the day… I couldn’t remember. Well, apparently it was 11 bucks a board. And, apparently I shaped the first 100 boards or so.

I’ve for ever wondered what happened to my Skill planer too. I’ve always had my Rockwell but could never think of where my Skill went. Now I know… I sold it to the Wilderness guys, I just never remembered doing that. But it’s mentioned in the letter as part of the monies owed. As well, money I fronted the business. I’m guessing too that I helped get things off the ground when Wilderness started up in the old ice plant building in Santa Barbara because of what was mentioned in the letter.

All in all it dosen’t seem like much, 11 bucks a board. But, back then rent was $65, gas was 22 cents a gallon. That means I could buy 50 gallons of gas with what I made shaping a surfboard. Wow! Wish I could do that with today’s shaping fees.

D.R.

A custom 6'4" H2 for Ted

Happy surfing!

D.R.

The H2 in pictures

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

D.R.

Today my son and I went to a paddle out to remember a friend… a long time family friend, Jim Nash, that I would surf with and my son Robin would surf with his son Ryan.

I don’t remember how we all met initially, but over the years our lives stayed pretty connected. I think about the only time I surfed a long board while living on Kauai was when Jim was on the island for a visit and took me down to the south shore for a surf. He had borrowed a board from someone he knew on the island and I borrowed a board from someone I knew down at the beach. We surfed Centers on a small day and had a great time.

I made him a Penetrator.. it was light blue, really a nice looking board. That came about when he saw me at the beach one day with a pink Penetrator I had made for a gal and then bought back. It was one of only a few Penetrators I’ve made in a round pin. Anyway, I was walking across the bike path on my way to the water and Jim saw my board jumped out of his car and asked to look at it. We talked and then asked if I’d make him a board like it… but not pink. That may have been how we met actually.

Since Jim had a son the same age as my son that surfed as well the boys connected and became friends and would hang together. Ryan came with us a couple times on surf camp trips. I think we’ve got some video of the boys surfing Cardiff reef from one of those trips.

Every once in awhile you find one of those epic days when there isn’t much surf but the conditions are really nice so you head to the beach to at least enjoy the day and of course you’ve got to at least surf what is available. I did that once and Jim happen to paddle out around the same time I did. Every ten minutes a couple decent waves would come through. Then after the first half hour or 45 minutes the sets started getting more consistant… and bigger. Before we were done there were perfect head high plus waves rolling down the point and because there wasn’t much surf earlier there was no crowd either. Jim and I got some really good surf all to ourselves. Coincidently being in the water when a new swell decides to show up.

Blinky came by the shop Friday and mentioned Jim had passed away, I was shocked, he was four years my senior. It was a must that Robin and I go to the paddle out. I’m glad we did.

Rest in peace Jim.

D.R.

Jims Blue Penetrator just before he came to pick it up. In the early nineties.

My son Robin had been counting down the weeks. I’m not sure how far in advance you can actually reserve a site but, it was some time back… and the week finally came. Our annual surf and camp trip.

Last year we scored a great session. There was a small swell and we got it one day with just a couple other guys. This year there was a bigger swell and we were there on the peak day. It was crowded but there as enough surf to go around.

The last day of the swell we thought we’d get up at first light and get the place to ourselves again but we slept in a little too long. There were just a couple guys in the water which was nice but the tide had dropped to much by the time we got to the beach. We surfed for awhile but had to give it up because the kelp on the dropping tide was making things do difficult. I think I lost 3 set waves because my feet got tied up in the kelp when I turned around to take off… stuck while the wave passed me by.

So that wave time continuum thing that we all have that is filled with the memories of great rides and surf sessions has a new entry for me. The peak day of the swell we got some good surf. One wave in particular for me… probably the largest wave I’ve ever ridden at that spot. The place usually closes out when the waves have faces of 8 feet or better. The one I got I thought for sure it would close out but I turned around and stroked into it… taking my chances. I think maybe the first three or four waves of the set filled in the reef with enough water so the wave held up all the way down the beach.

So that was last Wednesday and I can still see the waves of that set. I missed a couple of them. I stroked into one looked over the edge but thought I wouldn’t make the drop. Backed off, turned around to see another one coming. Stroked out side a little farther as the wall stood up in front of me, turned around and was scooped up on one of the waves of the day. And I still remember thinking after taking the drop and turning off the bottom that I’d see, just down the line, the wave pitching over and closing out. But no, it stood right up for me all the way down the beach.

I straightened out way down the beach and cruised into to sand. Walked out of the water and said to the guy standing on the sand that was watching “ I don’t think I’ll get another like that so I’ll call it quits for now”.

D.R.

Cone Head and the Barbarian after dawn patrol and breakfast.

Wetsuits drying while I work on our lantern

If you had deep pockets…

And, you wanted to move into a market it might be best to bet against the competition when the market is in a recession.

Why? Because if there are only a couple of local stores that you would be competing with they may not be able to whether the business down turn especially if competition comes into the area and takes some of the market share that has already gotten thin because of the business climate. Having deep pockets could allow you to operate at a loss until the market turns around. If the local stores can’t keep their doors open you end up with all the market in the end.

Lets take Ventura, a smaller town known for it’s surf. A local surf community and a destination spot for inland surfers. There are retail locations very close to the beach so everyone that comes into town as well as the locals can stop by the surf store and not have to go very far from the beach… in the case of Ventura only a block or two.

The big brand companies in surfing have deep pockets. Even though they have local stores that have been faithful retailers for them for years they can and do move into a market and in the case of Ventura could quite possibly squeeze enough market share so as to make the local long established stores struggle to remain open.

It seems that it’s pretty much only a numbers game to the big brands. They want to grow, open new stores based on numbers. I read a book last year about the corporate CEO and how they have changed from seeing their companies as people and families that are loyal workers and innovators that make the company what it is that not only make a profit for their share holders but gives value to the stock that the share holders have, to just a numbers game. There was a quote from a CEO of a multi billion dollar company that said ‘it was the companies moral obligation to make money for it’s share holders”.

Personally I think that’s mess up. As well, if the big brand surf companies move into areas like Ventura with little or no consideration for the local surf community other than what it will do to their own numbers... God help us.

D.R.

Surfing after a long layoff

As surfers we generally forget how physical surfing is. If you’ve been surfing regularly for a number of years or decades you are most likely in decent enough physical condition to spend a couple hours in the water and taking some lickin’s while out. You may be tired but you’ve been paddling around catching waves paddling back and forth in the lineup for an hour or two you should be a little tired.

But take some time off and away from the water then go back and just the paddle out can be tough. Real tough if there is surf and you have to paddle through a couple sets.

Paddling in can get you too, depending on where you are surfing. While on Kauai the day I went for a surf after a lay off I ended up staying out longer than I should have. Paddling back in was though. I was wondering if I’d make it back to the beach even though I was paddling in the channel. I had to paddle against the trade wind… was hard. When I made it to shore I almost had to crawl out of the water! I was so beat.

So the best way to get back into it is slowly!... wouldn’t hurt or even be best to start an exercise routine and work on getting in shape a number of weeks before getting back in the water. Or have an exercise routine going all the time so when you do go back to surfing you’ve still got some conditioning. Running, cycling or swimming for lung capacity is a good thing too.

Sometimes if you haven’t surfed for a long time you can be really desperate for a go out so you’ll go out in almost anything… not a good idea. The best time to surf after a long layoff is when the surf is not really pumping but the conditions are as close to excellent as possible.

Surfing junky conditions after a layoff will be frustrating and tiring. It’s hard to get a decent ride and most likely there will be no memorable rides. You can finish your session tired and disappointed. Usually after a layoff it takes a bit of time to get your rhythm back and junky conditions don’t help that at all.

What is best is getting in some surf that is as close to your favorite conditions as possible. You will be stoked and your chances of getting a couple good rides is better. A good memorable ride will build your excitement and help you tune in and tune up. As well, get you wanting more.

It can be difficult getting back into surfing after a long lay off. Surfing is not easy, but the feeling of stretched muscles and sun soaked skin with the vision of waves in your head left after a nice surf… is there anything better?

D.R.

Scott buries a rail on the H2 Mini

Matt buries a rail on a Retro Hull

The lost surf spot.

Ventura point used to be different. I’ve talked about the by gone days a number of times. As well talked about the point and changes here. So things are changing at my home break…. again, but this time of year always makes me think of a spot that is gone forever and has been gone for 42 years now.

There are generations of surfers that know nothing about this local surf spot. That it was the go to spot in spring and summer. That the prevailing winds didn’t hurt the surf there. In other words, when every spot around was blown out because a weather front had been passing the area for the last 24 hours this spot was clean. And the winds could even give a little bounce to the overall size of the surf.

There were left and right peeks. So both regular and goofy foot guys were stoked. Because it would only get junky on a south wind you could surf the place any time of day… or all day.

There was a little county camp ground right next to it so you could set up a tent and stay over night. Surf until dark, sit around the camp fire, sleep and hit it at dawn the next morning.

The paddle out was short and you could park you car right in front of the place to check the surf. Sit in you car and watch the guys in the water. Pick the peak you’d like to surf, suit up when you were done eating lunch or what ever and have a good ole time in the water.

The place was very easy to get to, right of the highway. Man I liked surfing there. Still can see the line up in my head… some 42 years later. Can still remember getting together with my friends after work or on days off and saying “ there ain’t no surf in town so you know where we’re going.”

I can still see those clean breaking waves in my head too.

D.R.

Tom Morey surfing those clean breaking waves of Stanley's back in the day.
Read a little more of the story here

Another year, another Mothers Day.

So here’s a post from Mothers Day… May 2009

http://drsurfboards.blogspot.com/2009/05/today-was-mothers-day.html

My cell phone… beat up and dirty with resin. My dirty phone always makes me think on my mom… Why? check the last paragraph in this post of November 2006

http://drsurfboards.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-story-post-6-thinking-back-to-my.html

Happy surfing!

D.R.

My story post 52

Spring time in my neck of the woods usually doesn’t produce much in the way of surf. But what did I know when I was 19 or 20 years old?

What I did know then was the days were getting longer and warmer and my, at the time girl friend, later to become my wife… loved hanging on the beach at Rincon while I was in the water surfing.

We get wind swells this time of year and back then I’d find myself checking the inside at Rincon for waves. Suzi loved walking around the beach there or just sitting in the sand so she’d come along for surf checks and when there were waves enough for me to ride she was happy as a clam… or happy with the clams that could be found under the rocks at low tide.

I was a pretty lucky guy having a pretty girl happy to hang on the beach while I was doing what I liked to do… surfing for hours at a time. Then getting out of the water and walking up to the tanned gal in the bikini. Both of us with smiles.

She still likes the beach but it’s too cold for her now days. But our years on Kauai we’d go down to the beach all the time. In summer I’d surf Centers and she’d sit on the lawn in front of Beach House Restaurant and do her needle point. She didn’t like to swim there because the waters edge was too rocky. If we went to Poipu she’d swim for awhile when I was surfing.

So I married the girl who liked the beach. She’s always known I would go off to surf. If she wasn’t up to coming along and hanging on the beach she was happy to see me off and when I return. Both of us have smiles.

D.R.

This past week I stumbled upon a story that doesn’t surprise me but still really turns my thoughts sidways about the surf industry and or related surf industry stuff.

Some how over time the people that surfed and lived to surf turned what they did into a lifesyle. It definatly wasn’t intentional, planned or devloped by any one person or group of individuals… It just happened. Surfers had a way to talk, certain clothes they would wear and planned what they needed to do in the way of work and responsibilties around their time to surf.

Somewhere along the surfing history time line that lifestyle became a marketalbe thing. And the companies that marketed the lifestyle were started by surfers. But something has changed, it seems that along with surfboards being mass produced over seas and marketed globally, which for the core surfer is unauthentic, we also have our lifestyle being marketed by a Company that is no where close to authentic...

I think it was a year ago when I was in the mall with my wife during the holidays I noticed a Hollister Co. store. I didn’t go in the store but wondered where it came from and what was behind it.

Below taken from a Transworld Business article from '08.

==

The concept for Hollister Co., the “surf-inspired” mall-based retail chain, was built around a fictional background story created by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries to provide a more “authentic” atmosphere for the Hollister shopper.

The fictitious story claims J.M. Hollister founded the company in 1922 as a “Pacific merchant in SoCal.” On its Web site, the company defines itself as “Inspired by the sun-drenched spirit of California, and the surf and soul of the Pacific Ocean, Hollister is a laid-back, aspirational lifestyle destination.” In reality, it was launched in 2000 out of Columbus, Ohio by Abercrombie & Fitch, which was struggling at the time to reach a younger customer.

==

For the complete article click here .

I feel cheapened.

D.R.



I do my best to limit and manage waste. So I collect my color overages and pass them on to Donna von Hoesslin of Betty Belts and she makes jewelry with it.

I find it interesting how our brain works, or at least our memories.

I was involved in a small car accident this past Friday. What happened took place in a matter of maybe 3 seconds, probably 2 seconds but I can play those 2 or 3 seconds back in my head at will.

I got to thinking that’s the same thing that happens surfing. We pull off some maneuver or connect a number of moves on a wave that all totaled may only be 8 seconds… most rides may be shorter than that… but that one killer rider we can pull up and run it in our heads at will for a long time.

That may be how we all progress in our surfing. Reliving rides and maneuvers over and over in our heads thinking about what we did right or wrong and how we may need to make changes in timings or foot placement or, how we had the whole string of moves connected just right and let that get etched in our heads for future use.

How does that happen? Three seconds gets broken down into fractions of fractions of seconds stretching those seconds into life time memories. Strange…

Could that be the addicting part of the surfing experience? We become hooked on the intensity of thought that keeps us coming back for more? The intensity of thought along with the thrill of the ride… the sensations of motion coupled with the excitement of playing with the energy in nature?

You really can’t explain it… I know I can’t anyway.

D.R.

If you take your car to the auto body shop to have a dent or ding fixed and the fixed area color matched you most likely will not be able to see any color difference around the fixed area and the rest of your car when the work is finished and you pick up your car.

If you go to the paint store and hand over a color chip the person behind the counter will scan the color or check the color number and be able to mix a new can of paint that will be the color you’re looking for. Body shops have the same type program.

If you go order a custom surfboard and say I’d like the board color to be a medium green you most likely will not get the color you asked for. Why is that?

Well first off, what is medium green? What you see in your head as medium green most likely is not the medium green the guy that mixes colors sees in his head. And, without a color sample the person that mixes colors has no idea what you think is medium green or what ever color you ask for.

So it’s a good idea to pass along a color sample of what color you’d like your board to be with your board order so that at least the person that mixes colors can get an idea of what you’d like. But keep in mind that the lam shop that does the color work on your board, whether the plan is for a spray color or color lamination, does not have an expensive computer color matching program to get exact color matches.

In fact the only program the lam shop has is a bunch of different water base colors for spray jobs or a bunch of different pigment colors for color lams. And the way colors get mixed is by hand, trial and error, until the color that gets mixed is close to the color being asked for. Sometimes they come out real close to the exact color and sometimes they don’t. It all depends on the color. Some colors are good right out of the pigment jar. Some colors need to be mixed with a touch of three or four different colors and getting the right blend is almost impossible. And to think that the person mixing the color is not paid by the hour but takes extra time to work up a color match?

Keep in mind that if you email a color sample the color you see on your computer screen may not be the color the gets printed on the other end for a color sample hard copy. Colors do get lost in translation… in more ways than one.

D.R.

My story post 51

Sometimes you just happen on to surf. This particular time it happened a couple days in a row and it was great while it lasted…

Before going into the shop to work, I think I’ve said this before, Mike, Richie and I would go look for waves. It was summer so there wasn’t much usually. But this particular day there were some head high peaks running along the stretch of beach between Hobson’s and the back side of Pitas Point. I don’t know if there is a formal name for the spot, but I remember Mike calling it Froggy’s.

Usually that stretch of beach is pretty walled off and most of the waves coming through were, but at the end there on the back side of Pitas the waves were well formed peaks. Thinking back I’d guess there was a decent south swell that got crossed by a west wind swell that made the waves so nice. Funny, I’ve never seen the place break like that again.


Anyway, as we were driving down PCH watching these waves we stopped at the last spot you could park before the road side railings that follow the curve at the top of Pitas Point. It was sunny, warm and light variable winds. Not another surfer or surfboard in site. Just us three guys looking at some really inviting surf. And we were on it. I remember get really tired after catching so many waves I went in and sat on the beach watching Mike and Richie. Then paddling back out for more. Then because I had rested I ended up in the water by myself because Mike and Richie whore themselves out.

So much fun, wave after wave with just us guys and no one else in site. We had to have surfed a good 2 hours before the tide and wind got to it. The next day we went and checked it again. It was still going off so we hit it again. Repeating what we did the day before, surfing until we could surf no more.

After that we’d drive by almost every day for a surf check but never could catch it. We’d end up going as far down PCH as Over Head before giving up, turning around and heading up to Santa Barbara to work. Sometimes we’d get a few at Over Head but we never did get Froggy’s again.

D.R.

From my point of view..

Having to choose between a good shape or a good glass job is really no choice at all. Of course it’s easy for me to say, because I make my own boards and don’t have to choose. I’ll make myself a good surfboard from start to finish.

But I also think no one should have to choose one or the other either. But, if you’re not a board builder then maybe you have to choose even if you shouldn’t have to.

The dilemma is cost, and, surfboards are no different from other things that are hand made… you get what you pay for. If you want a board that is laminated well and has a well thought out and tested design it may cost more than what you think you should pay.

There are US made short boards that cost $600 or more. There are US made long boards that cost $1400 or more. They are well designed and well built boards.

I know how much time and effort it takes to make a good surfboard. I also know how much they should cost… especially if the craftsman needs to make enough money to live on.

A good board craftsman knows you shouldn’t have to make a decision on whether you’d like a good shape or a good glass job. Because he will make sure you get both.

D.R.