E's Surf Report: Gusty winds, lackluster conditions

If you�re feeling the jones. If you�ve been dreaming about waves every night and some of those deep-barrelled dreams resulted in a little wetness upon wake-up� ahem.. If you watch the bus go down the street and pass underneath an overhanging tree and you can�t help but think, �damn, that bus is getting shacked!� If you close your eyes and see approaching waves on the back of your eyelids. If you can�t ride your bike in a strait line but instead bank rounded turns off imaginary lips. If you�re making love to your sweetie and can�t help but think that the abdominal workout will be great for your late take-offs. If any or all of these things are happening to you, you could probably satiate that jones with a session out at gloomy OB this morning. However, if you�ve just returned from 4 weeks in Sumatra or Chili or something, and your thighs are aching from long, roping wave after wave of glassy groundswell godsend then maybe you wouldn�t be feelin� it today. If you�ve spent May and June cruising around the south-pacific on your boyfriend�s 70 ft yacht, scoring ledging reef-pass mysto waves all day long, then maybe the local surf scene wouldn�t exactly pass muster this morn. I feel a bit like a weatherman in Los Angeles (Steve Martin in �LA Story�) in that the conditions are the same as they�ve been almost every day for the last two months. Again it�s knee-waist high, onshore, topsy-turvy, funky, and a bit depressing. BUT!! It�s surfable for those with the spirit for it.

I was a little under the weather this weekend but managed a few sessions here and there. Surfed Lane Lizzard�s favorite spot, Steamer Lane, and couldn�t really believe how amazing the waves were. This meager windswell was somehow being focused into the hallowed grounds of the Slot, forming into waves much better than any other along the local coastline. 60 or 70 glassy, overhead, peeling pointbreak walls whipped through the slot during the 2 hours I surfed there. Mind you if there had only been 5 or 10 surfers in the lineup I might have enjoyed one of my best sessions ever. But as it was, 30 or 40 rough-neck lads jockeyed and jostled for every blip or blap of wave that hinted at breaking. This was to be expected, of course. Nevertheless I worked my way into a handful of high-quality sections. Linked a few turns, maneuvered a few drops, etc. good times. It�s always pleasurable to get some speed and then power through a cutback on a glassy wave. A few 13 year-old super-groms were absolutely ruling out there. This one kid had the full spoiled-sponsored-scowling-shredonyourfacemutherfucker thing happening to the T. He probably weighed about 90 lbs. dark hair with freckles. Big quicksilver sticker on his board. He probably caught 80 waves during my session and was pulling (and landing) huge airs and cutting-edge gaffs and roundhouses. He dropped in on anybody that was on a wave that he wanted and just faded them into the whitewash. Some of the older teenagers were threatening and cursing this little kid but he didn�t care. He just kept scowling and cursing under his breath and ripping and dropping in on everybody. If he missed a move he�d let out a loud, �FUUCK!�

The future of surfing?

ps - thanks Kaiser for filling in on Friday
- cool to see photos of marco and klooless kook out there. I think that klooless kook might need a new moniker, like "Shreddy Freddy, "Larry Destroyer of Waves."

I received this email on Friday... what kind-of asshole does this shit?

20+VINTAGE SURFBOARDS STOLEN from Huntington Beach Museum
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2004 10:01:48 -0700
This passed along by Gary Lynch and Tom Keck.......

Aloha,
Got the word last evening, and more will be following as soon as they
send me an inventory of what was taken. But at this point Some
SOB(son of a b...) or a group of B (bas....) children broke into the
storage container belonging to the International Surfing Museum of
Huntington Beach and stole aprox. 20 some VINTAGE boards and other
historical things. Great ALOHA! Please put the word out to everyone
you might know. We feel that these items might be put onto E Bay
and/or other places where these items could be sold without knowing
the real story behind how they were aquired? More will follow as soon

as we have a total inventory, but please get the word out ASAP.
Mahalo,

Michael W. Spence
Long Beach District
Phone 562-981-8269/31269
Fax 562-981-8281/31281
Cell 909 286-0224
Pager 800-473-6383

Durban

I agree.

Klooless has graduated.

Posted by: tomstah at July 12, 2004 09:45 AM

oh yeah...

29 year old surfer got killed by 2 sharks at margaret river yesterday....

Posted by: tomstah at July 12, 2004 09:46 AM

here's a link to the story - grisly west oz landlord encounter

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/11899496?version=1

Posted by: eric at July 12, 2004 09:53 AM

ob this morning.. psyche!!!

Posted by: e at July 12, 2004 10:04 AM

What up y'all? Mellow weekend for me with a little surf, a little golf, a little sun and tons of sleep.

Anyway, I went down to Cape Town about 2 years ago and took a surf tour down there for 3 days. I just received an email from the dude that took me around. Solid guy! And, most likely he can hook you up with a new board and what not before you get down there. I got one shaped and delivered on arrival for like $250 or so with leash, bag, etc. If think about heading that way or need a surf vacation, give 'em a shout!

Email:

How are you? Long time since we last chatted. I have started a new company called Sunscene Outdoor Adventures specialising in Surfing, Sandboarding, Fishing and Diving trips in South Africa. I was hoping I you could spread the word to anyone you know coming out to South Africa, even if they aren't interested in doing any of the tours we offer we can help them arrange Vehicle rental or accommodation for their trip to South Africa. Check out our website

www.sunscene.co.za

We are busy updating the site and adding custom surf trips, self drive surf trip and various other surf trips in SA. I remember you telling me that a mate of yours runs a surfing website and I was hoping we could set up a reciprocal link between his site and ours??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So how has the surf been ?? Have you been getting any good waves?? The surf here has been excellent we had swell after swell it has been great.
Anyway enough dribble. Have a good day and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind Regards
Ian Farrell
Sunscene Outdoor Adventures
Tel: + 27 (0)21 788 5323
Fax: + 27 (0)21 788 5323
Mobile: +27 (0)84 352 4925
ian@sunscene.co.za
www.sunscene.co.za

Posted by: Kaiser at July 12, 2004 10:18 AM

anyone know of a good ding repair guy? i tried alex martin but haven't any luck getting through. Anybody else out there who has skills in or around SF? thanks

Posted by: 6silver at July 12, 2004 10:19 AM

I don't have a problem getting Alex. Try him between 4 and 6 PM, most nights.

Other than that, you can try SF Surfshop (expensive but very good).

Also http://www.scsurfers.com/ ding@scsurfers.com, Gioni Pasquinelli does ding repair in the South Bay.

Posted by: blakestah at July 12, 2004 10:29 AM

Hate to continue the bad feelings, but this is important to us all:

Drove Sunday to all of the usual local spots looking for something, anything, and found nothing but some very distressed Brazilian guys at M-----a (is this a situation in which to name a spot? Weren't no real surf and this is a PSA). There were five or six fellows in the group that arrived at the beach in two cars and got out of the water to find only one.

The owner had his keys with him in the water, parked in a visable spot, generally did all the right things. The one thing that he hadn't done was use the club or other such pain in the ass device to make his car less attractive than the others nearby. I know they are a hassle to use, but they do work as a deterrant, especially with the cylinder of the lock turned towards the dash. Battery disconnects are good too. A determined thief will still take what he wants- the goal is not theft proof but to just be unattractive to someone who has to work fast.

I also witnessed this weekend a very professional thief strip the stereo and go into the trunk from the back seat in a little new Toyota- all while I was on the tele to 911. Probabley no more than 90 seconds. He ruined the trip of three young women staying in a hostel by my shop. Moral there: get a lock-box and don't consider your trunk safe from theft- especially while surfing. This is all a bummer but even at the beach we live in a big urban area side by side with some pretty disenfranchised folks.

So- call the fuzz when you see someone casing OB's lot, help out where you can. Crime is on the rise in my neighborhood, sadly it is probably a matter of time before it gets thicker at the beach too. At home in HI the car boost phenomena took off in the seventies when the ne'er-do-wells figured out the vulnerablity and bounty of the beach parking lot. Word will likely travel here too.

Posted by: goodmorning at July 12, 2004 10:33 AM

shoulda popped a cap in the thief's ass

Posted by: j at July 12, 2004 10:46 AM

ok, i take back my pop a cap comment. more fun would be we get a group of a few cars together, we use one car as 'bait'...park the 'bait' inbetween the other cars....2 people in each other car, but only ones gets out and leaves to surf, the other person stays hidden in the other car somehow (idea not fully fleshed out yet)....anyways, hopefully a thief tries to steal from the 'bait' car, at which time people hiding in the nearby cars get out and flog the thief silly with whatever flogging apparatus they choose, while bruce records the moment on film (pixel i guess) and bagel paints the scene. word.

Posted by: j at July 12, 2004 10:50 AM

j.-

In my nieghborhod you could spend many days "popping caps" into people who almost without exception bring only misery into the spheres of influence that they inhabit. I for one, have to reserve this solution for situations of protecting physical safety within the confines of my property. I appreciate your sentiment but there is only bad surf in jail.

Posted by: goodmorning at July 12, 2004 10:59 AM

'If they've tasted human blood, then they'll remain a problem until we've tracked them down,' he added.

i thought sharks didnt like the taste of human blood.

e i must have just missed you at the lane on friday, i was out there around 3pm those waves were enough to keep me happy all weekend. i saw some little toeheaded kid killing it on his back side..seemed like the older loggers had the biggest yaps when i was out..seems like i should have surfed yesterday morning at ob though..

Posted by: bagel at July 12, 2004 11:07 AM

thanks!

Posted by: 6silver at July 12, 2004 11:09 AM

i like the idea of hiding out in the bait car and surprising the thief upon break in with a bunch a homies...

Victim's brother: Don't kill shark

Posted by: gvibe at July 12, 2004 11:09 AM

No surf and work procrastination brings up the esoteric eh?!

Just finished a book that a professor friend at Berkely teaches called "On Killing" written by a military psychiatrist that is very interesting in light of the war we have mired ourselves in. Evidentally the human psyche has a very difficult time letting the human animal kill others of it's kind. (The firing rate on enemy troops in WWII was less than 10-12%!) According to this book we should expect to see substantial pshychological fallout in many returning Mid-East vets. The military doesn't like to acknowledge this reality and leaves vets, by and large, to fend for themselves. Yet another reason to oppose this administration & its war-making.

Clear channel is in another antiwar censorship storm in NYC & the Senate report is out- we were wrong! No credible reason to invade Iraq. Oooops! Check out the front page of the NY Times on line....

Posted by: goodmorning at July 12, 2004 11:09 AM

thanks for the report, goodmorning, that sucks.

i had some good luck this weekend. as i drove the coast on saturday i happened to heard a thwap thwap under the hood and it turned out that my alternator belt was shredded. but i was able to make it to a repair shop, get it replaced, and get back on the road in time to catch a solo session in central san mateo. felt pretty sharky out there at this craggy spot alone, but it was worth it for the lovely waist-shoulder high lefts that were coming thru.

sunday was also pretty fun back at ob - got out late after the tide switch, but things held up pretty good, it was bowly and consistent enough for the good-sized crowd that was out. one hooded, skinny goateed guy was just killing it, but he also had a pretty heavy vibe on, too bad.

doesn't look like it's as clean at ob today, but sounds like we'll have a nice south by later this week...

Posted by: loon at July 12, 2004 11:10 AM

OB: foggy, crumbly, confused and onshore, knee - waist. Watch out for those sternum high, cleanup-set smurfin' death mackers! It IS surfable, took the mongo longboard. If you haven't tried the log in long while and need to clear your head, it's all good. Waves and whitewater are spectacularly gutless except when you paddle out.

Made some genuine drops this Sat that I normally would have 100% kooked. Ended most by cartwheeling off the board, but overall very pleased. Crediting niceness drop discussion of previous week, also karmic payback for idiotic parking lot injury! Fun weekend. Cheers,

Posted by: s.s. sharkbait at July 12, 2004 11:21 AM

Thanks for the reminder, goodmorning. If it's a deterrent to drive a rusted-out old bolt-bucket to the beach, I'm covered. There's still the wallet issue, though.

Speaking of ding repair, I just finished up a big, UGLY buckle repair and was ready to head out to test it this morning when I noticed that I'd managed to partly tear out a glassed-in fin in the process. Back to the mixing cup. TAP plastics on South Van Ness, by the way, is a good source for glassing/repair stuff (as most of you probably know).

Thanks for the comments on Bruce's awesome shots of my bitchin' ride of last Thursday. Kelly Slater should seriously consider throwing in the towel.

Posted by: Klooless Kook at July 12, 2004 11:31 AM

s.s...nice work gettin' out there...injury and all! way to tough it out!

was pretty busy with a buddy's wedding festivities this weekend, but managed a recovery sesh with my lady yesterday at one of the usual local suspects. lots of waves...but only the occasional one that was actually worthwhile. a kneeboarder throwin' significant vibe. strange given the marginal conditions. sorta like a 6th grader in a kindergarten sandbox.

goodmorning...bummer about the Brazilians. thanks for the psa.

Posted by: ck at July 12, 2004 11:42 AM

christian....major bummer, amigo!! that sucks. great to see, however, that it hasn't dampened your niceness spirit and that Mother Ocean rewarded. remember...karma is the ultimate payback.

Posted by: ck at July 12, 2004 11:45 AM

hope there are some good board-buying strategists out there today, i am ready to buy my next board and need to poll some experts. key info:
== age 36, 5'10" 165lbs, been surfing for 6 years, shortboarding for 2
== current quiver:
- 9' "performance" log
- rarely-used 7'8" mini-gun (syco - maine shaper)
- 6'11" sauritch rounded pin
- 6'6" prodanovich reality check (20 wide 2.45 thick double wing swallow)

got the 6'6" in fall 2002, my go-to board that i learned to shortboard on. i am liking it more & more as my surfing improves. i've also ridden smaller boards and think that i would be ok paddling something smaller. i'm not even sure if my 6'6" is as easy to paddle-ride as the dimensions might otherwise indicate.

so anyway, what next?

i'd eventually like to get a traditional twin-fin fish, but summer is nearly over so i'm thinking that i should wait until next spring to order that. i'm otherwise a bit conscious of my age and the looming possibility of trying to have kids and how that would affect my availability for mother ocean, so i'm wondering if it would be better for my learning experience to add a squashtail or roundedpintail board in the 6'2" to 6'7" range to the mix at this point.

related thought -- i was not a skater and i think that i have more of a down-the-line/drawn-out turn style than the looser/slidey/slashy style that seems to be attributed to fishy boards.

any advice? what should i be focused on -- tail shape? fin config? length? width?

Posted by: loon at July 12, 2004 11:59 AM

Back in town for a few days, leaving tomorrow for Windhoek. Scored in Costa, There was much work to be done, so I only shot a few rolls. Peace out and I hope all have a great summer.

Costa Pics...

http://www.paulferraris.com/personal/costa2004.htm

Posted by: mexisurf at July 12, 2004 12:03 PM

thanks mexi, great shots, i like that last right especially.

Posted by: loon at July 12, 2004 12:07 PM

mexi...i can't wait to swap some Africa tales! explore and enjoy.

Posted by: ck at July 12, 2004 12:21 PM

There're a group of petty/car thieves operating up and down the san mateo coast. Basically your car, if it is high on the wanted list, is up for grabs anywhere from south of Pacifica, to Ano. The people doing it lay low when they get too much attention then they pop back up again a few months later. Whether its really the same group, nobody knows for sure.

Anyway, its a recurring problem. The local cops are not exactly johnny on the spot when it comes to policing the beaches on the weekend. I'd like to have something good to say about 'em, but don't.

In the meantime, park near a house or somethin'...

Posted by: g at July 12, 2004 12:23 PM

REPOST: I FOUND A GUITAR ON THE GREAT HIGHWAY NEAR KIRKHAM. I would like to get it back to the owner. Anyone any of us know?

Surfed Sat and Sun in a messy OB but had fun anyway.

Posted by: Dennis at July 12, 2004 01:01 PM

Dennis-you might try posting it on craigslist lost + found section:

http://www.craigslist.org/laf/

Posted by: kdalle at July 12, 2004 01:07 PM

Well, they are not Mexi-Quality, but I got a few fun shots from the weekend:

http://www.surfhumor.com/Photos%2012.htm

I was out there on Friday afternoon too. What fun. For some reason Saturday morning clicked for me and was one of the best sessions I've had there. For a while I had Mid Peak to myself. Caught one wave that would not die. Ended up at the second stairs near the statue, walked out the point to jump in, and caught some more really fun ones.

Yep, all weekend was a grom fest. Gnat Young was there and a 20-something kid nicknamed Mouse who spends half of his time in the air. Sometimes it's a bit humbling. Especially when you're out there with some of the guys like Tom Powers who is still ripping at my age. Damn, no excuses!

Guy on the red board is Mouse. Before this high-five he did a clean 360 and then looped in front of his friend who burned him. There's always some niceness if you keep your eyes open.

Posted by: Lane Lot Lizard at July 12, 2004 01:08 PM

loon - there's really not enough info. A 6'6" board 20+ inches wide is probably not uber-fast turning as far as short boards go. You could go shorter and narrower, but making sure the tail width is adequate.

If you have more detailed specs, I'd be happy to toss some ideas around, but the best advice is to choose a shaper, buy directly from him, and take your 6'6" to him and discuss what you want.

Posted by: blakestah at July 12, 2004 01:09 PM

Sorry to be a blog hog, but this says it all to me (you have to look close to see the big smile on his face). The Gnat:

Posted by: Lizard at July 12, 2004 01:14 PM

loon: one thing you could do is go and see Bob Pearson at Pearson Arrow in Santa Cruz. he'll sit down and talk at length about your surfing, what you like, what you dont etc etc. I did that after surfing a couple of store-bought Arrow boards that I liked. worked great - got a nice custom board, and learned a lot in the process.

dunno where you are - might be some SF-based shapers that folks recommend, too...

luck. J

Posted by: J at July 12, 2004 01:18 PM

Loon, time to get you on my fishy-thang. Since it is not a "fish" by some people's standards, I won't call it that. Either way, you should give it a go. I find it a nice change up, especially when i get somewhat bored on my other boards. But then again, I have ridden it pretty much all spring/summer.

Let me know!

Posted by: Kaiser at July 12, 2004 01:31 PM

from bbr's site

Posted by: e at July 12, 2004 01:31 PM

ya thats the little blond kind i was talking about..lots o fleckles on that kid..yay..caught the rev horton heat show at the catylist after that session as well..over all a great day to ditch work..

Posted by: bagel at July 12, 2004 01:32 PM

pearson IS a great shaper but a lame glasser. no matter
what you tell him......

i have broken every pearson i ever had INCLUDING the
one bob shaped me for costa rica 2 years ago; on the
first day there. i told him the board was FOR THE TRIP:
pacific side, big beach break. day 1; SNAP. clean in 2.

i would not recommend a board from bob for OB.
i would talk to john at sf surf shop.

my two pennies.

Posted by: korewin at July 12, 2004 01:40 PM

oh damn! Bruce got me! im the on the shoulder closest to the guy surfing. hoping he falls so i can shoulder hop that one (how i got some of my better waves that day, those kids are on it) he did not fall, i would have been too late anyway. good times.

Posted by: bagel at July 12, 2004 01:47 PM

oh shit sorry

Loon, I like 'stah's advice about going directly to a shaper. Lots of shapers in the SC area... Pearson (mentioned), Goin, Coffee, Stretch, etc.

Any good shaper will spend a pretty good chunk of time talking to you about your surfing, your current boards, where you surf, how you surf and where you wanna go next. That's the really cool thing about going direct to a shaper... besides the good karma.

-d

Posted by: dano at July 12, 2004 02:05 PM

thanks for the posts folks. sounds like i need to plan for some more time with the shapers. the tough part for me with those conversations is that i've almost exclusively ridden my 6'6", so it's hard for me to know what to attribute to my board, and what to attribute to my abilities/likes-dislikes.

blakestah, i spoke with john over the weekend of the 4th, i was tempted to buy a sweet skip frye model fish he finished recently but i thought it might be big for me (6'2") for that style of fish. i will probably order my next custom board from john, great vibe at that shop. i had also been tempted that same day by a prodanovich on the used rack at wise, a much more streamlined 6'0" based on a mark richards model that dave swears by.

kaiser, thanks again for the offer, hopefully we'll connect soon.

if anyone has a board for sale that might be suitable based on what i described above, or if anyone wants to send me advice directly i'm at pnmcs at comcast dot net. thanks...

Posted by: loon at July 12, 2004 02:29 PM

aloha niceness folk ..greetings from the garden isle..just finished a nice east side trade wind session nothing spectacular over here ...summer time. saw jack mccoy last night at the kialuea theatre place was crawling with ai groupies, mom and dad there to. blue horizon is definitely worth seeing ...
so cast your wanna be vote:
1. pro tour --ai slater type
2 soul surfer - rasta type

count me as a soul man.

Posted by: old man at July 12, 2004 02:32 PM

since when did "soul surfers" start making making six figures for their beards and puka shells? that's like calling the haight street trust-fund babies "homeless" when they've got a warm bed 20 minutes north in marin.

Posted by: f$ck pro surfing at July 12, 2004 03:09 PM

Same old shit.

Posted by: BVB at July 12, 2004 03:13 PM

loon,
talk to doug haut at haut surfboards. superb shaper with excellent glassers. i've shaped at his shop over the past couple years and his glassers have glassed my boards. they always do a mighty fine job. doug is extremely knowledgeable and a very standup guy. highly recommended.

Posted by: dt at July 12, 2004 03:55 PM

bvb for president!

Posted by: e at July 12, 2004 04:00 PM

I know exactly the kid you're talking about, e.

He's reason number 732 that surfing the lane in the summer sucks.

He is about 90 pounds but I've heard he's much older than he looks, like 15 or something. Maybe all his friends are getting chicks and that's why he's so bitter.

Check out this shot of the lane in 1972. How's the parking lot scene? Looks pretty mellow.

[image posted by e below]

Posted by: lewis at July 12, 2004 04:01 PM

Lewis, your picture didn't show up. I'm jazzed to see it so try and repost.

Posted by: steve-o at July 12, 2004 04:15 PM

here's the link:
http://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-bin/image.cgi?image=7220064&mode=sequential&flags=9&year=1972

Posted by: lewis at July 12, 2004 04:29 PM

empty lane - circa '72

Posted by: e at July 12, 2004 04:30 PM

I SECOND THE NOMINATION OF BVB!!

Posted by: j at July 12, 2004 04:55 PM

Geez, Costa Rica looks fun. Where's the best place to buy blank foam? I've been to the e-z foam website, but there has to be other places?

Posted by: Ian at July 12, 2004 04:55 PM

that shot of the Lane makes me want to cry. it envokes all sorts of shoulda, coulda, woulda rhetorical questions that are just too depressing. despite the fact that, of course, i was wearing diapers at the time and many other niceness regulars weren't even born yet! ahhh...bygone era i suppose...

Posted by: ck at July 12, 2004 05:37 PM

i was either not born or in diapers..cause thats the year i was born. OH DAMN!! i wonder if the photographer knew i would be there 31 years later kooking out in front of a bunch of 14 year olds...

Posted by: bagel at July 12, 2004 06:33 PM

speaking of which..hey Bruce do you have any outtakes from that day? any of a dorky regular foot guy with bad posture? i love punisment..i thought that might have been you for a second but didnt introduce myself, next time..

Posted by: bagel at July 12, 2004 06:38 PM

I third the nomination. I'm even going to get an autographed photo of one of my three favorite surfers!!!!

Surf's up Friday!!

Posted by: blakestah at July 12, 2004 07:14 PM

Ian,
Fiberglass Hawaii in Santa Cruz has blanks instock, plus everything else you need to make a board. I don't know if they have the best prices but you can look at the blansk in real life.

Posted by: Dennis at July 12, 2004 07:15 PM

bagel- if Gnat got aggro let me know. I'll talk to Rosie (mom) and she will kick his butt. I saw him drop in on a few folks on Sunday and mentioned it to her. I also watched him give up some really good waves to old guys on longboards and bodyboards. He just finished first at Hunnington against the locals and may be feeling important. Mom will give him a niceness lesson.

Photos- I shot hundreds. Happy to send you a disk. Send me the date (or dates) and an address and I'll mail it off.

The Lane locals are the same as the OB locals. All peeps with the same passion.

Posted by: Bruce at July 12, 2004 08:08 PM

I noticed SF surf shop didn't show up as a recommended shaper. What's the 411 there?

Posted by: Andrew on 44th at July 12, 2004 08:14 PM

SF Surfshop is basically John Schultze. He's done about 3000 boards, more or less, in all shapes and sizes. He is the only shaper in town. He does most of his own glassing, tint work, glossing, pinlining, basic airbrush work, the whole 9 yards.

You could also get a Hickey through SF Surfshop. Bill has been shaping for over half a century, he does about a board a month now.

Or, John's partner, Kyle, on the North Shore, can shape you a board.

They don't do sponsorship, they just do boards. None of the competitive surfers go there, because they all go where they can get a handout. And there are no handouts at SF Surfshop.

But that doesn't mean the boards are any worse, just that really good surfers can get cheap competition boards elsewhere, whereas if you don't surf like one of them, you cannot.

Also, SF Surfshop is a combined surfboard wholesale/retail operation, so the prices are low. A shortboard under $400, a longboard not much more. Typically $100 less on a longboard than anyplace else.

But really, John is there, every weekend, fielding questions. He's a good person, a good shaper, and a friend of mine.

Here's a tip, though. He does about 5 boards a week. When you order, ask him how long the queue is. Figure he will do 3 boards from the queue each week, and that will tell you how many weeks until you get your board. The other 2 boards/wk are for the rack.

And tell him I sent ya.

Posted by: blakestah at July 12, 2004 09:43 PM

Anon 2 cents worth + double up on Blaketsah in regard to John at SF Surfshop.
Upstanding guy first of all but a damned fine shaper who knows his home turf and shapes for it. Go talk story, bring a sixer (old school style), and learn about the incredible thought that goes into your next board
S

Posted by: searoom at July 12, 2004 11:43 PM

This is how I spend my time...I'm sitting in an internet cafe in 3rd world St. Lucia leading a sailing trip for kids, and I check niceness. Thats how bad I want to be in the water back home, particularily as I'm surrounded by flat, glassy water, cruzing the carib. Ahhh...to push through a green backlit afternoon wave at ob, soon enough, soon enough.

Posted by: zotz at July 13, 2004 08:03 AM

Posted by: at July 15, 2004 10:11 AM

Please visit some relevant pages dedicated to poker poker http://www.middlecay.org/ online poker online poker http://www.hasslerenterprises.org/ phentermine phentermine http://www.teambeck.org/ viagra viagra http://www.neweighweb.org/ casino casino http://www.hdic.org/ online casino online casino http://www.hometeaminspection.org/ texas holdem texas holdem http://www.mor-lite.org/ texas hold em texas hold em http://www.reservedining.org/ pacific poker pacific poker http://www.paramountseedfarms.org/ empire poker empire poker http://www.parkviewsoccer.org/ party poker party poker http://www.tclighting.org/ cialis cialis http://www.sportingcolors.org/ diet pills diet pills http://www.psychexams.org/ tramadol tramadol http://www.stories-on-cd.org/ play poker play poker http://www.marshallyachts.org/ turbo tax turbo tax http://www.lvcpa.org/ pacific poker pacific poker http://www.rifp.org/ texas hold em poker texas hold em poker http://www.suttonjames.org/ poker rules poker rules http://www.pagetwo.org/ credit cards credit cards http://www.tecrep-inc.org/ hoodia hoodia http://www.rethyassociates.org/ carisoprodol carisoprodol http://www.ingyensms.org/ payday loans payday loans http://www.krantas.org/ buy phentermine buy phentermine http://www.devilofnights.org/ generic viagra generic viagra http://www.ansar-u-deen.org/ h r block h r block http://www.azian.org/ buy viagra buy viagra http://www.twinky.org/ texas holdem poker texas holdem poker http://www.atlanta2000.org/ weight loss diet pills weight loss diet pills http://www.catchathief.org/ weight loss weight loss http://www.nehrucollege.org/ casino casino http://www.casinoequipmentsalesandrental.com/ ...

Posted by: poker at January 13, 2005 05:45 AM

In your free time, check the pages about online poker online poker http://www.mcdortaklar.com/ phentermine phentermine http://www.reservedining.net/ viagra viagra http://www.paramountseedfarms.net/ credit cards credit cards http://www.rethyassociates.net/ casino casino http://www.ingyensms.net/ poker poker http://www.bigyonet.com/ online casino online casino http://www.zalaszentgrot.com/ texas holdem texas holdem http://www.darkangelclan.com/ texas hold em texas hold em http://www.middlecay.net/ texas holdem poker texas holdem poker http://www.hasslerenterprises.net/ pacific poker pacific poker http://www.hdic.net/ party poker party poker http://www.hometeaminspection.net/ empire poker empire poker http://www.mor-lite.net/ poker games poker games http://www.parkviewsoccer.net/ generic viagra generic viagra http://www.targetindustries.net/ cialis cialis http://www.tclighting.net/ levitra levitra http://www.neweighweb.net/ tramadol tramadol http://www.jfcadvocacy.net/ online pharmacy online pharmacy http://www.psychexams.net/ soma soma http://www.stories-on-cd.net/ diet pills diet pills http://www.lvcpa.net/ phendimetrazine phendimetrazine http://www.suttonjames.net/ credit card credit card http://www.mp-forum.com/ payday loans payday loans http://www.devilofnights.net/ loans loans http://www.gargzdai.net/ personal loans personal loans http://www.zone-b51.com/ student loans student loans http://www.jmsimonr.com/ private mortgages private mortgages http://www.1a1merchantaccounts.com/ low interest credit cards low interest credit cards http://www.at-capstone.com/ ... Thanks!!!

Posted by: online poker at January 17, 2005 12:35 AM

Posted by: poker tournament at January 18, 2005 07:19 AM

Please check out the pages in the field of credit cards credit cards http://www.easy-application-credit-cards.com/ debt consolidation debt consolidation http://www.e-debt-consolidation-loans.com/ student credit cards student credit cards http://www.alumnicards.com/ mortgage loans mortgage loans http://www.mortgagequestaz.com/ bad credit loans bad credit loans http://www.all-calmortgage.com/ low interest credit cards low interest credit cards http://www.lowinterestratecreditcards.net/ credit card credit card http://www.credit-cards-credit-cards-credit-cards.net/ capital one credit card capital one credit card http://www.firstchoicebanksandpremiercredit.com/ payday loan payday loan http://www.fast-cash-quick-money-easy-loan.com/ credit repair credit repair http://www.repair-restore-bad-credit-report-identity-theft.com/ credit report credit report http://www.creditsharpie.com/ credit cards credit cards http://www.internet-merchant-account-pro.com/ discover credit card discover credit card http://www.acceptcreditcardsrealtime.com/ chase credit card chase credit card http://www.exclaim4creditcardprocessingmerchantaccount.com/ credit cards credit cards http://www.acceptcreditcardsonlineinternetmerchantaccountservices.com/ credit repair credit repair http://www.repaircreditonline.net/ debt consolidation debt consolidation http://www.consolidate-debt-usa.net/ debt consolidation debt consolidation http://www.smart-debt-consolidation-and-credit-services.com/ debt management debt management http://www.1st-advantage-credit-repair.com/ mortgage mortgage http://www.mortgagemarketinginc.com/ mortgage loans mortgage loans http://www.low-low-rates.com/ real estate mortgage loans real estate mortgage loans http://www.123-home-improvement-equity-loans.com/ home equity loans home equity loans http://www.home-equity-loans-mortgage-refinancing.com/ credit card applications credit card applications http://www.goapplyonline.com/ ...

Posted by: credit cards at January 19, 2005 03:08 PM

Please check some information dedicated to credit cards credit cards http://www.easy-application-credit-cards.com/ debt consolidation debt consolidation http://www.e-debt-consolidation-loans.com/ student credit cards student credit cards http://www.alumnicards.com/ mortgage loans mortgage loans http://www.mortgagequestaz.com/ bad credit loans bad credit loans http://www.all-calmortgage.com/ low interest credit cards low interest credit cards http://www.lowinterestratecreditcards.net/ credit card credit card http://www.credit-cards-credit-cards-credit-cards.net/ capital one credit card capital one credit card http://www.firstchoicebanksandpremiercredit.com/ payday loan payday loan http://www.fast-cash-quick-money-easy-loan.com/ credit repair credit repair http://www.repair-restore-bad-credit-report-identity-theft.com/ credit report credit report http://www.creditsharpie.com/ credit cards credit cards http://www.internet-merchant-account-pro.com/ discover credit card discover credit card http://www.acceptcreditcardsrealtime.com/ chase credit card chase credit card http://www.exclaim4creditcardprocessingmerchantaccount.com/ credit cards credit cards http://www.acceptcreditcardsonlineinternetmerchantaccountservices.com/ credit repair credit repair http://www.repaircreditonline.net/ debt consolidation debt consolidation http://www.consolidate-debt-usa.net/ debt consolidation debt consolidation http://www.smart-debt-consolidation-and-credit-services.com/ debt management debt management http://www.1st-advantage-credit-repair.com/ mortgage mortgage http://www.mortgagemarketinginc.com/ mortgage loans mortgage loans http://www.low-low-rates.com/ real estate mortgage loans real estate mortgage loans http://www.123-home-improvement-equity-loans.com/ home equity loans home equity loans http://www.home-equity-loans-mortgage-refinancing.com/ credit card applications credit card applications http://www.goapplyonline.com/ ...

Posted by: credit cards at January 20, 2005 01:55 PM

Posted by: credit cards at January 20, 2005 01:56 PM

wsop - texas holdem, free online poker | poker games - WPT, poker rules | empirepoker - poker stars, online poker | pacific poker - poker online, empire poker | texas holdem poker - poker books, free poker online | texas hold'em - poker books, poker books | online poker sites - poker books, poker stars | poker books - poker tips, poker stars | poker tournaments - free poker online, online poker rooms | online poker sites - texas hold'em poker, poker tables | poker chips - poker chips, free poker online

Posted by: texas holdem poker at January 20, 2005 03:00 PM

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)