ASymm REDUX

Finally got a weekend to do my man hobbies. Laminated the bottom of the ASymm and brewed a batch of Black IPA!

Here is a shot of the deck of the ASymm after final shaping.

For the lamination, I thought why not do crazy ass lamination to go along with a crazy ass board. I've always wanted to try a Mexican Blanket look, so I got a half dozen squirt bottles and mixed up 6 different colors. Unfortunately I ended up with more of a rainbow look of primary colors. Next time I will make thinner lines, more colors, and add some black and white lines in between to break up the color a bit.

Here is what I was actually gunning for...

Well, the lamination came out pretty good despite the color not matching...and I'm sure this crazy ass board will draw stares wherever it surfs...



12 Hours South of the Border from Aaron Schall on Vimeo.

A short little video Aaron put together of my recent adventure to Mex...Enjoy!-

Garage Quiver

My favorite corner of the garage...

Go to Mexico and you will DIE!!!

Our...just maybe...have the best day of your year!

Had an opportunity to go to Mexico with my friend Roger Eales, who brought along his friend Shane Valiere and photog Aaron Schall for a quick strike mission to Mex. With the bulk of the swell hitting Wednesday, we were looking to go the next day, Thursday. Roger had a school project and I had a work commitment Wednesday...plus it was 30-40' at Todos on Wednesday and I didn't really want that level of commitment for my first trip to Todos.

Our first stop was Baja Malibu, and this was what we saw at the top of the stairs.

I know...how do you pass that up? The pics Aaron took look insane, but the reality was a 6.8' high tide and a lot of pinching tight tubes. Looked like it was gonna be epic in a few hours...but...

Todos was calling and we left BM's hoping the surf was at least double the 6-8' we saw out front. With swell in the San Clemente channel at 7' @ 16 sec, we weren't sure what we'd find.

We made it to Isla Todos Santos by 11 am, and the conditions couldn't have been better. 85 degrees, no wind, clear blue watter...and only 4 dudes out the back! Plus a couple of skis whipping guys into the inside bowl. Looked kinda smallish, but after paddling out and right over a 15' set I thought twice. Ended up getting a few dozen form about 12' up to 18'...there were a few 20' sets throughout the day.

That's me on a decent one...got confident enough to take off behind the peak on a few. Looks like I'm about to get axed here, but no worries, made the corner!

Shane (first pic) and Roger (second pic) paddled out on ther shortys and prowled the inside for tubes. While they both got a few shacks on the 8-10' inside section, they also got brutalized by each set that I was catching!

One of the 20' sets...with no one in position.

Stopped at BM's on the way home and got a few nice shacks going both ways to top off the day...Still buzzing four days later...



Opening Day in SoCal!

So it looks like the first significant winter swell is fast approaching SoCal as I type. CDIP is already picking up the swell increase:

There sems to be some discrepancies in the various surf forecasting sites as to the intensity and size of this swell for SoCal...

Wetsand says:
Wednesday the 3rd is when the NW swell arrives in full force. Most west facing breaks are looking at surf running a couple feet overhead. Standout west facing breaks are looking at DOH surf (or slightly bigger). South facing breaks working the wrap are looking at head high surf.

Surfline says:

SURF:

5-8 ft

head high to 3 ft overhead occ. 10 ft

Solid, long period NW swell with occasional bigger sets at standouts and clean/hot conditions

Stormsurf says:
 Expect swell arrival on Tuesday (11/2) near 1 PM with period 22 secs and size building rapidly. By 8 PM swell of to be pushing 11.5-12.5 ft @ 20 secs outside the Channel Islands (23-25 ft) and 5.5-6.0 ft @ 20 secs nearshore (11-12 ft faces). Swell to get more consistent as the evening wears on with peak consistency likely near sunrise Wednesday (11/3) at 11-12 ft @ 17-18 secs outside the Channel Islands (18-20 ft) and 5.5 ft @ 17-18 secs nearshore (9-10 ft). Bigger sets likely with seas pushing 17 ft @ 18 secs outside the Channel Islands. Swell Direction: 303-308 degrees.  

Solspot is the most conservative and says:
Sizewise, most of this swells energy is coming in too steep for Socal so while we will have some new surf, it won’t be all that big for most areas…in fact it will probably be pretty average for most of the NW facing spots. We can expect the average WNW-NW facing spots to be in the waist-chest high range with some shoulder high sets. The standout NW facing breaks in Ventura, the South Bay, and South San Diego, will have some chest-head high surf with some occasional overhead sets mixing in. The absolute best breaks may have some bigger sets, but I don’t think Socal will have many sets going more than a couple of feet overhead.

Hmmmmmm...

I don't really care which one is right, I'm going to Todos on Thursday! YYYYEEEEEEWWWWWW!

Stinger HandGun For a Good Cause...

Hello everybody, at least hello to the one or two that might actually see this post.

Three weeks or so ago, a really good family had their house broken into and all of their possesions stolen by some heartless, horrible people. Not only are Mike, Ashley, Connor, and Taylor Perry renting their place (with no renters insurance, so no insurance help), but their amazing little boy Connor has a degenerative eye disease that is severely affecting his vision. Connor is 2 1/2 years old and  his eyesight has quickly deteriorated over his young life. Unfortunately, the Perry's health insurance will not cover most of the required care that Connor needs.

Next weekend, Saturday October 16, a group of friends that has started a charity called Connor's Vision will be holding a BBQ and horseshoe tournament at the Balboa Park Horsechoe Club, located on the corner of 6th and Juniper, SD CA 92101, from 1pm to 4pm.

I am handcrafting a Stinget HandGun as one of the prizes for the tournament. There is a $10 buy in per team, and we will be selling hot dogs, chips, and drinks for donations to Connor's Vision. All proceeds will go towards Connor's Vision. Please show up for a good time and a good cause.

Tools of the trade...

Stinga!

Completed Asym Madness...

So I finally finished the ASymm I've been 'working on' for the last month or so. Between work, baby, and a trip to El Salvador...I didn't have a lot of time for shaping.

Here she is, finished Dims: 5'9" (Keel) x 5'7" (Quad) x 20 1/4" x 2 3/8"

Lemme know what you think...