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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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Jun 23, 2016 - 06:38am PT
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Currently its Overhead N.L.A. smoooth
Bring long and short board everytime you surf..
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Jun 23, 2016 - 06:40am PT
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It always is during fire season.... lol
What direction?
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 23, 2016 - 07:43am PT
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Wonderful little piece DrJefe. Thanks. It sure reminded me of a session or two.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jun 23, 2016 - 07:52am PT
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Drljefe, yes. Very nice tale! You may have inspired me...there is a story I have been thinking about for quite a while.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jun 23, 2016 - 02:34pm PT
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Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
I visit with my old boards in the rafters once in a while and remember some good times.
That board is in surprisingly good shape considering it's 40+ yrs old and was a rider, not a wall hanger.
I liked the paint job so much it became my thing- a number of custom boards with that same scheme.,
Years later I was riding that same board at lowers and Laird was out.
He asked what I was riding and if he could check it out.
He gave me some back story on the shaper Gabe Garduque.
Hawaiian Spirit was his backyard label before he started ghost shaping for Ben Aipa.
Then a long stint of shaping for HIC.
He shaped Brock Little's gun for his infamous barrel in the Eddie.
Basically he's a longtime, low key, respected legendary shaper.
Bust out with some stories Chris and Darwin!
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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Jun 24, 2016 - 06:31am PT
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Current conditions for MALIBU 1ft overhead
Have fun in the sun because im getting wet..
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Jun 24, 2016 - 07:03am PT
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k38- Fish tacos and Bohemia during the last swell.
It's crazy to look towards the cliff while surfing with my wife and see a condo tower on top of the camp spot we shared on one of our first dates almost 30 years ago.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Jun 24, 2016 - 07:14am PT
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Current conditions for MALIBU 1ft overhead
So, waist high knee slappers for me then......lol
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Jun 24, 2016 - 07:17am PT
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Mrs. Contractor
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Jun 24, 2016 - 07:21am PT
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Re: Malibu
Waist high mob battle with retro fish's and ridiculous beaver tail tops- Self conscious fashion surfing to the extreme.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jun 24, 2016 - 07:55am PT
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The retro fish is the new "longboard". Beaver tails? Good G-d, I hated those bitd. Why would anyone wear them now?
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jun 24, 2016 - 08:55am PT
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Surfboards I Have Loved: vol 2
THE MIDGET
After surfing every day for a few years I had kind of figured out where I wanted my surfing to go and what I wanted out of a surfboard as I continued to progress.
I'd been riding a 70's single fin shortboard as my daily driver for a while. It was super buoyant- it paddled well and went fast. But as I got better and wanted to explore different lines on a wave, the Hawaiian Spirit had its limitations. It was time for my first custom board.
San Clemente was a center for surf industry. The major surf magazines, surf brands, and countless board shapers were located in the "Surf Ghetto", so there were many choices for my first custom.
I knew one shaper personally, from the beach and the lineup, Midget Smith. He was a classic older guy, an ex pro and contest judge that frothed like a grommet and shredded on a shortboard. We set up an appointment.
The smell and scene of the shaper's bay and glass shop was exciting, if not a bit unhealthy. Pungent fumes from polyester resin dominated, and foam dust everywhere. A craftsman zone. Men with respirators, surfers, and surfboards. Surfboards everywhere, in every size, shape, color, and in every stage of creation- from raw foam blank to shiny and colorful. Looking at order slips on any given board might reveal the name of a famous pro surfer. This was ground zero.
I brought the single fin with me. The general dimensions and volume seemed to work well for me, and Midget agreed- we could take the basic genes of the board and tweak them, modernize them.
Midget was stoked on the Hawaiian Spirit and was the one who let me know the deep channels on the rails weren't channels, they were "Jets", man. I told him I'd grown attached to the color scheme as well, so that was added to the tab. There was also a variety of logos, and I chose the most retro one, a seagull inside a sun. 6+8oz glass and a sanded gloss finish would complete the old/new vibe and functionality of the board.
I waited a few weeks before getting the call to come to the glass shop and pick it up, and boy was I stoked. The board felt right under my arm and the color design had been faithfully recreated. And the price? $230, cheaper than any board on the rack at one of the local shops.
I don't remember my first wave on the Midget, but it was most likely an average day at Middles, my regular spot, and the more mushy, but far less crowded wave next to Lowers. An average day at Middles was still way better than most places. I do remember that the board worked right out of the box. It paddled great, was fast and responsive, and with three fins, allowed my lines and turns to be a bit more aggressive. This board was a great teacher and stepping stone into a new style of surfing and it was my main board for a few years.
I'd see Midget in the water at Church and once he told me he'd since made that same board a number of times and the shape was popular. "It's the "El Jefe" model, Jefe!"
Years later, after moving on to another board, I sold the Midget to survive a period of severe pain and no work. I got $275 for it, 50 bucks more than I'd paid new. The good glass job and pretty colors had paid off.
A few years after that, I got a cellphone photo from my friend Todd Lewis in Morro Bay. It was a photo of the Midget. A girl had bought it in San Diego and loved, loved, loved it. The Midget had gotten around.
A few years after THAT, Midget lost his battle to some rare cancer.
Rest in Peace Midget, you made a great board that made a lot of people happy.
Midget Smith Surfboards
San Clemente
6'3 x 21" x 2 1/2"
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jun 24, 2016 - 01:38pm PT
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Chris-
It's too bad the Fish got so trendy, but also, understandable.
The Beaver Tail, no. No function other than lame retro "fashion".
Contractor-
I surfed Malibu once at night with glow sticks and it was still crowded!
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jun 24, 2016 - 02:25pm PT
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Another good story Jefe! Just to clarify things, I have no problems with the fisheys or longboards. Matter of fact, I learned to surf on a longboard. Imaging surfing State Park on a single fin 9'6" with a square tail and no edge anywhere. I did a lot of pole vaulting. People stayed away from me with good reason.
I surfed Malibu once at night with glow sticks and it was still crowded!
Friggen LOL! Late 90's to early 2000's? Shoot, I may have been out there with you. More fun than surfing it in the daytime by a long shot and some times were rather uncrowded.
Just for the heck of it, here's a fish for you ... 21" wide 5'10"
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Jun 24, 2016 - 06:03pm PT
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I like the outline.
That tail is different...
Full Wu Tail!!!
And Chris, between you and me, my next installment of
"Over-Romanticizing My Old Boards"
is about a keel Fish :-)
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overwatch
climber
Arizona
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Jun 27, 2016 - 11:44pm PT
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that wave is chaos
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dikhed
climber
State of fugue and disbelief
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Jun 28, 2016 - 08:22am PT
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lucky it wasn't big
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Jun 28, 2016 - 10:03am PT
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I, sheesh.....that was pretty damn stupid. Slow motion train wreck for sure. "i've got an idea. Let's drive the jet ski into the toilet bowel right next to the jetty and see what happens." Those dudes better make a large donation to those lifeguards.
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