The Basics

$5 shorts, flippers, mat. Am now hardened to the point where I can surf all day in trunks without canvas rash. Second hand Quicksilver shorts are best yet. pod PF2s give superb wave holding ability, and now that the retainer straps are tied extra short, they stay on through anything. 4GF Standard is magic in all conditions. Ah, simplicity...

Pranaglider, Going Left

Paul,

I thought I would send this shot along.

Me on the Fatty hoping that the inside section decides to swallow me.

The surf was not great but we got a break from the spring winds and the sun was out.

The spot is called Blackies, just north of Newport Beach pier.

More of a longboard spot not really as much push as I like for the mat but it was fun.

Several people very interested in the mat.

BTW there should be a matting shot on the Surfers Journal "Journal Entries" section shortly.

I hope you are well.

Bruce

From Tom S...

Paul-

Had a great 10 day visit with my son and his GF, they are living and working in Cabo Pulmo, Baja California. Located on the Sea of Cortez and a beautiful marine sanctuary, they are the resident dive masters and instructors. My wife and I got our open water cert. while visiting them.

Surf wasn't too bad either, a short 25 min dirt track to the N. and we were on top of some of the area's best point breaks. Had 3 days of 5-7 feet @16 sec. The go-to surfcraft was the FGF-Standard, never had the urge to take either of my resident boards out. Last session this past Friday I went out and surfed with a couple of guys camping nearby they bailed for breakfast on the beach while I had it solo.

Another guy slipped out through the lineup, moving like a lynx on a SUP. He took one or two waves inside of me and paddled further out on the point where I was and we said good mornings. He had a familiar looking face under the hat brim so I paddled over and shook hands. He introduced himself as Gerry Lopez, and we shared set waves for the next 45 minutes or so before I left him to enjoy it alone. The mat screamed on those long pointbreak lineups, very pleased with the volume of that design.

More later...

Tom

Sunday Morning Fatty

Less than a week ago, my mother passed away from a pneumonia. This was the second time I lost my mother. You see, I have had two. I was adopted and shortly after I was reunited with my biological mother, she was killed in a car accident. So this Mother's day, I was blessed to spend the morning all alone with the only mother l have left, doing what I love the very most; surfing. The conditions were windy and cold but there was warmth. I thought it was a nice touch, surfing in such a manner as matting. This is the first time I've really surfed a mat. Here's a humble little sequence of waves from today...


Sunday Morning Fatty from Vyusher La Kali on Vimeo.

From Kendog...2006

Tom T Visits Portugal...

Hi Paul;

Even though we didn't have a telephoto lens, I think this is a pretty good shot of a mat rider taking off deep and setting up for a fast ride.


It's me riding, too, and I'm pleased to see that I look like a serious surfer on my mat. As a mat surfing pioneer in Portugal, I was hoping to set a high standard.

The next day I was back at this reef, to find bigger but windier conditions. It was actually more fun because there were only three of us out, and my Fatty really worked well in the chop and bumps. Here's a shot from the cliff before I went out:


One wave I caught was a thick bumpy double-up. I started out riding the top of the wave, gliding effortlessly while looking for an opening into the lower, bowly part of this double-up. I found it, pushed the mat over the edge and free fell into a bottom turn. When I looked down the line I saw a kid just on the other side of the bowl paddling for the wave, but watching me. He paused as if uncertain as I aimed right at him, then pulled out letting me have the wave. I rode it all the way into the cove. When I got back to the outside he had a gigantic grin on his face. "Looks like FUN!" he said, and asked me what I was riding! He spoke enough English for me to tell him about surf mats. This young Portuguese surfer had never even heard of mats, but he was really stoked about what he had seen. I was smiling too.

There are a lot of waves in Portugal, lots of interesting reefs. I didn't get anything in the way of epic swells, but there were no crowds anywhere I found surf. When there wasn't a swell, it was flat.


Lisbon wasn't breaking, but I imagine the crowd factor there is insane. The city is insane.

Tom

Update from Denis...

Hi Paul,

As I expected, a short period swell hit our shores on Sunday with a little wind, but still good 3 to 4 foot waves to share with some friends. So I took my new Standard Mat to a remote pointbreak and started to apply a little "surfmat theory", to see if things work...

To my surprise, it only took 3 waves, or less, to adjust my positioning while paddling or surfing. I started to feel the subtelties of hand and fin positioning, too, while bottom-turning and soon I was flying down the line, eating all the flat spots of the wave and connected all the sections through the shorebreak. There were plenty of hollow sections on the waves, but the wind was killing every single cover up attempt...but I've already felt that Mr. Standard likes to put me right where I should be!!

I now have a little rash on my chin...and a huge smile on my face!

I guess you know why??!!

Thanks Paul

Best wishes

Denis
Chateau d'Olonne
France

"2:35"

Heydon Bunting Sequence: From Seaworthy from Nathan Oldfield.

4GF Survives Volcanic Journey!

Hi Paul,

Just a few words to say that my Standard 4GF mat arrived last Wednesday in wonderful shape, after being stopped by the Volcano air traffic mess!

I'll take it to my local break for the first time tomorrow, as a new swell is about to hit our shores, after a 15 day flat spell...

Thanks for the stoke, Paul!

Best wishes,

Denis
Chateau d'Olonne
France