New Fish Fry in the making

 Ben Di Donato lives in Cronulla. He came to the Alley Fish Fry at Currumbin this year and had a really good time.So he emailed me with the following...

" I've been trying to come for 3 years now and finally did,  I got 2 boards off Eden at Dead Kooks as well (stoked). It actually got me annoyed because the surf culture in Cronulla is almost dead. Its all about Al Merrick and Firewire thrusters and doing airs, which I can appreciate the skill required. I've been riding for 6 years and its only been fishes,logs and finless boards. So I don't really relate with them. I've been looking into it a fair bit and Cronulla has a rich history of longboard to paipo riding but no one knows about it is or what those boards are about.

I really feel passionate about spreading some knowledge and showing people that you can ride any board in any conditions even if it doesn't have 3 fins. So I want to hold a fish fry or something similar in Cronulla and thought i might ask you for some guidance or advice."

Well he has taken it further ...

"Inspired by recent events this year, namely the Alley Fish Fry in Currumbin QLD. I decided that my home beach of Cronulla needed more surf festivals. We get the short board and longboard comps and the occasional Redbull event. But these don’t appeal to me, I enjoy all forms of Fishes, Logs, Simmons and Finless boards in a non-competitive fashion. But don’t get me wrong, totally appreciate the skill involved. When I ride I get the look; the look of and the questions “does that even work” or “Cronulla doesn’t get the right waves for that”. It made me want to educate and show people that there is more out there then the 6ft thruster and that there are shapers that are redesigning the future for years to come. I would always say someone needs to do it. No one has. So with Grant’s blessing I will be holding the 2012 Wanda Fish Fry here at Wanda Beach in Cronulla. So watch out after winter.
This board is my first I have made, its a Paipo inspired fish. I free handed the design, and shaped it in 3 hours. Next swell I’m taking it out"

… this is what the Wanda Fish Fry is about.

Check out what Ben is up to and get behind him when he sets a date for his first event.

Tyler Warren on Drift

 

Nice interview with Tyler Warren on Drift click here

Tyler is the all round good guy of surfing. A very quite and very talented young guy who can surf most anything that floats in a graceful manner and make it flow and look like fun. A wonderfully talented artist also.

The Boys surf , the boys make music

Longtime is a new clip by film maker Joseph Ryan for Ash Grunwald and the boys.Filmed in the Byron Bay area as they carve up a few waves. Joseph has been filming all sorts of people to document the history of the fish and those who have been involved with its progress over the years, He is heading back to the States to edit and put it all together. Looking forward to the result.I will keep you posted.

Help a mate achive a great goal

Ryan Lovelace as you know was a guest speaker at last years Alley Fish Fry. A very talented young guy who is very passionate about what he does and how he goes about it.

This is his project ...

" My project is all about environmental and community responsibility.  I'm a custom surfboard builder that wants to help make a change in our toxic industry while also taking action to help protect a rare California coastal habitat.  
I want to build a line of environmentally friendly-er surfcraft to offer at an upcoming art show and auction, then pay it forward by donating the profit from the show to a great local organization.  The boards will bring attention to environmentally conscious surfboard building materials while allowing me to expand my horizons as a small business and at the same time donate a lump of cash to a worthy cause...I can't think of anything better!
The funding of the campaign will allow me to use plant-sap based resins and recycled foam products to build a collection of beautiful surfboards.  Once my work is finished I'm going to hold an art show/silent auction and donate the profit from the line's sales to the Save Naples Coalition, a small group of people helping to protect one of the last areas of privately owned coastline on the Gaviota coast from major development.
Larger scale change is always spurred on by grass roots efforts that raise consumers' expectations.  I want to be part of the challenge and help change the demands that customers put on our industry.
As surfers, we rely completely on our environment for our pleasure, and we tax it heavily in the process.  The act of building a surfboard has been known for a long time to be very toxic, yet the industry has turned a blind eye towards the effect that it has on our surroundings as well as the effect it has on the people who build them.  The chemicals contained in polyester resins and polyurethane foams are extremely high in VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) and are widely known to cause cancer and serious health problems.  Not only does using better materials turn a surfboard more environmentally sound, it creates a healthier environment for the builder.
The resins that I want to use, in place of VOC-rich polyester, are a plant-sap based resin which is extremely strong and readily available.  Not only do they put less strain on the environment in production, they have the potential to outlast traditional products, making the demand for new surfboards far less.
The technologies required to make a better surfboard are no longer experimental, they're high quality and available for those willing the invest the time and money necessary.  The materials are new and cost more than traditional ones but create a valuable and conscious product.
I'm excited for the possibilities ahead and the projects that will come from your support! "

Wanna learn more about Save Naples?  http://www.savenaples.org/

New York Fish Fry time

 

The 6th Annual NY Fish Fry is On!
Saturday, May 12th @ Washington Blvd
9AM-2PM
 
Bring your beloved Fish’s, quads, keels, asymmetrical shapes, oddities, blocks of foam, and positive vibes…

All surfer’s are invited…

The NY Fish Fry is chance for “surf enthusiasts” to get together to try each other’s boards out and enjoy in the camaraderie of other surfers. Dozens of boards will be on hand to ride as in years past. Shapers from both East & West Coast will be on hand with their boards. Positive vibes all around…

No need for cash, no need to sign up. DIY style… Just show up…

Matt Cuddihy styling

Bob clocks up 50 years in the bay

Bob was there when everything in surfing was changing and evolving and he is still at it, exploring and revisting the past and applying his great experience to what he does. A great guy , full of beans and surfs every day. Can't wait to get in the bay and carve out his latest idea.

Sacre Bleu a film from Tristan Mausse

This is the trailer for Tistan's first movie.A great little guy who did the art for me for this years Fish Fry poster. " Hi everybody, I'm still in Nicaragua, I Left France in September for working all around the world and doing my first surf film! This is a documentary about surfboards all around the world, Tomorrow will be my last day of travelling, I go back in France, So I still have lot of work on this film, but the DVD could be release for August 2012, and now i'm proud to announce you the OFFICIAL TRAILER of my first surf movie: SACREBLEU. Enjoy and please: reblog it, share it, and talk about it!!!!

Tyler / Simmons slow mo

Quite often I have people ask me how is a simmons different and how do you surf them , well here is a chance to see how it is done by one of the best. Tyler Warren not only shapes his own boards but certainly knows how to make them perform. Check it out and see for yourself. Lots of weighting and unweighting, body movement , rail grabs and weight transfer. Not unlike skateboarding is what I tell people. Also so check out Dave Rastovich on a fish and you get the idea.

Kiwi - Anything but 3 to run again

An alternate surfing competition is growing in New Zealand. The second Anything But 3 event will be held at Ocean Beach, Whangarei Heads on New Zealand's north-east coast on Saturday May 5.

The rules for the competition are simple: Ride any sort of surfboard but a thruster, which is a board with three like-sized fins.The first Anything But 3 competition was held in Mangawhai (also on NZ's north-east coast but not as far north) 

The second event will be hosted by Ocean Beach Board Riders Club and was timed to co-incide with the full moon because this generally brings more settled weather patterns and good waves.
Competitors from as far away as Taranaki and Christchurch entered the first event and about 60 were expected for the second.

Anything But 3 aims to embrace different surf designs and board styles.
Another attraction was the log division for surfers riding traditional single fin longboards.

Entries close May 1 and are available from zepher.co.nz & The Surf Emporium and Nudge Custom surfboards at Ocean Beach. Numbers are limited.

"It also will be a great spectator sport to come and see different surfboards, the quality surfing and enjoy the sausage sizzle put on by Ocean Beach Board Riders."

- Report by Denise Piper and Pacific Longboarder Magazine

Event: Anything But 3 event 2
When: Saturday May 5, from 7am
Where: Ocean Beach, Whangarei Heads, NZ
What: Open, women and junior Anything But 3; log open.

Now this looks like fun

Gettin flexy with Bob

 
Bob Mc Tavish has been working on a stand-up Spoon concept Flex-tail. " Something that flexes and winds up like a Spoon, but you can stand up on it and paddle it in with ease. Heres a few progress shots, its got a groovy swirl on the bottom too!!"
Bob

I love the way Bob is forever experimenting and taking time out to look back at his shaping and surfing past to bring us a new round of thinking. His wealth of knowledge , experience and the little guys unbelievable energy are to be admired.

Mick Mackie and Roger Hall have both had a lot of success with flex tails on boards over the years. Roger has even experimented with a detachable flextails so that he could literally screw on different tails with different flex patterns and shapes to see what the outcomes would be. Flex of any kind is an interesting aspect of surfboards as it is very hard to quantify and measure. It is more of a seat of the pants feel thing for most people. I also believe if we knew how much some things flex with loads and pressure we put on our boards and fins we would be amazed.

The Spanish " Rabbits Foot "

" Hello I am Rafa (better known as radesega) I write from the Mediterranean coast, I live in Valencia and although there are no waves every day I am a lover of shape and surfing.

Now I'm doing a finless surfboard inspired by the Rabbits Foot, I send some pictures to share with you.

It has a deep concave, the right rail goes round ending in a nearly vertical plane with the intention to hold. The left edge has a channel to go backside. Low rocker and slightly parabolic."

Rafa.
http://valenciaplato.blogspot.com/
http://platosurfboards.blogspot.com/


Looks like Ryan has inspired a few people with his Rabbits Foot . Without knowing too much detail , as I have not seen it in the flesh , it looks simple in design and execution which is great.  Rafa seems to have a few more things going on with his. Last weekend ( Easter ) I was surfing down at the Pass to Clark's at Byron Bay and saw Derek Hine crouched down and spinning his way through the huge number of people out surfing that day. His boards are very complicated by comparison to Ryan's Rabbits Foot.Love the simplicity of what he is doing.

Designed and crafted in Santa Barbara , tested in Lennox Heads

Byron Bay local Ari Browne tests the Rabbit’s Foot for Ryan Lovelace

Stand up for Kirra

High Noon Rally - We Want our Rocks Back!
Hi Kirra Point supporters, this Saturday we are holding a rally to unite local surfers and hit the Gold Coast mayoral candidates up for a clear answer on what they propose to do to help restore the Big Groyne and get on with the job of Bringing Back Kirra. Come on down, find out what’s going on & show your support.

Kirra Surfriders are putting on a sausage sizzle.

Bring a t-shirt & get it printed!

When:  High Noon, Sat 14 April

Where: Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta (opp Beach House resort)

Why:  Get this moving now!  We want our rocks back!

See ya there , Kirra Point Inc  www.kirrapoint.org

Simmons v Fish vid

Tyler Warren on single fin cover shot

Lots to agree with here...