Evening Session - 10/3/2022

I pulled an evening after work session.  The waves were supposed to be up, the tide down and who knows what the wind would be doing - I opted to take the Seaside and Beyond.

I wanted to mix it up so I took off the Machado Quads and placed the Tim Bessell set.

I caught several waves, riding them for surprisingly long distances (I really love this board!!! I never felt this way about the Sunday or the Greedy Beaver - I did have some moments with the Toots Asymmetric but I don't think I've found the right fin combo for me yet on that board to unlock its potential).  The Bessell fins were really fun.  When I was carving out bottom turns, I could feel the fins vibrating - they would emit a high frequency vibration (just like the Axis rear stabilizers) - SO COOL!

These fins look to have slightly less surface area than the Machado quads. I'm still going to need to put a bunch of time in on them to find out for sure, but first impressions are these are faster and looser than the Machado fins.  The draw back to that is on the top turns - they weren't as deliberate with the Bessell's.  And the times that I looked down, my back foot was further forward than when using the Machado's - this is not so good, as the board turns way better when your back foot is closer to the tail.

This was probably the smallest day I've had the Seaside and Beyond out - and it still performed amazingly!!!  Probably chest to head high, so not really that small on the sets.

I'll ride this board with this setup for a few more sessions - then I'll switch back to the Machado's to compare/contrast.  Then I want to try this board as a twin - I have a pair of WR Nightmares waiting!!!

W:95/F:82/S:28

Evening Session - 9/16/2022

Evening session with Marlon.  Swell was holding in the shoulder high + range.  The tide was on the low side (so I decided to bring the longboard again - I wanted to see if the fin was truly the difference) and that was causing the lips to almost throw out.  And the wind - there was no wind and the surface was nearly glass.  It was raining on and off which also helped glass the surface.

Marlon had forgot his leash, so he was hovering in the middle break.  He caught a bunch of fun waves.

I brought the same board/fin as yesterday and wanted to repeat the rides.  I repeated the rides!!!  When the waves stood up, riding the board close up to the face and ALMOST getting covered.  Also when lining up for the walls, I could weight the back of the board and this fin setup is really floaty/fun!  

Days like this where waves and equipment compliment each other reminds me of how much fun surfing can be.

W:92/F:78/S:21

Dawn Patrol - 4/23/2022

Marlon and I dawn patrolled yesterday morning.  Waves were bigger - chest to head high on the sets.  Definitely one of the first south swells of the year!  

Tide was really low... but I went ahead and prone foiled (4'8", 75cm PC mast, Kujira 1210 front foil).  With the size of the swell, I was able to stay in deeper water to catch and ride the waves.

You can see which board Marlon chose - and he had his new hatchet fin.  I saw him catch several waves.

I caught a few good rides, but spent most of the morning eating it on steep/pitchy takeoffs.  In fact, Marlon commented when we were back at the house how he and his crew were watching me takeoff, but I didn't make it and the board/foil took off for low earth orbit then come back with a big splashdown.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't win (I probably should have rigged the 4'6" with the 980).

W:30/F:41/S:12

SUPing Without Daddy-O

La and the kiddoroosters made a successful SUP outing without me.  I am happy they did it successfully and had a great time.  But I am sad because I wasn't there, and they didn't need me (just kidding on this second point - now they can load up ;) )

Take a close look at the professional job in strapping down the boards!!! I taught La that ;)

New Fins In - Toe Top Blisters Out

This is the pair of fins I have been waiting for... Now I will no longer be plagued by blisters at the tops of my toes from fins that do not fit like a glove (right size, but non-accomodating to two toes on each of my feet - extended use would result in spots rubbed raw on my second and third toes, just behind the nails).

Don't get me wrong - I love my Dafins and my Churchills - and for pulling in the pool during laps, they are perfect! But when it is time to don them for sanding-salty immersion, their compatibility falters and I am left blistered. So - yet again I have high expectations for bodysurfing flights of fancy free of painful reminders that I am still Homo sapien and not fully Homo amphibiensis (I don't have webbed toes). But - if Marlon's feedback on the fins we bought him when we were last down in Virginia Beach are any indication, the third time (that I have bought bodysurfing fins) should be the charm (we bought him similar fins and he liked them).

Now we just have to make another beach trip.... Did I mention it has been challenging to adapt to life this far inland..... (written while still smiling!)

Aipa Twinzer

This is the fin I will be using in the 8-0 SUP. Super tall to get the right bite.

I will be using a G-10 Futures Hatchet for the center fin. I will probably place a second set of boxes towards the rail to give quad options, but the Aipa's will be riding the forward boxes fulltime!

2-fer Today!!!

La was excessively generous to me today -

I got to SUP-surf C-Street this morning. Got more than my fair share of waves - not that I was being a wave hog - more that the waves better suited the shorter SUPs. I tried out some fins I had in reserve - a 6" hatchet in the center box and larger fins (VF2 F4s) in the thruster positions AND WHOA!!!! Talk about ripping!!!

Made me think hard about the potential of the Walden (SUP) (I was thinking about selling it to make another SUP or to get a board with less nose and less waist - all in the name of ripping!). I was able to crank much harder roundhouses with these fins - I RIP!!!!

Ran some errands in between sessions, then Mondos for an early afternoon surf. Awesome break for beginners and just playing around. Real mellow surfers. Unfortunately while parking, I backed up over a beer bottle someone had left in the road - shredded my rear starboard tire - so I had to install the flat (and lost out on the best surf at the break - what followed was still good, but not as good as what was there as I pulled up...).

Nice day of surf!!!

Fin repairs

There are very few events that actually make me angry - but dropping surfboard fins that were hidden or camouflaged on top of another board that I was pulling out of the racks and hearing/watching them crack is definitely on top of my list.

Well - since getting mad and staying mad about spilt milk is futile, you have to look forward to fixing the fins. And what happens when you mix any batch of resin??? You have extra resin!!!

And extra resin is just the thing to FIX fins!!!

Time to complete the circle and make peace with the universe again!!!