Say what you will about the nascent ride anything retro soul hipster artistic scene that has been gaining steam in recent years, it has, at the very least, brought us some individuals looking to carve out a path different from the staid quikripabong crowd that for too long has typified what most people think of surfing. Not to mention, some pretty cool shops have been popping up. Mollusk, Thalia, Shelter, Almond, Etc... They're featuring hand shaped boards from serious craftsfolk and goods from companies you probably haven't heard about. And they're mostly on the other side of the country. Those that aren't are kind of far from here. Except for now.
A bit of backstory; I've kept tabs on and linked the Wax Buddy blog to mine for some time now. A chance comment about this choice looking pig brought a very enthusiastic response from Greg Pearson(of Wax Buddy/Endless Wave fame). An unexpected response as I've hit up other shops on their blogs(Brooklyn, cough, Brooklyn) and never heard word one. We emailed occasionally and so it was, that I finally got the chance to drop by his new digs.
Greg welcomed me warmly and we chatted for about 45 minutes as I ogled the shop goods and variety of boards from Almond, Gato Heroi and Endless Wave's own Aquatic Works Division. The shirts and hoodies all have a clean subtle style and I was chuffed to find issues of Slide available. All the while, folks that popped in were greeted by and engaged by Greg in a very non-too cool for school manner. Afer the hyperbole, it's simple. If you're down in Newport, stop in and give Endless Wave a look.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Salty Adventuring
Could this be an actual post with text attached? I'd call it laziness, however when a large part of my day is spent sitting at a computer and the remainder of my post dusk hours are often broken up by feedings at 3:30 in the AM, motivation to do anything but find a little time to watch the Red Sox is not the highest.
As summers go, it hit the busy/weird mark with a bullet. Epic flatness for one. I thought last summer was bad. Nah. The slide log goes something like this(recently):
Father's Day - Ogunquit Maine - Dig the Picture from Marginal Way>
Board - Mayo Soft Tail
Details - This was on our wee family vacation. We rented a cottage within walking distance of town. I love it up there. The forecast said there wasn't going to be anything but they were wrong. While far from epic, I had a blast working on getting my new noserider wired. I must be doing something right. As I exited the water, two teenagers playing paddleball told me that my last wave was "awesome!" Now if I could only remember what I did so that I can replicate it.
Tres Weeks Ago - Newport
Board - Fineline Mini Zombie
Flush with the promise of waist to stomach high, short-ish period windswell when everywhere else looked flat, my cohorts and I hit Newport. What we found was...not exactly as advertised. It was kind of rideable but overall, knee high closeouts were the flavor of the day along with that mungy red seaweed stuff that I was picking out of my non-existent hair. Perhaps I could have done better with a bigger board but I gave the MZ what I could. Warm water was welcome, though and we swapped boards around to keep it lively. With a sense of humor, even a shite session can be fun.
Two Weeks Ago - Unnamed Beach Break
Board - Mayo Soft Tail
Small but uber clean and peeling. Big time log conditions. All that The Bollocks and I had to deal with were a trio of janitors buzzing around us. Riddle me this Batman: How the hell do you not catch waves when you're using a paddle? Two of the three made flailing look effortless. Anyways...tons of rides for two hours and noone else out besides the aforementioned. I put in some solid work on fade turns and surfing from the tail. The only dark moment came when we got back to the whip and I realized my key had fallen out of my oh-so-secure wetsuit pocket. Big thanks to Maria and her husband, whose name escapes me, for loaning us a cell phone to call AAA and actually letting us hold on to said phone until our rescuer arrived(I had another key locked in the car). Notable interaction as my car was expertly slim-jimmed: The Bollocks to AAA guy: "You must be from Lynn." AAA Guy: "Nah...Reveah(Revere)." New England humor.
As summers go, it hit the busy/weird mark with a bullet. Epic flatness for one. I thought last summer was bad. Nah. The slide log goes something like this(recently):
Father's Day - Ogunquit Maine - Dig the Picture from Marginal Way>
Board - Mayo Soft Tail
Details - This was on our wee family vacation. We rented a cottage within walking distance of town. I love it up there. The forecast said there wasn't going to be anything but they were wrong. While far from epic, I had a blast working on getting my new noserider wired. I must be doing something right. As I exited the water, two teenagers playing paddleball told me that my last wave was "awesome!" Now if I could only remember what I did so that I can replicate it.
Tres Weeks Ago - Newport
Board - Fineline Mini Zombie
Flush with the promise of waist to stomach high, short-ish period windswell when everywhere else looked flat, my cohorts and I hit Newport. What we found was...not exactly as advertised. It was kind of rideable but overall, knee high closeouts were the flavor of the day along with that mungy red seaweed stuff that I was picking out of my non-existent hair. Perhaps I could have done better with a bigger board but I gave the MZ what I could. Warm water was welcome, though and we swapped boards around to keep it lively. With a sense of humor, even a shite session can be fun.
Two Weeks Ago - Unnamed Beach Break
Board - Mayo Soft Tail
Small but uber clean and peeling. Big time log conditions. All that The Bollocks and I had to deal with were a trio of janitors buzzing around us. Riddle me this Batman: How the hell do you not catch waves when you're using a paddle? Two of the three made flailing look effortless. Anyways...tons of rides for two hours and noone else out besides the aforementioned. I put in some solid work on fade turns and surfing from the tail. The only dark moment came when we got back to the whip and I realized my key had fallen out of my oh-so-secure wetsuit pocket. Big thanks to Maria and her husband, whose name escapes me, for loaning us a cell phone to call AAA and actually letting us hold on to said phone until our rescuer arrived(I had another key locked in the car). Notable interaction as my car was expertly slim-jimmed: The Bollocks to AAA guy: "You must be from Lynn." AAA Guy: "Nah...Reveah(Revere)." New England humor.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
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