wiggums vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1F1LCqWEXc

fun session at wiggums last year

Sometimes Less Is More...

Sometimes nothing is everything...

From Marc B in the Netherlands...

Hi Paul,

Just a quick report from the Netherlands...

The UDT model works fine! Especially for the Dutch sloppy waves. I use it on the smaller days.

We have had a few really good mat days this summer and i mostly use the new XL model. The hybrid deck of the new XL model works so good. You can get grip on it and also replace your body very easy.

The last three weeks we haven't had any waves so i'm pretty full of energy and waiting for waves! Fall is coming so for Holland that means waves!

I'm so stoked to be a matsurfer. Its hard for a Dutchy to explane that in proper English.

I hope everything is fine with you.

All the best and speak to you soon.

Greets,

Marc

From JJ ...

Not to be outdone by landwave maestro Ricky S, an anonymous mat rider cracks the righthander at Golden Gate Park on nothing more than a well-proportioned bit of cardboard!

Style points for proper leg positioning, full-wrap shades, and Pepsodent smile! With a extra credit thrown in for later participating in the park's eternal drum circle. :)

Riccardo Cassin

1909 - 2009

Sea Urchins for supper...

...on the hill. My fellow EPA members took a break from the Animal House that is Saturday surfing to partake in some snorkel picking.

The 4th Gear Flyer adventures never end round ere.

RS

From Hal in SC ...

Hi Paul,

Sort of don't want to show you this, knowing you're still mostly landlocked but...

Here's a few shots of the finished Terry Martin balsa board.

50" X 21½" X 2"

It came out so pretty, my wife didn't want me to even get it wet! But we compromised and I'll keep it in the house when I'm not using it.

Terry's super talented BIL John Cherry had a pair of Simmons profile keel fins left over from one of the repro's they'd done together, and he cut them down just a bit to fit the smaller shape...and did a bitchen bead on the edge...

I made the blank from some really stout balsa I found at my usual yard in Santa Ana. Terry said it was the hardest, densest balsa he's ever worked. And that's from the guy who's going on 75,000+ surfboards!

And even though Moonlight's superb glass job was fairly light...it still weighs 18lbs! The wood's so tough the guys at Moonlight said it will be VERY hard to ding it. It even has chatoyance!

The only problem I have with the weight is lugging it up hills after a surf! Paddling out, it flattens the whitewater right down and being so dense, it duck dives real easy.

On a wave, once it's over the edge it really wants to GOOOOO! It rides like a souped up Cadillac!

It tasted it's first salt last weekend, at the paipo gathering at Plaskett Creek. We had a great time. The weather and waves were just OK, but we still enjoyed excellent surroundings, company and grinds.

Best Regards,

Hal

Note from "EC" ...

Greetings, and a hearty "cheerio" to everyone in the mat riding world!

I'm facing a bit of dilemma with my recent transition from a music-based lifestyle to one focused on surfing inflatable air mattresses here in the UK.

As a young child, I was quite happy...

But as I matured, my mood became more sullen...
Even with my prescription reading glasses on, things seemed bleak and out of focus...


I then tried perscription meds in hopes of brightening my mood. As you can plainly see...no luck.

Then, quite by happenstance, I gave "mat surfing" a whirl on a sunny afternoon at Brighton Beach. I broke into a smile for the first time since, well, my baby teeth came in!

My issue is that, previously unbeknownst to me, I appear to be a bit of a cheeky monkey when I grin!

Now, I am hooked on mat surfing...and I can't stop smiling! My friends, co-workers, and family are having quite a jolly time making sport of my newly found geekdom.

I have no intention whatsoever of giving the heave-ho to my passion for mat surfing, but the price I'm paying in the dry dock world is so steep, I may have to resort to drastic measures.

Do any of you fine chaps and birds have any suggestions what these drastic measures might entail? (I am on a limited budget, BTW.)

Thanks to you for your time,

E.C.

Ripley, Surrey

why we call ourselves watermen

i may start calling myself an aquatic ape! click on this link to a lecture on TED.com about an interesting theory on evolution. it would explain alot...