HUNTING, PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY

Live forever.

A fortune teller, a bounty hunter. Always looking, always anticipating, trying to predict.

A wave is something already begun but yet to come. Search the horizon. Will it be mine? It could be mine, I want it, I need it. A moment from time rolling towards the future, to its end, to its conclusion. Sometimes shyly, almost unseen. Sometimes ominous, dark and powerful.

Can I be where it reveals itself, can I be there? Over there. Yes, this could be it. I've waited all my life it seems for this. The meeting of moments. The coming together, the birth or maybe a death. Not birth for the wave, for it was born long ago. So, a new birth for me whilst I hitch a ride on the back of death, ride the death throes of the wave.

I join the wave. The past and the future become the present. The mental and the physical are dancing in liquid. A birth, a life, a death. And I want to do it all again, and again, and again for ever.

HAPPY LINES

To you one and all.

SOON COME

Flat today.

But swell on the way hopefully...

DAVID BYRNE

Detroit by David Byrne.

The amazing David Byrne Journal is always well worth a visit. This is a typical account from a visit he makes to Detroit.

PiXeL

A few more pixels from the hard-drive archive.

View.

Arrr!

Tech Deck Sesh.

Frozen water.

Dog fob - no eyes.

Exit strategy.

Breakfast of champions.

Beloved north coast.

BONEY

Lost a leg...

But he still rips!

WARDS OFF EVIL

Ginger & Honey Tea.

I think I'm addicted to this stuff, I find myself glugging down at least a cup every night. Packs quite a punch and I'm convinced it wards off evil. Rubbish pack design, but does the job.

What's it got to do with surfing? Well DL introduced it as a winter apres-surf must-have last year and let me tell you it certainly delivers!

SURF JUMBLE BUDE

Surf Jumble in Bude this weekend - might be a good place to find that quirky Xmas prezzy...

PIPED

That's why they call it the Pipeline.

There's a whole world of waves out there, and amazingly still more are being discovered every year. But Pipeline still grabs my attention. Ridden well by relatively few, despite being fairly accessible (ie; just a few yards from a public beach) and widely documented, it certainly can't be underestimated.

Personally, I just can't get enough of views like this. I can only imagine how it would feel to be in position and committing to a drop like this, on my backhand too! (dream on...)
Photo: djstruntz

SHOEGAZER

Most of the time I'm kicking a pair of Vans...

For at least half of the year - it's flip-flops...

And then in the winter I stomp around in some good ole Blundstones.

[My feet are actually quite big in real life]

BLACK HOLE OF ICE

The bucket where I normally rinse out my wetsuit.

After a brief thaw on Sunday, we're back to zero again this morning...

BLU

...

FROZONE

Temps haven't risen above zero for 6 days now.

WOO

Whichever way you are going you are going wrong.

Many moons ago, when I had endless time on my hands and a pocketful of loose change I came across an album in a record shop and just bought it on a whim. I used to do that a lot - sometimes it turned out to be ok, more often than not it didn't. But this time I struck lucky - a quirky, organic & atmospheric collection that often kept me company late into the night.

There wasn't much info on the sleeve about who WOO were, apart from the names Mark & Clive Ives and I never really followed it up at the time and certainly haven't come across them very often since.

But a recent post by Cabinessence reminded me of how much I enjoyed discovering their album and sent me off in search of the Brothers Ives again.

I GOT THE DTs

Not Delirium tremens, but some serious Diamond Tail love.

Between surfs, me and DL probably spend way too much time talking surfing and a lot of the ideas from those discussions were poured into the shape of my Slide Projector. And ever since then I've just had a real thing for Diamond Tails - I like the way a DT can give you a shorter turning arc by in effect reducing the rail length, I like that it can also track similarly to a pin tail for smooth trim and I just like the aesthetic overall... Here are a few DTs from the innerwebs.

Austin Bonzer.

Austin in his shaping shack.

Clean DT.

Winged hips plus DT.

KookBox DT Eggs - nice.

More KookBox - twins.

KookBox again - JT likes a DT too.

Point Concept.

Deadly combo.

Schaper shapes of Hawaii.

Bladed DT hull by Ryan Lovelace.

Triple strung soft DT.

ATTICUS

A simple trick.

BUSYBODY

Deadlines.

SPRKL

Sunlight on glass.

TRIS REPRISE

Tris sticker.

Spotted this in the carpark at PT last week on Andy's van, I've posted about Tris before. This is a different version with a bit more detail, particularly in the sky...

HAPPY DAY 19.11.10

Goodbye North Cornish coast.

An hour of blue sky time.

Hello Cork coast.

Bridget, the 1966 Volvo Amazon.

View from the wedding feast.

The happy couple.

GREEN BLUR

Style for miles.

I've been hoping to come across this shot again for quite a while - I can remember having the original magazine and just soaking up the beauty of the full bleed double page spread photo. I'm pretty sure it was a JGB pic. Anyway, the ever-excellent Chrome Ball Incident posted it recently - thanks for that!

LULL

Mussel rock.

Another beautiful afternoon in Kernow on Sunday, before the wind and rain of the evening...

Gap.

Sand pool.

PETE FOWLER - INTERVIEW

Pete Fowler & Nessie.

Artist, illustrator, monster creator, toy designer, DJ, animator, musician, skater, etc, etc. Pete is a truly prolific talent, constantly creating and producing unique work. Along with his own company, monsterism, and a constant list of freelance commissions, he's produced work for Super Furry Animals, Magic Numbers, Kia Motors and ATP among others. It's quite safe to say that he's got a lot goin' on... He kindly sat down between moving house and working on numerous projects to answer a few questions about his work, his influences and his Kernow konnection.

Pete, I first met you rolling around on a skateboard - when & where did you start skating?

I started skating back in Cardiff in my mid teens after riding a BMX for a local shop for a while. Skating seemed way more exciting and cheaper than constantly buying new coaster brakes etc.

Do you still find time for the occasional nollie?

It's been a while since I had a skate, with broken bone and torn ligaments at the beginning of the summer, so could be a while before I lob a nollie but I can still remember some good ones I did.

Can you tell us about your connection to Cornwall?

I holidayed there with my family when I was very young and always loved it. My dad used to surf so the beaches were a really special place, quite like some of the beaches around past Swansea on the Gower coast. Later on I got into a fine art degree in Falmouth which was a great 3 years, making daft things and skating a lot with some of the best dudes I've met. I moved back there for a few years after I graduated, via the Scilly Isles!

Smithy spine grind in 'the kitchen' at St Newlyn East, early 90s (while still being built). Pic courtesy: Chris Fowler