From Social Media

 

From Surf Sister

Some Fun Stuff ...

 

From Jim

 

Howdy Paul,

Check this out. That's me, winter before last, all systems go. Textured surface with mat gliding half in half above the water, fin helping to hold in place, readying for bottom turn to set up for inside section. 

(Photo by LB)

From Andy

 

It appears Beach Grit has come across our recent post regarding the 4GF Omni stolen by an Otter. Not sure where they get their current surfmat price structure -- they claim Omnis run $500 -- but they do acknowledge that there is such a thing of a high performance surf mat! 

Another similar interaction between a surfer and otter in the Santa Cruz area... here.

From Steiny

 

Dr. Dave had his 4GF Omni stolen on Saturday in Santa Cruz ... by an otter.

Apparently, the otter has been behaving aggressively towards surfers in the lineup, and authorities are looked to relocate the spirited fellow.

Dave wasn't able to retrieve his mat. If any locals have found a stray Omni along the coastline, let us know.

From Mr. Hughes

 

Good morning,

Well, I’m packing my bags for my taxi ride to Huatulco.  This is the last day of my surf trip to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and I’m afraid there will not be one of my patented sleep aids (videos) this time around.  For one thing, the surf wasn’t all that pumpin.  Secondly, my guide was no photog, and preferred to hang in the shade as much as possible.  That shows his superior intelligence, as it is feckin hot.  Far more intense heat than Pavones, which I find strange, since it’s far further north. 

I brought the GoPro, but the waves didn’t really merit its use.  Not that I didn’t have fun, mind you.  I surfed every day, three days a double session.  That’s a lot for me!  This area is famous for its sand-bottom barreling point breaks, which was naturally quite appealing for me.  If you look up, hmm, perhaps Punta Chivo or Escondido you’ll see some scary looking stuff and some square tubes with very thick lips!  I was hoping for something a little more tame and got it.  There wasn’t enough swell for the points to really turn on, but the tweener spots were super fun.  Oddly, my best two back to back days were at Punta San Diego!!

How’s that for an odd coincidence?

Being out of practice and my knee still throbbin like a mo fo, I’m really satisfied with my trip.  I would like to return on a surgical strike type mission some time, though, and see it really smokin.  OK, well, there was yesterday afternoon, when the wind switched offshore. I had a fantastic late PM go out at Punta Conejo in little 2’-3’ zippers.  Everyone was sitting outside where it was just blobbin.  I was inside all alone and lovin life. 

Hey Paul, are you still lean n mean?  I still think quite fondly of our incredibly serendipitous chance meeting at Campus!  Me, I was hoping to shed a few pounds on this adventure, but Mexican cuisine is not conducive to that.  I certainly burned calories, but chilaquiles for lunch balanced all out!

I hope this update finds you both well

Ciao fa niao

Kenny

From Julie

 

Hey Paul,

We finally held the Mat Surfing 101 for the Wahine Kai Women's Surf club at La Jolla Shores yesterday! We all had a great time and I think I've got some converts I will send your way down the line. I brought a plethora of mats, two were yours, one was a G-mat and the others were Redbacks and a Maddog from Australia. Those aren't great mats at all, but they have handles and are nice for teaching on. Those who are serious and want to gear up themselves, I am promoting 4th Gear all the way! 

I hope things are going well for you, Paul. We were going to do this event back in November, but I got hit by a stingray that landed me in hospital because of infection. Unfortunately, one of our ladies got stung yesterday too. Same spot I did. In fact, this was the 3rd time she'd been stung at the Shores! She still enjoyed the mat experience and said she'd love to do it again, just at a different beach!! 

Let me know your thoughts. And thank you so much for encouraging me especially in the beginning when I was getting frustrated. You told me to stick with the process and not give up. I'm very glad for that! 

Take care, Paul.

Julie Benn

From Nolan

 

From Pack Ratt Records

 

Hi Paul hope all is well . 

 

I've been M.I.A. for while a I spent the last month helping my mom get ready for a big move to Texas.. there just last week she moved to Houston so  I got to go to Galveston.. out on micro day and the whole beach like stopped and was watching me. I got so many questions it was hilarious people were stoked…

 

Here’s a really bad photo of me in Galveston you had a kick board. Those waves were so small, but it made such a big crowd. It was hilarious. The guy from Ohana Surf Shop came up to me and asked me where I get these things and I gave them your information also anyways have a good evening. 

Mikey

Noosa Nude Beach Crackdown

 

When Queensland police fined people for taking their clothes off at a well-known nude beach last month, they “poked the bear” that is the naturist community, Scott Rider says.

“That’s b.e.a.r.,” the Queensland Naturist Association vice-president spells. “And we’re all riled up now.”

Proposed Chumash Marine Sanctuary

 

The way Violet Sage Walker sees it, the Chumash have been stewards of the land for 15,000 years. “We welcome every culture on Chumash land,” she says. “My dad wanted people to know the Chumash like you know Hawaiians. Just as many people go to Hawaii as come here, and they don’t know about the Chumash. He wanted the sanctuary to be a way to share our stories, our culture, the beauty of our people and the magic of our homeland.”

 Full article here...

From George S

 

Hello Paul,

I now live in San Francisco and wanted to share my experience having spent about 6h in the water with my "standard" surf mat at Ocean Beach, SF. With each session I unlock more insights:

Session 1: I caught my first wave and went full on projectile-mode. Zero control, just pure thrill as was thrown forward and held on for dear life. Hard work kicking through the waves out Ocean Beach, I didn't make it out a second time.

Session 2: I practiced pulling myself onto the mat during the take-off and experimented with applying pressure to steer in the white water.

Session 3: I began to take off directionally and learned to duck dive competently. I basically grab the corners and hug the mat as I try to get my head under the wave. I can stay centered over the mat and get back to paddling very quickly.

Session 4: I began to trim down the wave and tried steering by pulling up on the opposite corner. I figured out how to pull out of a wave which gave me more confidence with other surfers in the water.

Session 5: I was trimming well enough to beat the white water and extend my ride. I remember one wave where it just kept getting better as I went. I was laughing my ass off afterwards. I must have fully engaged the "2nd gear".

So far the mat hasn't disappointed. Each time I go out I intuit something new. I think my experience with body surfing has helped a lot, trimming feels similar. The mat really amplifies the sensation of speed which I enjoy. Other surfers seem to be curious / perplexed by the mat when I paddle out and then seem to "get it" when I take off on a bomb! I hope my presence helps to spread the good word about surf mats because I've yet to see another one in the wild.

Thank you for making surf mats, I'm hooked!

 

George

 

 

From Steiny

 

More Patti Moran, on her Lotus...

Tale Of Two Eras

 

Barbara Stanwyck, courtesy of Gary

 

 Patti Moran, photo by Steiny

 

The top photo was taken in 1946. The lower shot was taken a few days ago. Times have changed over the past 77 years, haven't they!!!

From KP

 

                                              Saw this across the street from old Yater shop !!!

From Owen

 

 

Bit of Surfline action on the Fatty yesterday! Can’t wait to have the standard for the bigger days here…

Owen

From Max

 

                                                          Max, River Surfing In Munich

 

 Dear Paul,

Last week I finally made my way down to The Tusked Beast's cave in SF. It was nice to meet
Jonathan - an incredibly humble and interesting man. During our conversation he reminded me that you are always happy to hear feedback on the mats. Thinking about it, I can't remember ever sharing with you my feelings about riding your mats here in Spain. The environment here is not mat-unfriendly, but the mat community is small to non-existent. Approaching a humble decade of matriding I can still only count the mat surfers I know around here on one hand. Nevertheless, mat surfing has become an integral part of my life. An average week these days is around 15 hours on a mat.  

My feedback on the mats is most likely redundant to you, but since we do live in circles, what the heck - here you go:

Out of all mats, the Standard and the Omni get surfed the most. Big days are mostly Standard days but with a certain amount of uncertainty about where I will be heading I prefer to pack the Omni because it goes well in just about anything. Since the Omni feels much like a slightly larger Standard with just a bit less hold and responsiveness I pack it for days where maximum hold and minimal volume are not essential. Wearing thicker neoprene in winter I often graduate towards the Omni. 

I used to only take out the larger mats on the smaller days, but I remember one day in particular when I only had my XL at hand. Perfectly clean day with mild offshore winds at a break near my home in Spain. The wave I am talking about is a slow breaking wave on the flatter side. That day, the size of most sets was solid overhead. I could not believe how well the XL went. Hold was not a problem and the extra volume and size felt really good. Despite the size of the surf I ended up with a rather low inflation level – the mat almost completely deflated. I recall quite a few sessions in decent surf where my larger mats worked surprisingly well - despite the strain of getting out the back. In certain conditions more air moving around in a mat can feel really good. As fun as the large mats can be in the right wave they are just terrible in steep waves of even medium size. Slow, slippery and not very responsive. I have somewhat stopped judging mat selection merely by the size of the surf, I found steepness and speed of the wave to be an equally important factor.  

Something I pondered quite a bit is that when the surf is very very small my XL stops working, where the a smaller Fatty would still work. One explanation I came up with is that I like to go with very low inflation on these super small days, but when the air in a large mat gets under a certain threshold it gets very difficult to manipulate the rail and rocker. A slightly smaller mat in that case can usually be better handled at these low inflation levels. I guess my general feeling is that I do not like to go super low on inflation with the larger mats.

By the way, I seldomly end up checking my inflation levels by the ''degree-method.'' I prefer to get the inflation level down to where I am still able to get the inside rail firmly inflated by body positioning and manual compression. I use that approach for all mat models, usually very little adjustment is needed from there. This way the larger mats end up with slightly firmer angles and the smaller mats slightly more deflated. It feels like the larger the mat, the less impact compression and positioning has on the shape of the mat. I am guessing this is a big part of why we find mats with smaller volumes more responsive.

For unknown reasons the Lotus has flown under my radar until you mentioned it during my last order. After one good go out I already wish I had ordered at least another one. Hold is just superb at no expense of speed. The Lotus just flies! One hell of a mat! Can't wait to get the Lotus going on the next big swell.

Having the ability to choose between different mats is quite a luxury. Most mat surfers would probably be fine if they only one mat to chose from. You can really surf any model mat in just about anything. There are quite a few cool - and a hand full of rather sketchy - river waves around my former home in Germany, and even there the mats work. Some might say that matting a river wave will never unleash the full potential of a surfmat. There is no where to go, no "down the line". And they are right. But it is still heaps of fun and quite an experience to ride them in sweet water from time to time. Same stoke, if you ask me.  

There are quite a few river waves I surf around Europe including the Eisbach river waves. Something that all sweet water waves seem to have in common is that building up down the line speed is immensely difficult and turning ends up being mandatory in almost every river wave I know. Positioning on the mat and strategic turning are crucial. For inflation levels on a river, I generally use a lot less air than I would for the same size wave in the ocean. I always end up riding the waves quite high. If you lose speed and glide the water coming at you will suck you right up and out of the wave. Remember that unlike in the ocean water is moving against you in a river, so every bit of slip and slide that keeps you tracking downhill is helpful. The Omni at low inflation levels is my favourite river mat. The major downside of river matting is that dropping into the wave from above drastically decreases the life span of a mat. Killed an Omni in about three weeks at the Eisbach river. Anyone who attempts to surf a river would really want to focus on dropping into the wave gently.

Thank you for everything Paul, for the happiness you brought to so many people by keeping 4GF going. I know on your side of the planet the mat community is good and growing. My point is, Paul, probably less than a hand full of people would still be mat surfing if it was not for you. You are a true beacon of hope and inspiration to today's surfing. You have brought mat surfing from the last century all the way to the state that it is in now. Serious surf matters will always be charging all kinds of waves no matter where they live. Stoked and happy and excited.

Thank you for the daily stoke Paul. I know I am not the only one! :)

Warmest greetings from the Northern Atlantic!

ML

4/20

 

Surfmatters Retrospective #5 From The Tusked Beast

  The Tusked Beast, known to the non-matting world as Jonathan Hess, is a ''multi-verse renaissance-person'' of many talents...from professional dog walking to library science to talented wave rider.  Jonathan has generously offered to cull through the past 14 years of Surfmatters and select his favorite postings...and add his personal thoughts. 

Diminishing Returns

For many of us, surfing keeps us sane and grounded in a hard, unforgiving world… very much like- well, let’s say exactly like- a religious faith. The ocean, the sun, the wind and the waves endure, even as everything else on land changes, often for the worse. We lucky people who “know” can always eventually return to this place of solace and rejuvenation.

You’ll have your own takeaway from this heartfelt, moving essay, written in 2009 by Paul when he was landlocked and caring for his mother. Mine is to cherish and be grateful for what surfing gives us, and for being relatively healthy and in a positive space, especially as I age and my physical realities become more challenging.

Thanks, Paul, for the mats… and for articulating emotional issues so beautifully.

(And the comments on the original posting add a lot to piece, I encourage you to use the link to read them).

https://surfmatters.blogspot.com/2009/02/diminishing-returns.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Theses two shots of George, taken 40 years apart, tell an interesting story. In the top shot he’s riding a Stripes Down Hodgeman in 1969 -- the best surf mat of that era, but a slug by today’s standards -- in virtually perfect, uncrowded surf. In the lower shot, he’s riding a state-of-the-art nylon mat a few days ago in what amounts to a slop wave on a slop day at a slop spot.

I had the same reaction as Dale S. when I first saw those shots of George taken a few days back at Wategoes. It seemed like a shame. Here’s one of the 10 best surfers from the past 100 years, and he isn’t able to express his art in waves that are anywhere near the quality that were once commonplace for him. The intensity of the local crowds have overwhelmed a man who is both in his mid 60’s, and who grew up riding excellent, uncrowded surf. It just isn’t in the cards for him to crack Lennox with 85 guys out in hopes of snagging a few good waves. Even if he succeeded, which he surely would, it wouldn’t be a meaningful experience for him.

So, in many ways, George is being true to what has always motivated him to surf. And that’s why I have so much respect for him as a person. Too many times I’ve pulled up to some out of the way break with him on a marginal day, waited 15 minutes for a rideable wave to barely break, then watched him tear off his civvies, pull on a wetsuit and run into the water. That’s the real reason why George Greenough, and anyone like him, is a great surfer. Whatever perfect surf he once rode -- and the incredible equipment he developed to ride it -- were a distant second to the experience of simply being in the ocean. The fact that he had these experiences growing up surfing in an idyllic place like Santa Barbara in the 50’s is just a footnote.

“Diminishing returns” describes the circumstance most of us are dealing with in terms of surfing and in life…especially if we’re over 50. But it’s all relative. I’m sitting up here in Walla Walla, Washington, of all places, caring for my mother who’s about to turn 91. My wife Gloria and I are watching a woman in dramatic decline. A woman who as recently as 3 years ago was taking care of her neighbors’ homes while they were away. It’s killing both Gloria and I to see her fade mentally and physically. And it’s killing me to do it in a place 5 hours from the ocean. I'd give anything to paddle out somewhere and catch a wave...any wave. But every single day here carries responsibility and has meaning. The next wave I ride, however mediocre, will probably the best wave of my life. The law of diminishing returns will be reversed, if only for a day.

When I saw Simon Perini’s shot of George on the beach with the mat I sent him 10 days earlier, I have to say, it was one of the most surrealistic moments of my entire life. I was a child when I first saw George burn across the wall between the Indicator and the Cove at Rincon on a mat. Now, here I am, some 45 years later, sending mats I made to the same guy. And my mother, who was there for my entire board/mat making experience, is now reduced to being my child, like so many aging parents. For a moment, when I saw that photo, I lost all sense of time. It was truly a case of, “Where did the last 45 years go???”