SURF MUSIC

Never heard of 'em, but I think I'd like this album

Old record covers are great - there's a wealth of visual gold out there. 1950s group The Surfers got nicely co-ordinated for this one above.

There was also another band in 1998 calling themselves The Surfers, (below) the guys in this combo were also quite good at actually surfing (Slater, Machado, PK...)

This one looks interesting...

TODAY

... nice day for it

Funny old day, not a lot going for it in some ways - but then I thought about it again and I realised - it's always someones birthday, it could be the best day of somebodys life and it's named after a mythological god! What a day...

COLOURS

Autumn sunset

Snapped this after a quick surf last night - trying to make the most of the light evenings...

MONOLIGHT

An old friend

LUBE JOB

Old board - new wax

Surfboards are very low maintenance, the occasional ding repair, a fresh coat of wax and you're up and running again…

SUBURBAN SURFING

Estimates suggest 80% of Westerners live in suburbia

For years I've fantasised over pics of pristine Malibu or perfect Kirra, however a little 'Google earthing' reveals that the view from the lineup is actually one of suburban sprawl. It amazed me just how suburban the surf destinations of California and East Coast Australia really are.
I still like to think of the coast as a kind of mellow wilderness area, yet statistically a hell of a lot of surfing is actually being done in Suburbia.

MURIAL - Did you mean to search for Mural

Hold yer line son!

West coast of Ireland, three years ago to the day.

VIEW FROM HERE

Lookin back...

My favourite type of view

NUMBERS

KERNOW ALOHA

He's always a happy chappy

This is Bruddah Eddie - he moved over from Hawaii to Kernow a few years ago to live at our place. He's an inspiration, especially at this time of year as our summer begins to fade. He never moans about the weather, always smiling, always happy to be here.

BENT SNOUT

Crunched my nose at G-bay tonight.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, off to the glassers we go...

SUNSET HAIKU

clouds washed by fire
gold sky above sea below
a day a lifetime

WASTING TIME

Team WOFTAM

I have to say that I believe surfing is totally pointless* and I have spent countless hours in the pursuit of riding waves. Probably adding up to a few thousand hours of my life. Could all that time have been spent doing something more productive?

I don't regret a minute of it!

*which is why I love it.

YELO

Yellow (not mellow)

The phrase "mellow yellow" appears in the first American edition of Ulysses, where it is used to refer to Mrs. Marion Bloom's buttocks... I can't stand the Donovan song of the same name. Neither am I fan of Coldplay. But I do really like yellow boards. This is my 6'8" shaped by Adrian Phillips back in 2004.

RAINDROPS

The best place to shelter from the rain

I really like surfing in the rain, I love the fresh, clean feeling of the raindrops compared to the briney sea. I like the effect the rain has on the surface of the waves... But you can have too much of a good thing, I want a little bit more summery surfage before the clocks go back.

BLOWN OUT

Three classics

It's a movie day.

ABH - August Bank Holiday

The Line-up

A man on his own in a car
Is revenging himself on his wife;
He open the throttle and bubbles with dottle
and puffs at his pitiful life

'She's losing her looks very fast,
she loses her temper all day;
that lorry won't let me get past,
this Mini is blocking my way.

'Why can't you step on it and shift her!
I can't go on crawling like this!
At breakfast she said that she wished I was dead -
Thank heavens we don't have to kiss.

'I'd like a nice blonde on my knee
And one who won't argue or nag.
Who dares to come hooting at me?
I only give way to a Jag.

'You're barmy or plastered, I'll pass you, you bastard -
I will overtake you. I will!'
As he clenches his pipe, his moment is ripe
And the corner's accepting its kill.

Meditation On The A30
John Betjeman

HOLEY MOLEY

Drop in!

Robin: "Gosh, there could be diplomatic repercussions if we fail this time, Batman."
Batman: "That's not the point, Robin. What's important is that the world know that all visitors to these teeming shores are safe, be they peasant or king."
Robin: "Gee, Batman, I never thought of that. You're right."
Batman: "It's the very essence of our democracy."

PEELER ENVY

Lefts, rights - I don't care, I just want some long walls

Think I've got peeler envy. Mostly beachbreaks in Kernow, and although they can light up quite regularly, sometimes I just want a long peeling wall to have fun on.

Image borrowed from chunnsreef.com

THE BEST TREADS

Get it right and it stays right

The only label you need on your feet. Vans have been making shoes forever (well, since 1966) and they still make the best.

TEXTURES

Lookin up from below

Last night I was inspired to try this phoodle (photoshop doodle - courtesy Strik & Lung) after spending way too much time browsing and being impressed by the very brilliant Cookie, a master of the textured look. To see much better illustrations and more of his creativity, do some clickage.

SEALIGHT

Yours truly, drawing a line, last day in May 2009.

I just love the light you get from the sea. Here's a pic from earlier this summer taken in St Ives bay. I know others have also appreciated for many years the quality of light that occurs around the coast.

WOODIE

Roger Hall has been making all kinds of surboards for a long time...

With the growth in the number of 'build-a-wooden-surfboard' workshops currently available, I'm reminded of the world class skillage of Roger Hall and his team, toiling away in NZ, steadily producing perfection.

Wooden Speed Dialer 2009

LIGHTNING BOLT

Thanks for the warning!

TRIS SURFBOARDS

The venerable Tris logo based on a drawing by Keith Flack

I absolutely love this logo. They have a more recent logo that is more 80s in style (and possibly also en route to becoming a classic...), but I much prefer the original. Not sure why neither of them are here.
I've been visiting the Tris surf shop in Porthtowan since the mid 70s and the place has hardly changed in all that time. It doesn't have endless racks of multi-national merchandise, NO flat screen plasma tv, NO skate shoes. Just a small beachside surf shop that sells stuff you need if you're going in the sea.
Tris still make a few boards each year with the original logo - I can see myself ending up with one at some point.

ON YER BIKE

Ahh the freedom... (mobile phone pic)

Last night, me and Cealan went for a cycle along the lanes. Watching him whizz along reminded me of the great sense of liberty that riding a bike gives you. And how much I loved pedalling away the hours, riding my trusty old steed of a bike when I was a kid. Last night I had that feeling again.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

Something nice to study, phoning up a buddy. Being in my nuddy

Reasons to be cheerful part 3 was not on the brilliant debut album (above) but was released as a single in 79. What an original Ian Dury was! I really wish I'd seen him and the Blockheads live. However I can listen to them any time I want, so that's another good reason...

AUGUST

Hang onto summer for as long as you can

As I notice the evenings darkening again by 9pm I enter a mild state of panic. I don't want summer to end, it's too soon, I want this celebrated summer to last a while longer yet...

POWER OF THREE

Three is indeed the magic number

birth - life - death
low tide - mid tide - high tide
past - present - future
Meat Puppets - Best fucken band in the Universe

UNDERTAKEN

"Ladies & gentlemen, I present to you our latest model - The Undertaker!"

The first British homemade surfboards were called 'coffin lids' because of how they looked – and also because allegedly the local undertaker made them! With a bit of tweaking here and there this could be my next shape...

And by the way, what a great word 'Undertaker' is, in recent years Funeral Director has become the more acceptable title. I don't know what the origins of 'Undertaker' are, but that's who I want preparing me for my journey into the after life.

PALINDROME

Lovin me some palindromics

I just think these little double-enders are fun, imagine living here...

CLOUDGAZING

Forsooth, methinks ye winds do bloweth offshore!

Like the majority of surfers, I don't live in sight of the waves. And although I do use the webcams nowadays to check conditions I've always been a keen watcher of the skies to help me decide where to head for the best surf.
I can't claim to know as much as these guys, but over the years I've become pretty good at working out what will be happening at my local beaches by gazing at the clouds.

THE PRICE OF $URFING

Nice little wave in Dubai - at a cost

An old friend of mine recently returned to Kernow after 15 years in the desert. We paddled out for a few reunion waves and I was impressed by how well he was surfing. He told me that he'd still managed to get waves in Dubai, but at the risk of being fined! Apparently 'sliding on the waves' is not acceptable and the police will fine you £80 if you are caught doing so.
Made me really appreciate the 2ft cross-shore slop we'd just shared for free.

ONLY ONE WAVE

The literary equivalent of a perfect wave

Imagine the perfect wave, imagine riding it perfectly, now imagine leaving the water and never paddling out again, ever.

This would be the surfing equivalent of Harper Lee's writing career, author of To Kill a Mockingbird. It was her debut novel, published in 1960 and an instant success. To date it has sold over 30 million copies, been translated into over 40 languages and has never been out of print. Widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of our time.

Try and imagine again riding a perfect wave, perfectly... Could you then turn your back on the chance to paddle out and do it again?

Harper Lee, has never published another word since her first and only novel nearly 50 years ago.

D

D - Apres surf at Droskyn with beer & blanket

What can I say about Darren Lago?
"He came, he saw, he surfed" would be one way of summarising his sojourn in Kernow.
Within just a few short years this man of many talents progressed from sketchy first rides to pretty good noserider. Along the way sampling most of the wavey delights of West Cornwall whenever they were breaking. As well as snagging a couple of trips downunder for some right hand point break action.
Always up for it, always keen to paddle out, always going for it whatever the conditions, he's been a great compadre both in and out of the water. It's been an honour to follow the path with him for the last couple of years and I wish him and his family well as the next stage of their journey takes them to France.
I look forward to sharing some sunset waves again one day...
Au revoir & bon voyage D.

SURF PUNX

Lester - Agent Orange - Upland

In danger of being branded an old hippy I thought I'd better reinforce my credentials as an old skate punk instead. Agent Orange weren't really 'surf' or 'punk', but they certainly nailed being a surf punk band and provided a soundtrack to a generation of 80s skaters. I still can't listen to Everything Turns Grey without also hearing trucks grinding coping (in my mind's ear anyway).

JOHN SINCLAIR

"We were serious political revolutionaries trying to overthrow the government... we were also on acid!"

John Sinclair; author, poet, activist, former manager of MC5 and founder of the White Panthers, the only American political party ever formed by a rock’n’roll band!

Not sure if he has ever had any connection with Kernow or surfing, but I think he'd fit right in and would be stylin on a longboard.

FIRST CROP

"We plant the seed, nature grows the seed, we eat the seed"

Mini harvest today. Our first foray into growing veggies - it actually does amaze me that all we did was stick some seeds in the ground and with the addition of some sunshine and H2O these appeared.

FRESH LEAVES

The Pilgrimage - 50 places to surf before you die

Just got The Pilgrimage through the post, I do love a fresh book, and I'm really looking forward to delving into this one. Edited by Sean Doherty, author of MP, (which is well worth reading if you get a chance, in my opinion it's one of the best written surf books out there).

Need to add another shelf to the mini-library

WE KEEP EM ROLLING

Pimp my tractor

The farmers in this part of the world don't worry about the cosmetics. If its still got four wheels and an engine they'll keep using it.

HAWAIIAN

Elvis, trying to be Hawaiian

I think I've become a little bit obsessed with Hawaii lately.

To the point of wondering if I could ever have a snowballs chance in hell of surfing like Rusty Keaulana at Makhaha, being able to afford some Heather Brown art and daydreaming of spending Christmas hanging out on the North Shore.

But in reality the closest I'll ever get will be wearing my "vacation" shirt at the weekends. Like Elvis.

SUBTLE

Surfing well is a lifetime's pursuit that's expressed in subtleties

This quote (above) from Patrick Trefz's Thread perfectly echoes the style and content of this DVD. Normally I'm just a sucker for Hawaiian longboarding movies, but this has a great feel and plenty of surprises and I find myself drawn back to it time and again.

And of-course there's some solid Pipeline in there too.

MULTI TALENTED

Board graphics for a World Champ

Recently came across Emil Kozak, a Dane living in Barcelona. This kid seems to be dripping with talent and just gets things done. Could he be any more creative/productive? Take some time to check his work...

ROYALTY

The Royalist

Met up with Royal last night who is currently on a shaping sabbatical in Kernow. He's a top bloke and working hard to carve out a place for himself in the precarious world of surfboard shaping. Keep up the good work and good luck Royal.

RIDING THE MAGIC CARPET

Never judge a book by its cover

It took me a while to sit down and read this book for two reasons.

The first being simply that I find the cover so unappealing. Clunky typography and boring image. But as the old saying goes; you should never judge a book by its cover and in this case that’s absolutely true.

The second is that I’d previously read two other surf books by British authors (Andy Martin – Stealing the Wave & Alex Wade – Surf Nation) and they were both so poor I just couldn’t face trying to work my way through yet another… But finding myself without something to read, I borrowed this from my local library. Despite my prejudices I was pleasantly surprised by how good this book is.

Probably what defines this narrative is that Tom Anderson lived and breathed surfing from an early age and then went on to follow a dream that saw him travel the globe enabling him to give us first hand accounts of his experiences along the way. Although treading a path that many have taken before, Anderson manages to give his unique take on the journey. Unlike the previously mentioned books by Martin and Wade which amount to little more than professional journalists attempting to piggy back onto a scene and culture they have discovered in middle age. You get the feeling all the way through Andersons adventure that he is totally authentic.

The descriptions will chime with anyone who has loaded a board bag in search of waves. While the insights and characters discovered along the way are refreshing and unique. A great little book about riding the wave of your dreams, but at its heart is really all about the stoke riding any wave with the right attitude can give you.

Thumbs up.

DUCK DIVE

Dive! Dive!

I've been riding a heavy, trad single-fin log almost exclusively for the past few years, rarely taking a shortboard out these days.

Warm summer sun, clear water, clean waves and a light wetsuit all add up to great fun on the mal, but I realised the other day that there's also another aspect that is often overlooked, not easy to master and an essential part of surfing - the duck-dive.

I really miss a good deep duck-dive.