FreakFish thaws the frozen North…

Peter Strachen carving on his 5’10 FreakFish EVO6 bonzer (wood parabolic collaboration board with Glass Tiger) somewhere up in the Frozen North…

   

Here’s what he had to say: “Hi guys a couple of pics of the FreakFish in action today. This was just before dark it was bigger in the morning and it was still handling the drops well. It didn't rise above 0 degrees all day, so it was cold sessions but only five out in the morning, two and then all alone in the afternoon. The board is going great, it is now my everyday board of choice. I was going to take the Cleanline in this morning, it was pumping, but it was at home and I was interested to see how Le Freak would go. Feel free to put the photos on your blogs but only as the "frozen north". Cheesy grin. Pete”.

Oh and whilst we are on the subject of Pete’s FreakFish there were some more pictures of it on that great online surf mag, Drift… an article all by Mark about his 2010 and what 2011 might hold for his beautiful wood boards.

Atlantic POD with twin-CRV symmetrical foil rears

Had the Atlantic POD EVO6 bonzer out in some fun surf the other day and it flies. Waves were overhead and clean with almost no wind… some lovely peaks with long rides and plenty of wall. The board has really quick wave entry with the fins offering low drag and heaps of drive off the bottom. Faded bottom turns no problem with excellent hold; cutbacks kept a decent amount of speed through the turn. These fins seem to be really neutral handling, predictable and have a great balance between drive and hold.

Rode them another day at another spot, a little more hollow and quick and the fins were equally good but perhaps a little less control in the steeper stuff. A conventional shape would have offered a little more control and less drive – which would have worked well on that day as the board was outrunning the curl a bit too easily.

More reviews on the other set-ups when the surf comes back.

MRs

Had a few waves at a nice little reef, “MRs”, this morning… nothing special but was going inside out on the inside… here’s a shot i took after i came in, tide getting a bit too full but you get the idea. Rode the EVO5 Cleanline just to get it wet… super responsive :)

Slop busting bonzer…

Sloppy day at my local bay on an all time favourite, my 6’0” x 20 1/2” x 2 7/8” BumbleBee from Malcom… on this occasion ridden with a blaspheming 8” Soul-flex rear fin positioned just short of the trailing edge of the bonzer sides.

Rumour has it bonzers only go in perfect waves – personally I enjoy them in all conditions.

PS Big up to Tash who got these shots…

Dunes…

Was surfing at Dunes this morning – some fun little rights in the corner for an hour or so. On the long walk back along the beach and the treadmill dunes my mind flipped back 30 years to a summer spent surfing Dunes with the Upper Deck crew, Steve, Nigel, Simon, French Richie, Victor, Phil et al… It was the second summer on twin fins, thrusters were just about to break, everyone was riding Ocean Magic swallowtail twinnies from Nigel. I typically was going in the opposite direction (trying to find my body-English) with a 6’6” Martin Geary Outer Limits spiral-V round pintail with a chequered deck and blue faded rails. It was a summer of long clean swells with crystal lips and azure water… and snogging in the dunes with Helena Kowalski… I wonder what happened to her?

McCoy nugget single fins

Still the best barrel riders in my opinion – here’s me tucking under a curtain at Lighthouse, somewhere in the Caribbean. I love their neutrality and ability to hold an unbelievably high and tight line… not a bonzer but what led me to them… definitely going to drag this one out of the bag next time we get a hollow high tide session at Connies… perhaps even at “Scalps”…

Test pilot puts his double wing pin bonzer EVO3 through its paces…

Test pilot “Ant” putting his 6’4” EVO3 bonzer through its paces the other day, somewhere nearby… photograph by Adrian Steele.

Another picture of this board can be seen here …

Bantham has been ok…

  Got an email from Alex Williams the other day showing just how good a winter the South Coast has been having… El Nino or just lucky?

 

Indo 2002 – Afulus pre-quake…

Tim pre-bonzer on a  6’10” Jim Banks panel V thruster

Alley Fish Fry

Some great boards heading over to the Alley Fish Fry in March – Currumbin, Australia. Grant Newby sent me an email and has posted some pics of the FreakFish on his blog – check out his blog on www.thealleyfishfry.blogspot.com. He is also doing some really interesting fin shapes and some wooden boards too.

Anyways, here’s a pic of Currumbin and what we are all missing in Oz this March.

North Sumatra 2002

Tim – Indo 2002 pre bonzers on a 6’10” Jim Banks Pintail… still got this board though i haven’t ridden it in years. Photo with kind permission of the famous Bernie Baker.

Supaglide gets wet…

8’2” x 21 1/16” x 2 7/8” – trihull  single fin. Catches waves really easily, beautiful take offs, glides smoothly and turns from any where on the board. Hope to make some more of these for those people who want the advantages of a long board but don’t want to have to adapt their style. This is a test board so if you want to try it just let me know, and you can take it for a spin. It is also available for sale, huge saving at £600, used but as new.  £350 now well used but still in good condition and rides beautifully. Everyone who has tried seems to have got barreled on it which can't be bad!
  

Oli testing his Blunt Diamond

Nice day at Connies Reef… Oli was in perfect position to get caught by Nick of 360 Photography who happily made it across the Camel for this fun session…

Machado shows why I love bonzers

On another note I'm glassing Anthony’s Cleanline tonight – he’s fallen in love with the SupaGlide Jurassic Amber tint – sop looks like we going to be getting all T-Rex again…

Wavescapes

Just a pic of a couple of the oil paintings in my house…

“Split infinity” on the left with the dolphins and “Forces of nature” on the right, the triptych. Both for sale and by yours truly.

Caribbean

Friend of mine just came back from a small island in the Caribbean where he enjoyed this fun little left… 3 guys out… never more…

Jamnesia

Heard from an old friend today, Miss Dotty, she used to take care of me when I lived on that blessed isle. This pic, me one morning before the suit went on, surfing one of my Phil Clifford Rockit 5 fins, 6’6” x 19 1/8” x 2 3/8”; 1997, Zoo before the hurricane destroyed it…

Good times – big up to the Jamaican crew.