there's a thin line...

...between loving and hating glass-on fins...

...there has to be a nice and level balance....

...and everything must be squared up properly to make it work right...

...and last but not least, you have to be willing to patch things up if you want to keep it strong.

it's longboard time...

...time for a new log. I just ordered a 10' Bing to complement my 9'4" Bing Lovebird which has become my favorite longboard ever, and arguably the best performance noserider around. In more good news from Bing we got this email from Margaret Yao, Sales Manager for Bing Surfboards:

"Hi everyone,

Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the Bing & Jacobs glassing
team, Rich Perrier. Rich has over 30 years of glossing experience and has
glassed for Waterman's Guild, Hobie, Channin, Robert August, Brewer,
Infinity, Diffenderfer, and Plastic Fantastic to name a few. In addition to
glossing, Rich also brings with him his extensive experience in acrylic and
resin pin lines."


Well, that's quite the resume. That guy could probably polish a turd. Custom orders are 4-6 weeks so get yours in time for the summer doldrums.

institutionalized...

Evan Tanner is ...LOST...

...from head to toe, including surfboards. New ...Lost team rider E.T. will be phoning home from Myrtle Beach this weekend, as he competes in the ESA Regionals and tries to fit in a few rounds of putt-putt between heats, just like the pros...

...standing a mighty 4'7" and weighing in at a staggering 80 lbs, you can only imagine how big those shortboards are: 5'2 Speed Demon 2 and a 5'4" Speed Demon 3 step-up, both with Future Fins and X-Trak traction made in the USA...

...and why not continue the patriotism with the new American flag ...Lost laminate and red,white and blue King Mac blank stringer. Unlike being a New York Knicks fan, you can root for America and not have to worry about being dissapointed year after year because of another losing season. Just ask G.W. Bush, we are the best at everything and we never lose...

are you sure...

...because if it's easy being green, why did it take all this plastic to get this bag here?

the rebuild...

...this is the fun part: rebuilding the channel with some UV-cured resin...

...sanding it out all nice and even takes lots of patience...

...and prepping the fin is the easy part because it only takes a little bit of sanding and flattening of the bottom of the fin.

in da club...

...Terri Tanner joins the Round Nose Fish club with her new 5'9" 2008 Quint RNF...


...not only am I the president of the Round Nose Fish Club, I am also a member...many times over...


...here's my latest addition, #53 of 200 of the Limited Edition RNF 1997 template, with a laminate signed by Wardo, Cory and Biolos...


...the vee in the tail is a little bit more subtle in the 2008 template...


...glass-on twinnies for the ultimate foil and flex feeling you can't get with a removable fin system...

...and the old pre-planet ...lost laminate combine with a nose that can poke your eye out and the super skinny swallow tail for tight radius turns and getting barreled.

"Tubin' " is also a new member of the Round Nose Fish Club with a new 2008 RNF thruster.

glass-on offed...

...this is one of the most fun repairs I get to do at the shop: glass-on fin on a channel bottom.

hijacked...

This bunghole is trying to steal the no-popout fire and using it to sell pop-outs. Stoked Surfboards once again gets the 2 fingers up, and I'm not talking about thumbs.

In case you forgot, check here to see how he called his boards Chinese pieces of crap for kooks.

Finding Pura Vida...

...make sure you come and check out the short documentary as well as the after party which will include a couple surfboards, a 10 foot Dewey Weber Performer donated by Tim McKevlin and a Grasshopper longboard shaped and donated by Richard Prause.

Check out the press release here. And you can buy tickets here.

"My first trip to the Pura Vida No Pro was a life changing experience," says PVNP Media Director Tim Mc Anus. "It has really been amazing to see how the involvement of the Charleston surf community has organically grown over the years", he says "what we get as volunteers is just way beyond anything we could get from a standard surf trip."

first wave of the set...

...is usually not only the smallest and worst in terms of shape...

...and a rough paddle out often follows this wave...

...including duck-diving 3-4 feet of whitewater coming at you full speed while your in 2 feet of water on top of rock reef, like 6 times in a row, if you're lucky. Patience is a virtue.

deep thought...

...kinda like Greg Noll standing out on the beach at Waimea. Actually, not even close.

new blog up and running...

...SURF Charleston on this site and SAVE Charleston here.

extreme water photography...

...if you see this cliff from the water there is a good chance this is about to come behind you...

...and if you get there early enough, you'll be able to surf it with only one hot chick out (provided you bring one with you)...

...I waited until the last day, also the smallest, to break out the wrist cam so I wouldn't get my wrist ripped of my arm. The point was setting up so you could drop in, snap a shot, and then start pumping your arse off while winding the film so you could take a shot of your massive snap...

...or completely blow it and take a picture of the nose of your board instead. I think the new GoPro Hero cams are all digital so winding won't be an issue anymore. Unfortunately, it won't correct my poor aim, or kinked out neck.

kinked out...

...this was the one session I took out the step-up just to feel it out, and the guy from Zoom Nicaragua.com snapped a shot on my last wave of the morning. After riding a 5'7" exclusively, I threw a little too much neck into turning the 6'2"...




All shots taken by IR, except the top shot, (obviously) taken by the Zoomnicaragua.com. Check out this ridiculous sequence from Popoyo Reef which must've been on the day Colorados (which I've heard is pretty close to Puerto Escondido in terms of heavy beach break, without the rip currents) was pushing double overhead and I got the biggest right of my life. Anyway, this sequence reminds me of Black's.

R.I.P. Sammy...

...Sammy was a little beach mouse who would usually be chewing on paper and other beach trash everytime I went out to check the surf at the pier. Watching his simple life allowed me to lose myself in the moment and forget about life's trials and tribulations. Such a groovy little man, and he was way more mellow than those wretched Cardiff ground squirrels that actually attack people. I gonna miss you Sammy...

Little Jerry, is that you...

...I could've swore it was Little Jerry Seinfeld, but apparently not. He said Popoyo was pretty big. "Too big for you to paddle out, he said."

"It is kind of big, and I know the outer reef is breaking but..." "You're a Chiclet," he said.



...well that was enough to get me fired up so I paddled out and caught a few of these.

honk if you don't want an extended 526...

Click here.

different strokes for different folks...

...Popoyo was popping off at the mouth every morning, causing most people to reach for their 6-foot+ pintail...

...I on the other hand opted for the ultimate grueler. My trusty 5'7" ...Lost Gullwing was the answer to everything. If you don't have much nose, the offshore wind can't really hold you up. And if you have 4 fins, you'll have no problem holding a rail. This board also snagged me a double-overhead right at Playa Colorado, which was probably the most critical take-off I've ever had to make especially with 10 guys hooting you on from the shoulder.

still hungry???

...Popoyo Reef saying "Come back out after breakfast, I want to swallow you."

this must be the place...

...after hours of driving turd-like roads I was at my wits end, until I saw this sign...

...and then the 20 guys in the water confirmed my suspicions. I was at Popoyo Reef.

Welcome to Nicaragua...

...if you don't want to get pulled by the Federales, you gotta blend in with the locals...

...but I didn't feel like wearing a chicken suit all week so I got this papi chulo rental car...


...besides, who would want to surf this in a chicken suit anyway?