Somewhere!

Planing Hulls & Displacement Hulls?

I keep reading these terms and have long wondered what the @*-+#! they really mean! Well, I have been doing a little research this morning and ended up at Swaylocks and found this delicious looking displacement hull board that is so different to what I am normally used to seeing and the lines are just beautiful.

So, what would it feel like to ride such a board? Well, here is a great article that describes the experience and what you would need to do to ensure success. Get that front foot forward!

Here is some video of a guy riding a Liddle displacement hull and it sure as hell looks a little challenging!

For a more definitive how to go here.

So it transpires that apart from maybe the 7' McCoy Nugget ( as it features a loaded dome bottom curve ) I rode for a couple of years, I have been riding what is basically a planing hull all along and had not realised it?!

Here is a great little video showing the construction of a planing hull and the excellent result!

I have been following Hydrodynamica which features this board type and the name Simmons gets mentioned a lot of the time and here is a fine article about the man's ideas on board design.

There are some out there shapes happening too!

Local guitar hero hits the water!

We'll get him surfing out the back soon!

A few more pics.........

....from yesterdays 2nd session!

A talented young grommet getting a nice drop but with little else to look forward to.

Notorious for dropping in and the odd snake, he, who shall go nameless and unidentifiable, doesn't really deserve any pics here but further provides you with an idea of the passable quality of the waves yesterday.

I bought myself my first ever camera..........

.......and it is waterproof! It is very basic but easy to use which is great as I am a photography neophyte and most of it's use will be - guess where? Yep out the back as it is also tiny, so I can just stuff it down my wetsuit or in the pocket of my boardies when I wear them.

Here are some pics of Astro Girl and below a young punk, I had to refer to as a "Little S..t!", at one point, as he didn't bother even attempting to get out of my way as I started to paddle for a wave that was on the way. It is just not worth upsetting a

"Surly Stink Eyed Old Man Longboarder"

More thongs!

More of Gerry's ceramic thongs that is and here are some beautiful tiles he has also created!

A thong!

Not what you were expecting maybe?
Like many surfers, I am sure, thongs are an indispensable part of my kit. So like me, you may also appreciate the great ceramic creation pictured. This is the work of Gerry Wedd, a talented potter from South Australia with a great blog called Weddwould. Many of his pieces have a surfing theme.
Here is a bit of history about thongs for your further edification.

The man who won Mavericks this year.........,

Chris Bertish from South Africa!

I am always interested to learn more about the people who are so willing to put their lives at risk in waves of this size.

So I googled him and found the following couple of articles 1 & 2, written by the man himself, about the unfortunately cancelled 2009 event which was the first he was invited to contest.

Well he made up for the disappointment of last year that is for sure! Congratulations you beast you!

And now............

for a bit of belly boarding!

A bit of history about belly boarding in the UK.

The first surfing of this type which we now call “Belly Boarding” (although in the UK it was just called surfing on surfboards until the arrival of the Malibu boards in the early 1960s) is thought to have started in the very early 1900s when a form of the Hawaiian ‘Paipo’ board was copied by British soldiers returning from the Great War inspired by stories of surfing from South Africa, Australia and Hawaii.

Shark 2!

Kiwi artist Andy Shaw also a dab hand with a pencil.

Gotta love this blog!

Even though he has referred to me and my kind in fairly derogatory terms this blog is well worth visiting for the drawings alone!

Ahhh................2!!

.............the smug look of a "Surly Stink Eyed Old Man Longboarder" after a great session yesterday afternoon!

Ahhh.............!!

I must fit this category I guess?
"Surly Stink Eyed Old Man Longboarder"
With thanks to Stuff Surfers Like
In the end it was 3 days of surfing over the weekend after Fridays session on the Carver mentioned in my previous post.
I had the longboard out on Saturday arvo in small waves and even with the sidebiters off it is still proving itself not to be much chop in small waves and is just a leeeetle frustrating! Michelle had a go on it and gave it straight back as her 8' 4" hybrid was getting her on to those same small waves more readily.
I might have been better off on the Carver in fact and I am gonna have to switch the Walden Magic for something more traditional for when it is small but too windy for the SUP although that is becoming less of an issue as my proficiency on it improves.
On Saturday the swell had dropped right off so it was out with the SUPs and both Michelle and I had a great session.
Damn they are good fun in small waves, and bigger ones too I am finding out, and such a great workout. I feel like the hulk (Yeh, yeh, I know just 'cos you feel that way doesn't meant you are) after a session with every muscle in the old bod feeling like it has had some use.
Ya gotta give it a try sometime if you haven't yet!
As they say "The best surfer is the one having the most fun!"

Finally a good session on the 8' 1" Carver!

Yes your are correct that is not me and it is unlikely that I will ever manage to pull off such a move.

But what I found out about the Carver yesterday is that even though it is 8' 1", it feels like one could do so.

Very impressive and exactly as Bob recommends "Think like you're riding a shortboard".

As I have been riding longer boards lately, it took me a little while to adjust to the shorter and much skinnier board. I was too far back initially, but once I got my front foot forward "Wo!" off it went like a bat out of hell.

Terrific fun and it looked impressive enough that Michelle was heard to say, most unusually, "Expletive - I forgot to bring my camera again" To find out more about yesterdays session visit here as all has been said already.