[Idol eyes]

You are right though, its a long way from there for brits, the yanks see it as a day trip!!! anywhere will be good!, any one been to the Maldives?

[SteveM]

Thanks for the ideas folks. I'm off to town to find a bookshop - figure I can read the relevant section of the Stormrider guide before they throw me out for folding the page corners over and scribbling in the margin. Will also have a look for Caught Inside - I need some holiday reading.

Have been browsing for images and we're definitely going to stop off at Mavericks, just for the spectacle cause it looks way way too big for these cajones.

[Falling Down]

Good lad.   You'll be lucky to see Mavericks breaking at all in the Summer as the large swells don't begin to arrive until November really.  Also it's unlikely that you'd find anywhere suitable to surf at all on the Mid California coast if it was breaking as everywhere else would be closed out or too crowded at the sheltered spots.

Go to surfline.com and magic seaweed.com for more info on all the local spots, you'll find swell forecasts, tides and lots of other info.

If you do get the bug, make sure you buy a board when in the US as they are helluvalot cheaper out there than here.

[SA Chris]

Lovely dawnie this am. Sunny skies, no wind and fun small peeling 2ft ish waves, perfect for longboard. In water from 7:30 - 9:15 or so, pretty much on my own (one other guy in, but on a different peak). Really didn't want to go to work.

[granticus]

Yep yep! In for the dawnie at C r o y d e this morning on my freshly repaired 6'' Celtic Conncetions board (it got a little smashed up after taking off down the cobblestone beach on a particularly windy day this winter, lucky not to have taken someone's head off!)...  Anyhow beautiful weather, warm water and a nice little swell.. 

Session ended abruptly by a savage longboarder late take off drop in from hell...  The guy decided to take off with the lip and land on me whilst I'm flying out from under the curl.  I'm in one piece, my board however is smashed up again and unrideable.  'Oh Sorry mate' was the response, I spent ages fixing the thing and first time out it gets smashed again.    

What is the deal when something like this happens is he liable for the damage caused... Or is it a case of don't worry about it mate it's just one of those things?? (Which is pretty much what I said after sending some expletives in his direction).  Judging by the shiny new log he was riding, he could probably afford to buy me a new 6'' ten times over!

Board is back on the Doctors table and I am building a healthy prejudice towards loggers...  So come on defend the noble art of longboarding because at the moment I feel like (WARNING rash generalisations coming up) loggers are the following....    dirty stinking snakers that hog waves by catching them way outside
                   fat mid life crisis types with all the gear and no idea
                   unable to change direction anytime this century
                   and finally drop in artists..

I am sure you loggers on here are none of the above but what would convince me to buy a longboard. (Apart from a desire to mow down all ahead of me>

[Falling Down]

Riding a longboard made me surf better on my shortboard.  Loads of shortboarders are far too static on their boards keeping their feet in the same place all the time.  To surf well you need to move them up and down to trim the board. I didn't get this until I rode a longboard...

Riding a longboard is fun on small days.. as long as you don't hog all the waves.

Nose riding is fantastic.

[SA Chris]

What FD said.

 

So come on defend the noble art of longboarding because at the moment I feel like (WARNING rash generalisations coming up) loggers are the following....    dirty stinking snakers that hog waves by catching them way outside
                   fat mid life crisis types with all the gear and no idea
                   unable to change direction anytime this century
                   and finally drop in artists..

Will be treated with the contemp it deserves and ignored completely. It's summer in Devon, the kooks are out. Deal with it.

[granticus]

Will be treated with the contemp it deserves and ignored completely. It's summer in Devon, the kooks are out. Deal with it.

Come on this isn't ignoring Chris... You bit...  Must of hit a raw nerve...Still I'll get my coat............  and put it on backwards.

Riding a longboard made me surf better on my shortboard.  Loads of shortboarders are far too static on their boards keeping their feet in the same place all the time.  To surf well you need to move them up and down to trim the board. I didn't get this until I rode a longboard...

Riding a longboard is fun on small days.. as long as you don't hog all the waves.

Nose riding is fantastic.

FD this is what I'm looking for... sure I started on a bigger board but dropped down very quickly and never really considered riding long again, the idea of enjoying smaller days is mildly appealing (although given the choice I'd rather go climbing), improving my surfing is definitely of interest and I want to know more about nose riding why so fantastic??  Speed?  Position?  What would be the ultimate loggers wave?? Rincon? Malibu?

I love to ride shorter boards because they handle steeper more powerful waves better, they fit in low tide Croyde barrels better, you can generate tremendous speed, you can rotate on a pin head, you can duck dive easily and they fit in my car nicely!

[SA Chris]

Well it was a tedious hackneyed stereotype wasn't it.

I was cynical too, until I had a go on one. Here in Aberdeen if you want to have any surfing fitness at all, you get out on whatever waves you get, especially in summer, and they are a good way of having some fun on waves that would leave you frustrated and disappointed otherwise, if you were trying to use a shortboard.

[Idol eyes]

Tell you what,,, we all the same! the tools may differ, but its us and the wave thats the same...
the longboard is traditional, its also classy, all boards are allowed, but the 9.0 is me... I identify with the fustration, we get all the waves, and look good.
Gays on trays,,, Loggers,,, whatever!
Just surfed Joss bay (far E coast), classic two day swell, then surfed Widemouth and Fistral,,,
Surf rage, havent seen it in years!!!
Its actully been a fuckin great summer...

[SA Chris]

Glad it's good there, it's been terrible here on the (proper) far E Coast. And not much hope on the horizon either.

[Idol eyes]

Sorry, know i am a pain, allow me to spray...
Noseriding!
recently been back out on the 9.4, fully progresive pin tail, concave nosed rebel board (my first), Croyde about 6 weeks ago... was doin these amazing take offs, like paddling... take off,pop up into full fake five (slide to the nose, all crouched up), slide hard let the tail kick into a helicopter, almost walk to the tail again and allow the board to correct itself, and get every one to hoot....
also practicing fins first take offs...
The Longboard, Liquid Grit.

[granticus]

Well it was a tedious hackneyed stereotype wasn't it.

I did warn you! 

WARNING rash generalisations coming up

Now then......  Having had a little time to get over the trashing of my beloved 6''.  I managed to get out on a couple of small clean days at Croyde and Combesgate.  Inspired by you people and an article I read which suggested trying to surf a longboard like a shortboard on small days, I actually took out something over 7'' for a spin.  The theory being that when you drop down again your shortboard will feel like grease lightening! The suggestion is not to do any longboarder tricks ie. cross stepping, drop knee turns etc... rather try to carve it up like you were shortboarding.  (I dug out a 7'' 6 Bonzer from the depths of my garage, big centre fin, two 'bat-wings and a channel bottom).  It made the most out of the conditions and dare I say it?  I had lots of fun on a day I'd normal sack surfing off.  I'll still be on my shorties on bigger days but am definitely more inspired to get out on something biggger on those smaller days. 

Sometimes it takes a knock to make you look at yourself and figure whether your anger/frustration is pointing in the right direction.

[SA Chris]

The Warning doesnt make it ok?

What if I put a warning like: WARNING : BIG INSULT COMING UP

and then said; Granticus you're a cock, would that make it OK? (I don't think this of course, just an example).

Glad you enjoyed the experience, I wouldn't take my longboard out on a big day either, pain in the arse to get it out the back more than anything else! Vague promise of a small wave up here on the weekend, hopefully the fog is gone.

[slackline]

Any of you guys been surfing in Munich?

Check these out...






Pretty strange place to go surfing, but I guess if you live that far inland and surf.

Tons more pics on flickr

(apologies for posting same pics in two thread, couldn't decide which they belonged in).

[SA Chris]

Quite a well known spot, not ridden it myself. It's even in Stormriders (or one of the guides). People even get boards made specially for the wave.

[SA Chris]

When we were in Jackson Hole (well jackson) year before last we went into one of the shops to sort out a snow mobiling trip to Yellowstone. In the shop there was a surfboard stashed in the corner, and the guy saif they regularly surf standing waves in the rivers there in the summer too. I guess if you are that far from the sea you will surf anything.

[slackline]

Thats all news to me (being a non-surfer) and sounds a bit crazy, but as you say if your land-locked you make do with what you can get.

[granticus]

The Warning doesnt make it ok?

What if I put a warning like: WARNING : BIG INSULT COMING UP

and then said; Granticus you're a cock, would that make it OK? (I don't think this of course, just an example).

I know Chris.. I was in a bad mood and I am beginning to come to terms with the fact that silly season has begun down here!!  I had to get my prejudices out there in order to confront my own demons. Plus it made me feel better and it's all about me you know.

Just watched a freebie DVD that came with Wavelength has a little section on this standing wave in Germany, looks fun, especially if this is the only juice you can get.

Small swell and offshore/ish here today, out for more grockle dodging this arvo...

[SA Chris]

Had a top session at banff yesterday. Sunny skies, no wind and nice clean swells.Got in just as tide turned, and we had the beach pretty much to ourselves. Nice small peeling waves, perfect for logging and trying out noseriding. As tide dropped, point stared to work, got a couple of good rides, and was getting better as tide dropped, but had to cut session short on the promise of a sunday roast (such hardship).

[galpinos]

Anyone on hear know of someone who could glass a fin back in and is based near Manchester? The missus snapped her middle fin this weekend after my botched repair job  so we could do with someone who knows what they're doing having a go this time.

The boards not worth much (I reclaimed it from the rubbish afetr a mate had chucked it do to said fin snapping) but if perfect for the missus (and me on small days).

Any ideas how much it would cost? I'm not a surfer as such, just a punter with a board clogging up the waves so haven't much of clue about these things!

[SA Chris]

FD will have a better idea of what's in that area than I do, but I could lend you the "ding repair scriptures" if you want to find out how they recommend doing it and have another go yourself.

[galpinos]

That would be fantastic Chris! Cheers.

[SA Chris]

No worries. Check your pm. Just did a quick google though, and the info online is just about as good.

[Falling Down]

Anyone on hear know of someone who could glass a fin back in and is based near Manchester?...

Whereabouts are you? I'm in the High Peak just outside Chapel en-le Frith and could do it for you if you drove to my place with board etc.