First Ride and Sacred Craft

I finally had a chance to ride my newly completed Grain Waterlog. We took a trip down to San Diego to visit with family and friends last week. Our first day down there, the surf was completely blown out and there wasn't a surfer in the water anywhere. The second day, my daughter, Malia, and I went down to La Jolla Shores and caught some nice small waves. We both had fun and I'm so glad I was able to share the experience with Malia.

So how did it ride? The board is heavier than any of my other boards. I think I added too much reinforcement throughout the board, which added the extra weight. I doubt the board needed all that reinforcement in retrospect. Once I put the board in the water, the nose felt particularly heavy. It took me a few minutes to find the fulcrum point on the board. It takes a bit more effort to paddle the board, but it gains incredible momentum. I placed the fin all the way back in the box and the tip of the fin extended to just beyond the end of the board. This made for a stiffer and slower turning, but really stabilized the board. Overall, I loved the ride and feel of the board. The Shores were pretty crowded on this day and Malia and I only caught a few waves.

I went out the next day with my cousin, Frank, and brother-in-law, Jason at 15th Street in Del Mar. Malia came with us, but there was a little swell in the water and she decided to stay on the beach. Frank, Jason and I caught a handful of chest-to-head high waves. I felt more comfortable on the board this day but still need some time to get really familiar with it.

Later in the day, Frank and I went to the Sacred Craft Expo at the Del Mar Fair Grounds. Very cool experience. I saw so many legends, shapers, and cool boards. One of the highlights was meeting Mike from Grain. We stopped by his booth, introduced ourselves and chatted for a bit. Mike is a gracious person and passionate about Grain. Just to name drop for a minute, I also met Mike Hynson and got his autograph. I saw Wingnut, Mickey Munoz, Gene Cooper, Matt Calvani, Sam George, John Cherry (with the Simmons Spoon replica and his agave board), Ryan Lovelace, and John Wesley. The latter two are young, talented shapers.

I saw a pretty cool board that someone brought for appraisal. It was a Dave Sweet board from the late 1950s. According to Sam George, who was appraising the board, it was a particularly historically significant board, because it was one of the first foam boards manufactured. Sam determined this based on the fact that the board didn't have a stringer, which was something that was introduced a little later. The guy that brought the board in said he received it as trade for some work he did for a guy. Sam estimated that this particular board might be worth as much as $10,000 - $15,000 at auction.

One other unique board I saw at the SC was made out of recycled aluminum cans. The board had a rudimentary wood frame (rails, nose block and tail block) and aluminum cans laid lengthwise within the frame. The person then fiber glassed the structure. The cans made natural channels on the deck and bottom of the board. There was worn wax on the deck, so it looked like it had been surfed. It was probably the most creative and original crafts I saw at the entire show.