www.surftech.com

www.surftech.com

THIS SPREADIf you’re willing to adopt anadventurers’ spirit, empty, picture-perfect lineups can be yours. TryNicaragua, they’ll throw in offshores,free of charge. Photo: John Slavin.

ON THE COVER(Clockwise from left) Brock Jonescruising. Photo: Jim Boswell; DodgerKremel racing. Photo: Surf-shot.com;Bonga Perkins, pre-surf. Photo:Damea Dorsey/dameadorsey.com;Jackson Close breaks through.Photo: John Slavin.

FEATU

RES

The Great Pursuit 16Winning a world title requires boardloads of talent, mental taxationand a bit of good fortune. Winning two? Determination beyondpractical levels. Just ask Bonga Perkins. Chasen Marshall did.

A Brave New World 22Surfing is supposed to be fun, or did we forget? The best remedyfor a fruitless stretch of sessions? A new board. The resin fumes willmake you feel like a new (wo)man. By Chasen Marshall.

Simple Pleasures 32Watermen pride themselves on being able to adapt to whateverMother Nature throws their way. Example A: Charging Indo’s dryreef barrels on an SUP. By Erik Aeder.

In Search of Solace 40Ashley Lloyd exudes humility and compassion. She’s also a wizwith a Skil planer, master of the G-chord and a talent on the tip.Joke’s on us. By Jennifer Flanigan.

Lensmen: Lance Smith 46Years of dedication to his craft have translated to a comfortablecareer in and around the photography scene. Living in SDaround top-flight talent helps.

Artisan: Wade Koniakowsky 49After a bountiful career in advertising, Koniakowsky returned tohis first passion, painting, and hasn’t stopped creating awe-inspiring wavescapes since.

Fin-damentals 52It’s been years since you studied hydrodynamics, right? Wefigured. Fin aficionado Greg Loehr lays out fin dynamics, plainand simple.

Fin Guide 56Change your surfing universe, starting with those protrusionsbeneath your board.

Editor’sNote

Recently I tuned into the nightly news.After about an hour,and 20ish different pieces of news, it seemed to me that most ofwhat I just watched was rape, murder, robberies and of course ourfive-times-a-day dose of how 8.5 percent of the working public wasout of work. Many were losing their homes and basically living onthe streets. Their lives as they knew them were gone.

So I sat there thinking how bad things had really become. Imean, I felt terrible. The thought of doing anything that requiredspending money, was according to the media, a bad idea. Or atleast if I did buy, I’m being instructed to go bargain with everyoneuntil they were nearly willing to give the stuff to me just to sellsomething. At that point, my wife, not knowing what I was thinking,reminded me that I needed to write this column.

Feeling like a bag of garbage, I went to my office andthought for a bit about what to say. CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX News andCNN were all making very convincing arguments that the worldwas basically going to shit.

I pondered a bit more and then suddenly a bright light wenton inside my head. I thought, “Now wait just a damn minute! If 8 orso percent of the working population are out of work, and 3, 4 or 5percent more were about to lose there jobs, and then you add thepercent of workers that are now working less than 40 hours a week,wow, that’s about 20 percent!” But then I thought, “What about theother 80 percent still working?”

Think about it: if tomorrow your stock portfolio went up 80percent, you’d be going nuts with glee. If your local car dealer sawan 80 percent increase in sales over the next month, what do youthink he’d say? How about our local surf shop? Think they’d bestoked if 80 percent of his goods were gone? I mean 80 percent ofanything is BIG. Yet, the news media is trying to convince us that,while they maneuver to boost their ratings, we’re all toast!

“Bullshit!” I say. I mean, 80 percent of us are still working,making things, keeping track of things, selling things, you know,good ol’ honest work! Which means they/we are still buying things,all kinds of stuff, needed or not.

So here’s what I want you all to do, like me, tomorrow, or eventhis evening, I’m going to my local surf retailer, and I’m going tobuy something. After all, I’m a surfer and can use a multitude ofthings most all of the time.

I’m going to pay retail for it, yeah RETAIL. Why? Because if youwork to bargain this retailer down to nothing, you put yourself andmillions of others OUT-OF-WORK. Do this just a little bit more than youhave been, and watch what starts to happen.

As far as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX News, CNN … I’m not going tobe watching it anymore. Besides, the nightly news is little more thana daytime soap opera, you know? Who’s sleeping with who, who’skilling who, ratings, ratings, ratings. It’s all crap!

So go out and support your local surf shop, and feel goodabout improving that shop’s bottom line a bit and about doingyour part to stimulate the economy.

Good Waves,

Publisher

No MoreDoom and Gloom

www.rickycarrollsurfboards.com

Michael Anthony AguirrePublisher, Editor-in-Chief

Chasen MarshallEditor

Paul WestContributing Editor

John KerPhoto Editor

John SlavinContributing Photo Editor

John BassArt Director

Nikki Brooks, Chris Grant, Moonwalker,Keith Novosel, Lance SmithContributing Photographers

Jennifer Flanigan, Paul Holmes, Brian King,Greg Loehr, Ned McMahonContributing Writers

Copyright 2009morSURF Magazine, Oceanside, CAPrinted in the U.S.A.April, 2009, Volume 1, No. 1morSURF Magazine is published six times per year by One LastRun Publications, 3460 Marron Road, suite 103-375, Oceanside,CA 92056. Periodicals Postage paid at Carlsbad, CA, and atadditional mailing offices.

Postmaster: Send address changes to morSURF Magazine,3460 Marron Road, suite 103-375, Oceanside, CA 92056

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Volume 1 No.1

9

When a Florida-based stock

analyst and investment advisor threw

down a whopping $33,000 for a 1963

Buzzy Trent gun shaped by Dick Brewer

at the 2007 Hawaiian Islands Vintage

Surf Auction, a few people in the room

wondered if it was a sign that Wall

Street was about to have a serious

“correction.” Indeed, just a couple of

weeks later there was a downward

spike in the soaring Dow, but then the

bulls came back on board and it

roared back to its all-time high of more

than 14,000 points. Today, of course,

it’s a whole different, dismal story with

trillions of dollars wiped off the board

and the Dow wallowing below the

7,000-point range at the time of this

writing. Still, that begs the question: is a

Buzzy Trent gun a better investment

bet than the stock market?

It’s unlikely that another such

board will be on the block at this

summer’s auction in Honolulu. An

original Buzzy Trent gun by Surfboards

Hawaii, after all, is a rare item. Few

were made and many did not

survive—snapped or washed up on

the rocks. The 33K board is one of only

three known to exist. But that doesn’t

mean there aren’t one or two more

lurking in attics or garages somewhere,

or other items equally desirable. And

that is what makes the whole arena of

vintage surfboards and other surf-

related collectibles such a fascinating

mine of precious gems.

The market for surfing collectibles

really took off in the mid- and late

1990s. At that time, several auctions

were being held across the country.

The first, staged in 1997 by former

Hobie factory manager Danny

Brawner and his partner Gary

Concannon in Costa Mesa, Calif.,

drew a crowd of 400 bidders and 140

vintage boards went under the

hammer with the highest price of

$6,900 paid for a 1954 Hobie balsa. By

today’s standards that’s chicken feed.

But the portent was not lost on

collectors or knowledgeable

entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity

to dive into the newly emerging

market. In short order, other

commercial auctions popped up in

California, on the East Coast and in

Hawaii. Several others followed in their

wake in the form of charity fundraisers

and even on-line, even as twice-yearly

VintageSurfboards: Good as Gold?

Randy Rarick’s biannual Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction has established a reputation for offering quite the catalog of collectible classics, which draw asteady stream of interested parties.

By Paul Holmes

In a Tough Economy, Malibu Chips may be better than Blue Chips.

get-togethers of the Southern California

Longboard Collectors’ Club became a cool

forum to trade and talk story.

It quickly became clear that the serious

collectors, those with real passion and

commitment, would need deep pockets and

iron resolve as prices soared into the tens of

thousands for highly sought-after wood boards

from the turn of the 20th century or mint

condition Tom Blake hollows. Anything from the

late ’40s or early ’50s by Quigg, Kivlin, Simmons,

Velzy or Hobie may sell for over ten grand. Even

post-Gidget foam and fiberglass like Greg Noll’s

mid-’60s Miki Dora “Da Cat” models have

fetched in the order of $15,000, and they are

not even especially rare. That said, there are still

many ’60s classics going under the hammer in

the $2K - $6K range.

So maybe now’s the time to step up and

get in. Who knows where the financial sector is

going; it may have bottomed out or it may get

a whole lot worse. By contrast, a classic board

on your living room wall may not be an

investment security blanket, but it will always be

a talking point over home-brewed beer and a

dinner made from produce in your backyard

victory garden if things get really tough. Caveat

emptor: do your research, a little knowledge is a

valuable thing if you want your investment to

appreciate in proportion to your emotional

involvement in the object of your desire.

Many of the classic surfboards available to bidders have beenpainstakingly restored to original mint condition underRarick’s expert eye for authenticity.

www.hansensurf.com

12

As the ‘border wars’, drug lords

and good cop/bad cop turf wars

escalate, surfers yearning to surf the

world-class breaks along the Mexican

Riviera are discovering that cruise ships

are a viable and often enjoyable

alternative to high risk driving/camping

trips and the ever popular fly/drive

travel options.

Royal Caribbean, Carnival and

Holland America have recently begun

to answer the call by confirming

‘active water’ itinerate day trips to the

breaks in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan

and Puerto Vallarta. Most lines now

allow one board per person as an

alternative to 1 piece of checked

luggage; stowed below decks until

port days.

Mary Osborne, Colin McPhillips

and Robert August have all taken

numerous voyages aboard these

floating resorts. They find that the

social ambiance of the never-ending

activities aboard ship, the security of

an internationally trained naval

operation managing the daily port

calls, and the fact that their non-surfer

family and friends can accompany

them and enjoy a safe and well

organized surf holiday greatly reduces,

and in some cases

eliminates the potential

for crime against surfers

and tourists in general.

When asked about

recent travel to the

breaks in Mexico, Mary

Osborne explained her

reasons for choosing

cruise ships. “We only

have to bring what we

need for fun,” Osborne

said. “they are safe

ports, breaks, super

simple, no worry about

becoming a victim. I’ve

been on two so far, and

ready to go on another

one this fall.”

Robert August

added: “I like the fact

that we leave the ship with our

boards, towel and wax and get to the

beach. We get back to the ship

before dinner and all of our valuables

never left the boat.”

The Newest and SafestWay to Surf MexicoBy Trebor Recnarc

Traveling via cruiseliners, surfers take out the danger of land travel and get top-notch accommodations all the way.

Banditos and rural roads or poolside bar service and a hearty amountof eye candy? Tough choice.

www.surfboardsbythegreek.com

Due to heightened security, surfboards are always

held below decks in a secure, inaccessible hold until

port call mornings. Although many surfers would sleep

with their boards if they could, this actually is a better

and safer system of board travel handling.

“It’s great,” Osborne says. “Just grab ‘em on the

dock and go to the transport. I don’t want to fly

anymore because of surf cruises.”

McPhillips has sailed twice and plans on bringing

his family along this year. “[Surf cruising is] the only

way I would consider taking my family on a surfing trip

to Mexico.”

February 20, 2009This Travel Alert updates security information for U.S.

citizens traveling and living in Mexico. It supersedes the

Travel Alert for Mexico dated October 15, 2008, and

expires on August 20, 2009.

While millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico

each year (including thousands who cross the land

border every day for study, tourism or business),

violence in the country has increased recently.

The greatest increase in violence has occurred

near the U.S. border. However, U.S. citizens traveling

throughout Mexico should exercise caution in

unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at

all times.

Common sense precautions such as visiting only

legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight

hours, and avoiding areas where prostitution and drug

dealing might occur, can help ensure that travel to

Mexico is safe and enjoyable.

As this bulletin implies, common sense, no matter

where on the planet you are, should take precedence

over ‘adventurous opportunities’ offered by unofficial

or gypsy tours and transportation operators.

Mexico is a wonderful vacation destination and will

remain safe for you if you practice safe travel habits.

And surf cruising is a great alternative for safe passage

to ‘pesoville’. The U.S. dollar is still remarkably strong

and spends well between surf sessions while in port.

One of the cruiseline converts, pro longboarder Mary Osborne,sliding down south. Photo: Alex Wisner/Brooks Institute ofPhotography ©2009

www.robertaugust.com

16

17

After world title No. 1 at the age of 24, it seemed predestined that Bonga Perkins would have a

Michael Jordan-type trophy case by the time his career came to a close.

In the following years, a series of runner-up and semifinal appearances further insinuated that No.

2 was soon to come. That was 12 years ago.

During that 12 years, Bonga established himself as one the premiere longboarders on the tour,

and one of the preeminent watermen in the world. But title No. 2 was still out there. Still unattainable.

That was until 2008.

In the tense minutes leading up to the final heat of the second stop on the Oxbow World

Longboard Tour, 12 years of heartbreak and frustration landed squarely on Bonga’s shoulders. So

much so, that the 6’1” chiseled Hawaiian had to be administered oxygen to help calm his breathing.

Back home near Haleiwa, with plenty to smile about.

Bonga Perkins Claims World Title No. 2Photography by Damea Dorsey/dameadorsey.com

18

With only 30 minutes and a 23-

year-old Frenchman standing

between him and No. 2, it was clear

that this was his best — and maybe

his last — chance to claim the elusive

title. With his fellow countrymen (the

state of Hawaii often claims

sovereignty in surf competition)

cheering him on from the rocky San

Onfore shoreline, Perkins shelved any

nerves and proved that experience

and power are a recipe for success in

surfing circles (see Slater, Kelly).

Chasen Marshall tracked down

Bonga soon after his return to Oahu

for some insight into how the event

played out and to hear about the

spoils of the crown.

CM: Twelve years since your firstworld title, were you starting tothink that No. 2 wouldn’t come?BP: Yeah, I was definitely starting to

have some doubts. Just because we

didn’t know where longboarding was

With the wave-rich North Shore of Oahu as histraining ground, it's no wonder that Bonga isproficient in most any wave conditions.

19

going. So I started thinking, hmm, was there even going

to be a chance of me getting No. 2.

What about the site? There was all sorts ofconfusion and plan-changing leading up to theevent, what were your thoughts about San Onforeas the final stop?Well, I think everybody was thinking Sano’s kind of an iffy

venue, which it kind of was. It was off-season and it’s

more of a south swell kind of spot. But it ended up being

probably the best venue we’ve had in a long time.

Sunshine, offshore, water was fairly warm, waves were

shoulder to head high, some overhead sets.

Leading up the event, did you partake in any specialtraining to stay in form, stay in shape?A lot of it is mental. But for some reason, coming about a

month before the event, knowing that I had a good

shot, I was doing a lot of swimming, more cardio.

Running, swimming, paddling my canoe, I surfed,

anything to keep me moving and keep my mind

occupied, two, three times a day. And I had a couple

friends that I work out … They may not be pro surfers, but

those guys definitely picked me up in other places

where I lagged. That was huge. I think I was down 7 or 8

pounds going into that event from my normal 196. So I

felt really good.

Did you have to tinker with your boards atall before the contest?Yeah. First, I went to EPS, because our water in Hawaii is

a lot more dense than California, more salt. A regular

polyurethane, they float [in Hawaii] a hell of a lot more.

So I had to kind of change it around, make them a bit

20

more buoyant so it wouldn’t dig, but yet not be as light

as Styrofoam is noted for. Just your basic contest 9’1”,

with kind of a basic set-up, and a couple tweaks. I had

two good boards that I took up there. I had one I took

up there two weeks prior, just in case.

Being in contention to win it all, I imagine the fourdays can seem like an eternity. What was goingthrough your mind as you started seeing othercontenders fall?Man, it was rough. [Going into Round 4], I knew the

guys who were in the chase were Taylor [Jensen],

Mathew [Moir], Antoine [Delpero], Colin [McPhillips] and

Harley [Ingleby].

[In Round 4] Ned [Snow] faced off with Harley and

Ned just had this smashing heat and annihilated Harley.

He was on his game, so when he took down Harley and

Timothee [Creighnout] took down Colin, it was just like,

‘ok, doors opened up even more.’

So that was two out of the six guys that went down.

At that point I was kind of feeling the pressure, but at the

same time I knew Antoine was still on top [in points], so I

wasn’t pressured too much because I knew I still had to

fight for it.

Taylor and Mathew had that down-to-the-last-

couple-seconds heat and Mathew pulled out the win.

He was coming off a strong win at the ISA World Games

in Portugal, so his momentum and his head were pretty

focused, so that was on my mind. When Antoine and

Josh Baxter

met, I was

rooting for

Baxter, trust me.

I would have

rooted for

Baxter anyway

because he’s

one of my

longtime friends

that I’ve surfed against for the last 15 years. But Antoine

was just surfing good; nothing flashy, not strong, but he

was doing what he had to do.

When it came to the semifinals I was up against Ned,

and I knew Ned was surfing well, with some of the

highest scoring heats of the event. He was just surfing

amazing. Luckily, he didn’t get any of the bigger waves

to light it up on and I got a couple eights and snuck past

him. In the next semi, Antoine did his thing again and

took out Alex [Salazar]. And then, just the two of us.

Prior to the finals, you separated yourself fromeveryone. What was going through your mind?Lots of things. It had come down to do or die, Antoine

and me in the finals, second versus third. I was kind of

glad I was in third because last time I was first in ratings

Continued on page 62

For the past 15 years, Bonga has stood as a testament to the value of consistency and power, and it finallypaid off with the shoulder-ride (Photo: Chasen Marshall) from fellow Hawaiian champs, Rusty Keaulana (left)and Dino Miranda.

22

A Brave New WorldSurfing hasn't seen a better era of experimentation since the '60s. Board variety isat an all-time high. So why are you still riding the same board day after day?

By Chasen Marshall

23

(From left) Noah Shimabukuro, Chad Doyle. Photos: Chasen Marshall;Kassia Meador. Photo: Chris Grant/JettyGirl.com; Justin Hugron. Photo:Chasen Marshall; Tyler Hatzikian. Photo: Jeff Bell.

Beep. Beep. Beep.Smack the snooze button.Nine minutes later: Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.“Alright, alright, I’m up!”Grab the cell phone, speed dial 8: “Thank you forcalling the Newport Beach surf and weather report”… blah blah blah … “we have a southwest swell with3- to 4-foot faces, and fair to good conditions…”Sweet, swell finally hit.Pour some coffee, toast a bagel, grab a wetsuit andtowel, throw the 5’8” Shimbawa fish in the trunk andyou’re off.Wait, wait, wait.

Only one board? Really? With all the optionsavailable these days? You should be ashamed! Sit inthe corner and think about what you’ve done! You’readhering to an outdated mindset and ruining yoursurfing life. I hope you’ll learn.

Surfer’s today are spoiled, and most of us don’t even

realize it. (Then again, the majority of society is spoiled

and fails to realize it, so don’t feel too bad.) Put yourself in

the cracked, weathered feet of, say, Phil Edwards:

The year is 1956. It’s a warm September morningat San Onofre. A light offshore breeze sweeps up the3- to 5-foot faces rolling into the shoreline. Theglimmering lines seem to go forever. The sloped wavefaces are ideal for the thick-railed, 65 lb. boardsliding along below your feet. You’re having a ball.But to the north about a mile breaks a much steeper,more menacing wave. You can paddle out up there,but making a wave without catching a rail or buryingthe nose is practically impossible. The board justwon’t cut it.

Fast-forward over 50 years, and that menacing

wave, Lowers, is frequented by a range of riders from

different age groups, societal classes, ethnic

backgrounds, and most strikingly, a variety of boards. The

surfing divide no longer splits down the middle, with

shortboarders on one end and longboarders on the

other. New faces have joined the party: shorter, wider

fish; longer, ultra-thick stand-up paddleboards; egg-

shaped, single-fin hulls; and the newest member,

plywood-thin, finless alaia’s. The “industry” still pushes a

single type of surfing experience, but the community of

surfers has begun to open its collective eyes to the array

of wave-riding experiences.

Former Queen of Malibu and current Roxy superstar

Kassia Meador sums it up best: “It’s important to

constantly be venturing for that next thing; it makes you

a better surfer, and you really have more fun. It sounds

super cheesy, but having fun really is what it’s all about. I

24

Noah ShimabukuroAge: 26 • City: Oceanside, CA • Boards: 20+

Whether he’s charging punishing Puerto Escondido

barrels on an SUP, gracefully perched on his log at Old

Mans at San Onofre, or racing the section at Swami’s on

his fish, Noah Shimabukuro wears the same calm, almost

childish, expression across his face. Though he grew up in

the ultra-competitive and board-conservative lineups on

Oahu, Shimabukuro isn’t hardened by those days,

instead, he’s humble and friendly, and now the master of

his domain.

As the Shop Manager of The Surfer’s Pro Shop (the

home base for Donald Takayama’s label, Hawaiian Pro

Designs) in Oceanside, Calif., Noah has a unique

perspective on the surfboard market. Having ridden and

worked for Donald Takayama for the last several years,

Noah’s been able to apply Donald’s years of experience

and insights to his own surf career. Between picking

Donald’s brain and his position in the shop, Noah has

feel like when people trap themselves in a little hole, the

“oh, I’m a shortboarder,” or “I’m a longboarder,” or

whatever it may be, they’re limiting themselves. I truly

feel there’s a board for every wave and you just have to

tap into that.”

By nature, surfers are a playful species. Sure, we’re

occasionally egotistical and borderline action-junkies,

but at our core, we’re just looking to enjoy our

environment. In the 1960s (the so-called “Golden Age”

of surfing), those that chose to partake in the sport were

seen as outcasts, failing to conform to societal standards

of appropriate behavior. Surfers were seen as

vagabonds, when in fact, they were simply ahead of

the curve.

Within the confines of the sport, that metaphorical

curve, the one that insinuated that surfers were an

open-minded, fun-loving bunch, started to straighten

out in the 1980s. Following a drastic redevelopment of

surfboard design and construction, and a hectic run

through the sizes (from 10-feet-plus down to the low 5s),

a fundamental switch landed on the 6’2” thruster (you

can thank Simon Anderson for that one!). The

shortboard remained the primary surf vehicle through

the Tom Curren and early Kelly Slater ages. During that

period, longboards became an archaic concept,

relegated to museums and garage rafters. To a degree,

the sport went stale.

Fast-forward 15 years. Surfing has been functioning

on a sliding scale, taking two steps forward, looking to

the past, taking another step forward and so on. Every

time the progressors look to the future, a traditionalist

looks to the past and finds something else worth reviving.

First came the Renaissance, of longboards that is. Next

came the Fish, which served as a fusion of longboard

paddle and glide with shortboard speed and

maneuverability. A few years later, the fad shifted to

standing all the time, with a paddle in hand. The latest

and greatest? Wood. Thinner than a bar of wax, faster

than anything on the market – the alaia.

As opposed to specializing, surfers are realizing that

variety better suits their pursuits. Instead of one type of

board in any and all conditions, finding the right board

for the right condition is becoming the preferred

approach. And while it may not be financially

responsible in these times to go out and dump $5K on a

range of boards (though spending has never been more

vital), the truth is that finding the right boards is a

process. Attending board demos, riding boards that

blow, talking to guys at the surf shop, progressively

working toward finding those magic boards that you

hold on to for as long as possible, the ones that satisfy

our taste for the next great ride.

These following five are masters of the ride-

everything ethos. And they all offer a unique insight into

why the approach works.

25

become pretty dialed into the past and present of the

sport. Seeing new shapes and concepts come to life,

having an eye on what sells, and hearing what boards

are getting customers excited provides a solid

foundation for understanding the modern movement.

“Nowadays everyone is just riding everything,” Noah

said. “I see a lot of guys wanting to get noserider types

of boards, mini-noseriders are getting popular, or like

5’8”, 5’6” Scorpion boards … it seems like everyone is

trying to balance out the shortboard, longboard ends of

their quivers.”

Having traveled the world in search of surf and

having become quite an accomplished surfer on most

everything he rides, Noah is now able to apply his

experience to influencing the next generation. But

without getting up on a soapbox (not that he’s the

type), he already sees his ride-everything approach

being more willingly accepted in younger surfing circles.

And he believes it will have a positive effect on the

future of the sport.

“In the next 10 years I think you’re going to see kids

no longer stereotyped into any sort of category of

surfing. It’s going to be so much better because you’re

going to have kids who can ride any type of surfboard

and it’s going to progress the sport much quicker

because everyone is going to be learning so many styles

and theories of different types of surfboards.”

In the realm of NoahShimabukuro's talent,most any board (below,Photo: Chasen Marshall)works in any condition.Charging his HPlongboard (left) in PuertoEscondido, Mexico.Photo: Moonwalker.

26

Chad DoyleAge: 25 • City: Daytona Beach, FL • Boards: 70+

For Chad Doyle there was never any alternative to

not riding a bit of everything. His dad had been

collecting surfboards since before Chad could cross-

step, and his house was less than a block from the

beach. So when he picked up the sport at a young age,

the mindset was already engrained. But his approach

early on was different than most of his peers.

“Before I even started surfing, watching Endless

Summer coming on TV, I wanted to be Mike Hynson so

bad, I wanted to stand on the nose,” Doyle recalled.

“That was my first idea of surfing. I grew up with all my

friends riding shortboards, I was the black sheep, the anti

… mostly for riding a big board.”

The haters didn’t much get to him. From early on,

he’d made a choice to mix up his ride. After getting the

longboard wired, he used his painting and yard work

money to buy a funshape, and soon after, added a

shortboard to the mix.

“No matter what was spinning off the coast, I had a

proper board from square one,” Doyle explained. “And

I’ve just tried to keep that same philosophy since. That’s

more or less how I got into longboarding heavily and into

being open-minded toward whatever the conditions

called for.”

Doyle left the family house in Ponce Inlet, relocating

a few miles away to Daytona Beach, but he still lives

within a short walk from surf. He developed a collectors

eye, just like Pops, and jams his current living space with

retro single-fins, contemporary shortboards, logs, HP

longboards, fish and practically every other shape and

design developed over the past 50 years.

“Since I can remember, I’ve just been collecting, not

really for the nostalgic value, but just for the sake of

trying it, wanting to stand up on it, seeing when it will go

good and if it will go good.”

He now houses a monstrous collection (somewhere

around 70) and continues to pull over at garage sales

and check out pawnshops in search of the next addition.

In Florida's unpredictable conditions, variety (top, Photo: Kelly Crawford) isa necessity, but when the conditions are clean and chest-high (above,Photo: Chasen Marshall), most often Chad Doyle turns to his longboard.

27

Kassia MeadorAge: 26 • City: Oceanside, CA • Boards: 12

Growing up at a spot like Malibu, surfing practices

are pretty well laid out for you. The scene at First Point is

rather retro-focused, but the spot is a longboard haven.

The structure and speed cater well to the performance

capabilities of nine-foot and over. Though Kassia

Meador’s very first board was a dad-shaped shortboard,

the transition to a longboard soon followed. Now 26,

living in Oceanside, Calif. and one of the most

recognizable female surfers in the world, the board

situation has changed quite a bit.

Meador has a garage full of boards, which cater to

most any type of wave condition found in the surf

wonderland that is San Diego County. And that collection

is constantly evolving. On a pair of her recent surf travel

trips, she came into possession of a few odd additions

that have her utterly stoked: a Danny Hess handgun and

an alaia. That sort of development has been common

with Kassia and her quiver building experience.

She may have found her tip talent (top) at Malibu, but Kassia Meador hasgrown her all-around game (above) while living and surfing in San DiegoCounty. Photos: Chris Grant/JettyGirl.com

28

Justin HugronAge: 24 • City: Huntington Beach, CA • Boards: 30’ish

Growing up and learning to surf in conservative

Orange County, Justin Hugron could have easily

adopted a one-minded approach to his surfing.

Considering that he spent a majority of his early days in

Huntington Beach, it’s a surprise he ever paddled out on

a longboard at all. But Hugron always liked to mix it up,

finding the best board for the condition.

“My stepdad always rode shortboards when the

waves were good and longboards when the waves were

small, so I just followed that,” Hugron explained.

He did end up making more of a competitive

commitment to longboarding after experiencing a bit of

success in NSSA contests, but he never wavered from his

ride it all approach. Now 24 and a sales rep for Von

Zipper and Australian brand, Rhythm, Hugron regularly

packs his Honda Prius with a couple boards when on the

road (those cars are deceptively large, he can fit his SUP

inside with room to spare).

“I know personally I get burned out on a board if I

ride it for a couple weeks and don’t ride anything else,”

Hugron said. “I’ll get over it and jump on a board that I

hadn’t ridden in a while. Or I might just try something

new; it might not be what everyone else is riding, but it’s

a good chance to have fun and just enjoy yourself.”

It also helps that Hugron’s shaper, Tim Stamps of

Stamps Surfboards, is not only capable of making a

range of boards, but rips on them as well. Their shared

talents and another similarity helps the working

relationship.

“We’re pretty much the same height and weight, so

he kind of just makes boards that he would like,” said

Hugron, with a chuckle. “The first time I ever got a board

from him I told him what I wanted, and he said ‘Alright,

this first one I’ll make you what you want, and ride it and

you’ll see that I know how to shape. And then this next

one I’ll make what I think you should ride.’ So I rode the

first one and thought it was one of the best longboards

I’d ever ridden … and then he made me one that was

10 times better and was not what I would have ridden.

From then on out, I told him to just make me whatever

he wanted.”

Hugron and Stamps have been working together for

a bit over 3 years now and in that time, Hugron has

continued to grow as a surfer. He continues to expand

his collection, stacking boards three deep in the rafters or

nailing another rack to the wall. Luckily his two newest

additions don’t need much room. Like much of the

surfing world these days, Hugron has taken to the alaia,

but his grandest statement was left for the surf mat,

which he called “the funnest thing ever.”

“It’s something you work at over time and a lot of

times you don’t even know where the boards are going

to come from,” Meador said. “My wooden keel-fin fish,

Rich Pavel gave it to me probably like 6 years ago and I

still ride it all the time. Some boards you keep for a lot

longer … you build [your quiver] up and get different stuff

for different waves.”

Every board adds a new level of enjoyment to her

surfing experience. When she isn’t globe-trotting for

contests or photo trips, she’s tripping about the lineup on

her board of choice. The most fun and challenging is her

newest addition.

“Those alaias, I really haven’t been riding them

much and I’m very, very novice on them, but I just really

like them,” Meador explained. “It’s new and they’re

different, they’re something fresh, a fresh perspective

and it makes you feel like a nerd because if you finally

get to your feet you’re so stoked! Plus, they’re like

nothing to throw in a [travel] bag.”

29

Whether racing at somefar-off Frenchdestination (left, Photo:Keith Novosel) or homein HB, Justin Hugron is aman of many surfinterests (above, Photo:Chasen Marshall).

30

Age: 37 • City: El Segundo, CA • Boards: 8In our society’s rapid rush to advance, Tyler Hatzikian

prefers to hold to tradition. Like his hometown — El

Segundo, which is backed up to the sea, impeded upon

by industry on three sides — Hatzikian’s approach is a bit

of an anomaly in the industry he’s a part of. But he has

little interest in fads and “the industry.” The boards he

builds and chooses to ride are considered “retro” in most

circles, but he sees it a different way: “I’ve been building

boards for 25 years now. I’m not trying to recreate or

make retro, or whatever, I’m trying to advance

traditional design.”

Though he started out as a shortboarder, boredom

and a preexisting interest in traditional car design led to

a desire for a deeper education in the sport he loved

and an interest in traditional surfboard building, focusing

primarily on the 1960s. Instead of working on

interpretation, he went to the sources. Which is also why

he gets so frustrated with those who don’t understand, or

really appreciate what he’s doing.

“The knowledge that I’ve tried to gather is from my

own personal board building and surfing experiences to

advance my product, but it’s also been first-hand sitting

down with people that got the design that I’m interested

in, whether it be Dale Velzy, Hap Jacobs or whoever,”

Tyler explained. “From having a cup of coffee, to having

31

Easter dinner, to sitting in cars [with these shaping

greats], I’ve used that first-hand experience, or maybe

second-hand because they lived it and I’m trying to

educate myself on it. It’s a lot different than going to

the Internet and getting the information.”

Hatzikian is a believer in his product, and the fact

that these “traditional” boards don’t automatically

necessitate traditional styles of surfing. A prime

example is one of his most complex shaping

undertakings, recreating a ’50s Malibu Chip (similar

to what Joe Quigg or Matt Kivlin would have been

riding). Working entirely with balsa, Tyler skinned his

personal board down to 31 pounds, compromising

only on the fin, and he’s ridden the board in

everything from 3-foot peeling lines to triple-

overhead, barreling beachbreak. And it’s worked

better than he had expected.

Charging triple-overhead surf is one thing,doing so on a balsa log is completely another(spread, Photo: Jeff Bell). Tyler Hatzikian'sapproach is all about improving on traditionaldesign, which is reflected in the boards he rides(above, Photo: Chasen Marshall).

Ultimately, it’s about what you want to ride. No

one is going to force you to mix it up, buy another

board or adopt the same ride-everything mindset, but

it’s worth it to know that it’s one of the best ways to

maximize your surf life enjoyment.

Surfing appears to once again be entering an

age of experimentation. Your next great ride may be

only a board away, maybe five away. The only way to

find out is to try. So bug your friends, save your pennies

or sell what’s left of your stocks and enter bravely into

the light.

32

Destination: Sumbawa, IndonesiaBetween the scenery, monkeys and Malaria, there are few more culturally exquisite destinations than thearchipelagic state of Indonesia. The trick is, knowing where to go, what to bring, and how best to appreciate it all.

Words and Photography by Erik Aeder

33

Robbie Naish, permanently poised.

34

In this wide-open and ever accessible world, the

choice of destinations and what to do upon arriving is

an expanding concept. The ocean sports world is

coming up with new and exciting ways of getting wet

and diving into your life on a regular basis, instead of

being a couch potato watching golf or Formula One

racing on TV. These days there is no excuse for being 30

lbs. overweight. Live the lifestyle is a

term I hear often enough. The trouble

is having the resources to live it beyond

your local neighborhood. So you find

the ways to get around that.

Fortunately, the ocean enthusiast has

a saving grace — Indonesia.

If there is a place on this earth

that was made for enjoying the water

world we live on it is the archipelagic

state of Indonesia. With such a long

coastline made up of numerous islands

(over 17,500) exposed to the receiving

end of swell generated across the

Indian Ocean, it is a playground for

wave riders of many forms. The price of

the playground is not free. Tropical

diseases are present in many of the

best areas. Malaria, dengue fever,

cholera and hepatitis are all a

possibility, and malaria is common in some areas.

Considered a developing country, outside of Bali, the

creature comforts in the surf zones take on a new

meaning. A fan is a must; air conditioning is growing but

be aware of moldy AC units that can give you a nasty

cough. Hot water may be inconsistent and

communications can be limited in some areas. Many of

Group strategy session.

Best seat in town when the WCT crew paddles into the lineup.

35

the established surf areas are growing with infrastructure,

as well as crowds, so if you want solitude in the waves

you will have to become a minimalist. On my first trip to

Indonesia, 30 years ago, our once a week celebration

on an outer island was to lower a couple of big beers

down into the drinking well to lower the temperature 10

degrees. Times have changed.

Upon arriving in Indonesia it becomes immediately

apparent that you are in one of the most exotic places

you’ve probably ever been. The sights, sounds and smells

are not to be found in the western world. It grabs you by

all your senses when you enter the airport on Bali and

doesn’t let go. Of all the places I’ve traveled in the past

35 years, Indonesia continues to be my favorite. The

Hindus of Bali seem to have found a way to let the entire

world come and visit their Shangri-La without losing the

core of their culture. Western influence is pervasive at the

techno-blaring, motorcycle-infested Kuta Beach, which

was developed for and caters to tourists. But if you drive

into the Bali countryside, it is life as usual for the locals.

These days, it’s hard enough to afford airfare to get

anywhere, but when you add a board bag to the haul,

it’s like you’re paying for half of another seat. Like most

of Asia, the prices on Bali and across Indonesia are

beyond affordable once you’re there; they’re just down

right cheap compared to so many destinations. Yeah,

you can stay at the Hyatt or another luxury chain hotel

and pay half of what you might normally, or you can

research a little and pay $30 for a clean room for two

with AC, TV and a swimming pool. Hiring a car will cost

you $35 a day, but it comes with a driver who also acts

as a tour guide, guard to valuables, and interpreter. With

some further research, there are many restaurants that

offer great food and many hotel rooms come with free

packets of medicine for the infamous “Bali Belly.” (Note:

Just check if the ice is made with bottled water and the

salad is washed with the same.)

I had the privilege of accompanying Robby Naish

and Michi Schweiger to see how many sports they could

do in one day at Lakey Peak on the island of Sumbawa.

The drive from the airport on Sumbawa to the village of

Lakey Peak (if you can call it a village, rather it’s a

quarter-mile

stretch of

accommodations,

small restaurants

and tiny stores

called warungs in

Indonesian) is a thrill

ride appropriate for

a Six Flags

Amusement Park.

The horn is used

incessantly during

the two-hour

journey to

encourage goats,

dogs and chickens

to try their luck at

dodging the

oncoming vehicle.

People are given

the courtesy of six

inches of clearance

Naish leaves little doubt that when maximized, the paddle is a valuable element of the ride.

In Indo, you can cross your primordialancestors anywhere, hanging near arestaruant or walking down the street.

36

from our speeding capsule of happy travelers, while the

horse-drawn carts are given three inches. All this while

your brain keeps freaking out that you are on the wrong

side of the road (if you are from the U.S.). Monkeys sit

along the side of the road at one stretch and look at

each car as if to say, “I remember you!”

Between the good food and fine accommodations,

our digs at the Amin Gati Hotel are superb, but the surf is

what we’re here for and with several breaks out front it’s

a smorgasbord. The premier break is the famous Lakey

Peak, in front of a patch of reef the size of a football

field, with a two story wooden tower on it for shooting or

viewing from. The break attracts pros and novices alike,

with picture-perfect barrels going both ways from a

classic A-frame, when the size and conditions are

correct. The take off spot is tight and wave priority is

earned by reputation or example of your skills. Robby

and Michi were after a wave that would be right for the

newest of water sports, Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) surfing

and they found them in each direction from the peak. To

the left is Lakey Pipe and it is a come-from-behind and

set-up-for-the-pipe hollow section. To the right about a

quarter-mile up the reef is Nungas, a long, less

threatening wave that offers a more playful wave face.

Other waves are around but some things should be left

to the imagination.

I chartered a classic Indo-style boat to take out to

the lineup to shoot photos while the brother of the

captain gave directions to guide us through the narrow

low tide channel. He pointed out a coral head to his

brother, which we still proceeded to run directly onto.

They argued something like, “I thought you meant go

this way,” as we pivoted on the coral and the boards in

the bottom of the boat groaned and creaked.

Fortunately, we rose on a swell and drifted off of it. The

engine was a hand crank model that started

occasionally and then sounded like a perpetually firing

shotgun. We positioned ourselves in a great spot for

shooting and the brother threw the anchor. “Is this ok for

the boat because it’s nice and close for shooting?” I

No barrel out of reach. Robbie digs deep into the aquamarine wall and tucks in.

37

asked. A set came and we had a bit-too-close front row seat

to a couple of five footers as the riders got barreled and kicked

out at the stern of our boat. We picked up the anchor and

shifted our position.

Robby and Michi had a great view of the sea life while

standing on their SUP’s and told me about small sea snakes a

couple of times, which were trying to crawl onto Robby’s board.

Later that day while I was swimming at the same spot I couldn’t

help from watching out for ripples in the water with a snake-like

pattern. The reef was covered with sea life growths, from plant

life to sponge and anemone animals, as well as various types of

sea urchins, short and long spined. Sharks, eels and other

predators didn’t seem to be common, but, no doubt, were

there. Sea lice and blue bottle jellyfish were around but also

didn’t seem to be excessive or much interested in two-legged

mammals. With a tidal difference of up to three meters on a full

moon, the edge of the ocean can change dramatically along

with the waves breaking on it. The water temperature was

perfect, not too equatorial hot and not chilled.

The swell was about four to seven feet on the face our first

day and the SUP’s were put to the test. Naish’s new short, but

wider boards were perfect for catching and then riding the

hollow waves, as Robby tucked into barrel after barrel. The

second day, the predicted larger swell arrived and the peak

out front was full of hungry surfers searching for satisfaction.

Robby and Michi took on some solid waves at the Pipe with the

lower tide when most of the other surfers had gone in. Late

takeoffs behind the peak proved no problem for the new

boards and the guys had a field day. Toward the end of the

The nightlife is like a human pinball machine, all bright lights and an assortment of sounds.

38

session a hollow lip landed behind the tail of

Robby’s board and compressed his knee,

straining his MCL ligament. Later that day, Fred

from Reunion Island consulted the injury to the

knee and performed some Ryke-like massage

on it. According to Fred, his technique is more

magic than medical, supposedly helping to

draw the injury out. Robby, being the athlete

that he is, didn’t quit, borrowed a knee brace

from a visiting surfer and over the next days

found ways to work with it, creating a new tube

stance to prevent further damage to the knee.

During a small afternoon swell with the tide

running low we decided to try some flash-fill

shots in the sunset. I put the housing together

and embarked on the long walk up the beach

and over the low tide reef. Fish in the tide pools

ran for their holes and a small eel squirmed

Excessive speeds from the steep wave faces made for some swift wrap-arounds. Schweiger swings back around.

Sometimes you beat the reef, most times, the reef beats you. Michi Schweiger gettingsown up.

39

across dry reef to get to the water. I hoped none

of the sea snakes were looking for a place to curl

up for the night and pulled the neck of my

wetsuit tight. Once I reached the lineup, I realized

that it was about as shallow as you can get, with

small barrels breaking in a foot or two of water.

Michi lined one up and as I got the shot he

hesitated on the kick-out thinking he might hit

me, and in return for his consideration his own

board hit him in the lip. I told him not to worry, as I

had met Simon and Sharon, the Swiss doctor and

his girlfriend who were staying next door to us. The

doctor and his nurse put a couple stitches on

Michi’s lip without using any antiseptic; Michi’s a

tough guy.

Eight days passed much too fast and it was

time for us to leave. With the costs in Indonesia,

one could get into the rhythm of the lifestyle very

Sightseeing and a workout ... ah, the multidimensional appeal of SUPs.

quickly and settle in. Our time was up and the thrill ride back to the airport

awaited us. On the plane headed back to Bali our box lunch provided by

the airlines didn’t offer much cultural closure, instead, just a sweet cake

and surprise sandwich, which didn’t look too inviting. It was time to deal

with Kuta’s traffic gridlock and the fumes of a million motorcycles. Thirty

years can change anywhere. Besides the mess of development in Kuta and

areas on the south shore of Bali, there is still so much that Indonesia has to

offer. Grab a map and do your research and if you’re willing to tough it a

bit, maybe you will find your own hidden gem of a break.

40

41

In the early,

ochre hours of

a chilly morning,

as the sun burns

its way up the

eastern sky to set

the world on defrost,

a shaper is hard at

work in a small

cubbyhole of a room

tucked away off Almar

Street in the West Side of

Santa Cruz, Calif. Like the

early morning marine layer

rolling in across the point at

nearby Steamer Lane, a cloud

of dust whirls its way throughout

the tight little room, settling on a

windowsill and the long, blonde

braid of a girl lost in concentration.

Through a crack in the door this

quiet scene unfolds. She picks up a

planer and runs it along the soy-

based, Biofoam blank, moving with the

long, even strokes of a true

craftswoman. Sanding block in hand, she

encourages the shape to emerge—

deepen the concave, square off the tail,

now check that rail against the other. Slowly,

a 9’6” noserider begins to emerge from the

foam and the dust.

Ashley Lloyd, whimsically reflective.

ByJe

nnife

r Flanigan

Photography

byNikkiBrooks

42

sessions with the likes of classic stylists Josh Farberow,

Jimmy Gamboa and Dylan Jones, among other greats

attracted to this historic wave, she developed a

traditional approach to the sport cloaked in impeccable

form, favoring heavy singlefin equipment for her

repertoire of dainty maneuvers: tiny cross steps, elegant

noserides and the remarkable ability to go switch stance

known only to a goofyfoot raised at a perfect right hand

point break. Says 2005 Women’s Longboard World

Champion, Kristy Murphy, “I remember how impressed I

was the first time I saw Ashley surfing the ‘Bu years ago.

Pure power and grace … she’s overflowing with talent.”

Hooked on the Malibu surf scene, Ashley dreaded

making the trek across the mountains to the Valley,

where her parents lived, so she acquired a host of

beach jobs, lived out of her pickup truck and found a

way to make it work. Her late teens and early twenties

saw her teaching surfing by day and working nights at

the Malibu Shores Motel just across from the pier on

Pacific Coast Highway. A lifelong interest in music

resulted in guitar-playing gigs at the Malibu Inn

Restaurant or down the street at Duke’s singing backup

for Denny Aaberg, co-writer of the classic 70’s surf flick,

Big Wednesday. Surfboard shaping found its way into her

life at that time too, as she attracted the attention of

Malibu local legend, Danny Tarampi, who offered to

teach her the craft and introduced her to the basics.

“Danny had taught men to shape before, but he

wanted to teach a woman and see what perspective

she might bring to shaping,” says Ashley. “But he wanted

to find one who would listen closely, take it seriously…

and not be afraid of power tools! For a few weeks he’d

approach me at the beach, ask a random question,

then walk away. I was confused at first, but now I know

he was testing me to see if I was the right girl to teach.

He finally offered to show me how to shape, I agreed,

and we started some basic lessons.”

But it wasn’t until age twenty-one, after Ashley

relocated north to Santa Barbara to study music at S.B.

City College, that she would shape her first board. “I was

hanging out a lot at a place they called ‘The Wilderness’

in Santa Barbara—part surf shop, part surfboard factory,

it was this dilapidated little building full of old surf history

from the days of George Greenough. I became friends

with a group of shapers there who reminded me of the

Lost Boys from Peter Pan. I’d hang out and absorb any

information they were willing to give me about building

surfboards. I shaped my first board there, and knew right

away I wanted to be a shaper.”

Back and forth between L.A. and Santa Barbara,

Ashley built a makeshift shaping shed in her mom’s

backyard in Newbury Park resourcefully constructed from

recycled materials acquired during stealthy “dumpster-

diving” missions. “It was a honky little place built off the

side of the house, but I loved it,” recalls Ashley of her first

shaping shack. With an official shaping room anchoring

The girl in the scene above is Ashley Lloyd,

surfer/shaper/musician extraordinaire. With hair the color

of summer, eyes like the sea and a sparkling personality

marked by a humble sort of quiet confidence, Ashley is a

well-loved ambassador of women’s longboarding

renowned for her polished surf skills and sweet, soft-

spoken nature. With a newly-released album making its

rounds in beach communities worldwide, her notoriety as

a musician is growing—along with her reputation as a

surfboard shaper. One of only a small handful of women

shapers in the world, Ashley is slowly making her mark on

a craft entirely dominated by men, and stands as

testament to the fact women are infiltrating surfing on all

levels, adding valuable layers to a sport already rich in

beauty. In the recent past, a woman surfboard shaper

would have seemed an impossibility, but today, as

gender barriers blur and the level of women’s surfing

continues to rise quicker than a full moon tide, women

like Ashley aren’t only nipping at the heels of the boys,

they’re forging their own unique paths entirely.

Raised around the surfing cultural crucible of Malibu,

Calif., Ashley’s interest in longboarding, shaping and

music would be sparked along the storied shores of

California’s most celebrated surf break. Regularly sharing

Lloyd's an anomaly in a male-dominated trade, but she's earned hershaper-stripes.

43

Ashley is all smiles all of the time.

Ashley Lloyd's Slide Show.

44

her to L.A., Ashley found herself back in

the scene of Malibu once again after her

brief respite in the quieter locale of Santa

Barbara.

But as much as she loved Malibu—

the characters, the history, the perfect

waves—by age twenty-three she was

ready for a change of pace. Around

that time, Ashley, myself and a group

of our girlfriends traveled together

throughout Australia and New

Zealand for three blissful months,

tripping about free as birds,

competing at the Noosa Festival of

Surfing, guests in a New Zealand

Maori village, soul-searching and

couch-surfing our way through a

foreign continent. Upon returning

to California, inspired from

traveling and in search of a

different way of life, Ashley

decided to relocate even

further north to the more

peaceful Central Cal surf town

of Santa Cruz.

“When I got back from

Australia, I wasn’t sure what I

should be doing or where I

should be, but I knew the next

step for me was recording

music. A friend from Santa Cruz,

Adam Haverstock, was teaching himself to record

music, and he offered to help me record my first album,

so I took him up on it,” recalls Ashley. “I love Malibu—it

will always be a part of my heart—but I needed a life

change. Malibu is such a scene… there’s always a million

people and photographers on the beach. I was over it. I

needed more solace in my life to focus on my music, so I

moved to Santa Cruz,” she recounts.

Ashley lived off a credit card, stayed with friends,

fell in love with the community and made a record

there—The Serenata Road Recordings by The Ashley

Lloyd Situation. “The Situation is, well, anytime I’m not

playing solo,” laughs Ashley. Collaborating with

musicians like Ron Work, Lisa Edberg, Norman Krow and

her old friend from the ‘Bu, Denny Aaberg, Ashley

recorded an eleven-track album that’s self-distributed

and slowly migrating through circles of traveling surfers

across the globe. Her sound has been compared to Ani

DiFranco and Billie Holiday, and the music can be

shelved somewhere between ‘acoustic folk rock’ and

‘back porch groove’. The Situation’s simple, acoustic

arrangements are stripped down and soulful, and led by

Ashley’s mature and earthy voice, breathe

unpretentious tones of honesty and heartfelt

authenticity. Though the beach is rarely a subject of

Ashley’s music, the surfing lifestyle filters through in waves

of subtle undertones, leading professional longboard

surfer and close friend, Julie Cox, to proclaim of Ashley’s

new album, “It’s the surf music of today.”

Now settled in Santa Cruz four houses down from the

familiar reeling rights of Pleasure Point, Ashley is focusing

on surfing, shaping and music in equal proportions,

though nowadays shaping has stolen the show; two

signature models with Bing Surfboards and a host of

custom orders keep Ashley in the shaping room fulltime.

Recently, she was featured in the women’s surf film, Dear

& Yonder by Tiffany Morgan-Campbell, shaping a

surfboard from a new material she’s been experimenting

with—soy-based Biofoam. “Surfboards are hard to make

45

green, so I’m supportive of any attempt to go in that

direction. Biofoam blanks are vegetable oil-based, not

petroleum-based like traditional foam, so there’s less

environmental impact.”

According to Ashley, going green does have its

disadvantages, though. “The foam is strong, sands out

really nice and I like the way it surfs, but it isn’t bright

white in color like traditional foam, so some customers

are turned off by its yellow-ish hue,” she says. But that

doesn’t bother Ashley, who counters with, “Surfing is a

natural thing, shaping is a natural thing, so I think its cool

to have something discolored and more natural-feeling.”

“Right now, I just want to travel around shaping,

singing and surfing,” answers Ashley when asked about

her goals for the future. A life of adventure, discovery

and creative expression seems to be in the cards for

Ashley, and if the song, I’ve Got Lots, off her new album

is any indication, I’d be willing to bet there are many

lovely and exciting things we have yet to see from this

multi-talented young lady: “I’ve got lots of stories to tell,

but I don’t know them yet / I’ve got lots of friends to

know, but I haven’t met them all / More waves to ride,

how will I spend my time before I say goodbye? / How

will I fill my days—will I paint them in colorful ways?”

Yes, my friend, I’m sure you will.

Whether in trim (above, Photo: Chris Grant/JettyGirl.com) or in rhythm (insert), Ashley Lloyd's talent garners "oohs" and "aaws."

Lance Smith

46

Thirty-five years in and around photography will teach you a thing or two. Like how to

shoot, when to shoot, where to shoot, who to shoot, and most importantly, what to shoot.

Lance Smith learned long ago that if he shoots what he knows and loves, good results are

quite a bit easier to come by. His preference? Anything action: skateboarding, golf,

baseball, airplanes, football and, of course, surfing. He also has covered some insane

concerts in his

earlier years,

including

Jackson Browne,

Crosby and Nash, Van

Morrison, Warren Zevon and Poco. Now he

spends most of his days on SoCal beaches near

his home in Encinitas, Calif. with his trusty Nikon

equipment at his side, shooting for his photo

company, Freelance Visuals Photography.

Lensmen

47

48

49

“The ocean is my muse. Everyday it inspires me, calls me, challenges me.” –WK

Wade Koniakowsky has spent his entire life involved with the ocean and art. After a

25-year career in advertising, Koniakowsky returned to his true love, painting.

Through his exotic wavescapes one can lose the tensions of everyday life and

escape to a distant shore. A surfer since 1966, Wade has soaked up everything

ocean, resulting in a deep reservoir of imagery to draw from. He now lives and

works in Carlsbad, Calif. with his wife and daughters.

“Reclining Wahine,” 12” x 36”, mixed media collage on canvas

“Point Savage,” 36” x 54”, oil on masonite

Wade KoniakowskyArtisan

50

“Somewhere in Mexico,” 16” x 20”, oil on canvas

“Liquid Fortune II,” 20” x 30”, acrylic on canvas

“Door To Paradise,” 12” x 36”, mixed media collageon canvas

“Sunlit Cove,” 12” x 24”, oil on canvas

51

“Malama Kai,” 7’6”, mixed media on surfboard

“Pili Lani,” 7’4”, mixed media on surfboard

“The Last Wave,” 24” x 36”, oil on canvas

52

Sifting through all the finnomenclature is a daunting task.Fin fanatic Greg Loehr simplifies thecluster of oh-so-confusing information.

So the editors of morSURF asked me to put together a

comprehensive explanation of how fins affect your

surfboard without getting technical … uh, how the hell is

that possible? Well, I’ll give it a shot, but no promises…

TechnicalitiesThere are two terms, technical ones, you need to

understand before we can really talk fins (I’m sorry, I tried):

1. Pitch. In boat design pitch is the balance of the boat

fore and aft. To be a bit simpler, when the boat moves

through the water and the stern is low it is considered to

be pitched aft. If the bow is low then it is pitched forward.

Surfboards work the same way as they move through the

water: they can be pitched aft or forward. A correct

balance of this pitch will give you the ride attributes you’re

looking for in your board and this may vary from session to

session or from one surf spot to another.

2. Resistance. Every board resists the wave face. This is

because we ride planning hulls and the very act of

surfing is about floating on the wave face. A simple

example of this is that a full rail resists more than a thin

rail. Just as there is a balance to the pitch there is also a

balance to the resistance fore and aft. The more

resistance there is in the tail (thicker, fuller tail rails for

instance) the more the board turns tail high through

turns. Less resistance in the tail will net a board that

rides tail low through turns. This is also something that

can vary.

A couple of cool things: there is no right or wrong to

what pitch or resistance a board has, and on a modern

surfboard pitch and resistance can be changed by

changing your fin sets. The way you surf, the waves you

ride and the type of performance you’re after can all be

enhanced by the choice of fins.

There are two more important aspects to fins, and

then I promise no more tech talk. First, the way a fin

sweeps has a lot to do with performance. The more

swept (angled back) a fin is the more it will drift in turns

and the more speed it will carry over flat sections. The

more upright a fin is the more immediate the turn

Fin-damentals

53

initiation will be, so the more crisply and quicker it reacts.

Second, the size of the fin(s) and placement affects

pitch and resistance. The rear fin will, in effect, pull the

tail of the board down. This affects that pitch thing, and

the bigger the fin and/or the further it is back, the more

leverage it has to anchor the tail and pitch the board

aft. The front fins create resistance in the tail and will

change the balance of resistance in your board —

basically, large fins and/or further up

equals more resistance, while smaller fins

and/or further back equals less. The more

resistance a fin has the less edge you'll be

able to set into the wave face. The

smaller the side fin, the more edge you'll

be able to set.

Off to the SurfSo it's a beautiful spring day on Oahu's

North Shore. It's dawn and the blue green

peaks at Chun's look quite inviting. The

waves are 2 to 4 feet, the wind is a light

morning trade and hardly anyone is out.

It's going to be a noseride delight session

and I want to get the right fin set in to

maximize my tip time. My board today is

an 8'6" classic longboard with hard rails in

the tail, a nice concave nose and three

fin boxes (a Fins Unlimited rear box and

Your fins have a role in surfboard speed, maneuverability and stability. So understanding the nuances is vital. Photo: Keith Novosel.

The range of boards showing up in lineups are also presenting a variety of fin set-ups, dependingon the type of wave and ride desired. Photo: Chasen Marshall.

54

two small side boxes about 15 inches from the tail). Since

my aim this morning is time on the front 1/3rd, I'm going

to go for a single fin only, rather large (9.5 inch) that will

create a pitch aft ride (remember that pitch stuff

above?) which will give me the tip time I'm wanting.

Removing the side fins will allow the board to move

better rail to rail and I'll have more maneuverability from

the front end. The waves this morning are virtually

perfect, so I'll choose a fin that allows me good reaction

speed, in other words, not much sweep. Paddling out, I

can see that the wind is holding up the faces and the

lines are just reeling down the reef. After a couple waves

I notice that the tip time I was hoping for hasn't come as

easily as I'd hoped. The offshores are holding up the

faces, making the waves a bit hollow. So I'll do an in-the-

water adjustment. Flipping the board over I move the fin

back an inch, which will pitch the board aft a bit more.

After the adjustment I'm perfect, and tip time is mine for

the remainder of the dawn session.

Leaving Chun’s satisfied, I head for breakfast at

Cafe' Haleiwa, Malcolm Campbell's place. Immediately

after, a stop at Haleiwa Beach Park reveals that the surf's

come up a bit, 3 to 5 feet, nice lines coming through

from the outside all the way to the toilet bowl. The wave

at Haleiwa is a nice punchy performance wave so a

change in my equipment will be necessary. I want high

performance maneuvering for this session. Pulling my

large noseride fin out, I replace it with a standard three-

fin set, average size (4.25 inch) not much sweep. But

again after a few waves I find that the conditions aren't

quite as powerful as I expected. A quick stop on the

beach and I replace the back 4.25” fin with a 3.75”. This

will change the pitch just a bit forward, making the

board plane easier in the less powerful conditions. Back

to the water. I've hit the fins perfect this time. Dropping in

I can feel the extra drive the side fins are giving me and

that extra speed of the smaller rear fin allows for much

more performance on the face. Every wave this morning

is allowing numerous maneuvers ... but I never even take

a step towards the nose, not really that kind of wave ...

and I'm in a different mood than earlier.

I stop for a quick lunch in Haleiwa at Kua Aina

sandwich shop and then I’m off for another surf session.

The swell has really jumped, so off to famed Sunset

Beach for an early afternoon of 8 to 10 foot challenges.

It's breaking full into the bay and looks like the typical

winter swell day at Sunset, complete with the large peak

with lots of slope at the bottom and big gnarly sections

across the inside. I pull out my board, the same one I

rode at Chun's earlier and at Haleiwa just before lunch.

The waves will require a new fin outfitting. Dealing with

all that slope at the base of the wave, all that chop on

When on rail, those side bites really come into play. Colin McPhillips digging deep at Middles. Photo: Chasen Marshall.

55

the face and the big sections require a fin set which will

give me lots of drive and carry speed. So I'm going up

just a taste on fin size to 5.5” and I'll be using a bit more

sweep in the fins’ plan shape. That will give me power off

the bottom and the sweep will allow the board to carry

speed a bit better, allowing me to get around on that

big face. As I drop in I can really feel the reliability of this

fin-set in the bumps. The swept shape of this set allows

me to get down the face a bit earlier and the drift and

carry gets me around those sections and back up onto

the face with plenty of extra speed to negotiate the

inside section.

A very satisfied feeling after the early afternoon

session leads me to the Sunset Beach Store for a take-

out snack before heading over to Pipeline for a check

of the swell and one more late evening go out. While

both are big, tough waves it would be nearly impossible

for Pipeline and Sunset to be any different. Almost hard

to believe that they're less than a mile from one

another. For all the bump, slope and gnarly sections of

Sunset, Pipeline is generally this very vertical, very steep,

square-bottomed, violent place. It's not at all

uncommon to see days where most everyone comes

out of the water bloodied. The place requires quickness

and agility, and surprisingly, doesn't require real power,

but rather, control. For this wave I'll be replacing the

Sunset fin set with a narrower base set that's less swept,

more upright for quickness. I'll be increasing the size of

the back fin to 6.5” and reducing the side fins to 3.5”.

The larger rear fin will pitch the board balance aft a bit

which will allow the nose to ride a bit higher which will

help on the vertical drops and also keep my rails freer on

the steep face. The smaller side fins will allow less

resistance to the face so I can hold better in the steeps.

It'll also allow the board to respond quicker but I will lose

some power which I don't need here ... somehow, I think

the wave has enough. The evening session goes great,

good tubes and even some maneuvers across the inside.

Later some buddies and I have a great dinner at Haleiwa

Joe's and reflect on the day.

SummationI guess the point here is that with removable fin

systems you don't have just one board, but many. I've

ridden an 8'6", just like the one in this article, at all the

places I wrote about and while many would tell you that

a quiver of many boards is a necessity, I can get away

with just a couple and a quiver of fin sets and be just

fine. And fins pack and fly so much easier than boards.

The above is just an example of what works for me.

What works for each individual will be a bit different. It

takes a bit of experimentation to find what's right for you

in the surf that you frequent, but it's all worth the effort

and it's another part of the experience that is surfing. So

next time you’re at your local surf shop and thinking

about an upgrade in equipment, think about another

set of fins. Could be worth the small price of admission.

And hopefully, not too technical.

Building and harnessing speed is all in the speed and stability of your board and fin set-up. Kai Sallas swings back at Haleiwa. Photo: Chasen Marshall.

56

Fins Unlimited585 Westlake Street, Encinitas, CA 92024Ph: 760-753-0255 • Fax: 760-753-4361 • Email: fins@finsunlimited.com • Website: www.finsunlimited.com

All fins available in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.Made In The USA.

Are you looking for the best custom fins? Need a set of Twinfins? Or a set for your Thruster or Quad? Fins Unlimited’scustom “Curtis Fins” are the S*@t!!! All Fins Made In The USA.

Have you ever wondered how the best fins are made? Byusing cutting edge cad/cam software and a CNC machine,Fins Unlimited is able to offer you the highest qualityperformance fins available. This technology positions FinsUnlimited as the leader in the industry. All CNC Fins aredigitally produced in the USA.

FatboyThese are designed for boards that surfers have troubleholding the tail in while turning hard or noseriding. The foil isthick at the base, thin in the middle and thick at the tip,creating a bulb. The water flowing over the bulb holds the tailof the board in the water more than a conventional foil, due towater pressure.

DolphinA good all-around fin, which works well as a tri-fin or single,depending on size and type of board. The base area givesyou hold and drive throughout turns, while the tips smallerarea and flex allows easy entry and exit while turning. Thevariety of sizes gives you a choice of combinations to addvarious side fins for every type of condition and board.

HatchetWell suited to old style mals with soft, rolled tail edges andmodern noserider mals. The large surface area and uprightshape allows the board to turn easily in long arcs whileholding the tail in when noseriding and maintaining drive.

FCS Fin7615 Othello Avenue, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92111Ph: 858-300-2640 • Fax: 858-300-2650 • Website: www.surffcs.com

Fins matter, plain and simple. They determine how high our lines, how smooth our turns,

and how crisp our trim. But different fins work different ways on different boards.

The best way to figure out the various fin equations? Experiment. Not until you have a

board under your feet, feeling first-hand the difference between a quad and a single-fin,

a hatchet and a squirrel tail, will the explanations and analysis make full sense.

So do you and your surfing future a favor, and try a few out.

57

R5/R8 Bamboo FutureThe R5/R8 Quad fins are lightweight and made of strong,sustainable, renewable Bamboo. Feel the difference. USA Made.

SpeedwingRainbow has incorporated winglet technology to our finsand we are proud to introduce our “SPEEDWING” fin line.When surfing with the SPEEDWING, you will feel like thefins are slipping through the water, which means that youdon’t feel drag. The most repeated comments about theSPEEDWING is “IT FEELS LIKE I HAVE A FIFTH GEAR ONMY SURFBOARD!” Available in Future, FCS and Lokbox.

El Gato 9.5” BambooReduced weight and incredible beauty of natural Bamboo hasbeen a big focus for Rainbow. We want to provide a fin thatgives new life to your longboard. Rainbow Fins has a Newcomplete longboard Bamboo fin line, check it out. USA Made.

Rainbow Fin Co.677 Beach Drive, La Selva Beach, CA 95076Ph: 831-728-2998 • Fax: 831-728-3156 • Email: info@rainbowfins.com • Website: www.rainbowfins.com

Pro Teck Power Flex FinsClear, medium core flex, bends on turns then springs backcreating forward thrust. Very cool looking fins and fun to surf!Available in Thruster, 2+1 and Single fins, on Short, Long andSUP boards. Recommended for intermediate to professionalsurfers.

Pro Teck Performance FinsRidge fiberglass core with flexible edges makes your boardride smooth, fast and fluid. Flexible edges also greatly reducefin cuts. Available in Thruster, 2+1 and Single-fin. For Short,Long and SUP boards. Recommended for intermediate toprofessional surfers.

Pro Teck Super Flex FinsFlexible core with soft edges make these fins the ultimate forsafety, almost impossible to get hurt with these fins.Recommended for children, beginners, surf school boards,rentals and rescue boards. Also, for the surfer who wants afun, very easy to turn, and forgiving fin. Available in Thruster,Two + one, and Single-fin.

Surfco Hawaii98-723 Kuahoa Place B-1, Pearl City, HI 96782Ph: 808-488-5996 • Fax: 808-488-8338 • Email: info@surfcohawaii.com • Website: www.surfcohawaii.com

Velzy ClassicIn 1959, while the taxman rapped on the door, andaccountants told the Hawk that his boards were costing himmore money than he sold them for, Dale Velzy wore diamondsand drove in German luxury. It was a style that married a glitzin fashion with momentary function, and the Classic templatewas no departure. Flared base and elongated rake make for analmost decadent turn projection for larger mid-lengths andsingle-fin logs. Best in point surf.

Sizes: 8.5/9/9.5/10” Colors: Transparent / Solid

The Norm FlexYou’ve seen these geeks: crusty, 40-something with pencilmarkings on their fin boxes, raping their fins with 200 gritwhile recounting epic Big Sur sessions for you. If you fit thisdescription, or just own a retro single-fin, you are probablydestined to use The Norm. The design’s low base area andextreme rake allow for tremendous projection and egogrowth, and its gloss coat comes pre-removed.

Sizes: 7/8/9” Colors: Transparent

Greenough Stage 6In the throes of summer swell melancholia, Santa Barbarasurfers fall into the clutches of alternative aquatic medicines.George Greenough sought therapy in windsurfing, and hissessions produced the Stage 6. A sander’s nightmare, but asurfer’s dream, the Stage 6 design thrives from a stiff leg andactive, flexible paddle for generating lively and powerful tailturns. Far form depressing on the nose, too.

Sizes: 7.25/8/9/9.75” Colors: Transparent

True AmesFins6409 Camino Vista, #A, Goleta, CA 93117Ph: 805-685-8341 • Fax: 805-562-8540 • Email: trueames@trueames.com • Website: www.trueames.com

58

Wavegrinder surfboard fins use NASA, aerospace, and sailing-proven winglet science to create high-performance, low-dragsurfboard fins for quick turns and high speed for longboardsand shortboards. Wavegrinder now has symmetrical thrusters inblack, red, and blue (12.9 sq. inch surface, 5.6 inches long),along with the longboard fin (30.5 sq. inch surface, 9.25-inches long). So unique, the fins are patented.

Wavegrinder511 7th Street, Cornado, CA 92118Ph: 619-807-1371Email: customercare@wavegrinder.comWebsite: www.wavegrinder.com

The Wing Fin, a.k.a the Rocket tail is a Walden originaldesign from 1973 in Hawaii. Designed then to preventsingle-fin slide-outs encountered before the thruster or multi-fin boards. Produces maximum thrust on a turn. As you goonto the rail, the wing bites in and creates acceleration. Italso noserides, holds the tail in and eliminates slip.Exclusively on Walden Surfboards.

Walden SurfboardsPh: 805-653-1717Fax: 805-653-2791Email: info@waldensurfboards.comWebsite: www.waldensurfboards.com

The TTThe TT is a 3 ¾” Longboard side fin, but works great as trailers ona Quad. With less rake, the TT will loosen up your board andcreate more pivotal surfing. It comes in fiberglass in 6 degree, andin nylon in 4 degree and 8 degree. Also works great with SUPs.

The DSThe DS is a well balanced 4” fin that can be used asLongboard sides, trailers for Quads or a great Thrusterset for that up and coming grom. Use this template witha smaller center fin and feel your board come alivewhether it be a Longboard or SUP.

Green GroupThese marbled beauties are part of the new O’FISH’L “Green” lineof products. We have numerous templates in the “One-of-a-kind”Eco-friendly group. Not only does O’FISH’L offer fins in this line,but fin boxes as well. Be sure to ask about the “Green” line foryour next board and visit the Blog at ofishl.com for more info.

O’FISH’ L Surf Products Inc.144 Calle De Los Molinos, # B, San Clemente, CA 92672Ph: 949-218-6635 • Fax: 949-218-0891 • Email: mark@ofishl.com • Website: www.ofishl.com

There are over 20 shapes of glass-on fins, spanning overthree decades. Fin Box Ready glassed with polyester.There is a clear resin bead around the edges and twoglossed and polished layers of fiberglass. Thosespectacular fins are solid Rosewood, Mahogany andBalsa at 9 inches deep. 10 inch deep can be customordered. Adhesive polyurethane glue. These exotic woodblanks are in limited quantity, call or email for availability.

Shark Bay BalsaP.O. Box 669370, Miami, Fl 33166Email: info@sharkbaybalsa.comWebsite: sharkbaybalsa.com

TURBO TUNNELWith the Turbo Tunnel in the center of this Quad + 1 fin set-up,using adjustable boxes and side bites by ProBox Fin Systems,this shot clearly shows the versatility of Greek's new "Shorty"surfboard design which, due to the capability of the fin system,may be ridden as a single, a quad, a 2+1, a twin or as somehave reported, with all 5 fins.

TURBO TUNNELNo other fin can match the drive, control, and overallperformance of the "TURBO TUNNEL." Over 75,000 TurboTunnel enthusiasts agree that the Turbo Tunnel is the bestperformance fin on the market today. Available in 7.5",8.5" and 9.5"sizes and is available in Red, Blue, Clear,Yellow and Black. Made In America. Sometimes you haveto be different to be better.

TURBO THRUSTERSURF INC. designed the Turbo Thruster fin set as the perfectcompliment to the Turbo Tunnel when ridden as a 2+1 or evenas a Quad + 1 set-up. Like the Turbo Tunnel fin, they are builtfrom tough, long lasting Lexan. Available in Red, Blue, Yellowand Clear, the Turbo Thrusters are designed to fit both Futureand FCS fin systems and they are made in America.

SURF INCORPORATED322 Main Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648Ph: 714-960-6672 • Email: webmaster@turbotunnel.com • Website: www.turbotunnel.com

www.surfcruisecup.com

60

As with just about everything

transmitted in cyberspace, the only

true way to earn the proverbial ‘gold

star’ is to find whatever it is you’re

looking for, for as free as possible.

Surf forecasting is an adversary of

particular interest. Sure, the internet

has helped boil the art of surf

forecasting down to a science, but

that’s not to say there’s not still some

art to getting a spot on forecast.

Especially if you want

it for free. For the

truly unmotivated,

perhaps poaching a Surfline

account will suffice. But with a little

motivation and the right data we live

in a world with the perfect setup for

a spot-on freecast.

From a meteorlogical standpoint,

there really is daunting to know and

understand all that is necessary to

swell forecast. But we’re taking out the

legwork. The following five sites are

freecaster essentials.

17ft.comThe epitome of simplicity, 17ft is still a

money shot. Thank god someone out

there had the sense to sync up all this

Freedom of the FreecastBy Brian King

61

goodness and put it in one place for the likes of

freecasters everywhere. 17ft has just about

everything you’d really ever need from wind to

waves to weather to whatever.

Buoyalerts.comLinks Google map application to weather buoys

in both the Pacific and Atlantic. Now, this website

isn’t exactly for everyone. Notice how pretty

much all the buoys are relatively North

American? Our apologies to the southern

hemisphere. But for those whom this geographic

discrepancy isn’t disadvantageous, Buoyalerts

gets a big freecaster “booya!”

CDIP.ucsd.eduIt’s no secret, but it’s a freecasters mainstay.

Powered by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography,

much of the data you’ll find on other sites originally

comes from these guys. They’re the best and you

could almost totally forget about forecasting

without this stuff. CDIP is a great baseline for

checking the accuracy of other foraged

freecast goodies.

NOAA/NCEP Wavewatch III(polar.ncep.noaa.gov ) – There’s nothing more

beautiful than watching the global wave height

model and seeing a big red blob (40 ft. seas)

develop seemingly out of nowhere. But there’s

more. A quick look at the period model and it’s

pretty simple to figure out exactly when a swell

should arrive. Between NOAA and CDIP you’d

almost have to be crazy to pay to let someone

else do your forecasting.

Weather.comYes, it’s so silly it shouldn’t deserve a mention, but

the truth is if you’re not verifying your wind

forecasts here, you’re kind of blowing it. Waves

without proper wind are basically worthless and

hour-by-hour data spells it out for freecasters

everywhere. If you ain’t cheatin’ you ain’t tryin’.

Five websites. It’s so simple. Armed with these

five alone, you’d be hard pressed to ever miss-time

a swell event. But this is just the surface. Delving

deeper into the world of freecasting will unearth

underground freecasting sites for just about every

region in the world — if you know where to look

and if you put in the effort. But until then, live free

and keep freecasting.

going into a [world championship] event was Cabo San

Lucas [in 2002]. It came down to Colin [McPhillips] and

me in the finals. I was feeling strong, but I just cracked

and ended up short again, and took second to Colin.

Before this final, that was playing through my mind over

and over again. I wasn’t going to break down because I

knew I had the physical and mental edge, and

obviously I had the experience. I just had to put all that

together for the judges to see.

After the contest I told someone, as the contest

wound down, I was praying for everyone to take out my

opponents, cheering for the boys to take out Antoine or

whoever. But at the end of the day, I had to do what a

man’s got to do and take care of it myself. I had to get

out there and surf my ass off to beat Antoine. Low and

behold, here I am, sitting at the top. Pretty good feeling,

I have to admit.

One of the first guys to greet you at the water’sedge was Rusty Keaulana, who I would imagine hashad an effect on your career. For Hawaiianlongboarding, he’s pretty much the man, havingwon three world titles.Before I even went out for the finals, the boys all gave

me my space, no talking, nothing. And I actually gave

myself some space away from my friends, just because I

knew what this meant to me and how much it meant

where I’m from. [Rusty] didn’t say nothing, he just looked

at me and gave the go get ‘em nod. That meant a lot

because Rusty and I over the years, we’ve battled.

We’ve battled at home, overseas; had good times, had

bad times. We had arguments where he didn’t talk to

me, I didn’t talk to him, just gave each other space. But

we live on a small island and there’s too much history

between he and I. So for him to give me the green light,

the nod, that was huge because he’s one of the first

Continued from page 20

Bonga soaks in the best type of shower in competitive sports.Photo: Chasen Marshall.

63

guys to take longboarding to a different level. I’m almost

nine years younger than him and watching him and his

brothers and Lance Ho’okano, and a couple other guys

blow it up on big waves, small waves, whatever, I knew I

had a lot to prove.

So after the finals, after I’d won, for the guy deemed

as like the godfather of longboarding in Hawaii, for him

to give me a hug, be there for me, that just meant a lot.

Plus, Rusty rallied our team. He had everybody from

Keegan [Edwards], Kai [Sallas], Kekoa [Uemura], all the

guys who went out early who could have bailed out, he

had them there cheering and I saw that. There were a

couple generations of Hawaiian surfers in there. Guys

that I’ve watched grow up and guys that I grew up

under. So that was huge to have them all there. And

Rusty really made that happen.

How does the second championshipdiffer from the first?I feel like this legitimizes the first one. The first event that I

won, we had a couple two- to three-foot days, but when

it counted it was anywhere from six to 15 feet at

Guethary. So, for me to come to California and do well

in California that just puts the nail in the coffin that it

wasn’t a fluke in France. It wasn’t random, it wasn’t

lucky. [This year’s event] was shoulder- to head-high, and

at that size everyone surfs good.

I’m glad I was the guy to bring it back, not just for

Hawaii but for the U.S. I know Hawaii is always sovereign

when it comes to surfing, we’re our own country, but

nonetheless I’ve got a lot of friends from California,

Florida, so I’ve got to rep those boys too. But deep down

inside ... this is all Hawaii.

How long did it take for the win to sink in?Well, going into the event, with the new sponsor

(Honolua Surf Co.), there wasn’t any pressure but it

ended up being a pretty good first week on the job. And

[the Honolua] guys took care of me [after the win]. From

Sunday to Friday, they had me at a San Diego Chargers

game, L.A. Lakers-Detroit game, I was on the Daily Habit

(on Fuel TV); they had some things going on. It was like it

was planned or something. But they made a newcomer

feel really good, it was kind of a rock star blur.

Now that you have number two, what’s next? Do youintend to go for three or is that just way beyondwhere you’re thinking?You know what, three would be nice, I’m not stopping or

anything, but I don’t want to think that far. I’m having

fun surfing. As far as the future, I just want to get some

snowboarding in over the next couple months and

change it up. Obviously, I’ll be on the North Shore; I’ll be

looking for some Backdoor and Pipe tubes, and just have

fun with my friends at home.

Over the course of 50 years, a lot can happen: wars

start and end, new technology arises and becomes

obsolete, fads come and go. And while surfing has been

around much longer than 50 years, the scene as we

somewhat know it (shapers, big-name surfers, media)

more or less began a half-century ago, and it’s still

running strong.

During that time, the sport has evolved drastically in its

popularity and presentation, but at its core it’s still about a

board and a wave. The only real change has been in the

faces, materials, locations and influx of dollars.

We are still driven by individuals who refuse to

accept stability or solidarity. They’re the ones at the

forefront of potential and possibility, insuring the rest of us

that cutting-edge never really is cutting-edge for long.

They have stories worth telling, and that’ll be happening

within these pages.

And in a sport founded on an object intended to ride

on water, the details continue to change. New ideas are

found, old ones discarded, and even older ones revised.

Of particular interest to us? The Fish. What’s with the

design? Speed? Popularity? Evolution? All questions worth

asking. Answers are soon to come.

In our next issue, we continue to talk to the

personalities, unveil the destinations, discuss the key

designs, and even look into the future of this sport we all

hold so dear. We know there’s owe-so-much mor to see,

read and learn, so we just need to figure out how to fit it

all in. Stay tuned.

Change is Alwaysin the Air

NextIssue

Change happens here.

www.morsurf.com

66

I broke into my first house when I

was six years old. A kid at school was

selling a new wax especially for

surfboards. It smelled so good. It cost

thirty cents a bar and my funds were

nonexistent. So when Duke told us he

knew where there was a jar full of

dimes, we listened. By we, I

mean me, and my then

best friend, Oakey. He

was lucky. His mom

didn’t make him

bathe. Some guys

had it made.

Duke was an

unstable kid. He was a

few years older but

much tougher. He had to

take some pill everyday

to calm him down. Every

once in awhile he’d

forget his pill and beat

the snot out of some unfortunate soul.

On this particular day Duke seemed

like he had taken his pill.

The house was across the street

from Oakey’s. We went into the

backyard. Oakey knew the dog, so

the dog stayed quiet. Duke lifted the

sliding glass door and opened up the

house. The jar of dimes was right out

there on the counter for the world to

see. Duke grabbed the jar, and then

we hit the kitchen for some cookies.

We went to Oakey’s house to

divide the loot. Nobody was ever

home at Oakey’s. Naturally Duke got

the lion’s share. We made out pretty

good, though. Oakey and I got five

dollars and thirty cents each. In our

world, that was some real money.

We spent some of our riches at

Seaside Liquor. We bought candy,

soda, chips, and other essentials. I

saved some of my cash for the kid at

school who was selling surfboard wax.

That night there was a knock on

our door. Two tall policemen stood

on our porch, and they wanted

to talk to my Dad and me. One

of the policemen just straight

up asked me what happened.

All three grownups were

looking at me.

I told them, “Duke made us

do it. He said he’d beat us up if

we didn’t go with him. That’s the

truth. Everyone knows that Duke’s

crazy. I’m afraid of him.”

The same cop said to my dad,

“Yeah, that’s what the kid named

Oakey said. Given what I’ve heard

about Duke, I’m inclined to believe

your son here. Sorry to have bothered

you, have a good night.”

When we got into the house my

Dad quietly told me, “I never want to

see the police on our front porch

looking for you again. Do you

understand?” I did, and I learned

something that day - don’t get caught.

I bought four bars of wax the

next morning at school. If I try, I

can still remember that

sweet smell.

SurfStories

ByGre

gGut

ierrez

www.tropicalblendssurf.com

www.oneworldsurf.com