Hello Paul!
I thought I'd give you an early report regarding the "Classic" mat. I was stoked it arrived as quick as it did.....you must've been moving pretty fast in your shop!
First off, I had an opportunity to ride my black/blue Fatty last Monday and Tuesday at the Corona Del Mar Jetty, when a good sized southern hemi rolled through. As expected, the Fatty excelled.... with speed to burn on the inside section! I got some great roundhouse cutbacks off those giant "foamers".
CDM Jetty is a very esoteric spot at best, usually showing up around 6-8 feet...requiring a dead-on 180 degree South swell. It's also a spot that's steeped in mat history. With the invention of the blackball flag, mats could be seen littered along the jetty for the flag's duration, during the summer months of the late 60's/70's.
Perhaps we should give a nod here to photographer Woody Woodworth, who penned the article "Rubber Duck" for Surfer magazine.The volume/issue # escapes me at the moment....but it's the one with the "Santosha" cover. This groundbreaking article chronicled the inflatable experience in Orange County at that time. Woody and fellow cohort John Parks would modify their "stripes down" Converse/Hodgman mats, armored with extra canvas and small fins for stability...necessary for when the "big ones" came through!
I made it down to my local beachbreak to try the Classic this morning, and I was stoked to see a couple of things...clear blue sky (in spots)light offshores (didn't last too long)2 - 4 ft. mix of S/SW/W swells, with a low-going-to-high tide. Easy crowd...maybe 4 to 5 people early on (whuuuuut?). So I'm huffin' the Classic, fins on, and out in a blink! I caught some smaller fun ones early for warm ups, then tackled a steep, head-high left that I'll admit I ate it on, horribly! You know the drill...a little too late on your takeoff, and next your staring down this ultra-steep drop, where you haven't quite set up your "edge"...and you wind up coming in straight! (Booooo!!!)
It ends on a much better note. Another set rolls in, I'm sitting a little further out this time around, and I'm paddling towards another head-high peak. Another guy sees it too, and we're both gunning for position. We wound up crossing each other prior to takeoff. He really wanted that right, so we switched and I went for the left. I think I got the better half but, I couldn't see him once I made the drop. This time I gave it much more tweak (body torque) to maintain some virtual rail...HUGE difference! The Classic took the "sweet line" and stayed put...allowing me to set up (stall) a juicy, sustained, barrel! I was already calling it a "camera wave" before the ride was over. It finished with a nice little floater over the oncoming right hand soup...bitchin'!!!
In one 1 hour session, I deem The "Classic" totally worthy...whether it be your back-up mat, or an affordable, high performance first-timer! Thanks again for the stoke Paul! Keep up the good work!
JJ
