Kiwi artist, surfer and shaper...

New Zealand has some great waves and some great artists. Daryn Mcbride just happens to be a former pro longboarder that captures the beauty of his homeland and the sea in a magical way.

Check him out at : www.freedomartstudio.blogspot.com

Chambered speed dialer

Here is some fine wood work for sure . Five or six mixed woods all chambered and shaped . Beautiful gloss finish . Click on the image for a bigger view of the detail. As you can see it has become one of Rogers regular rides. So it is no show pony , but a great performing board. Roger is a little rugged up for the New Zealand winter .

The fish be flying

I found this great shot by Jim Martin of Keith Malloy bustin the move and just had to share it with you.

Richard Kenvin by Surfers Journal

TJS | POV - Richard Kenvin from The Surfer's Journal on Vimeo.

The Bobsled by Bob Mctavish

After nearly a decade of FISH boards getting us long boarders back on shorter equipment, there is a new solution on the horizon… The BOBSLED!

Fishes are fine if you surf them flat, and are happy to move your back foot around between manouvres, so you can get power into those fins right out on the rail. But if you wanna jam more VERTICAL, the fish doesn’t really wanna go there. The BOBSLED solves this problem by pulling the tail width in, and closing up the fin-spread, allowing you to snap from rail-to-rail instantly without moving your foot to find a point to dominate your fins. In other words, the Bobsled surfs like a regular board, but with paddle power supplied by a wider mid and nose template, like a fish.

But how do you make a wider board roll fast onto it’s rail so it can go vertical? The answer there is the classic McTavish bottom shape: Concave down the centre for LIFT, then BEVELS along the underside rails to soften it’s feel… instead of a cranky flat or full rail-to-rail concave, the bevels make the board feel NARROWER, and allow easy banking onto the rail into the turn.

The RAILS are boxy, carrying more paddling VOLUME out to the edges where thay can displace some water. No point in having a board measure 3.5 inches thick in the centre if the deck is heavily rolled, shedding all the volume and creating an uncomfortable rolled feel underfoot.

The fin set-up is pure QUAD, the fastest, best feeling combo on the planet! (But only if you get the fin-spread right, as we do. We’ve tested our quad spread on our team, from young short-board shredders all the way to us older vast experienced surf designers.)

LENGTHS are ranging from 5’5 (like the one I made for Slater) all the way up to the mid sevens. It’s that VERSATILE.

The BOBSLED… The new bankable, fast reactive high-speed shorter-board from the McTavish Team.

Fishie kind a day

More Japanese Fish Fry 2009 pics

Gold Coast shaper Woody Jack had a range of boards he took with him




















A big thanks to Yutaka Ono for sending these shots of the Japanese Fish Fry 2009. A wide range of different craft as well flex tail longboards, spoons and a see through longboard.

Something different ?

Local Gold Coast shaper and artist Richard Harvey has had these in his sketch book for a while and finally found time to make it happen.  The Alaia Sandle,  a cross between the Hawaiian Alaia surfboard and the Japanese Geta Sandal. Made from laminated cedar and pine with jute rope straps. See them along with other timber boards and surfing paraphernalia at the Wooden Surfboards Day Sunday 9th August - The Currumbin Alley Gold Coast 

www.harveysurf.com   and   www.woodensurfboards.blogspot.com

Fish Fry Japan 2009

All the pics below were kindly forwarded to me by Dave Verrall / Diverse Surfboards (above) from the Gold Coast who went to this years Japanese event.

Looks like they they had a fun day and a good turnout. A big thanks to Dave.

The Wood Biscuit by Grain

The Wood Biscuit

" Grain Surfboards and Channel Islands Surfboards are pleased to announce a new partnership. Using our tried and true wood construction method, we'll be rendering some of the Channel Islands surfboard line using sustainable-yield cedar, low VOC epoxy, even bamboo cloth instead of glass for those who want it.  We're starting with Rob Machado's board, the Biscuit, a stubby wave-catcher for knee to head-high surf.  Our first size will be the 6'2" with more to follow. Soon, these boards will be available as kits as well.

Working with CI to deliver wood versions of their boards is really exciting for us and inspires us to think about the unusual nature of this project.  We're tempted to make some comparisons with the arrangements some well-respected shapers have entered into with epoxy pop-out factories. Where pop-outs are machine made, our boards couldn't be more hand-crafted. Where pop-outs can feel corky, ours are solid with great glide and speed. And with more and more boards made overseas (where environmental laws are often lax) being able to get a board made in Maine by folks who make their impact on the planet a daily conversation is becoming a revolutionary choice."

Fishy day at The Alley

Not a grain of sand left over the rocks after the storm. Tip toe bro.
Another great day at The Alley. The water is still warm , shorts and rashie. We had the fish out for a spin. Great shots taken by Shane.

Wild surf again this year at The Alley

The Alley and the rest of the Gold Coast were hammered on the weekend with 10m plus seas and high winds that closed the beaches . We ended up with huge seas and floods not seen since 1974. We had 365mm of rain in 24 hours (15 inches). This is the 3rd lot of floods we have had this year and we have had swell since mid March. All photos are by Craig Halstead. For Craig's great video footage go to : www.coastalwatch.com.au