Hi Paul,
Here´s a pic of the Vespa and the XL at Pleasure Point. The waves were mostly nice for the mat and it wasn´t too crowded at this spot. Next month 2 days of Brazilian winter, then vacation to Brittany - lots of opportunities to slide, I hope.
Maybe we can arrange a meeting (with surf!) again in the fall.
Hope all is well.
Tom
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Hi Paul,
The Standard arrived late yesterday afternoon in time for a third session of the day. If you had a look on our beach cam you would have seen a pretty good day for our break. Mostly just a good wind swell (7 sec) but after a day of offshore winds, it was lining up pretty good. I wasn't planning on that third session but when I came home and found the Standard on my doorstep I just had to give it a run. Got in four or five more waves until I couldn't go anymore. Looking fwd to more waves this morning if there is anything left.
Thanks for the great service and quick delivery. Keep up the good work.
Rich
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Hi Paul,
What a perfect weekend to get a new mat in the mail. I'm still not sure how you deliver them so quickly but I'm happy that you do.
We had waves here on the NJ coast all weekend w the swell finally dissipating on Sunday evening. I got to ride the Standard while it was still good for Saturday's third session of the day. My first impression is that it was maybe a bit slower, but the crew of surfers that was watching from the beach told me that it was the fastest they saw me go all day.
Either way, its great to finally add a Standard to the quiver and I"m guessing it will be my go to mat for the rest of the summer.
Rich
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feedback time. so andy returned from la yesterday afternoon. she went to see her sister for the weekend. she took the mats, cause her sister(who is a good surfer) was interested in trying one. they surf manhattan pier in head high or so peaks/closeouts. they both were stoked on how well the mats surfed-making sections,etc. andy said it would just take off, set itself and go!
after the surf they went to ET surf shop. apparently they had been watching andy and lissa surf the mats, 'cause when they entered the shop, they were all "hey lissa, were you guys on greenough mats?" they were all pumped up to actually see and touch one!
Frenchy
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Saw the UDT on the porch when I came home!
Had to whisk Ivy off to dance class, so no time to inflate yet!
I'll blow it up for sure when I get home.
Thanks so much again,
JJ
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Thank you Paul. I got the Fatty and the box of goodies last night. I'll probably ride the Wedge first.
Thanks as always for the insane service, Jeff
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Thanks Paul! excited to try Mat surfing and take photos and post a column on my experience
Brian
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Dear Paul,
Steve rode his 4GF Tracker Roundtail this evening for the fifth surf in a row in big, bumpy wind swell at the cliffs (five foot backs), and was asked by three people on surfboards if he wanted to trade for awhile! He was having a ball as usual.
Love and Aloha,
Cher
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Steve now has seven days in a row on the 4GF. The waves have been crazy good the last two days, and most every shift was 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
Overheard in the line up: "It's roping, and you ride that thing really GOOD!"
Steve has a story for you about the big ledgy waves he rode on the Tracker yesterday. He came home so stoked! Just lit up happy! and of course he passed the happiness on to the cats and I.
Yesterday I was working and the waves were a bit big for me with my old joint issues.
These days I'm stoked on smaller surf, but so happy Steve can enjoy the bigger power.
Love and Aloha!
Cher
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Thanks Paul. We just ordered the Vespa for our son's birthday two weeks ago and I decided to go for it too. Back in the 50's and 60's one of my summer job was renting "rafts" at the beach in Florida. As a kid I surfed on one before that. My son who lives in Pacific Beach turned me on to you about two months ago. This will be perfect for me in Maryland since you can't surf on a surf board at our local beach between 10am and 5:30 pm. The Classic will be well use by this classic.
Aloha, Sam.
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Hello Paul
I am Ryan Hett from Minot ND, the geological center of North America. I recently moved to Oakland CA in 2009 and was introduced to the Pacific Ocean. For 2 years I watched friends surf while I clung to the shoreline. I grew up on a lake and in rivers so I feel I am a strong swimmer but the ocean intimidated me. I moved from Oakland to Santa Cruz for the summer of last year and lived with Sean Hellfritsch and Rob Wilson, two avid SC surfmatters. They introduced me to your 4th gear flyer surfmat. The added buoyancy of the inflated surfmat gave me the courage to paddle out into the Manresa shore break.
I had never been in the ocean until this moment. Sean showed me a few tricks for balance and took me to where the waves where swelling. He then showed me how to set up for a wave, catch and ride one. It took a few tries but I caught one (my first wave) and was reminded of how much I loved sledding on the snow covered hills as a child. I had to catch another!
I've been riding a 4th Gear Flyer Tracker which I had received for my birthday and I love it!
Thank you Paul for providing such an awesome interactive water craft. I would have never gotten into the ocean without it.
My wife Kimberly has recently taken an interest in surfmatting. We went out at Pleasure point last weekend and she had a go with my tracker. She caught her first wave and immediately said she wants a surfmat of her own. I am so stoked to get her in the ocean with me!
Thanks Paul
Ryan
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Rode Campus for 5 solid hours. It looked active on the cam tho not too pretty, but it was actually quite good--consistent, lots of juice, small crowd, warm water, with a neat refraction off the rocks that created a lot of forceful bowls. On several waves I lifted both feet out and rolled onto one pontoon and just hauled ass as the bowl focused and accelerated -- felt so good. It's been a couple weeks since my last go out.)
Best,
Dirk
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Hey Paul... I sufed swami's for 4 plus hours today! The first half hour was on my surfboard and you know the rest... a quick run back up the stairs to get my mat! I've really got the hang of the vespa. I'm getting the feel of the whole mat, twisting it and gliding it across waves. I'm still at a pretty heavy inflation for a heavier weight guy but now that I've figured it out I'm going to start decreasing the inflation. KenDog what is a great help over the phone when I was first getting started.
Cheers, Henry
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I took a substantial drop, slow to get in the wave, unbeknownst to me, the plug on of the air valve was working its way out, I was focusing on riding, having a great time, happen to look down at the instant the plug popped out, well, what do you do, except enjoy the ride, things got even faster, until I hit a hollow section, and things went 360, looked like there might have been 25-35% air left, tried to blow up quick because a set was coming in, too much fun, truly, "a flying carpet",
best, Michael
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so, saturday, high tide at the point. 2-4 nw windswell, with some bump. 4 boards out. they were having hard time making waves. andy and i were getting them from the top. pretty sectiony with some flat spots. the mats just negotiated whatever was thrown at them NO PROBLEM! we were stoked!
a kid was paddling straigh up towards me, so i couldn't angle my take off. fuck it, i thought, i'll just drop straight down and as soon as i clear his feet, i'll TRY to bank over on rail. that thing banked over(much to my surprise) and it ripped straight back up and into the pocket, locked in with a cover up and squirt down the line. so fast, so automatic, with the mat doing the work. unreal!!!!!
frenchy
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Thanks Paul,
Really appreciate it! Super excited to try these suckers out.
Best, George
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i'm going to tell ya, i always had trouble matting, could hardly ever make it down the line, no matter what i tried. your mat works REALLY good. as i told you, andy and i were getting long rides, connecting sections,etc. they work just like a hull.
The Frenchman
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received mini .. wow that was fast .. hitting OC NJ saturday .. I
blew up mini .. I can see this is going to work for its intended
purpose .. will use it for quick take off / close outs etc. Can't wait
to see if it can help tame some of those E-coast shore break death
barrels we get later in the season. will report on initial use this
weekend which may or may not present the use case for the mini. Will
ride it regardless and compare to my vespa.
David
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Hi Paul
Finally got the Vespa out in waist to chest high windy swell.
Catches waves really easy. It was easier for me to find a volume I like
than my first mat. Blazing fast when you give it a little concave squeeze and lift the fins for speed. The deck I like because you need to move a bit on the big mat and it's easier to do.
Turns where very smooth and you could feel the lack of a square corner in a rail turn. Really fast when you get way up on the front. This mat is so much fun.I wish I had this one to learn on as it.
is easier to figure out and get long fun rides for a novice matter like me.Can't wait to surf tomorrow!!! Thanks again Paul for a really fun mat!!!
Jeff
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Paul,
I had the Mini along with my Vespa out yesterday at OC NJ .. it was junky 3-4 feet shore break. Fairly short lived faces would present them selves, A little bit of a pattern next to groynes but mostly the whack-a-fly variety. Very late take off was essential, if you can position for a 20 yard wave face ride you were doing well. Once it broke there was only soup.. no real opportunity to glide until the wave set up again, or to work your way down to another face section. We are talking classic East Coast junk that I love. It turns out I had more fun on the Mini on that day.
Its definitely easier to duck dive and generally get out and hang on when required.. I expected that. To my surprise I could not tell the difference between the initial take off sequence (leading up to feeling the catch) of the two mats.. I thought I might have to take off even later on the Mini. However, once I felt the catch I was able to get positioned and get going faster on the Mini as expected with less "slithering" required. That faster set up time let me get some face time I do think I would have had on the Vespa.. That's what I was hoping for,
I had been concerned about the extra drag of exposing my lower portions on the mini otherwise more supported on the longer Vespa. I was particularly concerned because I am a big guy (6' 230lb) and love my Force Fin Pro fins for comfort and swim efficiency .. However, I am not so sure that the Force Fin shape is optimal for steering and drag concerns. All I can say is that I had some real fun rides across the open face .. a couple memorable cannon blast-a-ramas. Would I have had the same riding experience once positioned on the Vespa? .. Hard to say. I can say that the Vespa does better as expected on cruising once things do do slow down. However, my aim was to ride more face time on these junky waves, not to ride it as far as I could.
The handling of the mini once taken off has similarities (as pointed out by Max Mat) and differences. I still have to work out my preferred inflation and degree of pressure to apply for turns etc. I can say that I was able to get over to some nearby faces having taken off as the wave was crashing and even sucking me over the falls in fairly quick order. Faster than I could have with the Vespa. This a paramount issue in these short lived waves. I think the shortness of the mini helps there ..
Before the purchase I imaged that given / my large size and the small mat that I might have to inflate it to the point of defeating zen mat feel and glide all togeather. I thought It might just end up being a boogie board. If that was the case why not just use a boogie board for certain conditions? I decided to try it out in any case since it would travel better than a boogie board if I did need to stiffen the inflation. But, its looking like at least most of the mat feel is still there for these short wave face rides - and it will travel.
I should qualify this report by pointing out that I am 58 and a have long list of physical issues that constrain my skill potential. I suspect a skilled agile rider could get going on a longer mat regardless of conditions. I continue to learn. However, I can't change my constraints but I can add mat to the quiver.
So, next time I go to OC and find junky conditions with short lived wave face time I will pull out the mini. When I see that there is some time to setup the ride and that there is somewhere down the line to go to, I will pull out the Vespa. If I see there just is is not enough umph in the wave to support the mini I will also pull out the Vespa. I will also pull out the mini if it just gets to be to hard to get out on the Vespa. I am happy having the choice.
I should also qualify the report by saying that is was derived from
one day .. Likewise the mind being full of expectations etc can play
tricks. Can't tell you how many times I have purchased shoes that fit
in the store and got home to say "what was I thinking. As my little
brother says, nothing is ever as good or bad as it first appears. I
have Assateaque and OBX coming up in the next several weeks so will be
able to be more conclusive then. In the mean time I am having fun
trying new approaches.
David
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Hi Paul
Got some knee to waist high waves today on the vespa. It really comes to life in the small stuff. Rode several to the sand from outside! Just got to remember to put the right leg down when driving through soup. I keep putting the wrong one up or down and sliding out!
Alot of fun. Thanks again
Jeff
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Paul,
I am flying to Nicaragua in about three hours. Been matting everyday! Been meaning to email you my take on matting...I will work on it in Nicaragua - likely from the comfort of a hammock. Needless to say its been a really fantastic pursuit...
Many thanks!
Milt
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THE FAT IS IN DA HOUSE!!
thanks for the great service.
joe bob
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How do you describe what you do with a title? You are a Mattologist. A blowgoskimologist. A provider of floaty toys to demanding speed freaks that cannot get what they want without your lifetime of dedication to the magic towel.
Guerdon
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Hi Paul,
I received my mat today. Thank you! Thank you! I really appreciate your promptness in making me one is such short notice. It's great. I used it in some small mush today. Im looking forward to taking it out in some overhead swell.
Thank you for building a superior product backed by great customer service.
Regards,
Thomas
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Thank you very much Paul!
Lissa
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Hey PG,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your priceless influence. Your method of being and your way-fun airmats have been a constant inspiration since we first met!
Stoked On Life!
MM
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Just opened my package. Is this all there is ? I was expecting lots more for 200 Bucks!
Just kidding! Im so stoked!! cant wait to try. I agree with the Less is More theory.
Thanks a bunch - gary
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got mats during the weekend. everybody is stoked!
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I get way more fun out of others enjoying matting than myself.Like seeing others opening presents
Piksian
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Hello Paul,
Just wanted to let you know that I am enjoying my "fatty". It certainly gives a different view of the wave to stand-up. Lots of learning to do, but fun!
Many thanks for your help.
Kind regards and best wishes,
Tristan
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got to try out my new tracker. love it ! thanks again can't wait to get some good surf. im realizing its all about the glide and not to struggle, was easier with a kind of dolphin kick to catch waves rather then arms & legs flailing.
gary ----
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Hi Paul,
My nine year old daughter had her first mat ride today. Took forever to get her out of the water.
Love my Standard and RT mats.
Thanks,
Brian
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Hi Paul,
Just wrote the blog on surfmatters "I got a mat, been riding it for a year...so stoked I decided to sell all my boards!"
I've been matsurfing now for about a year or 7 ( so still green behind the ears!) (it's a Dutch expression, don't know if it has the same meaning in English).
And to blog is so true, actually i've sold my last longboard last month!
Matsurfing totally changed my way of feeling and thinking when i'm in the water.
It's the speed and knowing that you just surf on a piece of air that makes it looks like simple.
But it isn't simple. Its craftmanship!
I'm stoked to be a matsurfer. Your mats brought me that feeling.
Can't thank you enough for that!
Keep up the good work Paul.
Greets,
Marc
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Thank you!
Had a great mat surf at M-Bay tonight- overhead and lined up. Rode the standard at a very low inflation and it just screamed! Also seemed to amuse other surfers who I heard laughing loudly as I whizzed past them.
--J.
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Thanks a bunch Paul! Can't wait to compare the mini mat to the other mats! I got my cousin on surfmats too! Thanks again!
Peter
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Thanks Paul. I'll get back to you about the proto. I'll be spending some time in Dana Point with my family in July and we will be doing some surfing and now some mat riding thanks to you. Take care.
Rob
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Thanks Paul! And, without laying it on too thick, I feel gratitude every time I surf your mats; it continues to be a rejuvenating experience in my surfing life... turns mediocre conditions into exciting, gloomy skies to clear, water to wine, lead to gold...!
Best wishes,
Jonathan
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Hi Paul,
My favorite moves on mats cutbacks and roller coasters like the guide references.
I'll spread the news about Fourth Gear Flyer. If only more people knew of the fun of riding a mat. When I go to the beach we're the only family there with one. North Carolina has a vibrant surf community. Instant fun for beginners, always provides a challenge for veterans
Thanks for your fast and expert response. How can I resist a Fatty?
Here's wishing you all the best. Keep mat surfing,
Frank
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Thanks Paul for the extra effort.
If can't get out today I think I'll be OK. If Fatty gets here by Thursday, 7/12, I am golden. Just think, this morning I didn't know about 4GF ... now I'll have my own. Thanks!
Frank
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too cool!
thanks so much, haven't told Zoe yet. she got straight A's on her report card (something i NEVER came remotely close to doing) so this is a surprise for her.
i'll let ya know how they work!
dave
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hey paul... got the mat... maybe some freshwater swell tomorrow morning...
feedback to follow (if not tomorrow, then next swell, which around here could be a while) but the main reason i wanted it is for barbados in february !!!
thanks again for the quick shipping
kevin
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Hi Paul,
Thank you for getting this mat here so fast. My Fatty mat is unreal. Dimensions seem perfect. The handwritten mat info is a really nice touch. If lucky I'll be test riding on Bald Head Island, NC on Saturday afternoon.
I'm always glad I have all issues of The Surfer's Journal. I found my hard copy of Volume Nine, Number Two, Late Spring 2000, with your "Inflatable Dreams" article. Hallelujah.
I usually check out SJ cover-to-cover, but occasionally don't get to dig deeper before the next issue, or another interesting periodical arrives. I'll be taking this one to the beach. When looking for your article, I also rediscovered the SJ Fall 2000 issue which features several articles I want to re-visit. Including "John Severson Presents" by Drew Kampion. And -- The Summer 2000 issue has a historical article on Windansea by Chris Ahrens. Can't wait to read this story. I recall telling myself, "I need to get to this". Well, I am, 12 years later, thanks to you and fatty.
Thanks for building my mat; for taking care of shipping and giving me the motivation to re-visit surf art, photography and writing I somehow missed. The recent issue of SJ will have to wait. Although my wife Sara may grab it. In spite of growing up landlocked in Minnesota, she loves the Journal. This two weeks on BHI is going to be packed with ocean and reading time. Food and beverage and comradery too. I'll back off zesty cycling, and work on my mat riding.
I'll check in about my adventures with Fatty.
Very best wishes, Frank
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Hi Paul,
I've been enjoying riding the Standard lately. Starting to figure out some things and having fun with it. Also attended the handplane/paipo/mat get together at manhattan beach and had a great time. Thanks for shaping the joy made from riding these magic carpets :)
David
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Hi Paul,
We received the surf mat today and are very pleased! Tomorrow the beach! Thank you so much for your great customer service.
Regards,
Kim
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skunked the other day and nothing on the horizon (summers here on the freshwater seas are typically kinda flat)but will for sure get you some feedback after my first magic carpet session...
kevin
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Hi Paul,
Mat arrived yesterday, many thanks for the fast friendly service, its much appreciated.
Tim
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Got to ride the Mini for a week on Assateague Island. We were very lucky .. we left 100+ degree heat in Philadelphia for a nice sea breeze, a blue sky, nightly camp fires and the good fortune of a a spring tide (full moon variety) that gave us a real low tide that exposed the 1st sand bar (you could stand), Without the low low tide we would have been surfless. As it was, we had enjoyable 1-2 maybe some 3 footers .. That was even smaller than my initial test of the Mini in OC NJ a couple weeks ago but a lot of fun and relaxing.
The one week Assateague experience confirms my initial report .. its easier for me to get into small waves on the Mini compared to the Vespa. The surprise was that this was still true on the 1-2 footers compared to the somewhat larger 3-4 foot waves I previously rode on the Mini. I thought I might need the bigger surface area / float of the Vespa on these very small waves but it was just overall easier on the mini. Take off was easy and I could make the best of what ever wave face there was to get before it went to mush. In this case the waves broke over the sandbar and went to nothing as soon as it hit the deeper channel between the bar and the beach.
I caught the waves while already in a forward position .. sometimes with my chin already over the front and never back much further. I think the takeoff position (minimal slithering required and less leg drag) in conjunction with small mat size to fit into small waves makes this work.
Interesting observation on take off position .. my son who has an aversion to swim fins took my Vespa out .. I tried to give him some by-the-book tips on using the mat (his first time out) including the necessity of swim fins. .. Of course he has an aversion to parental direction as well (he calls it thinking outside the box) so he immediately turned the round tail forward ("because it felt better"), slithered all the way to the front of the mat ("like a surf board") for take off and used his arms exclusively to paddle. He would reach forward and literally pull himself down into the wave from the top to get going. He caught a million waves and had a great time. So much for the book .. if it feels right it is right. However, I am curious to see how this works out in say .. overhead.
Switching between the Mini and the Vespa with my son enabled me to confirm these other observations .. The Vespa does have noticeably more glide than the mini once the wave slows down. So,, use the Vespa when there is time to take off and slither as well as having something worth gliding too. Use the Mini whenever the extra size of the Vespa would just get in the way.. you will not ride as far but you will get more time on the initial wave face..
I can also see the mini working in bigger closeouts and barrels (tests to come) but taking off in a further back position... bronco riding .. take off late and hang on. I am thinking some of those nasty shore breaks that come with hurricanes later in the season.
I have a weekend in Cape May NJ along with some day trips coming up in July and then two weeks in Buxton NC. Hopefully I will get some different conditions to report from then.
By the way, the sea breeze kept the bugs away and the ponies were content to eat grass this year (not our camp supplies).
David
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Here in Malibu, have been belly surfing a knee board for a
long while(because of knee operation, can't bend it ennough for knee
boarding) so I'm familiar with that wonderful feeling of speed with your
head just above the water; would like to try a surfmat. But don't know which
one.
I'm 88 years old, but in pretty good condition, weigh 205lbs, six feet.
Let me know which would be best for Little Dume waves and I'll order it
Point Dume waves are not typically huge, just lots of fun.
By the way my first surfboard was a big twinfin Simmons board, plywood with balsa rails; while in college in 1948--my roommate lived near Simmons, wanted to buy a new board, sold me his old Simmons for $25.00. I think it is in an Orange County museum someplace now--I traded it for A Dewey Weber about forty years ago--- which was stolen, so my board history is all gone.
John
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