Jerry's Tenerife Adventure!

Hi

Used my Mat for seven days solid got off the plane and within 3 hours was surfing. Was staying on the island of Tenerife in the Canary isles in the resort of Playa DE ls Americas which is surrounded by famous breaks it never went flat the whole week.Surfed spots such as Bunkers El Conquistador La Troya La Izquierda and La derecha del Cartel,these are all reef breaks and the Mat held up okay unlike me who got an urchin spine in my foot on my first surf.

Getting out, found the best way of duck diving was to try and fold the front to form a tunnel which seemed to work reasonably well most waves I could bob over. Paddling for the waves after a while got it taped and could not believe how late I could take off and make the drop, it was the bottom turn I had the most problem with get it right led to some long rides get it wrong and I went in a straight line into the shore and much frustration.

Overall I would say this is the second most fun you can have lying down, caught plenty of waves and had a ton of fun hope to get better at riding my mat , nearly pulled off air forward on one wave.Will be putting away my bodyboards and make my mat my weapon of choice.

Sorry no photos, wife worst photographer known to mankind

Regards Jerry

From the Emerald Isle...

Dia duit Paul,

Just a quick update from Ireland...still getting to grips with the Standard. Really stoked with it.

Had it out at a spot that needs a decent 10' swell to go off. Conditions weren't great for boards, but the mats don't care!

All the best,

Pat

River Ran

Our trip was all too brief; we forged our way into the forbidden coast, enjoyed a lovely day of playful work, and then scooted home safely. I say forbidden because the fragile coast road is beset with rockslides and closures both north and south, so we crawled in through a little-used side route that cleaves the ancient Santa Lucia mountains. The drive was gorgeous beyond compare, albeit harrowing at times when we got a clear look at how the mountain slopes plunged away from the road's shoulder.

The conditions were kind to us. That area changes constantly, and we got a bit of rain and wind and cold and surprising tidal swings, but we also got some placid sunshine and a glassy ocean surface for a spell. We crammed about 25 quick setups into one day of shooting, and even had time for a little free surf afterwards. It was physically exhausting because the surf is a mile down an edenic footpath from the highway and parking lot. We hiked in and out 4 times, carrying camera and surf gear, so we expended some calories. The river runs all along the way, but access is limited. There is more poison oak there than you've ever seen in your life -- forested acres of it -- and much of the riverbed is rocky and tough. We tried to make it look more benign than it really was!

Kendog, dr. lang, and my son were champions the whole way -- eager, focussed, good-natured, and energetic. I can't thank them enough.

Here are some hasty frame grabs. I'll see what I can construct with the footage, and keep everyone apprised : )

G-Man's B'Day Bash...

This was the only pic we managed unfortunately...DOH!!!

L-R (faces to names for you!) Matt Cox, Me, Ian, Andy Cooke, Bob Booth

Cheers

G

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Follow-up...these guys know how to rage!

Meeting Of The Mat Nerd Minds...

hi paul-

tom the airline pilot from Germany stopped by for a visit today. seems like a very nice fellow. we talked matting and life in general. i love making friends through matting. surf nerds unite!

all my best to you,

steiny

Latest iPad Marketing Blitz...

The geniuses at, uh, whatever place makes the iPad, have thrown down the gauntlet. Their fresh media come-on entails a bright young man in a store, contemplating the purchase of an IPad.

In the advert, the kid confirms his street cred by logging on to the hippest/hottest web page in the Northern Hemishpere...

From The Pendarvis/Threinen Camp...

(Pendo enjoying nicer conditions last fall...photo: Lance Smith)

Hi Paul, Steve came home from an amazing mat session this afternoon at the reefs. There were 4-7 foot face sw swells and high tide, after the storm, so also lots of 3 foot—8 second intervals mixed in, you had to find the 18 second interval souths for the ride. No one else out, stormy windblown slopper-doppers. The Tracker on free fall take-offs with only one pontoon in the water, covering massive amounts of area, absolutely giddy! I could go on and on and on, it was just a WOW! session. Anyway, we love ya and we thought we'd throw some ping-pong ball energy at cha because I'm a ping'n Pendo.

Out for now,

Steve and Cher Cowa-flexit!

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Hey Paul;

I'll second that! My favorite days now at the reefs are the post storm-front days with some kind of ground swell mixed in. My new Tracker finds the lined up pockets amongst all the chaos and flies! And the crowds are always thin. It's like riding a newly discovered surf spot! If only I could get more days in the water.

Tom

Crew call: The Old River Run

A few years ago I shot a quick little film of a mat ride down a river to the surf. My friends and I have done it dozens of times over the last 30 years, but I never really got any footage until 2008. And even then, I had a damaged camera, not enough time, and waning surf. It took literally one day of shooting, then one day of editing. Still, we managed to sketch out the proof of concept, in hopes of returning another year to do it better.

Well, time is running out this season, but maybe the new version can be shot in the next couple of weeks. The river's water levels are still pretty good, and I can only hope for waves. Worst case, I/we could return later and shoot the surfing sequence separately.

So I'm looking for 2 or 3 people to join me for 2 nights of camping and filming in and around the Big Sur River, between about April 13th to the 30th. I'd prefer to be there on weekdays.

I need at least one mat rider and one crew person. Even better would be 2 mat riders, because the water gets really cold. If both were wearing black wetsuit hoodies, they'd be pretty interchangeable, and could spell one another throughout the sessions.

I'd shoot most of it from the shore, as in the proto-film, but also jump in the water with a sports cam to get some action shots, both on the river and in the surf line-up. I plan to use the same music bed, but I'll record a lot more fresh ambient audio. And I won't do the old fashioned gritty film-look -- I only used that because my footage was faulty due to a damaged camcorder, so I turned it into a "feature".

The proto-film is here:

http://vimeo.com/22063797

Thoughts, comments?



UPDATE 4/8: The plan begins to gel... had an enthusiastic conversation with Kendog last night, and we targeted Monday, April 18 as our travel day. We'll camp 2 nights. My son will come with us. We'll get up early and shoot most or all of it on Tuesday April 19. The following morning we can snag any remaining shots and/or audio recordings, then pursue more waves. It'll be a long day, but we'll probably head home then, too -- Weds. April 20.

UPDATE 4/10: Had a nice talk this morning with Dr. Lang, and added him to the crew. So I feel pretty secure that the basics are covered now. If the weather and the surf are forthcoming, we'll be golden.

UPDATE 4/11: Booked our campsite. The woman with whom I spoke was very kind, gave us a choice spot, and let me know that the river is in good form. It's deeper and moving faster than it was in the original movie, so I'm stoked!

Do You Know Who This Guy Is?

Paul

You should check out this interview with John Ruffels about Dr.Ernest Smithers, the the inventer of the surfoplane surf mat in the 1930s...really cool stuff!

MR MIKE

That's it...I'm moving to PR!

The Puerto Rican Terrier Surfed with Surfing Lab Today!

Here are dos amigo pups at Los Tubos, PR!

Antonio and his wife Michelle were perfect hosts. Lisa and Michelle continued to be amused by the pups enthusiasm. Managed to ride the mat at Rincon, Los Jobos and the Marine park within San Juan. We were in the water at Marine Park within minutes of our landing. How cool is it that the residents of San Juan can swing by for a session over lunch or after work...or instead of work! We found all the locals welcoming and curious about mats.

David