Surfline recently posted an update about the artificial reef in Kovalam, India. When I wrote about the construction of this reef a few months back, the story was met with a lot of skepticism — and understandably, after failed attempts like Pratte’s Reef in California. Anyway, it looks like ASR made it happen in Kerala:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
My board, which is really beginning to show its age, has never seen new fins. I feel like a bad parent. So, like many bad parents, I tried to redeem myself by shelling out. In honor of its premier voyage to Cali – or should I say, return home – I bought it a new bag (which, hopefully, will protect it from disgruntled luggage handlers) and a new set of fins.
Buying fins is a seriously confusing endeavor. I mean, I guess not if you buy them all the time. I Googled something along the lines of “find best surfboard fins” (that is an embarrassing admission) and what I came up with were a bunch of sites that didn’t make it much easier. You’ve got to consider the system first, right? FCS. Then the flex, depth, sweep, surface area… too technical for me. I ended up just looking at the different features and benefits of each type.
I decided on FCS K-3 Glass Flex, mostly because if Kelly Slater says “you should be set for pretty much any sort of waves you find,” well, that sounds like a safe bet. They’re also reasonably priced, but should be a definite upgrade from my 10-year-old plastics. I’ll let you know how it goes…
‘Cause without it, you wouldn’t be able to rodeo flip. Yes, that’s right, it’s the wax that makes it possible.
I was lucky enough to watch Rich Luthringer rough shape one of his beautiful boards a few weekends ago. It’s crazy to see a perfect, little swallowtail emerge from a pretty primitive blank. Luthringer has made thousands of boards- literally, he stopped counting at 3,000. Sawing and sanding are second nature to him now, and he can (amazingly) feel imperfections in the boards by running his hands over the foam. Then he simply smoothes them out. No big deal.
“I could probably shape a board blind,” he says.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I just wouldn’t use a planer blind.”
This is an actual petition against SUP, which I find hilarious. Then again, I haven’t experienced much trouble with stand-ups out here; maybe Cali is overrun with them? The petitioners want to designate certain beaches as SUP-friendly (and banish them from the rest), mostly for safety reasons. They have 51 signatures so far, and only 1,949 until they reach their goal. Are you going to sign it? Tell me why/why not.
Here are a few things I learned this week that I think might interest you:
The other day, I thought to myself, Hmm… there’s probably not a book dedicated entirely to surf wax, but why don’t I just check Amazon- WHAT?!? Turns out, there is. I couldn’t find a copy of Surfboard Wax: A History at the NYPL, but my local Jersey library is kindly holding one for me.
Thanks to those of you who weighed in on what type of wax you use. As for the rest of you slackers: the link is still up at the top of the page. If you vote for “other,” digame [por favor] what “other” means. If you have any other thoughts on surf wax, comment away; I’d love to hear what’s going through your head, no matter how weird.
Look – Mick Fanning apparently likes Sex Wax. What kind of wax do you use? Click on the poll above and tell me!
P.S. This is research (and highly scientific). Gracias.
Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink 