From Meredith

Hello!

I was so tired coming home last night I walked right past the package of my surf mat! What a great way to start the day though;) 

Looking forward to take it for a spin!

:) thanks Paul and Gloria, 

Meredith

Finally, Some Nice News

Dear Paul,

As you can see by the picture Kaylee loves her surf mat!! She actually squealed when she opened it!

 

Thank you so much for helping her grandpa make her birthday such a happy one!  AND for making sure it arrived on time!!  When the time comes, and all three grandkids are on them at the Point I will send another picture!

Thank you and all the best to you!

Laurie

Corona Virus Lockdown: 4 Mat Go Outs Across The Globe

On the North Shore, Andre cracked early morning Velzyland on his Standard. These kinds of rollers are a lot more fun to ride than they look. The end of the last ride, where he negotiates some cris-cross backwash, is a mat surfing classic that only the cognoscenti will appreciate...

Andre wrties:

"My friend Skie Facer shot the footage. 

His wife is a professional videographer for all the upcoming Surfers and companies around the world and he just shoots for fun on the side so he hooked me up. 

He has a lot of respect for the old school roots and we surf V land together regularly and share waves.

Alohas 

 

(We will film more tomorrow, hopefully.)"

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

The Queensland Superbank was pumping, and this image snuck into the Surfer Magazine home page...with an anonymous matter dropping in on what had to be an all time ride...

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


The Central California mat-mob had a session at Morro Rock...

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

And of course, Adam and the SCUMM crowd got their usual unreal go out at Gilligan's Island...along with some mushy sentiment that's WAYYYYY beyond their usual emotional IQ. Disturbing, to say the least!

To wit:

"We had a super session with the SCUMM & SUB SCUMM crew yesterday morning, a total of 8 mat riders in the water, we outnumbered the board riders for a few moments !

All the World needs is some LOVE at the moment considering whats happening with this covid virus!

Our Pool Party was officially cancelled yesterday and money refunded back into our accounts...bummer!

Take Care !!

Adam"

From Proneman

From The Inimitable Adam

Hope all is well over on your side of the world , all considering the present circumstances!

 Sending you this link from Swellnet ...
 

One of Lloyd Godman's temporary art installations

I noticed that Lloyd has been down to the https://urbnsurf.com/ and has enjoyed some fun mat waves. Our mate Justin Spittle has also sampled this wave puddle with the Ecto Hand Plane Crew and has planed a pool party in May which I am attending with the other 59 alternative surfer.

Yes , I know its going to be madness with 60 guys split onto the left and right , but what the heck, you only live once! I am planning on surfing it either side of the Saturday night, so taking down all my surf mats, hand planes & soft boards to give them a whirl ! Check out Justin from their trip down earlier this year...



Should be a fun night at the Puddle! May your Toilet Roll stay full!!

Adam

From Frankie D

Simpler Times!

From Nolan

 

 

Legendary surf-globetrotter Nolan H. made a pilgrimage to Africa, and sampled the offshore island of N'Gor, which started Mike and Robert's Endless Summer adventure. Of course, he rode the rights on a surfmat...

:)

Here's the the island today...

Cristina Matting Attempt #1 ...

Hi Paul,

 

Took it into the sea. Realized its a LOT of work in small surf. Shall attempt bigger waves soon 😂

 

Didn’t crash it or break it though. Hahaha.

 

Will update as I go!

 

C

Another One From Lloyd

 Hi Paul

Second surf on the air mat at urbansurf Melbourne on Wed night - advanced mode - 30kph onshore winds so not ideal but still lots of fun and more powered up than intermediate mode - again the oldest in the water by at least 15 years. As we entered the the water an ace surfer stepped up indicated towards me and said to everyone " respect your elders, let the guy on the mat lead us out and get the first wave - we follow him" Thanks for that! The facilities and staff are fantastic also, Andrew Ross is creating a great venue and the fact one has to book a few weeks in advance is testimony to this. Thanks to Matt Blackwood for the video.  

 Cheers Lloyd





hh

From Lou

Kirra in the 1940s, with surfers riding the surf-o-planes they've hired from my Mum and Dad. As a little kid dad would send me to swim out to any people that had exceeded their hire time, to tell them they must come in. Courtesy of Toni Cameron.

1957 Surf O' plane championship that was then sponsored by Johnny Charlton who ran the kiosk. Courtesy Kirra Surf life Saving Club 100 Years

From Nolan

Hey Paul,

How are you man!? Haven’t spoken in a minute, just wanted to check in and send you this video of myself and Harry Bryant out at rock piles. Hope you dig it! It was for sure the biggest surf I’ve ever ridden a mat on.

Enjoy! Talk soon!!

n

From Capetown

Finally. Here. Thank you.

Will take it into the Atlantic tomorrow!!!!

And of course... will be in touch :)

 

Cristina

From Jon

 

Here's two shots from my recent riding!

Cheers,

Jon

Happy Birthday Kaylee !!!

As you can see by the picture Kaylee loves her surf mat!! She actually squealed when she opened it!  Thank you so much for helping her grandpa make her birthday such a happy one!  AND for making sure it arrived on time!!  When the time comes, and all three grandkids are on them at the Point I will send another picture (might be awhile!)

 

The kids are loving these mats so much!  And Kaylee, not much of a swimmer yet, felt so confident using her brother’s in Hawaii. I’m sure it’s going to be a fun summer!

Thank you and all the best to you!

Laurie

From JB ...

 

 

 

 

Howdy,

Saw these on Edhat this morning. Some fun photos, especially of the body surfing.

How about these for yet another non-advertisement for matting? 

Jim

From Tusked Beast

Dear Paul,

Really fun day, beautiful and warm, spent with Capt'n Thom, down at Mat Disneyland (where the rides are exciting but the queues are long)! With Steiny out it was a Momentary Mat Meetup :) No pics but Thom took this snippet of a video. Doesn't it look delectable?

Thanks as always for creating- what did Rob call them? Vehicles of Joy.... :)

Jonathan

From Tusked Beast

Hey Paul,

I ran across this current New Zealand band, Tiny Ruins. The first line of the song is "On a lilo..." then it becomes irrelevant (or Hemmingwayesque, snort...).

It does have a wee surfy vibe though.

Going surfing with Captain Thom tomorrow! Maybe I'll take a few pics.

Hope you two are well!

TB.

Introducing "Essential Surfmatters"

We have an new ''distillation'' of Surfmatters for you to enjoy...now up at:

essentialsurfmatters.blogspot.com

From Mat Max

Points me to appreciate my best matting moments and value the deepest core of surfmat philosophy.

Stoked!

Max

From Jonathan

Hi Paul,

I've been meaning to write for Surfmatters on this topic for a while. You know that trope that mat surfers always have a huge grin on their faces (you should, since you invented it)? Well, it's true as we all know, we've indeed the anointed ones (heh heh), but I firmly believe that it's a sheepish grin because we're constantly subject to humiliating goofs due to the freaky "living" qualities of a mat, humiliating because most of the time they happen in front of our highly judgmental surfboard riding companions, all too ready to fold us to the bottom of the priority deck (beyond simply being on a mat in the first place).

I'd love to share a couple of personal highs masquerading as cretinous lows, illustrated by carefully-rendered illustrations. There's no point in trying to deconstruct how they happened. There was no lead up, the mat did it, not me!

Picture #1, "Sidesaddle", a wave where I slipped off the side of the mat, and bodysurfed the wave with my arm around the mat, effectively an inflatable outrigger. Or maybe more accurately like a drinking buddy, staggering out of the bar. If I remember it was a pretty good ride.

Picture #2, "Flip", was really weird. In a moment of flailing chaos, the mat dug a rail and turned completely upside down, in a clunky three-part movement. Somehow I kept going, riding the blue bottom side up. I can report that the traction was actually pretty decent.


 

Picture #3, "YeeeHaw!" ,wasn't on the mat, but it sure was... a situation. I was out with just one other guy (a wizened kneeboarder) at a B-grade spot just up the coast from an A-grade spot. Steiny's turf. Big south swell, easy double overhead. The wave was mushy and peeling, but it was STILL quite big and powerful, a senile elephant. I'd just gotten out and was making conversation with the other kneeboarder, two old salts at ease in the big stuff. Then a huge set came. We both took it on the head. He made it under. This old salt had that damned mat ripped out from his death grip! No problem, I relaxed, and started the long swim. In fact, as a new set approached, I casually set up to body surf the next wave, a big, glassy wall. A BIG wall. Jesus! I realized it was by far the biggest wave I had ever tried to body surf, as I got sucked up the face, and started to plane.... The whitewater explosion was huge, but some angel was looking after this fool and I was rocketed forward, feeling the power, adrenaline squirting, the whole time thinking what a fucking idiot I was and just how much more I had bitten off than I could chew!


Each time I had that shit-eating grin. Please let this be a clarification of that expression that all mat riders wear.

Thanks a lot, buddy!

Jonathan