The iMat has arrived!

As the conference hall light go down a gnome of a man steps to the podium and utters the following,

"... an one more thing I wanted to show you..."

The light show starts, LOUD rock and roll blasts thru the sound system and a small shape rises from the center of the stage as a HUGE graphic coelleses on the gumbo-tron behind the stage

I give you

THE iMAT!!!!!!

Of course you knew it was coming. The word on the street had been going on for months. Everyone was wondering what JJ had been working on all those late nights in his underground lair and surf mat lab.


Originally as a proof of concept model for the design which would be the Speed Stripe mat. News of this diminutive mat (or mat-lett if you will), took on a life of it's own in the mat community. Rumors abounded that micro matting would be the surf craft of choice amongst surfing’s elite.

People spoke in hushed tones of Slater riding one at Teahupo'o. Certain strictly off limits outer reefs were rumored to be overrun with them in the Islands!
 
 
 
 

Even though the mat was originally a model the inflatable hand plane applications are in double top secret testing as we speak. Rumors include a black gardening glove attached to the deck. I have also heard, from a reliable source, that a highly modified PlayStation controller has been rewired to control a matrix of servos necessary to control hydro actuators which have been specially designed to add “turbo speed assist” , “lateral drift power assistance” as well as several additional modifications that may assist the rider control the mat in “4th dimensional space”. My source for this information had heard rumors of additional options but did not have the necessary security clearance to work on the projects.


(On a side note, my informant died in an unfortunate accident involving a bottle of Tequila and several common pigeons, shortly after passing me this information).
 
Way to go JJ!  ugh, can I ride it when you are done?

The art and meditation of riding a surf mat

It was one of those times when friends get together to surf.

Friends that you just don't see unless the stars align just so.

So despite a waining swell and an impending storm the days surf had been a blast.

Photo of KenDog driving along the bottom and linking one section to the next.

The post surf feast of hot coffee, more hot coffee and eggs was  slowly reviving the frozen fingers and toes and the conversation had turned to mats in the movies.

We all lamented the lack of a full length feature film starring mat surfing!

Many of you are making some fantastic short clips
(YouTube has about two dozen )
but a feature length mat movie is still as elusive as definitive shots of the Loch Ness monster.

(But aren't those Greenough clips on Surfmatters are fantastic!)

Part of the problem is that in addition to all the normal challenges movie makers face
(surf conditions, wind, lighting, equipment, travel, funding, pre and post production, editing, music rights, advertising, distribution etc)
mat films would have to face one final challenge

Mat riding doesn't really lend itself to filming.

Photo of MT, one fin helping hold his line in the tube while the other gently strokes the roof. Most of the mat work being done by a weight shifts done  around the second and third chakras.

Mat surfing usually consists of a series of subtle weight shifts around your body's core.  Subtle actions that change as the wave changes in front of you.  Slight movements that are gone in an instant.

The motions of a mat rider takes on the steady rhythm of ritual, something commonplace transformed into an act of art and meditation.

Exhilarating for the rider but, often times, unnoticed and unappreciated by the uninitiated.

I'm sure there will be many fine mat centric surf movies in the future.
Perhaps using extreme slow motion to highlight the sublime dance between rider and wave.
But the waves will be the star of the show, as it should be.

Photo by Harold Ward.

Surf Music

Some old school surf music for you this Friday.

Usually I listen to strong instrumentals before a surf, how about you?

I am leaving early to catch a few before the next storm comes through my area.

(Super Secret don't tell anyone - iMat pictures next week!)

Have a good weekend

The Cold

Rerun from Frequent Rip Currents - I'm waiting for the plummer the second time this week!

"Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and wood, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be cold and hungry and weary."

Henry David Thoreau

It's winter time in the northern hemisphere.

Even though I live in sunny SoCal winter sea temps are in the mid 50's and when you add the wind chill factor its a tad chilly,  for me.

You when you look at the conditions Ras, Gaz and Eric deal with on a regular basis I am the first to admit I have it easy and warm.

(oh and Ras, Gaz and Eric with be the name of my new band)

The point is, we all have a relationship with the cold.

What's yours?

Do you ignore it? Hide from it? Complain? Joke about it?

It doesn't seem to matter how cold. It's relative cold. If it was 20 degrees out I wouldn't leave the house. But in the same temperature RAS, Gaz and Eric would be skipping to the beach in shorts.

(OK maybe skipping is an over dramatization but you get the idea)

The point being that it is all in your head.

One of very few things you actually have some control of (exercising that control is another thing).

Think about that the next time you are in the parking lot putting on a damp full suit and wet smelly booties.

But I am still looking into a Patagonia wetsuit for next year.

PS I never go anywhere without my hood

Mat Shrines

Thanks to everyone that wrote in to tell me about their mat shrines!

It turns out that most of you have mats, fins and wetsuits (in season) stashed in the car ready to go at a moments notice!

There was also a man from Nantucket that kept his mat stashed in a bucket,

(unfortunately he sent pictures that I can't include here because of the family nature of our show)

Warren Pfeiffer has devoted a room to his mats and other mat shine misc.

This shot shows the rocker built into some of his mats

(Warren also has the only known mat mating program in existence!)

Warren flying along in the real mat shrine.

photo by Dane Peterson

Jamie McClellan is on the move alot sampling the fine waves along the coast in Oz but sent in this photo.

Jamie's current quiver contains, ";">5' alaia, and handplane from the scrap end of the blank, shaped by me and  Richard Harvey (early Indo pioneer, discovered Padang Padang), a whole bunch of mats, one Neumatic, the rest by PG.;fins, UDTs, Vipers, and Da Fins. not pictured: 4'10 x 19 tri-plane edgespoon, 9'9 Allison Classic singlefin gun, and 7'0 CI MSFG1. all in storage in the states. the two foam boards are for sale to a good home."

Here is Jamie at Rockbreak, Burleigh Heads, Jan 2010 riding a 4GF Standard w/ the old metal valve/black nylon. 
Photo by Angela X Collins

Jonathan Jarret, who many of you know as ThinkMat sent in this  quiver shot.
This is actually the famous "mobile mat museum" and includes mats of his own design as well as mats he has collected.

Thinkmat here rides a mat of his own design and fabrication. This one is patterned after the "stripes down" Hodgemans mats.
photo by Ken McKnight


In addition to making mats, JJ also is at work organizing and digitizing miles of surf footage and we may see one of the few surf films with decent mat footage from him in the future!


 Thanks to everyone who sent in pictures and words for me to share!


Today I think it's fitting to leave you with some of ThinkMat's footage shot from his home made water rig

Early Spring?

I noticed a lot of these flowering pear trees blooming around town

Which is nice but this doesn't usually happen in SoCal for another month or so.

So will there be an early spring for the northern hemisphere?  We'll have to wait and see.    Take a look at your local trees and bushes for signs of spring.  Keep an eye out for south swells!

Now for something different.

Following is Peter Coyote reading a part of Shunryu Suzuki's book "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind" on YouTube.  I prefer the book actually but you may not.

Someone has a case of the Mooondays

I'm not sure if it's some sort of cosmic Luna hang over or what but I can barely move this morning

I wouldn't mind as much if I had some rip roaring experience I could relate

but no

same old same old

early to bed

up before dawn

"makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise"

Let's just say the jury is out.

But anyway,

If you haven't signed up for the emails from both Surfers Path and Drift Surfing

you are missing out

Surfers Path has an emailer called Monday Morning Wave

This sucker has saved my personal sanity more times than I can count.

(clue the harps for dream sequence)

First thing Monday morning, at work, praying the coffee kicks in soon, sitting in my work chair, the back spasms already starting and  reading emails from work-alcoholic staffers who send and expect replies to work related emails sent over the weekend (the weekend shaped up as some swell and a lot of tide) I push aside thoughts of mayhem that would only get me 5 to 10 and click on another email

What shows up is the following

Photo by Chris Burkard


then a little bit of postive vibrations

"Just before an epic wave, there is a trough. So if you are down, get in position for the good coming to you."

- Gary Young (surfer, innovator, bamboo researcher)

I mean emails don't get any better than that!

(well there are those ones that promise that I have won a zillion dollars in some third world lottery but since it happens twice a week the surprise is starting to were off )

(did you know those lotto things were fake?) 

So sign up, it free and the pictures and bits of text are excellent.

Drift Surfing has a similar r-,s;oerm (or e-mailer if your fingers strike the right keys)

It gives you picture links to their various bits of well thought out  surf journalistic goodness.

But you already incessantly browse to http://www.driftsurfing.com anyway don't you, so the email is more of a reminder of goodness past than something you haven't already read.

Something to note, now that we are in the era of iPad-e-ness, and there is now an Apple-rific platform for paper monthly magazines to move to I think the surf mag shake out is near.

And who is sitting in a better position to take advantage of this nodal point than Drift Surfing?

(just wanted to take this opportunity to suck up)

New blogs

If you haven't already, you may want to fling yourself thru net space over to Brine Time.

The work of another talented Ozzie whose past times include "turning light into gold" and "being pushed about by briny waves".  Photo heavy, good stuff, check it out. Brine Time

One last thing

I may have been out of the water for too long but I finally scored this morning

A new spot I am calling Pillsbury Point.

Today was a solid 10-15 with bigger sets.  I would tell you where it is but then I would have to poke you in the stomach with my finger.

The point is ruled with an soft white buttery hand but an iron fist by a bunch of toughs that call themselves the "dough boys".

Actually nice guys once you get to know them.  They have an bad boy image due to crankiness caused by exposure to the heavily polluted waters of the point and the chronic yeast infections that result.  I could see Tom Wolfe doing an expose on these guys.   Pictures are hard to come by but here is a snap I wanted to share.

   Funny story, I thought this was a cool bro I had talked to before.  Turns out he was totally somebody else and  REALLY didn't want me to surf there. Yew!

This is the official graphic

 

But actually I prefer this one

 

Either way, it's on for today and runs thru the weekend!

Check the KSUSA site for details

In case you were wondering, the judging criteria is as follows
JUDGING CRITERIA
"A surfer must perform radical controlled manoeuvres in the critical section of a wave with Speed, Power and Flow to maximize scoring potential. Innovative / Progressive surfing as well as Variety of Repertoire ( manoeuvres ),will be taken into consideration when rewarding points for waves ridden. The surfer who executes this criteria with the maximum Degree of Difficulty and Commitment on the waves shall be rewarded with the higher scores."
Scale Base: [ 0 - 2: Poor ] [ 2 - 4: Fair ] [ 4 - 6: Average ] [ 6 - 8: Good ] [ 8 - 10: Excellent ] 

Gee nothing about getting barreled off yer arse.  Must be a different tribe than the kneelos I know. ( I kid.)

The whole knee board thing has been around for ages.  But for reasons unknown has seemed to fallen into underground status.  (when was the last time you saw an orange juice add with some model holding a glass spoon?)   If you are interested check out the KSUSA site for tons of info.

Ryan at Point Concepts is making some fine glass spoons these days. If you have ever made one they require a TON of work / time! I haven't had the pleasure of riding testing one but given the high quality of his other work I am sure these are up to snuff.

Whilst we are on the topic of "alternative surf craft" there have been sightings of new sweetness at Nine Lights Surfboards and Handplane Goodness.  If you are unsure what exactly constitutes alternative surf craft here is a prime example.  (Yes, I am referring to Mr. Peck and not the hand plane;) Quite a character, haven't seen him much lately. Used to run into him at the local health food store all the time. I believe he travels quite a bit.)

One more thing,  it turns out the rumors of Apple and Steven Jobs releasing an iMat were un-true!  Words cannot express my disappointment, but I will, some how, carry on.

So if you ride it on a kneeboard, a hand plane, on a blow up or just standing up (how pedestrian!) enjoy the weekend!

Huge FULL MOON Tonight!

Watch out for Luna-tics!

There are times

When I can't think of a thing to say

so
I think it best
to go with
that
and not
say anything
at all

Mountain of Storms

In the summer of 1968 three men - climber and surfer Yvon Chouinard, climber and skier Doug Tompkins, and champion skier Dick Dorworth - set off from California in an old van to surf, ski and climb their way down to the southern end of Argentina where they met up with a young British climber, Chris Jones. Their goal was to climb a mountain that had been climbed only twice before: Cerro Fitz Roy.

In this excerpt, watch as Yvon, Doug and Dick score waves in Peru. First they surf a left point break in Chicama and then shoot the pier in Cerro Azul.

Big post today!

I have been sitting it out while everyone with any sense has been charging the local post rain surf

("sense" in this usage is subjective and I feel debatable)

It's been big (a relative term)

It's been hollow (once again see above)

but this shot below from JDubSingles

may get me into the chilly run off for a surf!

(Quick my Astragalus - Echinacea - Goldenseal - Probiotic smoothie!)

Some great submissions of mat quivers from around the world!

I will be putting together the "Mat Shrine" piece next week so you still have time to submit.

(Please include a matting shot as well as your stack-o-mats pictures)


I may have mentioned previously that I connect to the internets with a slow connection

think a button on a string

(that is such an archaic reference that no one will get it but it cracks me up so I'm leaving it in!)

any way ssssslllloooowwww connection

so slow that I usually only watch video if it is made by someone I know personally or is a quick clip of matting or body surfing or maybe something classic.

If the first 3 seconds don't grab me I close the window and wait for the DVD to come out.

Well actually I don't buy the DVD, I go to Shelter and watch it on a Movie Night!

So believe me when I tell you, this clip from Cyrus Sutton is fantastic!


Cyrus filming for "Stoked and Broke" from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.


Can't wait until the movie comes out.

I always thought that some great stuff can be captured with a GoPro cam but as it turns out you need to have talent too

See more of Cyrus' work at Korduroy.tv

(There is tons of stuff at Korduroy.tv to check out)

Then check out this classic clip send in by good friend ThinkMat!


That's it for today,

the sun is up

and I'm going to go take a look