Maybe this should be a ‘lucky guy’ post…

So what happens on Fathers day at least for the past few years that I remember is my son comes and gets me for a trip to the beach. Just the two of us go surfing. I’m not sure if he does this because he can take off and go surfing on a Sunday with out questions… because it’s Fathers day or, he likes to surf with his dad and can on fathers day if he feels like it or, he knows it’s a treat for me to go surf with him?

So what happened today? We didn’t go surf. Robin called this morning and asked me about going surfing but said he wasn’t sure if he’d enjoy it that much because his ribs were still sore from getting whacked by his board on our camping trip a week ago.

He said “ I’d go if there was really some surf” but the surf was only about knee high and unorganized. So why aggravate the condition for no good reason.

So what did we do? Went to the movies and watched The A-Team. Robin loved the TV show as a kid. I’d watch it with him sometimes. So we watched the movie together… it was fun.

Because Robin was sore, and there wasn’t any real surf maybe we have an excuse to take off on a Sunday afternoon to surf some time in the next month or so when there is some surf to be had. Days at the beach surfing with my son… always a good thing for a dad.

D.R.

Two surfing days one of them rare. Volume 2

The State of California has many camp grounds along the coast. A number of them happen to be at good surf spots. Something I’ve taken advantage of many times over the past 40 years.

This past week was no exception. My son booked Monday through Thursday at one of our favorite camp grounds that is also at one of my favorite surf spots. The really nice thing about the place is it’s only about a 35 minute drive from my house.

The surf spot is a south swell spot and it just so happened that a small south swell was forecast to reach So.Cal. Monday and hang for a couple days. Sure enough the swell showed up Monday but, we ended up running late so getting in some surf before dark didn’t happen.

Knowing the surf would be good all day with the best tide in the after noon to evening we took things slow Tuesday morning getting down to the beach about mid day. The crowd was a little more than I was hoping for but we eventually paddled out and worked our way into the lineup. My son, Robin, was not doing to well with the crowd and was trying to pick up waves at the section down the beach but with not much luck. I hung inside the main line up and picked up a number of the insiders and a few set waves that were missed by the pack… lucky that.

After about a hour in the water I thought maybe we were going to score because the crowd started to thin out. The surf wasn’t real consistent but if the crowd thinned out a little there would be enough surf for every one not to have to hustle too much.

Right when I was starting to feel like things were looking up I glanced at the beach and saw at least a half dozen guys standing at waters edge with boards ready to jump in the water and paddle out. How ‘not fun’ things were going to be was immediate. When Robin found himself in perfect position for one of the smaller set waves and as the wave scooped him up one the many guys that had just entered the water and was actually still paddling out turned around and back doored him. I saw the sleight move and immediately thought “that’s it, we’re done surfing for the day” Robin thought the same thing. We hung a little longer getting a couple left overs but that was it.

What happened Wednesday was a completely different story. We walked down to the beach and checked the surf around 7 or 7:30 a.m. There was still some nice sets showing and maybe 10 or 12 guys in the water. With the tide not changing much all day we decided to skip breakfast, go get our boards and surf for 2 or 3 hours.

When we got back to the beach there were 5 guys still in the water 3 of which got out just as Robin and I started to paddle out. So Robin and I had the place with two other guys. Over the next 45 minutes or so two more guys came out to surf. So at that point there were a total of 6 guys at the break. With 3 and some times 4 waves sets the 6 of us were really enjoying the situation. Talking amongst ourselves, sharing waves…. ‘You goin?...’ nah, go ahead I’ll get the next one’. Total round robin.

One of the guys asked “when was the last time you surfed this place with just a few guys?” “It’s been a long time… maybe the sixties. Yeah, this is rare” I said. We were all so stoked, wave after wave for a good two and a half hours.

Just as I started to wonder how long it would last I notice about four guys heading for the water with their boards. I was getting a little tired and hungry, so was Robin who said “I’m going in”. Knowing we had really scored and the lineup was going to change I said “me too”.

I can still see some of the rides I got in my head. That mental instant replay thing is going to last a long time. How could it not on such a rare day?

D.R.

Most of the time surfing for me is something that gets worked into whatever is going on during the day.

For instance, I check the surf in the morning during the week and if there is enough decent surf I’ll try to get a surf in by taking a break from work at some point during the day. Hopefully when the tide is optimum and the wind hasn’t blown the surf out. Of course from April through September it’s easier to get some surf in because the days are longer.

On week ends I’ll stop what ever I’m doing… usually something around the house, and sometimes sneak off to surf. But for a weekend surf it needs to be pretty decent surf and or a really nice day because I’ll be one more guy in the crowded lineup. How needs that?

Rarely do I ever have a good ole fashioned surf day. Where all you do is go to the beach to hang and surf. I used to do that all the time when I was young… now I’ve got other things to do. But that doesn’t mean I wish I could spend a day at the beach surfing or go on a day surf trip. It does happen from time to time. Last year I went on an Island trip. And next week I’ll spend a few days on a camping/surf trip with my son.

A couple months ago I lent some boards to three guys that went on a trip to Baja. With my boards and their boards between the them they had about a dozen boards. All they did was find a spot to surf set up camp and surf until they headed off to another spot…. To surf some more. I’m sure after some time doing that it would get tiring… at some point you’ve got to come home.

But still, having nothing to do but surf… How could you not like that!

D.R.

Matt Riley in Baja on his DR fish.

How important is the weight of a surfboard to its design?

What do you consider to be a good surfboard weight?

How much should your surfboard weight? Well…. It does depend on what kind of board you have. Like, if you have a PCB.. ( Pro Circuit Board … not to be confused with something electronic )… that is between 5’10” and 6’2” then you will most likely want your board to weight not more than 5lbs 6ozs. Or, if you have a traditional long board you’d be happy if the thing weighted about 22lbs or more.

Then of course there are all the other surfboards. From Fish to Fun Shapes, Eggs and Hulls to Speed Shapes, Mini Tankers to Performance Long Boards, and everything else out there.

Most guys don’t know what the weights are of their boards. It’s mainly a ‘pick the board up and see what it feels like’ type of deal. If it feels light then it’s light or if it feels heavy then it’s heavy. You may be surprised to find out the board that you think feels light is not the actual weight you think it might be. In other words… boards that you think are light when you actually weight them they may be heavier than you thought.

For instance…. A guy may think his 7’0 fun shape probably weights around 7 and half pounds. Then when the board is weighted it’s 9 pounds… and all along the guy was thinking the board felt light. And, loved the way it surfed because it was nice and light. So what happens to the way the board surfs after he found out the board was heavier than he thought?

I wonder what would happen if you had 2 boards, same size, same shape but, one was a little heavier than the other. Surf the heavier one until you get used to how the board surfed. Then after say at least a dozen go outs you switch to the lighter board. If one board was a pound and a half more in weight how much would you notice the weight difference in the water? Would you be able to tell at all? It would be fun to experiment.

So what makes up the weight of a surfboard?

First is the foam. EPS or Polyurethane. Each comes in different weights.

Second is the stringer. What width and what kind of wood. Also how much a certain stringer weights will depend on the make up of the wood itself… like 2 stringers of the same species of wood and the same width may be different in weight because one piece of wood might have more sap in it which could make that particular piece of wood heavier. We’re talking ounces here.

Third is the glassing schedule. What weight fiberglass cloth is used for laminating. 4, 6, or eight ounce cloth. How many plies and patches. Each fabric weight will use a corresponding amount of resin to saturate. 4oz cloth needs less resin to saturate than 6 etc.

Then at the end of it all is the fin system and fins. Some fins weight more than others and can add a few ounces to your board. If you’ve got a PCB the fin weight may be important to you.

The end result is a board will weight what ever it weights. I find it interesting that we know what we are riding in length and width and over all shape but seldom if ever know what weight our boards really are.

D.R.

5'6" Perimeter stringer stubbie quad weighting in at 5lbs 14 ounces with fins.

It has been said that nose riding is one of the hardest things to do.

Since summer is almost here… even though today here in Ventura the water is about 53 degrees and the air temp didn’t get over about 63 all day… the long boards will be coming out and with them time spent working on tip time.

I started thinking about this a few weeks ago after reading one of the forums and a thread about nose riding and surfboard weights. Mainly it was stated that lighter weight long boards are better for nose riding, as well there was mention that in the 60’s during the nose riding craze that boards were getting lighter maybe reasoning that the lighter boards rode the nose better.

Well, actually boards were being made lighter because we were after better maneuverability not necessarily nose riding characteristics. I know I was interested in getting some of the weight off boards back then for maneuverability. The story of why Renny Yater made his spoon model was for swing weight not nose riding.

So basically there are two types of nose riding. Or, two different ways nose rides are executed. The stalling in the pocket type and the skimming down the wave face type. Honestly I don’t think either one is meant for a certain weight board, but more for a certain board design… that being traditional single fins and modern multi fin boards. Though the stalling type and the skimming type can be done on either single fins or multi fins.

The stalling type is where you set up your ride after turning and hold back or stall on the wave for the curl to stand up in front of you while you step up to the nose. As you step up to the nose and the wave stands up at the same time the wave breaks on the back portion of your board holding your board in place while you stand on the nose. You get stuck in the pocket standing on the nose until either the wave breaks in front of you or you get released and out run the section. This may be a simplified explanation but, the stalling type nose ride is usually the type worked on traditional single fins.

The skimming type is done after a quick top turn or after climbing to the top of the wave post bottom turn. At the top of the wave with a nice standing wall in front of you a few steps to the nose with your board placed in the wave face skimming along. With water raping the rails of your board for balance or simply the speed generated from sliding down the wave face this type of nose riding is generally done with multi finned boards.

Multi finned boards are made lighter than the traditional single fins. You may find one type of nose riding easier than the other. Both are difficult to execute regardless…

The small waves of summer are good to develop nose riding techniques.

D.R.

The stalling type nose ride.

The skimming type nose ride.

The skimming type nose ride.

The stalling type nose ride.

Among the company of friends.

I think it’s pretty cool that the guys at least in my area that make or shape surfboards are a good bunch. Being apart of them gives me a great sense of belonging. A couple weeks ago one of these guys referred to us all as a tribe.

The guys I’m talking about that I see on a regular basis include the likes of Craig Angell, Jim Allen, Steve Brom, Malcolm Campbell, Sammy Camack, Bill Hubina, Spencer Kellogg, Ray Moss, Wayne Rich, who else?... There are others that I don’t see often that would fit here as well.

I may be missing someone but, if we were all in the same room together we’d all be happy, talking shop or surf or what ever. Telling stories and having a good time with each other would be normal. Even though we all could be considered competitors, we all make surfboards under our own labels, sell boards in the same geographical area you would not ever think that by the camaraderie.

The fact that we are all friends, share ideas, talk to each other about problems that we have with what we do, help each other out. Like I asked Steve Brom about my planer adjustment lever freezing up and he told me how I could fix it. Or how often do Sammy and I exchange thoughts on laminating techniques? I’ll tell you… it’s a regular thing. I may be wrong, though doubtful, but for guys in an industry to be so close is rare.

This is part of what makes the local and or hand crafted surfboard such a unique item. The hand crafted surfboard guys for the most part are a tight group that are inter connected in ways that most people know nothing about or don’t realize at all. That’s ok, and for me? It’s a great thing to be a part of.

D.R.

Three guys that make surfboards beside myself, Steve Brom and Wayne Rich.


Three other guys that make surfboards beside myself, Reno Abellira and John Peck.

My story post 45, shaping a spoon 2

There was an article in Deep Magazine March/April issue on Renny Yater page 9. The last 2 paragraphs of the article in reference to the Sacred Craft shape off and the six guys that were to shape a spoon… “They are playing my music – in a different Key” says Renny, who notes that they only have two hours to do what usually takes four, due to the complex design. “It is not going to be easy and I will be impressed if somebody can do it in the time limit”

Well all of us finished the job… and it was impressive. When there were four completed shaped blanks in the display rack my friend Randy said to me “I know which one is yours” Because they all looked so similar I questioned him. He said “go look, it’s the one under the one at the top of the rack on the far side” … “well you know because you saw where it was placed after I shaped it” I told him.

Then I noticed a couple officials went to the display rack and rearranged the blanks around on the rack. So I told Randy “go look and tell me which one is mine now” So he went and spent 3 or 4 minuets looking at he shaped blanks then came to me and said “ I can’t tell which one is yours now!” Mine and the others, including Wayne Riches.. the winning pick, were not at all easy to tell apart.

I had a strategy, to complete the shape in 2 hours I figured I needed to get the thing roughed out in the first hour. If I could do that doing the finish work could be done in the remaining hour.

Since the outline was scribed on the blanks for us once I got set up in the shaping bay I grabbed my circular saw, cut the outline and cleaned it up with my planer and sanding block as fast as possible. Then measured the bottom rocker and started cutting away. You couldn’t stop to think about what you were doing… or really look at what you had done. My thinking was; I’ve shaped enough to know what to do and when, so just go… it was total auto pilot and motor memory.

After the bottom was skinned, rocker cut and bottom roll bands were in place I flipped the blank over and worked the deck… cutting for over all thickness and rail bands. Then I cut the spoon, and during that process the cutting adjustment on my planer froze up, which made the graduating cuts I needed to do impossible.

I stopped, tried to get the planer to work with out success. Fortunately I had also brought my Hitachi so I quickly retrieved it from my tool box, stepped outside of the shaping bay and called for Tim, the guy responsible for room set up. I needed to get my Skill planer off the vacuum hose and the Hitachi connected to it because the Hitachi only throws foam dust in your face if it’s not connected to a vacuum.

Tim wasn’t around so I asked my friend Dan to try and find him… as I went back into the bay and went after cutting the spoon in my blank, foam dust flying all over me and in my face. Tim comes to my rescue to pull the Skill out of the way and connect the Hitachi.
I finish cutting the spoon and made my final passes with the planer to clean up the deck.

I turned the blank back over and went after the bottom with my block plane to feather in the bottom shape. Then set the blank on edge and walked the rails with the surform, one side then the other. A final walk and scrub of the rails with sand paper and I picked up the blank and dropped it on the stand deck up.

There it was, I could finally see what I was after, the blank now looked like a spoon. I still had to do the finish work but the board I wanted was in front of me. It had been at least an hour of none stop motion but I knew at that point I could see the way home. What a relief!

I sanded out the blank, screened in the rails, did some touch up with enough time to step outside the booth and look at the spoon we were replicating just to see the final details.

Back in the booth I did a little final detail stuff, planed the stringers down flush and finish screened the board down in the final 2 or 3 minutes… I was done, stepped out of the shaping bay and let out a sigh of relief as Tim walked the finished shape to the display rack.

There were a couple things I should have done in the process that in the rush I missed… oh well. But the one thing I wished I’d done? Answer my phone when it rang in the middle of shaping.

I thought it would be good to have my phone in my pocket when I shaped the board because I usually have my phone in my pocket when I shape and would feel more comfortable if I did. Not thinking anyone would call… but at some point while shaping I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I thought ‘who’s calling me now?’ but didn’t stop to answer.

Later I checked to see who had called… it was John Peck. He left a message telling me he couldn’t get to the event in time because he couldn’t pass Malibu, with over head sets and a light crowd.

It would have been so classic to have stopped in the middle of the shape off to answer my phone and have John Peck tell me he had to stop to surf Malibu and “ sorry I’m late”

D.R.

A couple of the guys that got to do what I've never been able to do.... Watch me shape!

Short video below.

My story post 44 and shaping a spoon.

In 1967 if you would have said to me that in 43 years you will have your picture taken standing next to Renny Yater at a consumer surfboard expo after shaping a Yater Spoon in front of a bunch of people I probably would have said “you’re nuts”. But last weekend that’s exactly what happened.

I first met Renny in 1967 at Bob Coopers 29 birthday party. Cooper was the foreman of the Morey-Pope shop and hired me to shape surfboards that year… I was 18 years old. Renny Yater of course was very well thought of in the industry and really was an icon. Being in the same room let alone being introduced to him was a very big event for this then 18 year old kid. I remember it to this day!

Dale Herd, the guy that ran the show room at MP, wanted a spoon but instead of buying one the thinking was to have me shape one so He asked if I thought I could do it. “Who me? Sure I can do anything, after all I’m 18.”

So Dale got a Yater Spoon from a friend and I put it in my shaping bay with a surfboard blank and went at it. I don’t remember how long it took but I eventually finished the job and after the board was glassed and finished it was Dale’s baby. Dale was happy, he had a spoon. Not too sure Morey or Pope were that happy, their sales guy was riding a board that looked nothing like a Morey-Pope, but, that was that.

I’ve never looked closely at or attempted to replicate a spoon since that time. Then a couple months ago I was asked to be in the Sacred Craft Yater tribute shape off. My first question was “how long do we have to shape the board?” 2 hours I was told. “What? That’s a difficult board to shape let alone do it in 2 hours.” But, how could you pass up an opportunity to be in an event to honor such a good man, someone that is such a big part of our surfing history? It was an honor to be invited to participate and I’m thankful to have had the opportunity… really a once in a life time deal.

There were six guys in the event including myself, Michel Junod, Wayne Rich, Todd Proctor, Matt Moore and Nick Palandrani. All the guys put in their best and did a great job. Win, lose or draw, it was not about the competition. Fact of the matter, I didn’t look at it as a competition at all. To me it was a challenge, a challenge to shape a spoon in 2 hours for sure but it was really a way to honor Renny Yater, but as well to honor the traditions of the surfboard craft. Something that Renny helped cultivate starting back in the 1950’s. The tradition of hand shaping surfboards that has been passed down from men like Renny.

The intimacy of a hand crafted surfboard. Of having something that was made by someone that has put their heart into for a life time is extremely rare these days. To see, to witness what went down at the Ventura Sacred Craft show this past April 10 and 11 and to participate… was truly an honor.

D.R.

My story post 43

I’ve always liked summer, even though winter is when we get the most and biggest surf I’ve always liked summer. It maybe that when growing up summer meant no school and days spent at the beach… but the long lazy days of summer are my favorite.

Though I’ve got memories of good winter surf, good summer days are in there too. Like the summer of 1970. I had moved back to Ventura after loosening my job a Wilderness ended up shaping the summer months for a short lived label called Natural Motion.

I remember this one day, not sure of the month but, probably July. A day with light variable winds and the small residual waves from a south swell were still in the water. We probably hadn’t had much wind in days before this because the water was clean and clear… and a comfortable temp for short wetsuits.

There were a total of five of us. Mike the guy I shaped for, Bob, another guy I shaped for under the Pure Fun Fliers label, myself and a couple other guys. It was such a nice day we all didn’t want to waste it by working. So off to the beach we went.

There may have been a few guys surfing pipe but, honestly I don’t remember anyone but us around. We found this peak in front of the river that kept the five us busy for a good three hours. Nice clean shoulder to head high waves to play with all to our selves.

Two, three or four wave sets every three to five minutes. The warm sun on your back with fun playful waves the company of friends and not much else to care about. I mean, when you’re at the beach with the guys you work for and they are in no hurry to do anything but surf. What more could you want? Even at that if the wave that Bob just took I wished I’d gotten was a short lived thought because if not the next wave there was another one just like it within a few minutes anyway. Slide down the face, lay into a bottom turn, snap off the top….

We all had a blast, so much fun. The kind of days you wished would never end. But eventually you get tired and hungry, which we did and had to get out of the water to rest and replenish.

Funny how after surfing for hours when you get out of the water and start walking back to the car you keep looking back at the surf you’re leavening. You feel satisfied but you still look back, not wanting to leave but knowing you have to at some point anyway.

One more wave, one more look, you’ve left the water but you can still look at what you had. The good days live on in our memories.

D.R.

A big turn back on the H2 Mini

What are you looking for?

Is the grass greener on the other side of the hill?

Will the other board turn better?

Will the other board curiously make you a better surfer?

Do you wish you could do what you see the other guy do?

You can’t make the wave but with that other board you know you could.

You know which one of your boards you like the best, but the one you ride most is the cool one.

Sometimes we just think too much. For the most part if you think too much your surfing will suffer. Thinking that you need a different surfboard will not help you surfing. Thinking that you can over come the hardships you have with a particular surfboard will help your surfing.

When is a good time to think about your surfing? Not during but before or after your session….. Like why did I fall on that particular wave and what should I have done or not done in order to make the wave.

Case in point; Last week I took a bad fall and hurt myself. Maybe a slightly over head wave. Late, late take off and didn’t make the drop. Fell back flat on the water and suffered whip lash to my neck. It took about 7 days to get back to normal. I have replayed that fall in my head many times.

Why did I fall? I didn’t get my feet positioned correctly.

Why? Because for the most part I free fell for a split second on take off.

Why? Because I took off so picking late.

Why? I didn’t want the wave to pass me by.

My thinking? If I made It great, if I didn’t at least I tried.

I never thought about the possibility of getting hurt. I should have thought about the possibility of getting hurt by doing something ill planned like taking too late a take off before I got in the water.

So what’s the big deal about late take offs? Nothing, I do it all the time. But, at my age I could take a bad fall and hurt myself…. So I should plan a little better before I go.

D.R.

I've made a few fish in the past several months. Matt Riley on his 5'8

The surfboards I ride post 2 or, the surfboards you ride.

Did anybody that surfed in the sixties ever hear the words ‘the board doesn’t work‘? I don’t remember hearing anyone say that. Actually, I don’t remember ever hearing anyone say that until maybe the eighties.

What I do remember is getting a new board and surfing it until you figured it out. Sometimes you’d get it down in short order. Sometimes it would take a number of trips to the beach. But, you always worked at it until you knew what you could or couldn’t do with the thing, and then lived with it until you got a new board.

Sure, as we all progressed and wanted to do quicker turns and maneuver more on the wave we ditched the old “D” fins and found smaller aspect fins helped with maneuverability but, did the old “D” not work? Maybe its semantics, “D” fins worked fine until we found out that they limited maneuverability…. Then they didn’t work anymore. But before that they worked fine.

I remember once making a board for someone… like a team rider type… when the guy saw the board for the first time said ‘the board won’t work, the tail is too thick’. How thick or thin the tail was supposed to be for the board to “work” he couldn’t say, but what he saw wouldn’t work. Since surfing is 98% mental guess what? There was no way the board was going to work after the guy said ‘the board won’t work’. I later mentioned what the guy said to another board builder friend, his comment?... “ He said it wouldn’t work before he rode it? Well, it sure won’t work now will it”?

I made a board for one of the pro guys I’ve done boards for in the past. I’d made him plenty boards, but one in particular as soon as he saw it he rejected it flat out. He never said it wouldn’t work though. Of course good surfers can ride anything and look good but, this particular board was not what he was wanting, he could tell by looking at it, so that was that.

Personally, of all the boards I’ve had over the years there have been none that I could ever say “didn’t work” First off, a surfboard has no moving parts…. Unless the fins are loose…. So how could they not work? Each board may ride a bit different than another but reality… they all work. That said, I had one board that was seriously moody. When I first started riding it finding my feet was none to easy. Seems more times than not I’d plant my feet down in the wrong spot on take off spaz through the first turn until I could relocate my foot position for the next maneuver. After a few go outs I even decided to put some markers on the deck for my foot positions…. It helped a little. But even with the board the way it was there were go outs that I had the best time surfing it. So… did the board work or not?

Are there boards you can get that are as close to perfect as possible? Are there boards that “work” great starting with the first wave and every wave after? Is there such a thing as love at first sight?

Surfing... and love.... is a very individual thing. The questions asked in this post; you may have to answer them yourself. What do you think?

Geez, I even ended with a question...

D.R.

What happened in the 70’s ?

At the turn on the 60’s decade surfing seemed to be over it’s first commercial stage…. If you consider the sixties surfing thing as commercial. There were a couple clothing companies like Hang Ten and wet suit companies, nothing like today though. But, there was the Hollywood surf thing in the sixties like Beach Blanket…. something and the TV show Gidget in the sixties.

By the turn of the decade the big surfboard labels had lost their appeal in the industry and small local builders became the place to buy surfboards. Starting in the early seventies surfing seemed to be much more a grass roots or underground type of pursuit. The contest thing had no real traction as surfers became more interested in a non establishment going your own way thing.

The art of making surfboards may have gotten it’s start in the 70’s as the whole mass produced make as many surfboards as you can thing of the big labels in the sixties was replaced with the small board builder. Builders had more time to focus on design and crafting something their heart was into. If you find an old 70’s board you will see some of that craftsmanship. Color laminations and swirls or abstracts, as well as some pretty amazing resin pin line work.

Surfing certainly continued to advance. Surfers every where were still pushing performance boundaries but it was pretty much kept at the local level. There was the localism factor too. Certain places were known to have a local contingent of hard core locals only types that would make things unpleasant for unfamiliar faces in their lineup. I knew of one spot I wouldn’t surf in my home town even though I was a local.

Surfing was a quiet thing during the 70’s. But in the last couple years of the decade things began to change. Surfboard design was moving sum what slow with no real significant notice through most of the seventies. Sure there was the twin fin but it didn’t take over that much, there were still more single fins in the water than twins.

But at the end of the decade surfboard design changed radically and to this day has never looked back… well maybe just a little. What happened? The three fin Thruster.

D.R.

For the longest time tri fins were it. Now….how about a quad?

Growth of an industry.

Last weekend I went to an event that was held at the Fender Guitar Museum. For a guitar guy like myself it’s a pretty cool place. As well, every surf music band that was, is or has been played Fender guitars… from the Beach Boys to Dick Dale.

As I was taking in all that was there, reading the various stories and captions on so many of the photos in the exhibit I was struck by the thought that in the beginning Leo Fender really had no idea where his little company was going to take Him. That most likely there where people that belittled the notion that his amplifiers and guitars would amount to much. After all how far and how long could this crazy teenage music go?

At the same time I saw how the surf board industry had similarities. Who knew that making surfboards would ever amount to anything? As guys like Dale Velzy and Hap Jacobs, in their twenties, started surfboard businesses did they ever think that surfboards would grow to what we see now? Can you hear the words…? “Yeah, do you really think your little surfboard business is really going to last? Surfing is just a fad fuelled by this crazy music with electric guitars"…. Fenders no less!

As we stand back and look at the history it’s really amazing to think that Fender having started in such humble beginnings grew to a multi million dollar business. And similarly we can see how what was started in the late fifties on the beaches of California making surfboards has grown to an international industry. Leo Fender sold his company to CBS for a rather large sum of money. Similarly Channel Islands Surfboards was sold to Burton for no small amount I’m sure.

I certainly never thought that making surfboards could or would be sustainable over decades. Something that could put food on the table, something that would help provide the resources to raise a family. Something that would over time be looked at with some respect instead of “ Oh, it’s just a passing fad. “ Or, for that matter, be passed on to new generations.

My wife found the below drawing today. I’m not sure what age my son was when he drew it… maybe 6 or 7. But I am sure he never thought while drawing a picture of his dad surfing, wave curling behind and a flock of seagulls over head… note the M’s in the sky, some 25 years later he’d be pictured below (third from left) with his coworkers at FCD doing what his dad taught him, making surfboards.

D.R.

The evolution of a surfboard.

Today for the most part when you go to a surf shop and look at the different boards in the racks you will see models. What people have come to expect is a certain surfboard shaped a certain way. It has a specific name and sometimes even specific color schemes.

If you have a certain model board you particularly like that has gotten well worn from use you can go buy another board of the same model and find it will surf pretty much like your last one.

It’s really pretty easy to replicate a certain shape via the various CNC shaping machines now days but to replicate a shape by hand is not that easy. It takes a lot of hand shaping for a guy to get to that repeat ability factor that so many surfers have come to expect.

Short boards have continued to evolve so that usually what is the hot item this year won’t be next year. Something will replace lasts years models and last years model may not be available anymore. But long board and alt board models once introduced may stay available for multiple years. Actually there are some long board models that have been around for decades.

I make a few boards that were first introduced in the mid sixties. Have they changed? Yes, though the right term would be evolved. These boards, or models, are still identifiable as the same board from the sixties but on close examination they are different. That’s a good thing. Small incremental changes in a design are what should happen over time to get the design to its optimum.

In the Sixties boards where going through rapid changes. Because surfing was advancing at a rapid pace the boards were going through changes continually. Even the models. You may see a certain model made in ’66 then see that same model made in ’67 and it may be noticeably different. Then of course that same model was not made at all from ’68 to ’82 and the ’82 make is different from the ’67 make. If you wanted the same exact board in the old days you may have gotten disappointed because your old board was not replicated well or the model went through some change.

Change was what happened in times past. Change is not what you see these days. Is the way we do things with surfboards today better than the way we did it in the past? Because models evolved in the past bad and now they don’t better?

Well you tell me… does riding a different surfboard, one that you will need to figure out better for your surfing? Does it help you advance? Or riding the same model over and over do that?

D.R.

My Story post 42

It was spring time in So Cal, sunny days and a nice warming trend in the air. My friend and work mate Richard had some how gotten a pass to the ranch. Which meant that he could drive into the lower ranch during the day. How and where the pass came from I have no idea but was sure glad Richard had it.

Having a pass meant you could drive into the ranch to surf, at the time few could. Without a pass if you wanted to surf the ranch you had to launch a boat at Gaviota and motor up. Driving in was much easier… and faster.

Sinse Richard and I worked together shaping for Morey-Pope we could plan a day trip for a certain day during the work week. Get some extra work done the day before the trip so as not to get behind with our work load. Or, find ourselves a little ahead of schedule and take off around noon for a run up to the ranch and an after noon surf.

Not sure how many trips we took, maybe 5 or 6 but what I do remember is that we never saw another soul on the beach or in the water… we were always by our selves.

I still remember one day in particular at Rights and Lefts. A good 4 or 5 hours of perfect head high plus waves with not a creature in site but us guys. Richard myself and our other work mate Donny. Other than the water being a little cool it was sunny and warm with no wind and that beautiful A-frame peak. Take off, bottom turn, climb and drop, maybe a small turn back and ride the wave almost to the beach as it tapered down from over head at the peak to waist high on the inside. Pull out and paddle back for another.

When we got tired we’d sit on the beach and watch that perfect peak while warming up and having something to eat… for me it was trail mix. Then when you couldn’t watch anymore paddle back out and surf again until you were too tired. We could surf until there was just enough light left for the drive off the ranch. Once on the high way if it was dark it didn’t matter.

I went back to the ranch one day 1985, the day after Thanksgiving that year. Got a boat ride with a friend of one the of the guys that worked for me back then. We surfed a few different spots and the last being Rights and Lefts. The whole day there were boats and surfers at all the different spots. Rights and Lefts must have had at least a half dozen guys in the line up. A couple guys that lived in the ranch were among them and weren’t too happy to be sharing the spot with boaters.

I had a good time and got some good surf that day but it was nothing like what my memories hold from earlier times.

D.R.

The essence of foil.

I’ve looked up the word foil in the dictionary but don’t find a definition that comes close at all to what in surfboard lingo we call foil. Unless you think a blunt sword is close.

Once you get bit by the surfing bug and develop your abilities surfing and have handled a few different surfboards the chances of realizing the beauty of a fine foiled surfboard and getting hooked on the look is pretty strong. To the discriminating surfer a surfboard can become a piece of art. Short board, long board and anything in between can be a sculpted thing of beauty.

Simple lines, simple curves and how they are formed and fit together when done well can be something very pleasing to look at. It can take years to acquire the ability to sculpt a piece of art. Taking what you see in your head and using imagination and your hands to make what you see, be pleased with what you see and have others enjoy what has been crafted.

So what is foil? To me it’s the complete package of curves that make a surfboard. From how the deck curve relates to the bottom rocker curve which in turn dictates how the foam volume is distributed nose to tail. How the rail line and rail shape moves along the length of the board, as well the way the deck and bottom is crafted from rail to rail.

It starts with a profile. Cutting a surfboard in half from nose to tail at the center and seeing how the bottom and deck curves relate to each other. The look of a profile will depend on the surfboard itself and the boards intended use. It may have more thickness a little forward or a little more aft or have an even taper. How the volume graduates into the nose as the deck and bottom curves converge, how the tail lines flow. It’s all in the profile.

Deck crown may blend it’s way from rail to rail down the length of the board with more curve forward and flatten out the back as the profile tapers through the tail section. And as the profile tapers the rails turn with crisp edges sharpened for a positive cut on the wave face.

There really is no formula for a nice clean foil. We may have some what standard bottom rockers or typical bottom curves but how the deck lines work with bottom lines? It can be very personal to a shapers hand. CAD programs may make seeing a given profile easy. But, seeing something on paper and then seeing the same thing full scale with all the other elements can be a completely different thing. There is no easy way to a nice foil.

Once you get the look of a nice foil in your head it just doesn’t go away… a picture impression. If you have a finely foiled surfboard you can look at it for hours and never tire it's look.

The beauty of a finely foiled machine, you see it with your eyes, feel it with you hands and almost instantly know it will feel good under your feet.

D.R.

Ventura has been having a good winter season so far this year.

There has been one or two swells come along every week since some time in October seems like. So what usually happens when we get a lot of surf? The crowds thin out.

One morning this past week I thought I’d woke up in the past. I got a late start for the morning and didn’t get down for the daily surf check until about 9 a.m. I figured when I got down to inside point there most likely wasn’t much surf because there were so many parking spaces available on the street.

Surprise number one… the surf had picked up again, there were over head sets.

Surprise number two… there was a grand total of 4 guys in the water from the top of the point all the way down inside.

What? Someone see a shark?

I rubbed my eyes. Am I still asleep? I’m dreaming… that’s it. Then I was talking in my sleep. There were a few guys checking the surf that I normally don’t see at the point so we got to talking, about how strange it was that there were so few guys in the water, with surf like what we were seeing!

That particular swell was short, by the end of the day it was much smaller and not as clean. But then only two days later another swell shows up. That was Friday, today there was still surf. This afternoon there was a very light crowd in the water, a Sunday after noon no less.

I talked with a friend who had just come in from surfing and was walking back up the promenade as I was checking the conditions for my go out. He said “I think this is the best year I’ve ever seen, there has been so much surf”! He was stoked walking back to his car after yet another day of good surf.

It’s nice when there is enough surf to satisfy the surfing population. Enough waves that everyone gets their fill, gets tired and has had enough. It’s nice to look at good surf and think maybe you woke up on that particular day and some how it’s January 1992 again.

Dreamer.

D.R.

Kauai, at a spot you can’t get out when it’s like this. I took the shot with the crazy tourists in the fame for perspective. Nice left.

My story post 41

After that first surf contest I completely forgot that there actually could be surf during a surf meet.

It seemed to me that there was rarely any surf during the days a surf event was scheduled. Even though sometimes there was surf, most of the time there was little. Case in point was the second surf contest I entered.

It was early summer of 1967. The contest was held in Hermosa Beach. Beautiful weather, sunny warm… but the surf? Totally none existent. Unless you call not even knee high wind chop surf, maybe one rogue knee bump every 15 or 20 minutes if that. So with 15 minute 5 man heats what kind of surfing were the judges scoring?

Remember your best three waves count, but getting three waves was close to impossible in the allotted 15 minutes. Looking for something to ride you’d paddle for anything hoping the chop would have enough push to glide you long enough to get to your feet, but then what. You couldn’t generate enough speed to execute a turn without digging a rail. My friend Mike Smith was in the same heat as I was so we just joked around in the water until the horn blew to end the heat.

So once again I walked to the check in stand, tuned in my jersey and continued walking to my van and went home.. hoping when I got back to Ventura there may be some surf because, by then I really wanted to surf!

What I didn’t know was that every time you entered an event you got points. If you advanced to the next level in the event you got more points. Over time you would accumulate all these points that would put you somewhere in the standing of the USSA, or what ever the organization was that did the contests. So if you entered all the contests and advanced through enough heats you could have a pretty high standing at the end of the event year. Never really placing very high in an event.

Oh well, it really didn’t matter to me at that point because it just seemed stupid to hold a surf contest when there weren’t any waves. And it seemed that most of the time there was little to no surf when a contest was held. So I gave up on the whole contest thing.

Contests can be fun and maybe most guys don’t mind them as long as they’re not held at their home break.

D.R.

An old Surfer Mag. photo of a contest winners circle. Steve Bigler wins a TV. Donald Takayama wins… what is that a transistor radio? And John Peck wins the motor cycle. Bigler... 'pretty cool ... a TV set'. John is all smiles on his new machine... with the look on TD’s face…. ‘what the heck’?

My story post 40

My first attempt at surfing in a contest was the fall of 1966. I’m not real sure what organization this particular surf meet was with, possibly the USSA. It was held at a spot called D and W, a jetty spot along the beach that runs in front of LAX.

I didn’t know anyone that surfed in contests then. For some reason I thought maybe it would be a good idea for me to do contests because I could get close to guys in the industry. So I signed up for the event and when the day came I got in my VW bus and drove to D & W by myself, found a place to park and went to find out when my heat was.

It was a cold, dark overcast day and there was a swell running with over head sets. I waited for my time slot to surf, again by myself… I had no friends there or knew anyone at all. When the time came I got my jersey, walked to the waters edge with my board and paddled out with the rest of the guys in the heat.

Once in the line up… at least where I thought the line up was, I’d never surfed the place before, I caught my first wave. That wave was pretty much a non event, a short ride on an inside wave. I didn’t realize how much of an inside wave it was until I pulled out and saw the set waves charging toward the beach… with me inside. I bounced over the first 2 walls of white water and scratched like a mad man hoping to get past the next wave now marching toward me with a clean feathering 8 foot or better face. I reached the wave right in the impact zone, turned turtle and held on with all I had. It didn’t matter, that wave wanted my board and got it in one split second.

I surfaced after the pounding gulping a breath of air at the same time thinking maybe my board would be close, maybe it would’ve bounced out of the turmoil and be in site, a short distance off. No such luck. I didn’t see my board anywhere, which meant it most likely was on the beach. I started swimming, ducking deep a couple of times to escape some white water. When three or for minutes later reaching the beach, I don’t see my board… anywhere.

What the heck? I look up and down the beach and don’t see my board. Don’t tell me it’s still in the water, or what? Thinking It got sucked into a rip and washed out past the line up? Then I noticed it… up on the jetty about half way out. How it got there I have no idea. I walked 50 yards just to reach the jetty and then worked my way over those giant rocks until I got close enough to reach for my board. Waited for a lull and grabbed the darn thing jumping up a couple rocks to dodge the surf. Of course by that time my heat was long over as well maybe the 2 heats after mine. I worked my way off the jetty.

With board in hand and my tail between my legs I walked to the check in table and turned in my jersey. Then kept walking to my van, toweled off, put on some warm clothes, put my board in the van, got myself in the driver’s seat and went home.

Honestly, I had no big ideas or really knew what to expect. But if I started entering contests I’d maybe start networking with others in the sport and that would be a good thing.

When I got home my mom greeted me and asked “how’d it go Den?” I shook my head and said ‘ not so good ‘.

D.R.

Early eighties winners gathering after a surf meet. My son in front of me holding my fifth place yellow ribbon. Notice the lack of surf in the back ground?

It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. It really only seems like yesterday we were all worrying if every computer based service was going to crash because of Y2K. That was a decade ago!

It’s hard to believe after living on Kauai for 9 years I haven’t been back there for 4 years now.

It’s had to believe that Clark foam was once the only foam company you could buy surfboard blanks from… well besides Walkers small catalog. Clark foam has been gone 4 years and Walker 2 years.. I think.

Speaking of foam… there were a couple foam companies that closed in 09. But we still have a selection of foam brands to work with.

It’s nice to know that you can go to the beach with just about any size, shape and style of surfboard available or not, because it’s all good. As this past year progressed it was even OK to go to the beach with a ¾ inch wood plank to surf.

Now as the new year comes on you could say it’s OK to go to the beach with what one guy laughingly called a ‘pig nosed thruster’. My first tri fin back in the early ‘80s was an egg…. But it was called a ‘pig nosed thruster’ by some. This year I’ve got a Stubbie Quad and every time I take it for a surf guys show interest in the design… It’s all good!

Boards have become shorter and wider as well as longer and heavier. Finless designs, single fins, twin fins, tri fins, quads and five fins… It seems that this past year has seen it all.

It’s hard to believe that surfing has come out of it’s once narrow line of acceptable shapes and designs. Now each design is getting a chance and we are all adding to the data base.

That’s a happy thing….

Happy New Year!

D.R.

It’s hard to believe my wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary 12/20/09

Christmas day 2009

I knew there was surf, I saw lines on my way back to the house after picking up my mother in law for our Christmas dinner. At that point it was late morning and a beautiful sunny day in California. I purposely took the route back to the house so I would have a good vantage point at the top of the hill a few blocks up the road from my house where you can see if there are any lines wrapping around the point. Yeah… surf!

After I got back in the house I told my wife I was going down to the beach and look at the surf. When I returned and sat down on the couch picking up a magazine… Surfers Journal… Suzi turns to me and asks “ how’s the surf?” “ It’s really good!” I respond and she says “ are you going to go surf or just sit there reading that magazine?” I should file this post under ‘ I’m a lucky guy ‘.

I got my wetsuit, put it on, grabbed a board put, it in the truck, jumped in the truck, drove to the point, parked and was in the water within 15 minutes of that question!

There were a fair number of people enjoying the day along the promenade and a pleasant number of people in the lineup enjoying some head high sets on a beautiful sunny California Christmas day.

After surfing and going to the train station to pick up my friend Jon from Kauai who came out for a visit we settled into our dinner then the day came to a close.

Happy Holidays!

D.R.

Christmas day 2009... Ventura.

More on the old guys… or is it old days this time? Post 4

Why was surfing more an adventure in it’s earlier years? Because when you went to the beach you never were sure what you would find. Sometimes you’d find the surf and conditions good to excellent or the complete opposite… you wouldn’t know until you got your eyes on it.

You could drive up to Hobson’s at night sleep in the van and wake to south wind onshore slop. You could reach the top of Malibu canyon look down at the point and unexpectedly see lines rapping into the cove in the middle of winter... with hardly anyone around, because it was the middle of winter.

You could venture out to Morro Rock with no one around or in the water, paddle out with your brother in law, both of you for the first time, and find the surf bigger than anything you’ve ever been in…. and be scared sh…tless. Or, you could take a run to Rincon in the spring and surf waist high peelers with the crowd.

Leave the shop in Santa Barbara for the drive home to Ventura and find solid over head surf at Rincon with no crowds because the east winds were to strong but find Little Rincon clean with no one out.

Sit in you car because the surf was junk and wait to see if things changed because you planned on surfing… so maybe, just maybe the winds will turn around and it will get good. You certainly know if you leave most likely within 15 minutes of you leaving the surf will improve and you’ll miss it… The other guy in the other car will stay and the next time you see him he’ll make sure he tells you… “you really missed it!” Which of course really sucks!

No, there were no surf forecasts. There were no big illuminated blinking signs at the end of “C” St that said “ HIGH SURF WARNING” like this past week. No, what you saw is what you got when you got there. The good the bad and the ugly.

I still like to go look to see what the surf is like. Pretty much every morning on my way to the shop I’ll check the surf. Check the tide chart so I know what’s up with that and then will plan my surfing accordingly. Sometimes if I’ve left my computer on all night I’ll look at the surf cam in the morning before I leave. Funny though…. If there is any surf I look to see how many cars are in the parking lot.

Knowing there is surf every time you go to the beach is not as much fun as the excitement of not knowing and finding surf when you reach your surf spot of choice. Sharing the stoke with your friends when you find surf and have been blessed by the forces of nature is now some what lost with all the technology. Surf forecasts, surf cams, surf reports. Everybody knows the when and the where so they’ll all be there…. Me included!

D.R.

The sun has long set on the way it used to be.

So why do the old guys get frustrated? Post 3

I moved to Kauai in late spring of ’94. At that time surfing in Ventura was the same as it is now. You could park in the street parking on Paseo de Playa or in the free parking lot at “Surfers Point” and you could pay to park in the $2 lot. The $2 lot had not been damaged then from high tides and surf. So there were a few more parking spaces back then.

If I went to surf at inside point back then there was always a place to park on the street. “Surfers Point” would fill up on weekends and days with good surf but you could still find spaces in that lot. And the $2 lot was never ever full.

When I returned to Ventura in ’02 I thought it was strange that if I wanted to park on the street at inside point sometimes there was no place to park. And finding a spot at the point when there was surf was not possible…. Well you had to be there at the butt crack of dawn… maybe even before that to get a parking space. Though there are less spaces in the $2 lot I’d never seen it full until this past year.

Granted before the beach was developed and the promenade wasn’t there people didn’t come to the beach to go for walks. As well the beach was not as nice because of the stuff that was dumped at waters edge from the Pipe. And, originally the only paid parking was the $2 lot. The pier and the parking structure were initially free parking areas. So people that came to the beach for a walk or to just visit would go there instead of try to find free parking on the street.

So basically the surfing area in the town of Ventura has changed from a place that once had some single family homes… before my time… to a place that literally only the core surf guys would frequent. “C” Street would sometime attract a crowd but that was rare. And as with all the other places to surf if you wanted to surf you went to the beach. If there was surf you surfed. If the conditions weren’t good you waited for a while and hoped conditions would improve. If there was no surf… you left disappointed. Or, some how you knew there was surf because someone told you. So you went on safari.

For surfers it wasn’t just the surfing aspect of what we did but the adventure as well. Sure we lived in a town. But the Ventura beach area was a more out of the way place. You could go up to Pipe and there would be few other people around… sometimes no one. Paddling out into the surf when no one is around or no one out is quite different than being in a crowd or around others. Some people like to hike in the mountains and get away … being in the surf by yourself has a similar feel. That's part of what the old guys miss.

D.R.

It is possible to surf by yourself these days.

Yeah... though rare it's still possible to surf by yourself.

So why do the old guys get frustrated? Post 2

Taking this a step further into the past before the beach in Ventura was developed into what it is now… and actually the City isn’t finished developing the beach area yet, there is more to come…

I moved to Ventura in 1967 and before then when I’d come to Ventura to surf you could surf anywhere from “C” street to the Ventura river mouth just like today and drive into the whole area but it was much different.

There was “C” street up to the point… basically Figaroa st. and then Stables and Pipe, or the Fair Grounds. Stables, where what is sometimes called mid point or middles now was inside the Fair area, as well, so was Pipe. The Fair has stables now that you can see if you drive to the end of the street between the $2 lot and the Fair Grounds. At the end of the street you can see the Fair stables off to your right inside the grounds. Well, those stables use to be right on the beach where the $2 parking lot is now. From about where the guard or ticket shack is and most of the way up to Pipe.

The Fair grounds area was open to visitors during the day so surfers would drive into the horse stables area park in front of them for free and access the surf by walking right through the stables. Almost needless to say but that spot was called Stables. Some still call it that.

You could also drive up a little further to Pipe. There were more sand dunes up there then too, you had to park behind them and then walk over them to get to the surf. Where you now park to surf Pipe was all sand dunes. What’s left of the dunes that were paved over are protected… sort of, by the log fences.

There was also a large pipe that had to be at least three feet in diameter that dumped a lumpy dark colored slop just below the mean tide line on the back side of the reef there. When the tide was high you could only see the top portion of the pipe. But when the tide was low you could see the stuff coming out of it as it washed directly into the ocean at waters edge.

From what I was told the stuff coming out of the pipe was some kind of discharge from the oil fields up river from the beach. Water was used to extract oil from the ground and the material that came out of the pipe was a mix of water, silt and a little oil mix from the extraction process. Don’t know if that’s accurate or not… but the stuff was dumped right in the surf zone at the mouth of the Ventura river. Gave the water a grayish color and smelled a bet different than ocean water usually smells like.

That was Ventura, and that’s why the spot right below the river mouth was called Pipe… and is to this day.

D.R.

A couple 100 year old pictures of the point and Ventura Pier

So why do the old guys get frustrated? Is it only the crowd?

I don’t know when the city of Ventura started its plan for the beach area from the pier to the Fair grounds, but I remember when the big changes started.

It was the summer of 1967 when the big trucks started bringing the large boulders that were dumped on the shore line from the pier to the point. For what? The revetment that is under the promenade. And immediately the surfing conditions were changed along that stretch of beach. The high tide conditions were never to be the same.

Initially dirt was brought in that was used to fill in over the revetment… the promenade was built some years later. So all along the point you could park your vehicle and enter the water to surf from below Figaroa st. That was before the Hotel, Condos and Apartments were built too.

The storms of 1969 and the over flowing Ventura river deposited a tremendous amount of sand on the beach that migrated from the river mouth down and around the point. Over the days and weeks after the storms the sand eventually piled up against the first jetty and filled in the beach from the jetty back up and under the pier continuing up the beach west of the pier and filling in the lower point. The revetment helping hold the sand to this day has changed the way waves break at inside point, especially on south swells…. And it’s not better.

For reference… Harbour Blvd used to go under the pier, the old road is still there but now part of the pier parking area and the waters edge was not far off back then. Before these changes high tides would wash out that area of Harbour Blvd under the pier.

The promenade and bike path was built in stages and the first phase of the promenade ended at Figaroa st. The free parking area came later. The top of the point where the free parking are is now was an unstructured paved area that went right up to the waters edge. It started at the end of Figaroa and ended about where the restrooms and showers are on the point now.

During that period you could park inside at Paseo de Playa to surf or up on the point to surf. And if you wanted to surf pipe you could park at the top of the point and walk up there. You couldn’t drive up or park at pipe or anywhere along what some now call mid point or middles.

So until the bike path and parking area in what is actually the Fair grounds was developed not many guys surfed pipe. It was much easier to surf the point than hassle walking the distance for surf you really couldn’t see, and no one could see you.

D.R.

The Point parking before the free lot.


The top of the old parking area at the Point looking up to Pipe. This is as close to Pipe as you could park. The corner of the photo says June '83. But was taken a few months earlier after large surf busted up the parking lot... as you can see.

After construction started on the free lot high surf deposited a mess for the crews to deal with. This is where all the sand is now with the palm tree planters.

Three days of surfing, one of them rare.

We’ve had a small NW swell here in So Cal the last few days… it started to show a little Friday, filled in Saturday and held through today.

I got a call late Friday morning and was told that a spot just above Ventura was clean with about head high waves… I had hoped the forecasted swell would start to show and maybe go get some waves later in the day so when I got the call decided to take a break and go right after I got off the phone with my friend Dan…. He also said no one was there surfing too… an added bonus.

Sure enough 15 minutes later when I drove up and got out of my car to greet my friends and get a look at the surf it was as I was told… but with 2 guys out. A nice sunny warm day and clean looking lines coming across the reef. I started suiting up.

A few minutes later with wet suit on and waxing my board I notice both guys had come in. There was another guy suiting up the same time as me and we ended up walking up the beach at the same time. As I paddled out the other guy had paddled out but sat over and inside of the main lineup so I was by myself. The other guy only stayed out for about 20 minutes or so and then I was literally the only guy in the water… it stayed that way for close to an hour until one person paddled into the lineup… I don’t remember the last time I’ve surfed by myself. I may have had a certain peak to myself here in Ventura a few times for a half hour or so but Friday I had the whole place to myself with some decent waves for about an hour. That’s rare, and with nice weather really rare.

Saturday I planned my surf for around 1:30p after the tide had peaked. The wind stayed light and the surf was semi consistent, not too crowded. I still had to negotiate the crowd but was able to pick up a few set waves. Though the waves were bigger and more consistent, compared to Friday I had to take or wait for my turn at the waves that came through.

Today? The surf was not quite what it was Saturday but close. But the crowd? Heavy. So it made getting a chance slim. I started thinking at one point how disappointing surfing Pipe is for me. I used to surf there all the time and would always have a good time… but that was 2 decades ago.

When I got home today I thought how extreme… Friday was almost surreal, today radically different. One day like heaven the other…? Well it wasn’t hell but did get the old guy frustrated. But geez… what do you expect? It was the weekend!

D.R.

David Puu Photo

My story and the surfboards I ride.

Today I pulled out the board I rode my last five years while on Kauai. It doesn’t have a date on it but I made it my first year at Hawaiian Blades. So sometime in ’97…. Which makes this board 12 years old. I rode it until I returned to Ventura in ’02 and haven’t ridden it since. My son has and likes it very much though.

The board is a 6’10 tri fin, 20” wide and 2 ¼ thick. I surfed it for all surf in Hawaii up to 6 to 8 foot…. And it worked really well for me. A great all around board.

The bottom has a single concave that graduates in just back of center and through the front fins. This straightens the rocker curve into the fins and gives me a nice planning surface for speed. The bottom flattens back out at the back fin and then I’ve accelerated the rocker out the back to loosen the board up.

The tail is 13 7/8 wide so not too narrow but with a nice sharp edge, all good for holding in the wave face. As well, I’ve got the fins set a bit more forward than what you’d see in other boards. I’ve also always ridden wider boards so hence the width dimension and the nose is 13”… a little wider too. But the outline curve works well with all the dimensions. I’ve had this outline in a 7’2 and 7’0 but this 6’10 has been my favorite of them all.

The board has the FCS fin system. At time we had just started using FCS stuff at Hawaiian Blades and the only fins we got in were the nylon sets. As I remember when I first started surfing the board I felt the fins were to slow. Because of the soft material turning seemed to lack the quick snap that I was used to with glass on fiberglass fins… what I always had before this board. I really wanted to get a set of FCS fiberglass fins but never did. Eventually I got used to the slower feel out of turns and just left the fins the way they were… most everyone that had FCS back then had the same fins so that was that.

The board is made of Walker foam with a 4oz bottom and double 4oz deck. I did a white foam stain on it so that’s why it still looks pretty clean… even though it’s been in the Hawaiian sun every time I took it to the beach for some 5 years straight. And believe it or not the ding in the rail that is covered with cellophane tape is from my thumb. Yeah, attempting to jump over some shore pound that caught me just right and gave me one good whacking…. I held onto the board but the power of the wave pushed my thumb right through the rail. Never underestimate the power of the ocean.

D.R.