From Da Scumm Time Machine ...

Hi Paul,

The Standard will be my next mat to buy for sure, and I know what you mean about the oz dollar being weak, we spent 2 weeks last May in Hawaii, visiting friends on Molokai, then onto the Big Island and Kauai , so still hurting from the conversion rate, but money well spent., we had a blast and I matted a few breaks, even left a mat with my friend on Molokai.

 

These are some pictures from our "Scarmatra" Trip back in 2015. Justin is riding a Standard and my Omni, now this was a true boys trip, I only took my bonzer, spoon, paipo, plane and a couple of mats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running Through The Gears...Greenough Style !!!

The term "4th Gear," in relation to surfing, was coined by Greenough when describing a level of speed that transcended riding in the curl of the wave.

Let's extrapolate...

In George's world-view, first gear is riding along the wall at the speed of the curl. In essence, it's riding as slow as you can go and still make the wave.

 

 

 
Second gear is when you have enough speed to turn up and down, or back and forth, on that same wave, covering the same total distance as you would in first gear...but at a higher rate of speed over the water because you're moving up and down rather than in a straight line.

 

 

 

 

(Paul Masiel and I in first gear at the right. Greenough in second at the left.)

Third gear is when you have enough speed to break loose from the wave and travel out and over distant sections.

 

 

 

 

The size and quality of the wave isn't an issue, either. You can hit third gear in foot high slop!

 
Fourth gear is when you're going so fast that you're surfing completely beyond the speed of the curl...often riding up in the lip of the wave as it fringes in front of you.

 

 

 

 
When the Standard became tuned in (back in '84/85) George commented that it was the only mat that he'd ever surfed that he could to hit 4th gear on. Not long after, it became the name of our mats!

 

From John at J-Bay ...

 Hi Paul,

This is finally it.  I'm giving up traveling with kneeboards. The hassle of lugging them around and extra baggage charges just don't make sense when I'm riding a mat probably more than 95% of the time.

Anyway,  Jeffrey's Bay is amazing for mats.  Supertubes would be the absolute best mat wave in the universe except that you usually have to pull through the back of the wave at the end - that and entering and exiting the water isn't easy; razor sharp mussels and volcanic rock line the shore.

Throughout my travels with the air mats, I've encountered nothing but smiling people that are so stoked when you're flying past them.  They just provide this infectious happiness in tense places - the anti SUP!

John

From Adam ...

 
Howdy Paul

Winter and good times continue down here on the NSW South Coast, plenty of continues swells and offshore winds, so have been putting plenty of water time in riding mats and my knee boards...

Neal's old Tracker RT ( which was made for Nathan Hughes) has been on a long term lease but was just about ready to die, so I did the ring-around within our mat riding community down here, and was able to pick him up another Tracker RT from local Werri Beach resident Robert, the mat was only ridden twice, so was able to pick up a near new mat at a greatly discounted price, many thanks to Terry Wild for arranging the sale! Eric jumped into my car for the run up, so after the money exchange , we went around for a small wave at 007 ...

...then for a feed and coffee before heading home....always a laugh!!

 

The following day I walked up to one of my local lookouts and spotted a mat rider in the water, yep it was Nathan Hughes with his new Fatty that you made him and this was his first surf on it...score! Congrats also on the birth of his first child!!!!

Finally caught up with Neal the next day for a splash, so I took his new mat out to Gilligans.

I really enjoyed riding the new Tracker RT, the deck was nice and firm, turned on a dime, so pretty stoked for Neal and would have kept it for myself , really nice ride.The following day I shot some pictures of him riding it for the first time. Neal lives over the other side of Lake Conjola, so all he has to do is walk from his place, across the entrance and then onto the Island, boys own adventure all roll into one!

Following Saturday Eric and I tackled some really small waves , so small the rest of the crew would not go out, so after a bit of sand mat riding...

It was onto the clean waters of Back Beach Bendalong.

Again, you got to love the South Coast!

What do I like about the 4th Gear Flyers? just love the canvas deck, I am not much on air inflation and degrees bend in my mats, as there's no true method of ' tuning ' a mat apart from continuous riding, so it's all in the touch and feel of the type wave we ride, so really happy with my Omni...

Regards

Adam

 

 

 

 

S. Cruz Kicks Off Fall Surf Season ...

The Labor Day weekend is traditionally the start of the wave rich fall season in California. True, Fall is a ways off according to the calendar, but optimistic West Coast surfers see the word "September" and basically lose their shit. "The surf could arrive any day now!" is the typical rallying cry.

The year's edition of the big weekend was off to a slow start in Surf City...but what the hell, it can only get better from here, right?  Right???