[ben]

and the advantage of mid-summer..   got out the water at 1015pm last night! 

[chummer]

Hope some of you managed to get over this week, such an unusually good June so far..we had this during the week for a few days:


http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/543201_10151043886565039_2054395226_n.jpg

just all day peeling fun fun and more fun in the sunshine, nose burnt, shoulders tired...happy boy..

Then the storm rolled in and on Saturday the usual manic texts, calls, bouy and weather station checks (thank fuck for the late tide and long day light hours) eventually led us to clean head high off shore at a certain N.Lleyn spot (bailed on mid Wales after reports that it was a bit blown out)  with nobody else in, then chest to shoulder at the same place yesterday morning still with nobody else in...crazy! Ode to the popular trendy cat walk spots...
My shoulders and back are now totally fucked and the rat was well and truly fed although there's still this at the mouth today....

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150967105669295&set=a.203081784294.128004.201563109294&type=1

but I really should do some work...

[aLICErOBERTSfANkLUB]

<wrong thread>

[chummer]

Anyone used/owns one of these?


http://store.magicseaweed.com/product.php?productId=5548

It's a Rusty 'Dwart' 5'10"

I'm 5'6", 60-65 kg going from a 6'4" fish, progressive beginner/ intermediate surfer based in N.Wales.

And please lets not start a custom V's off the peg argument, when I know exactly what I want (with a little soul) I'll pay somebody to make it.


Cheers

[granticus]

Anyone used/owns one of these?


http://store.magicseaweed.com/product.php?productId=5548

It's a Rusty 'Dwart' 5'10"

I'm 5'6", 60-65 kg going from a 6'4" fish, progressive beginner/ intermediate surfer based in N.Wales.

And please lets not start a custom V's off the peg argument, when I know exactly what I want (with a little soul) I'll pay somebody to make it.


Cheers

I own a custom made (Bunty) copy version of one of these.  It's 5''8 x 20.5'' x 2 5/8''.  I'm 5'10'' and 70kgs.  Would say that 5''10 is gonna have way too much volume for a man of your stature.  I really like the board though, it goes very well in small surf and less powerful surf which is exactly why I bought one...  twas a lot cheaper than the Rusty Dwart too.

[gme]

When there is any surf (not this year it would seem) my go to board for beachbreak, slower reefs is a 5`9" x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2 Merrick Dumpster diver. Possibly the best board i have ever ridden.
 
I never thought i would ride such a short board as i am 6` 1" and 80Kg but out of all my boards its the easiest to paddle and catch waves on. Its all to do with the volume which is becoming more of a common measure to see written on boards.

Still ride 6`4" - 6` 6" round pins on the proper waves but looking to try something different here as well this autumn along the lines of a "semi pro 12" ( but not a £600 plus one) or a Forth "Teardrop". I want to be able to ride a shorter board on the good days, to stop me racing away from the barrel as happens on longer boards,but still get into the waves early.

So i guess i am very much a fan of the shorter, wider, fatter revolution (foam is your friend).

[gme]

And whilst i am on here to amuse us through the neverending flat spell.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/44253174

I want this in my garden please santa.

[chummer]

That's for the advice gme and grantis, I also wonder whether (despite my low abitilty and weak Welsh waves) I may have gone a bit big...this 5'10 Dwart has the same volume as my 6'3 fish. Will have a look at the Bunty What's your ability level Grantis?

However, I had a quick blast on my mates (same size, etc) yesterday in Cariad and it felt immediately ridable, I couldn't believe it, nice and skatey which I think suits me as I used to skateboard a lot and catches waves just as easily as my 6'3 and feels great under foot, so I guess you're right gme about it being all about the volume.

Having just badly torn a finger tendon I have already 'won' one of these on eBay so I'm committed to that size now but I agree that I could probably go smaller. My thinking now though is that it will be an ideal transitional board to use while I get used to going smaller (as it's the same volume that I'm riding now) and learning to move the board around more. I envisage that I'll probably want to trade it in for a smaller one later in the year, and/or getting something with slightly less volume of a similar size like the Quiver 'Hart Attack', Forth 'Speedfish', etc or even get one of these copied by a shaper for my first custom 

But yes, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun on this in the type of waves that we mostly have over here, feels like a great little board and I'm also hoping it will hold well in clean head high where my fish feels a bit clumsy although I worry it may be a bit corky.

Sweet little vid there gme, nice car!....But we've had a good spell of surf over this way, especially for May/June, and more is forecast to come this evening, so I hope you get your share, where are you based?

I've gotta add that I'm fucking loving surfing and all the keeness over the winter and days in less that ideal surf are starting to pay off...so much to learn...it can only get even more fun! 

[gme]

The board you have now will be much more manoverable than your old board despite the similarity in volume. The tail shape will allow you to tighten up your turns in comparison to a fish, especially if its a "retro" fish shape that i think are about the worst shaped board for a beginner/ intermediate to surf on despite what most people say. We were all sold a kipper by watching the likes of Rasta surfing amazing on old fish shapes; they forgot to mention that these pros could surf on a barn door better than we can, have all the time in the world and are paid to be different. You don't see many climbers going out in the hills with nailed boots, hemp rope and a pocket of pebbles just to see what it was like, but i bet if Johnny started doing it it would become fashionable.

I must profess as to being a retro board hater, but i have ridden them, and fish shapes with a wide tail are about the hardest board to ride that there is, not to catch waves with but to ride, that's why we changed to thrusters. I know people who got really into them a few years back and you could visibly see there surfing deteriorate, all have changed back to normal shortboards now.

The new wave of boards all try to keep a short board template through the last third of the board but widen up the front, this makes it easier to paddle into our generally sloppy waves but still keeps the board lose and responsive in the tail, which is where everything happens. They also all tend to have much less nose rocker than the old toothpicks that people used to ride, again making them more suitable for us punters and UK slop.

I too am only an intermediate surfer so i am not claiming to know that much, but have ridden a fair few boards and have a decent understanding of how they work.

I live up in the darkest NE, great reefs, great waves, few crowds (other than one or two spots) but unfortunately not a lot of swell.

[chummer]

Great stuff gme, really helpful knowledge and advice thanks.

My fish isn't a retro shape and I can totally see where you're coming from with those shapes.
It's a 7s superfish which I went to from my 7'3 mini mal. Just some back ground as any further advice is much appreciated:

I have learnt relatively quickly on this (7s super fish) board and do love it although it feels a little big and slow on the turns sometimes (it is super fast down the line however). I am getting the Dwart to see where that can take my surfing as I want to move around more on the wave and I think my skateboarding has influenced this a great deal. This is only my second year of proper surfing (as opposed to the perpetually shit punter once in a blue moon surfer) and I manage to get out a few times a week (when there's waves of course) with only a few of two week flat spells to contend with since last Autumn as there's often something to surf here whether it be local wind chop or if we're lucky mid-long range swell. Gotta love this La Nina weather..
Ability wise I'm just starting to do do cutbacks, albeit slow ones, and am able to ride up and down the face of the wave reasonably well. Funnily enough the best, snappiest cutback I've done so far was on the second wave I got on me mates Dwart! Both the Dwart and the 7s are around 36litres in volume.

Think I've made the right choice bearing in mind I'll trade the Dwart for a smaller/ less voluminous one when I get used to this..

[Baron]

Google map of campsites near Biarritz including prices for the entire summer season:


From this magicseaguess thread:
http://community.magicseaweed.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=17507

Tres bon.

[granticus]

What's your ability level Grantis?

     Never really considered what level I am, i can make a surfboard go where I want it to, I can hack out a decent turn now and then, I can ride steeper more powerful waves to a fair size..... but then again I can also fall off, i can do crap turns and I can get pile drived into the sand at will.. 

GME has said it all really with regards to shape and volume.  Like you say you can always start reducing the volume down when you start getting used to shorter boards.  I wish I was rich enough to have a massive quiver/lots of choice; I have to make do with what I have..  I generally get by with 2 boards.  When the waves have some grunt I go to my 6''2 Firewire Flexfire (rounded pin) (not much volume in this but firewires do float well) and if they're sloppy I turn to the short fat board.  I learnt on a 7''6 bonzer that was given to me, I dropped down to a 6''8 thruster with lots of volume when I wanted to go shorter and then to boards in the 6''4 to 6''2 range.

More importantly it's great that you're loving it and that there is more swell headed our way!!  Super glassy in NDevon tommorow night! 

[Drew]

A friend found this after the QUICKSILVER Welsh National Surf Comp 2012.

[chummer]

See the MSW forum for an ongoing discussion on the above.

Nice one granticus, really useful to hear what and how others have got on progressing with boards. Enjoy the swell, we had a nice pulse at the Mouth this afternoon, got a couple of those waves that just make you smile from ear to ear, it just keeps getting better! 

[chummer]

Board is due to arrive in time for swell on saturday, will let you both know how I get on with it.

[ben]

our local last night

[SA Chris]

Nice. Does she have a brother called Bertie?

[Baron]

Ferry booked end of July Newhaven to Dieppe with these guys http://ldlines.co.uk/, followed by 3 weeks in SW France. Psyched.

[chummer]

Just thought I'd let you know how I got on with me new 5'10" Rusty Dwart....first session out on it and I had the best session of the year so far in lovely clean waist/chest high peelers. So easy and fast to paddle and it feels like a skateboard under foot, never moved a board around so much on a wave before. Love it and I reckon this is the board to progress further on before getting something with less volume. The tail feels so much more responsive than on my fish too. Brilliant 

Thanks again for all the knowledge on here gme and grantis, time to plan a trip away now....gagging for waves!

[chummer]

Check these little buggers out, all pre teen with a surf ability way beyond their years...brilliant......bastards

[SA Chris]

Little wankers

[SA Chris]

Finally got round to seeing Bustin' down the Door on the weekend, and can highly recommend it. Great insight into a pivotal time in the history of surfing, and some quality old school footage; seriosuly ballsy surfing in huge North Shore waves on pretty low-tech boards by modern standards.

[SA Chris]

http://www.protectourwaves.org.uk/

[SA Chris]

http://www.radiotimes.com/programme/rsfw6/surfing-special-the-endless-winter

Surfing on C4 this week and next. No idea if it will be any good.

[gme]

I presume they are the full length versions of the shorts that have been on MSW for a good while. If so well worth watching.

Dont feel much like a surfer at the minute due to the lack of waves, its been a long time since i have had a drop.