[Falling Down]

Nice one Gav - looks great 

[SA Chris]

Forgot to mention that the jerry in the pics is the Jerry of climbing yore.

Peel?

Looks great.

[Falling Down]

Philo:

Try this a couple times a week.

10 Pullups on a bar or board
20 Dumbell OH squats
30 24" Box Jumps (or jumps onto a bench)
40 Pressups full ROM (Chest on floor to full lock)
50 Situps
60 Burpees with jumping clap
10 Pullups on a bar or board

For time.. e.g. against the clock.  Should take between 10 and 20 minutes.

[Falling Down]

It's called 'Those Burpees Suck' and is brilliant training for surfing (in addition to spending the time surfing and lots of time in the pool of course)

[chummer]

Looking for some opinions on my first shortboard, I've picked up the basics, getting out at least twice a week when there are waves. Currently surfing a nice 7' 3" glass mini mal, almost exclusively here in N.Wales.
Bearing in mind the waves we get up here and my ability (or lack of it...) I'm looking at the6' 3" 'Fourth Speedfish' and the 6' 4" 7's 'Superfish'
At the moment the Fourth big plus is being a British company, etc (not sure about 7's)
The 7's big plus seems to be the rails.
Otherwise there doesn't seem to be much in it and both seem ideal for my usage.

If anyone have any opinions/first hand experience of these boards or any other advice it would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance
Jon

[philo]

going to a shorter board for me was a revelation.  I find it a lot easier on steeper/slabby waves and the control is amazing. 
You have to look at what waves you are going to be riding.  What's the other dimensions of the board? width, thickness etc!

Some here will offer a lot better advice than me tho

[SA Chris]

Are there any shapers in N Wales?

I think both makers just go for the mass produced option anyway, so one being British is not much of an advantage  if it's not being shaped for you.

And what's special about the 7's rails?

[SA Chris]

East coast looks good today, btw. Aberdeen has good groundswell and offshire winds. And I am at sodding work.

[chummer]

Fourth make pretty much all their boards here in the UK and use a human to shape them, I think the 7's are all mass produced in Thailand

The 7's edges have incuts that help in turn like a shorter board (apparently).

Both boards are pretty thick and volumus for their size, about 36l for the 7'3 but still relatively thin at the edges so a good short board for our waves up here and my ability level.

I'm interested to hear from anyone who has one of these in their quiver or surfs with anyone who does. Both seem to do pretty much the same thing so an opinion here or there could swing it.

I wouldn't get a shaper to make me one for a while until I'm experienced enough to know exactly what I want.

[SA Chris]

you got links to the boards?

From googling, the 7 seems to have a similar plan shape to my Bilt "Bullet Fish" although mine has only got a thruster fin setup. FWIW, I found mine to be a great board to progress from a minimal with. It has a fair bit of volume in the middle and fairly tapered rails which make it a bit unstable when popping up, but easier to get a rail in and turn. At the time I got tit though I had been riding the minimal exclusively for about 4 years, gwetting in the water a lot and riding it in anything from dribbly crap to shoulder / head high ish.

Thing is whether or not or not someone on here owns or has ridden one of the two boards is pretty much irrelevant unless they are exactly the same size, weitht and ability as you are.

[granticus]

Looks like you've had some stunning sessions oop north, great piccies GME and great tale about getting thrashed exiting said slab.   Have witnessed some guys getting into similar trouble at Lyndaka whilst I was out bouldering, 3 smashed up boards, several lost fins and 3 x battered egos...

It's our turn now, have a few days off work and the charts are looking super strong to get my favourite left.

[philo]

bored on youtube and came across this,


i particularly found the dog tow in funny

[SA Chris]

Seen before, great.

[Falling Down]

That's brilliant (and actually looks fun  )

[Falling Down]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11626242

7.5 richter scale Earthquake in the Mentawai Islands last night.  23 dead already confirmed. 100's missing.   

The charter boat Southern Cross is currently missing and the Midas was carried 200m onshore from its anchorage at Macaroni's and burst into flames - all crew and guests went overboard and got picked up OK. Apparently the southern islands of the chain are in a really bad way.

Surfaid http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11626242 will no doubt get an aid initiative moving quickly.

[Falling Down]

Are there any shapers in N Wales?

O'Shea

[SA Chris]

Really? I thought theirs were all factory made.

[philo]

been an excellent couple of days.  Today there was fuck all swell.  Nothing for the next few days either.  Hows it been up north chris?
Checking charts and forecasts and its looking grim again

[SA Chris]

Sunday am was good, Monday looked excellent all day, today shite. And due to sick child and too much going on at work I have seen fuck all of it.

[gme]

Further to Falling downs earlier email here is a link to Surf Aids site with more info on the problems in the Mentawais. Feel free to donate if you can.

http://www.surfaidinternational.org/media/news.html#Mentawai_Earthquake

I have seen what Surf aid does out there and without it the area would get pretty much no outside help at all. This area of the world is really only visited by surfers and its surf aid and surfers who are on the ground first. Through surf aid the area now has basic medical facilities which were pretty much non existant 10 years ago.

Its pretty humbling and a little embarrassing to see how these people live (survive) whilst you sit aboard your £2000.00 per 10 day trip charter boat and therefore upsetting when mother nature fucks them over yet again, that's why i have supported Surf Aid every year since my first trip there in 2004.

[Falling Down]

Get's grimmer as each day goes by.. 

The good thing about the boat trips and the resorts has been SurfAid.  I can't remember the stats that Dave told us about child life expectancy changing over the last decade due to malaria education and basic healthcare but they were mightily impressive.  If the boats and SurfAid weren't out in the islands then the death toll would have been much higher and it's unlikely to have made the international news in the way that it has.

On a brighter tip, here's an interesting interview with Fletcher Chouinard http://www.patagonia.com.au/journal/?p=809

[philo]

was on jasons profile looking at new board pictures when i came across this:





Caught of the east coast of scotland i do believe!

[SA Chris]

Looks like a porbeagle, aka gay shark.

[gme]

There are a lot of big toothy critters in our seas, and probs even more than we know about.

If you look on youtube there is footage of a shark similar size to that at Blyth pier last summer. It was hooked by a kid fishing for mackrel.i am sure his story will be recounted many a time in the future.

A rally big thresher shark was landed at scarborough a few years back that was 14 ft long and weighed 500lbs. It was caught in salmon nets only a few hundred meters from a well known surf spot.

Then at the end of last year an enormous sperm whale (they said it was a juvenile but it was very large) washed up on reef local to me. i would have shat myself had we been in the water when it turned up.

[philo]

same here, I get the shivers everytime some seaweed touches my foot, imagine watching any of the above come anywhere near you?

As i surf mainly alone it would make the situation worse!

Its a weird place the uk coast line, im going to do some youtubing, thanks gme :/

also, went out today for a good 2 hours going as far north to as far south looking for some sign of swell/sheltered location to get some of the potential waves i was seeing.  Not one spot tho, so choppy off the wind.  Im going to go out again in another couple of hours.  Hopefully with the rising tide it might be ridable.  ffs i just want an hour of anything, 4 ft shit one wave in a 30 minute set, anything.