From Marc ...

Hi Paul,

Hope all is well.

Yesterday was the last swell of 2016 in my hometown Scheveningen in The Netherlands. Cold (37F degrees) but clean and fun. It will be flat till 2 January.

On the background they are building the bonfire for new year's eve (35 meters high! )

All the best for 2017 for you and Gloria!

Marc

From Rob ...

Paul,

I’ve been having a blast on the Polara. I connect sections I couldn’t make on my other mats, and its handling these soft small waves like a champ! This is my best ride of the day from Christmas Eve, on a 2.5’ super soft wave. I really have to lay out when the waves are under 3’ but if I get into them, I’m gone! The Polara Super Sport has become my favorite mat of the winter.

I’m going to keep riding the Polara Regular, I have to get more time on it and the Polara SS to get a better feel for the differences before I can speak intelligently on them.

Merry Christmas to you and your family, your surf craft have brought so much joy to me and mine!

Keep spreading the Stoke!

Rob Pollard

Happy 76th Frank ...

Today (12/21/16) would have been Frank Zappa's 76th birthday. Sadly, he passed at the age of 52 in 1993. (His wife Gail died in October of 2015 at 70.)

This Dutch documentary may not hold up by conventional critical standards, but it's an interesting snapshot of a very candid Zappa, and the era of the early 70's.

What amazes me about Frank Zappa's music is how well it holds up, without the rose colored filter of nostalgia. (At least, that's my view.) So does much of his social commentary. I recall just before he died, he was a critic of the populist downside of the internet...which is interesting, since the internet barely existed in the 1993. Pretty perceptive.

Anyhow, here's to you, FZ...

Frank and Gail in 1972

2016: Another Passing

My father grew up in rural Hawaii during the 20's and 30's. He basically lived on sugar cane as a kid, gnawing on raw stalks on his way back and forth to school each day. His teeth and general health suffered in the long term, to say the least.

Maybe, on balance, it will be a good change for Hawaii. But...the ideal of the sugar industry leaving The Islands seems like the last kick in the gut 2016 has for us.

Full story on NPR here...

From Rob ...

Paul,

I’m loving the new Polara, it’s FAST!

Chris and I had a great time yesterday, we surfed 5 plus hours. It was glassy and 3’ all day, we had so much fun! I felt very blessed to be able to take the time off and mat all day. My face is sore from smiling!

Thanks for these awesome surf craft! Super Stoked!

Clip by Chris Falzone.

Rob

Tips From The Pros: Fin/Foot Interface ...

OK, considering it's from moi, maybe this doesn't qualify as a "tip from a pro." So bear with me...

I've found that a pair of fins, even if they each were cast out of the same mold at the same time, can vary slightly in temper. The hand laid charges of rubber that are placed in the mold prior to heating aren't perfect, so each fin can have a different feel. And since our feet are not identical to one another, every now and then, one fin will fit one foot better than the other.

What I do, when I get a new pair of fins, is swap them back and forth between feet to see if there's a closer match of one fin to one foot. If so, I mark the fins accordingly.

Of course, this only applies to a brand of fins that aren't molded specifically for a right and left foot.

If there's no discernible difference between two new fins, then I arbitrarily mark the fins 'right' and 'left.' The theory is that, over time, each fin will conform slightly to each foot.

RIP Greg Lake

 

Funnest Beach Cam Ever ...

The Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery, located about 5 miles north of Hearst Castle in San Simeon, now has its own beach cam.

The angle and focal length of the camera changes every couple of days, so it's worth checking in now and then for some varied pinniped fun!

From ????

I have no idea what in the hell this is.  (Or who's behind it, but I have my suspicions...)