SURFMATTERS

Jan 31, 2009

Jonathan J Update ...

Jonathan J, on the lam from smut charges in Orange County, has come with with a new catagory of filth, inspired by the latest rage in chopstick recycling!

Jan 24, 2009

Jan 21, 2009

Jan 20, 2009

Jan 14, 2009

Jan 13, 2009

From Matt On Maui

Matt sent me this email saying...

The Peak at Pavils

First Session on my new Mat

The surf at Pavillions (Ho'okipa) was 6 to 8 foot on the face a strong side shore wind blowing (as is often the case) a combination of East wind swell and North-West ground swell made for a lot of water moving during the sets. I inflated my mat until it wouldn't bend to 90 degrees, I was shooting for 45 degrees, I think I went a touch softer than that.

Paddling out was a bit of a surprise, I had expected flex but I hadn't expected twisting, it was actually a little tough to stay on. Luckily at Pavils there's a nice channel so it wasn't too hard to get most of the way out. However as a set closed out the channel I found duck diving what felt like a trash bag full of air was very difficult. I made very little progress until the set relented and I was outside.

It was very early and I was the first one out. I had held on pretty tight to my mat while battling the white water and as I sat outside and felt the howling wind I realized that was a good thing because if I let go I might never see my mat again! I had read about how difficult riding a mat is at first so I paddled into a decent sized right with some apprehension. Catching it was a little tricky but pushing down on the nose to arc over and in as I kicked did the trick and I was sliding in, and I do mean sliding I felt almost completely out of control on the steep drop, instinctively I griped harder which hardened up the mat, slowed me down, gave me control over my direction, so I made the wave and swung back left to the channel. I was surprised at how quickly the mat slowed down when the wave died down, this thing likes some juice.

I continued riding for an hour going both right and left. I found that by letting go of the mat and letting it run I could get some good speed. Taking off was the most challenging, late take offs were the easiest and a real rush at the speed with which they slid to the bottom, I would then harden the mat by griping and squeezing and I could change my trajectory. I wasn't really turning but I was going where I wanted to go, t did try to do more of a turn but didn't really accomplish too much.

At one point a bigger set caught me inside and I was scrambling for the corner of the left, I made it to the very top corner, about eight feet up on the vertical face and just as I thought I was going to make it the lip gave me a little tap and I was sliding side ways back down, I went with it and slid around almost instantaneously into the proper orientation and made the wave at speed no problem! However my session was not with out mishaps on one I was too late and went over with the lip, mindful of the wind and the very real possibility of loosing my new mat I death gripped it, boom in the white water, boing and out I popped riding the white water, interesting but I don't think my back would like that on a regular basis!

All in all a very good first session. Take offs and turns will take a lot of work, can't wait to see how it works in the tube! Found a good relaxing way to swim out when my back got sick of being on top, flipped over and swam out on my back like I do often when I body surf only I now I drag the mat behind me. Also had fun with my friends when the paddled out and asked, "what are you riding?" I told them a trash bag!

:) Matt

http://www.mauinalu.com/

Jan 11, 2009

Pranaglider Made Me Lose My Board!

And it was worth it. Yesterday was one of the loosely organized surf sessions a few of us surf bloggers have together a few times a year. It starts with two people meeting up (specifically me meeting Clayfin to pick up a board he'd shaped for me) and eventually morphs into a full-on LGDAS (which meant "Let's Get Drunk and Screw" when I was in college—comes from some country song or something—but for the purposes of this blog it means "Let's Get Down (to Huntington) and Surf"). So, I'm suiting up and I spot a guy walking by with a mat. I was stunned. Who would've thought I'd run into a mat rider? Well, I learned later that it wasn't a coincidence. Clayfin had emailed Pranaglider and told him where we'd be. I didn't know that! I got all excited and lost my mind babbling at him. But I digress.

Anyway, we all paddled out . . . into some pretty sad high-tide-waves-backing-off-and-not-wanting-to-break conditions with what started out as an offshore breeze. Little did Prana know that I was watching him. Remember, I have a mat but before yesterday I'd never seen anyone on a mat. Wherever he was, I was watching. Even when I was watching for a wave I could take, I was watching him. I wasn't on a mat. I was on my longboard and that made it harder to watch as I was farther outside than he was. At some point, we were both lined up together. I saw Prana turn to go. I had a birds-eye view. He jumped on that wave, which had no shape, and did a beautiful bottom turn. It was a sight to behold. I'd finally seen a mat ridden up close. It's truly a sight to behold. And as I beheld him on that bottom turn, the next wave came and smacked me good. No leash. Board gone. Much laughter on my part.

Thanks, Prana. I know it was hardly a good day in the water, but you in particular made my day. I hope to get on my mat this week if the waves permit.

Jan 7, 2009

From Kenny H

(No, not Kenny G ... )

Hi Paul,

Photo is courtesy of Gene Berger, an old-time San Diego fellow whose name you might recognize.

We had an epic reunion "down there" with all our old buds -- Pleskunas bros, Gene, Zigs (Rick Vorce) -- the only guy missing was Bulldog (Larry Duff)

Kenny

Jan 3, 2009

Matting With A Dolphin

Moko The Dolphin plays with people most days on the Mahia Penninsula, which is about an hour south of us here in NZ. I took out a canvas mat at first, got towed around a bit, and then switched to a 4GF when I reckoned that Moko would most likely not bite through it.

The best part was trying for half an hour before getting someone's rugby ball back from Moko, while being teased the whole time in a skillful game of keep-away. You can see a shot of this in the vid. I'm going back when there are less people around in order to get better acquainted with Moko. More soon, hopefully.

Dec 27, 2008

From Jonathan J ... Who Never Ceases To Amaze and Impress!

Hey Paul,

I thought I'd send you these pics of an infamous surfcraft of yesteryear. I'm sure you've seen one in your travels. (I'll bet most prone-riders haven't!) I'm talking 'bout the lowly Captain Swim-Surfer!

Is it a surf mat? Not quite...

Is it inflatable? Kind of...

Is it totally indestructible? Just about...

Was it developed by mad chemists, with a keen sense of advanced hydrodynamics? Perhaps...

Long discarded in surfing history's pile of flotsam, I say this funky relic deserves another serious look!

3/4 view, showing concave deck, and "chine" transition rails.

Logo shot - still intact!

Rear view, showing drain plug and -- WOOOPS!!!! -- UNION CARBIDE???

I bet they wish they would've stuck to making these, rather than offshoring their pesticide refineries. (Remember Bhopal?)

Bottom view rear - dig the subtle keel fin!

Bottom view front - It appears that all the rocker is in the hulled bottom profile, while the S deck remains quite flat - up onto the rolled hips....hmmm.... And what of those concave nose pockets? It's almost as if Simmons had a hand in the design of this thing!

Dec 22, 2008

The Last "Stripes Down" Hodgeman ???

This is my last "Stripes Down" Converse-Hodgman experience...

It was the late 70's, and I was driving down Mission Blvd in San Diego. Being the 4th of July weekend, there were a million people milling around the beach, the boardwalk, and the intersections.

By this point in mat surfing history, the 60's era "Stripes Down" Converse-Hodgman model (which was shorter and narrower than the 50's era Hodgman version) had been in the grave maybe 8 years. The wider, slower, 70's era Stripes Across Converse-Hodgmans were also history. We were into the lean, flimsy Merrins by that time...but the old Stripes Down Converse-Hodgman still occupied a soft spot in my heart. Once they were broken in, they could be pretty damn potent if there was a bit of power in the wave. (The mat surfing in Crystal Voyager was on the Stripes Down model. )

So anyway, I'm driving down Misson Blvd, and in front of me jay-walks a middle age guy and his family ... all sunburned and "beached-out."

And...

One of his kids was carrying a Stripes Down Converse-Hodgman! It looked like it was in mint condition, based on how deep the striped colors were on the deck. (Maybe it was just still wet?)

The traffic was solid going in the opposite direction, so I couldn't make an instantaneous u-turn. I drove on, and at the first opportunity, hung a u-ee and burned rubber back to where I saw the family. Of course, there was no parking anywhere. I ended up stopping maybe a 1/4 mile up the road, and ran back. (And by "ran," I mean a 47 second 440 in flip flops. )

They were no where to be found. I schlepped around the neighborhood on the inland side of the boulevard for maybe a half hour, checking out all the seasonal rental units, but no luck.

The whole time I was looking, I was trying to figure out what to say if I found them. Of course, money would be offered, but how weird would it be for some breathless guy with 3 day's beard growth to pull out a roll of 20s and throw it at them from their old surf raft? Plus, I had to figure out what to say to my girlfriend if I came home broke and with a mat. (A whole Jack In the Beanstalk scenario came to mind.) Later, when I sheepishly told her about my adventure, she said we should go back and look for them again the next day at the beach. That's when I decided to propose to her. (It took 10 years, but she finally gave in.)

The next day we trolled the beach. Nada.

The wisdom of old age finally kicked in, and I gave up my search. But every time I run across an old shot of a Stripes Down Converse-Hodgman, I remember that family crossing the street with a piece of mat riding history in tow!

From Kenny H.

Heading out at Ikumi Beach, Shikoku, Japan. October, 2008

Photo: Denise

Good Morning Paul!

Boy, did THAT thing ever attract some attention in that gadget-crazy country! Even though this shot looks pretty dramatic, we were there at the tail-end of the surf season and I got pretty skunked. Surfing wasn't the sole purpose of our journey, but I had brought the mat and fins along just in case I got lucky with a late-season typhoon…

Hey, why not? The gear doesn't weigh much!

Happy Holidays to you!

Kenny

Dec 21, 2008

From Jonathan J.

Epic find ... a "pre-Converse" Hodgman mat!!!

The price was $23.95! Not exactly sure of the date, but by any reasonable estimate, a lot of money at the time...

Hello Paul!

I just took those pics out on my front steps the other day, before the rain set in. Yep.....as you guessed, there's a totally stock red/white/blue striped Hodgman "Float" that came with that box!

It's one of the "crown jewels" of my mat collection. At the same time I received both this mat, and a smaller kid-sized mat, in their factory boxes....a rare score indeed! If you're curious about what it looks like, it's identical to the Hodgman postcard pic I sent.

The date is mid to late 50's on this long-striped Hodgman!

Dec 18, 2008

Spring Has Sprung

It's almost summer in Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. Even though we are as far south as Northern California is north, the sea gets fairly warm for three or four months. Here's me on my Fatty just yesterday, having flashbacks of Zuma Beach in August.

Photos by MAX DAD

Some Photos From NZ

My Father, Max Dad, took these pictures with an old Pentax that he used to shoot when he edited SURFING ILLUSTRATED, and went on bitchen assignments like for LIFE MAGAZINE to cover The Duke Contest with Don James, and pioneering El Salvador, and exploring Baja in a PBY amphibian aircraft... Max Dad quite often took Max Mom and us Max Menehunes with him. (I got to shake hands with Duke Kahanamoku. Wow!) Were we lucky beach rats or what?

These pictures are actual film shots. You remember film, those strips of plastic with holes down the sides that if you touch them with your finger the image is ruined forever. Sort of like those big black music discs from before CDs. (Kids these days have been known freak on the revelation that LPs actually have a B-side!) Right, so feast your eyes on some chilly average NZ beachbreak: