A Little Color

This is a Sacred Craft

Wow! What a weekend. What a final day. The shape off was crazy, intense and a whole lot of fun. I felt like Man on Wire most of the time in that shaping room.

And I was really happy with the finished shape.

I want to thank all of you - my friends, customers and fellow surf riders - for your support and your ongoing desire to ride a custom surfboard. Without your feedback, input and individual tastes I would still be trying to rub two sticks together.

Needless to say I'm a bit over the moon with the outcome. To be able to thank and rub elbows with the masters whose dusty footsteps I've been following all these years is an honor indeed.

Sacred Craft Sneak Peek

It's been a log jam at Handcrafted for the last couple of weeks. The boys have been working overtime to get everyone's boards done for the Sacred Craft show this weekend. Here Fletch tries to figure out where to put my 10'6" Streamline, while a classic noserider of mine waits it's turn.

A freshly trimmed volan glass job, with matching tail block, are what make the classics, well, classic.

All dressed out and ready to glass, this is one of my Freeride models in a thruster fin setup.

The yellow Streamline is a board I'm really excited about. The lines and contours on the board are stunning and thought provoking; it has been very enlightening building this board. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Single Shoe Yellow

Nick holds up his first place trophy "The Yellow Shoe" for his victory in a wacky and fun event that only the minds of frothing kids could come up with.

This one comes from the archives, a classic study of when teen spirit meets the exuberance of youth. The story goes like this: Cole and his buddies were holed up for a couple of stormy weeks watching Thicker Than Water over and over, just dying to get some good surf. The part with cool pro guys trading off riding a funky little green single fin struck a cord and the lightbulb went off. "We could do that." "Let's make a contest out of it." "Yeah." And off they went to enlist their gullible shaper (me).

What we came up with was this little 5'10": diamond tail, single fin, yellow pigment, gloss and polish and most importantly no leash attachment. Purely a soul thing.

The object was to surf the board for 20 minutes and get judged by your bros. At the end of the the day everyone got to vote, looked at scores if they had to, and generally agreed who should take home the prestigious Yellow Shoe. Pretty simple, tons of fun, heavy gaffs, and a bit of swimming.

Nick cranks it off the bottom.

Cole opens up with a big flair off the top making this "old school" single fin look as lively and loose as his trusty thruster.

In the end it was Nick's backhand attack with blazing cutbacks and snapping rebounds that won the day.

This scramble happened years ago and these kids are now adults. They're fireman, lifeguards, scientists; and are starting families of their own. It is my hope that they are passing the stoke along and continue to find good reasons to spend the day at the beach.

Cool Color

Jim got 2 new boards this week and wanted his patented red bottom and rails, along with some kind of green on the deck. I thought that they might end up a little too Christmasy so I threw in a fade and a purple band on one. The round tail is a 6'1" quad for punchy Ocean Beach style beach breaks. The squash tail is a 5'11" dumpster diver inspired design for the mushy stuff.

#94

Bolinas seawall

Flow and Glide

Ben throws a fan and looks down the line during the CSSL middle school contest. We are mid season now and the level of surfing is simply amazing.

Stars & Stripes

Black on white. Tons of tape, a couple of razor blades, a can or two of stinky black acrylic paint and a good face mask with new filters. Simple designs that pop.

New Year's Resolution

Have Fun!

Science and Surfing

You're invited to "Surf's Up Nightlife" at the California Academy of Sciences this Thursday, Dec 2nd, for an evening filled with the science, art, and culture of surfing. There will be films, forums, and surf related displays. You can even see some tarp surfing.

I'll be sitting in on a round table on surfboard shaping and green design. Come on by and get your stoke up. There's going to be a lot of great stuff at a very cool location. Hope to see you there.



California Academy of Sciences
"Surf's Up NightLife" - Thursday, December 2nd

Mavericks Film with Pro-Surfer Panel

We’re pleased to present a screening from the soon to be released movie ‘Super Natural’ from Powerlines Productions. This includes footage from last year’s big wave event at Mavericks and giant surf from Pe’ahi (aka “Jaws”). The movie’s producers will introduce the piece and each screening will be followed by talks and Q & A with a panel of professional surfers. Check back as the event approaches for confirmed panel participants.

There will be two film screenings, each followed by the panel discussion. Seating is limited, passes will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on the night of the event.


Tarp Surfing and More

Throughout the building, we’ll have a variety of surf and ocean oriented activities. There will be a stunning display of tarp surfing in our central piazza, films and videos playing throughout the building, and other great surprises.


Surfing and Ocean Gallery

Our iconic African Hall will be transformed into and gallery dedicated to the art and science of surfing. We’ll have surf board art, interactive displays and games about the ocean and surfing from local Surfrider organizations and others.

Scheduled to participate are: Save the Waves, Marin Surfrider, San Francisco Surfrider, San Mateo Surfrider, Surfaid, Surf for Life, American Cetacean Society, Project Kaisei, Sea Stewards, Frank Quirarte, Art Gimbel, Doug Acton, Seth Migdail, Matthew Proehl, Paul Ferraris and others.


Expert Roundtables

Here is your opportunity to learn more on a variety of topics pertaining to surfing and the ocean in an intimate setting with renowned experts. We’ll have three topics this evening:

Surfboard Shaping and Green Design - Moderated by David McGuire and featuring James Mitchell, Danny Hess, Ward Coffey, and Kevin Whilden

Surfing and Environmentalism - with Kyle Thiermann and J. Nichols.


Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

Life: A Cosmic Story
6:30 pm

A surfing film from Powerlines Productions (title TBA)
7:30 pm and 8:30 pm

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.