what does this handlebar mustache have to do with surfing???

...everything. Another ...Lost round nose fish ready for the lineup at the mercy of the GCB (Garden City Bomber) If you see this stache coming down the line you're about to be in a world of hurt, so you might as well grab the handle bars and go along for the ride. Giddyup!

this Tuesday @ 6:30, be there...

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

...my fellow American's, you've been wondering how you can prevent the rapid changes happening on James Island and Folly Beach. Well, it all starts by showing up to meet with

the newly formed Islanders for Responsible Expansion group. They will hold a public meeting to discuss the Wal-Mart Supercenter project at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Department of Natural Resources auditorium at 217 Fort Johnson Road.

If you are unaware of what's going on with the proposed Wal*Mart Supercenter, check here and here and... here. Just gonna cut down some trees and build on some wetlands. No biggie.

there's a mighty wind a' blowin'...

...it's the Wha' happened? swell. After the Wha' happened? surf session was cancelled due to what Variety called a "complete lack of interest," Riggs took his act to the surf shop circuit, where he met a member of the folk group The Center Street Singers...

it's all about the elements...

...we're going to get another sizable swell this weekend, but again the conditions may never quite come together. Tuesday I got to break out my 6'2" step-up for the first time, which is also Shane Beschen's old board shaped by Eric Arakawa. It went great on some of those 5-6 footers during the early afternoon before the wind went nutty.

The swell will definitely be there tonight and tomorrow, just watch the wind for the best window. Good luck, and leave the longboard at home.

best of the best...

...thank you for voting us the Best Surf Shop for the last 11 years straight. I finally got to go to the Best Of Charleston party to see what all the hoopla is about. Well, the best restaurants supplied the food for free and the beer flowed like wine.

...this girl had a few too many of Pearlz' imported shrimp. I only had 3 and I'm feeling this way today, except I'm wearing more than underwear as a safety precaution. Imported shrimp at the best of Charleston? Slap in the face. Cru's Catering had the real deal local pealed shrimp. Yeah.

At least Kaminski's, which has the same owners as Pearlz, had the shizzle dessert. How good was it? Well, it rode on the windshield from downtown to Folly Beach and it was still edible upon arrival. That's the true test of quality foodstuffs.

Even the blog won an award: Best Way to Wait Out the Doldrums Between Swells on Folly Beach

McKevlin's Blog

Ian Riggs is a surfer. Actually he's a skater who surfs, but that clarification was the source of one of the daily retorts and heated conversations that spice up his already hilarious posts from McKevlin's headquarters on Folly Beach. Staunchly anti-"pop-out" (boards shaped and created by machines rather than by hand), Riggs doesn't hesitate to call out the other stores in town that carry them, and he's equally quick to poke fun at some surfers' overzealous affiliation to particular breaks like the Washout. Although his comments generate some angry banter, they're all in good fun, and the underlying theme is to encourage and help people to pursue the sport. And if you come into the store wearing way-too-short shorts or have a ridiculous looking wipeout, and Riggs is around with his camera, watch out — he'll post it, and we'll all have a good laugh. With you, of course.

*Bottom 2 pictures taken on my crappy camera phone that has resin smeared all over the lense. My apologies.

as fin turn says what???

...some new FCS templates just arrived in the shop. From left to right:
1. TC Redline Redux - Super stiff power surfing fins.
2. TC Aqua Line - Features 2 different gauge honeycomb insets for a stiff base with flex at the tip.
3. Simon Anderson Honeycomb - (Inaccurately) credited for the 3-fin surfboard, check here.
4. JS-1 - Rides nice like the JS surfboard, but unlike the JS surfboard, it won't buckle or have the nose broken off.
5. AM-2 Honeycomb -Classic template scaled down for the medium to smaller surfer.
6. OCCY - No details needed, if you don't know by now...

welcome to Myrtle Beach...

...you slept on the parking meters, and then you slept on the Design Review Board passing up 2 decent looking facades for these atrocities...

...it's fricken lime green. How did the building owner let them paint a nice, natural brick building lime fricken green? How did the Design Review Board pass that? When is the water slide going to be finished? And the arcade, and putt putt? Well, I'm going to "cruise the strip" before they put some ordinance into effect.

contest will finish today, actually tomorrow...

...depending on where your at. A new swell will peak-out on Tuesday and diminish for the Gold Coast ending Wednesday, just as it will here on the Bronze Coast, or Folly Beach. Its actually already Tuesday in the land of Oz. The Pop-Out bandit is in Australia right now, so he's already checking tomorrow's surf and spreading the gospel.

I have a feeling that the end of this contest is going to see some good heat match-ups and stellar surfing. The opening Round 4 heat of Dingo Morrison and Jordy Smith is sure to kick start some blazing surfing from Slater, Taj, Kai Otton, Mick Fanning and more. Check it out here. It should start about 4:00 - 4:30 PM today, our time.

about as flat as it gets...

...looks like this until late Monday so scratch your surf plans this weekend.

not to be confused with Planet Follywood...

...this video is called Follywood. Some of the local boys tearing up the Washout in what is, unfortunately, decent conditions for here...

once in a eclipsed moon...

...this is the equivalent of me going to church: It happens once every 30 years. Bill Perry and Betty Sue Cowsert stopped in the shop last week for the first time since they started the Ocean Sports shop 30 years ago. They have sold the shop and have been spending time in the Bahamas and just came by to tell Tim they enjoyed competing for the last 3 decades. This is Bill's 2nd time on the blog. In case you forgot the 1st, or are new to the blog, it was here. As a parting gift, we hooked him up with a no-popout t-shirt. Enjoy your retirement!

properly tweaked round nose fish...

...Cory Lopez is untouchable in the turn tweak department. Check out this super in-depth interview here at this crappy extreme sports website. They forgot the important questions like "What's your favorite food? and What's on your iPod?"

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

...unlike Jaws 2, the 5-fin Shark copies some of the original's key components to make a better Shark. Nice, flat-rockered Folly Beach board and a good all-rounder, we should have some of these in shortly.

hey grumpy...

...Matt Biolos says you need the new, improved version of the RNF. I was going to give you the old one, but you deserve the best.

mooned...

...unfortunately the clouds kind of ruined it. Tried to do some long exposure shots, but without a tripod they looked like I was coming off a 3 day bender.

buy this board...

...or Chris Ward will beat up your girlfriend. Old news, but here.

here comes the drunk Monk...

...the real Monk Fish may not be as pretty as its surf-craft counterpart of the same name, but looks aren't everything...

Oh no no no, it's a rocket man...

...saw one of these at the ...Lost factory that they had shaped for Jordy Smith. Looks real good but I'm going to need to see something smaller than a 5'8" before I pull the trigger.

...Lost Speed Demon 2...

...when I think back to that old Speed Demon 2 I inherited (5'11" x 18 1/2 x 2" for Chris Bx), it reminds me of old California. Crispy offshore mornings, the smell of poo running through the San Elijo lagoon into the lineup and last but not least, breakfast and delicious coffee at Pipes Cafe. Or even a Pipes burger for lunch...mmm.

Unfortunately, its onshore here, it smells like stale beer and I can't get breakfast or a burger because all of the restaurants have turned into gift shops. Besides, after 4 years of beatings, the Speed Demon 2 succumbed to delamination. She performed 2 years on each coast, saw ankle-high Folly and head-high Blacks, was featured on the ...Lost website here and underwent multiple surgeries. She was passed on to someone outside the family who would be able to handle her last moments with out too much emotion. She was good to us. Rest in pieces...

I'll take one of each...

...here's the intro to the 2008 ...Lost board video that I'll be posting up for the next couple weeks. Stay tuned in or be tuned out...

nice and wet for Valentine's Day...

...I hope your's is wet too.

da wickedest just got betta...

....Booyakasha! Aiight, we just got new RNF in stock so check it...

...the nose has been pulled in, making it mo betta for lip smackas...

...and the fins moved slightly forward and the tail has been winged (and even signed by Mayhem) making the quads just as quick on rail as the old skinny tail twins. These boards make my thing move.


*And by thing I mean bank account...and by move I mean decrease.

New Jersey Slasher faces battle number 4...

...Lost team rider Dean Randazzo, one of the most respected East Coast surfers, the best ever to come out of New Jersey, one of my favorites and an inspiration to all, is going through cancer treatments once again. This is Dean's 4th bout with Hodgkins Lymphoma since 2001. A contest was held last Saturday to help raise money for Randazzo's medical costs in which the winner, Sam Hammer, donated his winnings back to the cause. More on that contest here.

Another fund raiser will be held on a waiting period from March 1st to March 31st, where the surfer photographed on the biggest wave while wearing the yellow "Do it for Dean!" rashguard wins, so check out the Little Nasty Big Wave Event too.

Finally, if you're feeling philanthropic (and don't think I'm being too pretentious again) their is the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation. The foundation is not for Dean's benefit, but was started by Dean to help others facing the same obstacles. You can make a donation here. Even my broke ass made a small donation. At some point in our lives we'll all know someone with cancer. It only takes a little, and you can feel good knowing that you helped someone along the way. Karma.

how surf companies get bad local reputations...

...this board got traded in and the guy said it wasn't real responsive. Might have been the traction pad placement, ineffectively turning this 6'3" into a 5'5". All summer long I'll overhear little conversations between friends talking about surfboards and junk. I can here the rumors circulating through his group of friends right now:

...dude, I heard Sharpeye surfboards suck. Antoine had one and he said it didn't go vertical at all.

...dude, I had a Creatures of Leisure traction pad and it blew. The arches are in the wrong spot and my foot kept getting stuck.

...dude, don't get a board with FCS fins. They suck. Well, they just do.

Well, I agree with one of those, so maybe they're not rumors...

a successful million man march on city hall...

...it was your typical million man march, only about 30 people showed up...

...the city council bobbleheads were intimidating, especially Eddie Ellis on the body of Cheech...

...but our fearless leader G.E. helped ease all qualms...

...its funny I don't see the people who ONLY surf the pier here at the meeting...

...if you ever have to go to a gift shop on Folly beach, here's your guy Paul of Mr. John's Beach Store. Mr. John's Beach Store may be the only other business on Folly Beach still family owned and operated since the 1960's besides McKevlin's Surf Shop...

...meanwhile the pier was doing its thing, and while we were fighting for pier surfers rights...

...this d-bag was sitting inside the 200 foot marker during the meeting. Yes, this is why I'll never claim to be a surfer, but rather a skateboarder who surfs. Thanks for those who did come out and support. The rest of you can go feed a meter.

for those who only surf the washout...

...these guys just got down from Ohio for spring break and found out they couldn't surf the pier...
...guess where they're going? Besides child star rehab. Yeah that's right, the Wash. I never get sick of saying "Yeah, the Washout. Its 2 miles down this road and you'll see parking on the right. Its the best place to surf on the beach and thats where the real surfers go." Have fun!

new to the ($615) dollar menu: The Fishcuit...

...with a name like Fishcuit, you'd expect to find it on the menu next to the McRib...

...I'm not buying any more Channel Islands, so someone else is going to have to tell you how it rides. If its anything like the Biscuit, it'll be great for mushy Folly Beach days, which is every spring and summer swell we get.

the fog...

...heavy fog the past 2 days has rendered all local surf-cams useless. The true beauty in nature is what cannot be seen...
...commence drooling now. This board would be perfect in the fog-induced glass conditions right now...
...6 channel TIE Fighter...
...or 6'1"x 18.38x 2.25 K-board? Its up to your imagination.

Slater to Brady before the game: "I warmed her up for you"...

...worst. song. ever. As a kid my dad and I would go to Giants games for free because his friend who worked the press elevator at Giants Stadium would sneak us in with used ticket stubs. I don't care too much for football really, but it brings back good memories, and the Patriots are a bunch of cheaters. Brady got his for showing his face around New York before the game.

6 more weeks of winter...

...well I got to work today and saw my shadow (work shadow that is) so it looks like we'll have a another 6 weeks of winter this year. Here is my shadow Sam and myself with his favorite board in the shop. We both have a soft spot for the ...Lost round nose fish and for obvious reasons: best. board. ever.