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
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
2 comments:
good writing. i could envision your ride and i felt envious.
JJ:
who are u?
JP (john park) & i were in the same grade at Lincoln & CdM and still keep in touch
woody, a little older, lived down the street from me on Aralia, across fro CdM High. his sister susan was in JP’s & my grade
yeah – many, many fun summers at CdM - especially when “The End was breaking” – on the blue/red stripes *and* the heavier duty blue w/ yellow rubber-end Hodgeman-Converse’s
to be honest, i don’t remember JP (maybe the Woodman) doing fins on his bags – at least when we were in school; maybe later, after boogs were born?
currently, i have a couple dale solomonson's Neumatics, and am waiting for current feedback from greg deets on these new puppies, as we share, somewhat, similar body sizes (he’s got vertical inches on me though!) and his preliminary take is that these new ones are more stable than dale's
i have some pics I could post if i knew how to use this blog properly
later
P.S. i mistakenly have posted this to a newer post from you ... sorry for repeat
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