Mat Session With the Bionic Knee

My car is currently in the automotive equivalent of the emergency room. That meant no surfing for me today. "No worries," I thought. I was going to get wet whether I did it with a surfboard or not. So, for the first time since my knee replacement surgery, I took out my mat. I'd been hesitant to get back on the mat, certain that kicking with fins would be extremely painful. Well, it wasn't. This new titanium knee is a keeper. Although I still have pain from the surgery itself, I'm no longer suffering through the pain of one bone rubbing on another. Kicking with fins was totally pain-free.

I even managed to ride a real wave. (In the past, I'd think I was riding a wave only to see a picture of myself riding the whitewater.) You know what else was great? The lifeguard looked right at me—remember, I've been on the receiving end of a lecture about how mats are illegal in L.A. County—and didn't say one word.

Noosa

Small east groundswell over the weekend, ran up north for some camping and shallow right points. Sunday was the day. Found this little nook of the national park empty on Monday morning just before the devil northerlies blew it to hell.

Back In Vogue

Apparently

(Bottom of the page...)

Peak Experiences...

Every day, the mat biz is filled with dream-like moments. The Brinks trucks pulling away from my factory with another load of cash to the bank. The endless stream of mat groupies. Emails from the likes of Spielberg, 50 Cent, Bill Gates, and Obama asking my advice. Collect calls from the Hollister Ranch, begging me to join them for the next swell. It never seems to stop!

But every once in a while, I'm elevated to yet another level of sensual awareness. Today was one such day. Lurking in my Yahoo! inbox this afternoon was this gem from 4GF mat rider Tim C.

"Don’t Forget!

Big Tim is having a demo this Saturday the 5th of September at Iowa Meat Farms, right off Hwy 8 at 6041 Mission Gorge Rd., San Diego, CA 92120, from 2 –5 p.m.!

If you can’t make it, pick up a bag or 2 and maybe a Tee Shirt or Apron on the web.

For more details and some cooking/grillin’ ideas. visit www.bigtimstastysteaks.blogspot.com

See you there!

Big Tim"

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...

More Confirmation

"Riding a surf mat is unlike any other form of wave riding It’s a hard thing to do. Few others do it, Most who do have mats are open minded, experienced wave riders with lots of years of surfing behind them. For people like this surf mats are in many ways a chance to restart the circle. Also it’s hard to beat a 16 or 18 ounce inflatable surf craft which takes up less space than a tennis racket. You don’t need a monstrous vehicle to get you places, airlines can’t charge you a damn thing to take it aboard, you can get two state-of-art mats for the price of one surfboard..."

http://www.thesurfingvillage.com/mat-surfing-82.html

Me and My Redback

Here's the type of activity I use my Redback and scuba flippers for. Can't stomach surfing it. Good for rivers, though.

Newbie Hazing Ritual?

Wouldn't you do anything to join this elite circle of LA County matters?

Hey Paul,

My Classic has arrived! So happy!

Now, in order to join my mat riding buddies in the fun, I must blow up all of their mats before my first session in the water. This is a hazing ritual amongst a certain sub-culture of L.A. County surf matters.

Thanks again!

(Name withheld upon request...)

Going Retro!!!

Ryan C, a died-in-the-wool Anglophile, took a page from Jaguar's yesteryear and equipped his VW Euro Van with a flex fin!

"Stability at speeds over 200 KPH is bloody awesome!" Ryan claims...

Yeah Sure, Ricky...

Hey Paul,

It was maybe the best matting day at *** today. The waves got much bigger after the camera went home... seriously!

Ricky S

Hi Paul,

Here are some pictures of Ricky this morning at *** on Steve's blog. About an hour after this, it was nonstop for an hour of waves on the farthest out boil past the rocks connecting all the way across. For a guy who never surfed, he sure is getting good quick. I saw him going as fast as possible in full trim going all the way across the point today.

*** has its moments in the mornings and way less crowded. All the surfers think of it as afternoon spot, but as long as there is 2 feet of water it's fine.

Hope you are well. I haven't tried my new 9 Inch Nail Fin yet as my Liddle sat on the beach all morning. Too much fun running over kelp on a mat!

Ryan C

UDT #1 Survives Terrorist Attack!!!

paul

a guy saw the mat on the beach right before i went in and he flew thru the air and jumped on it. i was beyond pissed, but alas it did not pop and the ibeams and innards held together (its still 3-pontooned, not 1!) despite the not so funny joke, a testament to how well built and strong the mat is.

greg

Early UDT Returns....

John M was the proud recipient of 4GF UDT #2, and weighed in with the following report...

(John, somewhere in Southern California. Photo: One of two guys using Jeff's camera.)

Hi Paul -

Jeff C wrote out a full photo essay on yesterday's trip. I won't bore you with the whole 4 part shebang, but here is a pic showing how the minimum threshold for me to ride an air mat has been lowered with the UDT. I was stoked to be able to actually get in to waves that would have been hopeless on a smaller mat. It was basically flat with inconsistent sets that were at least quadruple overhead...for me(!)

The location is, uh, "Southern California."

I'm not sure on photo credit. Two different guys took shots using Jeff's camera.

John

PS - I have no idea why I look so serious. LOL. Sometimes it's harder to ride small waves than big waves. I also just noticed that my hair looks like one of those plastic toupees the guys in Devo might have worn. That, or I'm working on an early Clark Kent look-a-like.