Mackie/Mackie/LynchGriffin

5'9" x 21" x 2 5/8" Mackie 2+1, wicked orange tint $700
5'9" x 20 1/2" x 2 7/16" Mackie Sidecut flextail (glassed on keels) $850
6'5" Lynch Design double bump single fin. Kindly loaned to me by T. Griffin, there's one with a juicy yellow tint for sale at the Foam & Function site, $675

I rode that single this AM and LOVE the thing, could well be the next quiver addition if I can convince the missus it's for 'business purposes' and find the coin to get Tim to make me one. It felt quick and lively in mediocre Santa Monica beachbreak so in a decent wave the board will be all-time. It held in through a couple of sketchy backhand drops and on the few waves with a bit of face and push it brought a smile to my face. Better yet it saved me from foolishly waxing and riding that 2+1. Wish I'd saved the orange tint idea for when I can get one for myself. Crap, that's 2 more boards I need in one day. I have a problem.

Foamy goodness just don't quit

Between the hard economic times and the folks having families it seems like there's some quality used boards being shaken loose and put on the open market. Here's a couple of gems I've been made aware of. The first is a 5'4" EPS Bauguess shaped kneeboard, with zinger bottom, pad and sweet avocado tint. Perfect condition as it's barely been ridden due to child care duties and it doesn't get much more cool than an underground SD kneelo. A deal at $600. The twin is another shot of the Hank Warner 5'6" starfish. Seriously cool board and a design that's not easy to find. Keels are shaped by Steve Seebold, board is Hydrodynamica project custom and has a wicked purple tint, pinlines and is $450. Email me at info at foamandfunction.com if you're interested, and prices are firm- I'm just passing the info on for the sellers so I can't negotiate.





The surfboard fun doesn't stop there, in fact I'm nearly in overload. Made a run to San Diego and checked out the new Simster that has appeared on the Hydrodynamica blog. It's a thing of beauty, very odd and sculptural yet it looks like pure performance. I await a ride report with interest. On the way down I stopped in at NineLights and saw Jeff Beck's latest project which, like the Simster seems totally futuristic yet intelligently functional. Jeff made a wood/foam composite for RT of wwaarrbblleess fame that seems from photo evidence to be the proverbial shred biscuit. (Check the Cabinessence blog for proof). A high point of the trip was a meet with Tim Griffin who loaned me a 6'5" double bump Lynch single fin- serious looking board with a Lynch design fin in it that will have at least one post devoted to it when I get the thing in the water. It may prompt a trip to central cal to find a wave worthy of it. Last and certainly not least I'm hoping to collect new Mackies tomorrow night, and there's a couple that will be available for sale, pictures will definitely be following.

Single Fins

Obviously neither of these are mine, but as much as I love the twinnies it has been a single under my feet as the sessions start happening again. Had some fun on the Horan yesterday, the swell isn't epic but it's at least surfable and there's a chance of a loaner Griffin/Lynch single next week, so I'm stoked. I started surfing as a tiny lightweight fellow in the days of the twin fin ascendancy so when I was ready to move on from the cast-off kneeboard I'd been able to standup surf, I swept the floors at a local surfboard factory for what seemed like years and for my troubles was given a single fin they couldn't move off the racks. No doubt the thing was a dog but it wasn't like I knew what I was doing nor had anything close to a decent wave to ride it on, so there I was. All these years on and it's roughly the same situation except I know the boards I have are great so I can't blame them. I'm hoping to be able to update with some incoming Mackies by the end of next week so stay tuned.

Sim Fins, Mirandon Tails and Sacred Crafting

A window between storms got me in the surf which feels great- it was better than I'd hoped and naturally I entirely forgot how to surf, dug a few rails and generally was a complete barney. It was excellent fun, I forgot to buy more coffee and feel much better- I'm going to declare the winter drought over finally. The Trefz tour is shaping up, we're trying to set up something in Santa Barbara at Tom Curren's Rip Curl store for the weekend of the 16th/17th May as we'll also be doing the Sacred Craft show- hopefully I'll have a few new Mackies, Simsters and Lynchs for the booth. It seems Primo will be giving us beer for the tour events which I find amazing, obviously they've never attended one of our tours. Hoping to have a show in San Diego at the Swift HQ with dates in SF, Santa Cruz and LA area being sorted right now. GEF is blogging now too- he's linked on the right, and also in New York is a Mackie flextail now owned by the talented Mr. J. Clams of Grey Ghost/MolluskNY lineage. Looking forward to some pics/ride reports from that one as it's heading to PR soon.

Moving Pictures

Two weeks, no surf and now it's raining. This can't last forever. Meanwhile it's the video that keeps me stoked. Good old Mick Waters sent this one, a short promo for his new piece 'Little Black Wheels'. There's a very strong chance he'll be up here at the end of 2009 to do a little tour and show 'Wheels' and maybe 'Believe' as well. That'll be fun I assure you.

Glen E.

Weird times, we have swell sort of but it's chased in by rain and the good old adverse winds. When I was a frothing youth this was times we'd be out with the skateboards, hitting the local bowl on spells between the rain (there was a lot more rain where I'm from) and hanging at someones house listening to shitty tapes or LPs when the rain came back. Friends older brothers were a huge influence, we learnt about things like Lee Perry, Hawkwind and punk rock. Now all these years on Alva is stoked on the Swift boards and still skates like a madman (check the Hydrodynamica blog for fine video documentation) and the mighty Lux Interior has passed on. Amid all this Glen E. Friedman has been documenting it all. He's still as stoked and crazy as Alva or Lux.

I'm glad these guys do what they do, it makes it all more fun. Here's the last shirt.

More shirts and a surfboard for sale

The goodness keeps coming, here's the rest of the shirts and some hoodies, same deal as in the post below, get on while we have them. Also in the retail arena is the above used Hank Warner starfish- 5'6", probably 2.5" thick, a custom for a colleague who's selling and I'm merely the agent of relocation. Really juicy purple tint and pinlines, Geppy keels and a classic Hank shape in really good condition (except for that wax). $450 and it's a steal. There's new cinematic glory coming from Mick Waters I'll have up soon so stay tuned.

A POSTSCRIPT: Man, I've officially arrived as a blogger- there's a photo of mine (only a photo of dinner, but my photo none the less) up on Shipworm & Gribble, one of the high water marks of of the wavesliding end of the internet. Stoked. One more shirt to come too.

Patrick Trefz

This year really is kicking off in high gear (well, except for the actual surf) with much goodness looming in the near future. Case in point, P. Trefz has his 'Thread' book done and ready to go. It'll be out in April, is a 10" x 10", 128 page softcover selection of images from around the Thread project and is looking really nice. We'll have copies at foamandfunction and a tour of sorts is in the planning stage. I'm hoping that we can get Patrok to put together a reel of recent footage to show, and I'll get dates up here as it all comes together. Joe Curren and Mick Waters are on track with a book in summer and a film and tour in winter respectively, Hydro is taking great steps forward of late, Mackies are at the laminator and the Kidman Secret Laboratory is in high gear. More shirts and Festivus pics soon too.

Viva Simmons! Viva cerveza y ropas!

Rolled to San Diego for the Swift Soup Kitchen a few nights ago with Vicente Fernandez and Schooly D for the ride sounds, and it got more freestyle from there. We cleaned, we set up an epic rack of boards- all sorts of new Hydrodynamica Test Pilot series action for the punters to check out, a few Ekstroms for mad flavor, some Mackies of course and an old school sampling of Lis and Frye. The utterly heroic Eli Miradon showed up with 2 kegs of beer and a mindblowing array of the family board design to spice things up wildly and we were set.

As always a spectacular event, and this time the night took on two distinct phases. Earlier on it was the serious legends time- Elwell, Ekstrom, Bahne and more mingling with Baja ranchers, young hotshots and a cosmopolitan array of slightly dazed escapees from the trade show hell. There was a former San Diego Charger helping cook lumpia and we had a full array of new softgoods on display.

Later the second and decidedly more debauched wave arrived consisting of the surf shop people, artists and blogwriters. The kegs were depleted, new footage of the Coinstar crew doing the deal on the mini Sims was aired, J. Smart graciously played a great trailer for 'The Tyler Warren Experiment' (out very soon, looking glorious) and boards of all sorts were appearing out of vehicles for the interested.

It went way late but way successful, and I'm feeling like hell. (Thanks Eli, next time bring crappy beer. No wait, don't, I'll bring aspirin.)

For those who couldn't make it, you can still get a shirt. We have the fine designs pictured here: The Bernoulli Lift Equation, The Sim/mons, Mackie Surfboards and the Voyager as well as the Hydrodynamica Spiral, the Foam and Function masterpiece and an epic Kenvin drawn 'Bodysurfing Feels Good All Over' design, all of which I'll post pictures of soon. Colours are black, heather and silver grey (Mackie and Equation are also in red) for the gents, navy and purple for the ladies. Price is $25 with free shipping inside the USA. The Sim/mons and the Swift Tattoo letters are on zip front hoodies and those in grey, black or brown for a mere $35 with free shipping inside the US. Email me at info@foamandfunction.com but be quick, stocks are low and the shipping free on this run only.

Mackie Surfs- Thanks Jamie

courtesy of Jamie M (who's initial I now have correct and who's involved in the surfmatters blog which is good fun), some footage of Mick Mackie at work on the home ground. Swift party is coming fast and the shirts look awesome- here's my new logo and shirt design courtesy of the talented and lovely Jill Jordan. This and others will be on the website sometime next week. The Simmons shirts are epic.

Soup Is Good Food

And again it's time for a celebration of some sort. This go-around is looking champion- there will in fact be soup along with a load of new and really, really good t-shirt designs, some amazing new Hydrodynamica Test Pilot series boards, I'll bring what Mackies I have at this moment, musical treats of all kinds and no doubt some mysto film clips will be shown. Fun for the entire family.

340 16th St, San Diego 92101

12 months ago

About this time a year ago we were in the middle of the Ether tour. Kidman, Richard Kenvin and myself had driven up to the Santa Cruz/SF area for some shows and it was a stormer of a time. Alex at Aqua made the SF night genius, we hung with Danny Hess and then had a brilliant night with the Santa Cruz folks, Patrick Trefz ringleading all the way and winding up in an insane Italian restaurant with some of the most entertaining people I've ever met. We then nearly froze in the Trefz basement and had to hit the road early to get to Rincon as Skip Frye was there celebrating his 50th year of surfing. To be honest, I had no desire to go. I'd driven a lot the last couple of weeks, I wanted to warm up, sleep, enjoy Santa Cruz and then see what sort of amazing lunch Trefz would provide, but we were back in the van and away. Skip's mana was working- we made Rincon by early afternoon through the lightest traffic I've ever encountered on the drive south, entertained by a genius Kenvin monologue. Thrashed as we were, the water was restoring and I sat and laughed and watched Kidman, Skip and his Japanese surf team killing it, even managing a few waves in there. I sat on the shoulder and RK got a few as the sun went and it was an incredible day, one of the best in what became a rough year. Skip is a force of nature, long may he ride. Here he is prepping an 11 footer while some slack jawed fool with a board half that length marvels.

There is some good stuff on the way- Swift Soup Kitchen on the 23rd, Mackie's back in the shaping bay, T-shirts are coming very soon and I thank you profoundly for your attention. Please stick with us for another year.

Channel Bottom

Andrew Kidman on a self made 6 channel widowmaker. I really wish we'd get some waves here.

Fins

If I were of a certain degree of affluence I could solve my fin quandary. Thing is, I like playing with fins, you can do cool stuff by shifting them around. But I also like glassed on fins, they feel solid and they are then the fins the shaper who made the board thought would be the best for it. If I had that degree of affluence I could have certain boards made in pairs. One with glassed on fins, the other the exact same board with boxes. Then I could get a whole bunch of cool fins to play with, like these amazing looking Gullwings by Jeff McCoy. Swiped this of the Revolution Surfboards site which is the place to go for Horan/McCoy design thread in surfing. Insane looking 5 spitfire fin board there too, worth checking out. Tim Griffin has his site up too, so that's listed over there in the links as well.

Another one starts..

Felicitations of the season to you all. So far it's been a good year. I've hung out with my kid, had a surf (tiny waves, but a surf none the less) and done an update on Foam and Function- there's a Lynch/Griffin page with some beautiful single fins up now. Please check it out, and I hope you're getting better surf than me.

Kidman and Keels

This photo by me


This Photo Kidman

Andrew has a blog for the Ether book. 2 posts and it's off to a fine start. I stole this shot of Santa Cruz from it and have linked it. Check it out, then go to foam and function and buy the book. The keels are on the newest Mackie which is going to Panama. They're foiled beautifully and really flexy. Tomorrow I'll hopefully try out the blue keels on the post below, even if it's still thigh high. I need a surf.

Mackie Flex Madness

Mick Mackie on the job. 5'10" sidecut flextail. Fully epic with some hand foiled ultra bladed keels I'll show soon. This one sold right out of the box, more will follow. Best of all, this came with a bonus- the 5'9" prototype board, ridden lightly in the gentle surf of central NSW. As soon as there's swell I plan on putting some pressure dents in it. Oh yeah, check those blue keels- the inside is slightly concaved. Go Ulladulla.

knuckleheads night out

The rain put pay to surfing but not to socializing. Some of San Diego's finest arrived in a white Benz and we hit the circuit coffee fueled. First Shelter which was mellow, friendly and had some great art courtesy of the Mattson's and Tyler Warren. (The kid can paint) Then up to 'town' and the Friedman circus at Subliminal Gallery. Chaos, line down the block and we only got in through Jeff Ho throwing his weight around and didn't last long in the crush. Ditched there to Alva's Fairfax store for yet more festivities. TA on the wheels of steel in skate grom heaven. The legend is relevant as hell for a new generation. The night was bursts of standing around outside places not saying much interspersed between lots of driving, and it was really fun. Griffin sent some single fin pictures and they rule- I'll have them up on the site next week I swear.

6' x 20 1/2" x 2 3/4"

Sweet little thruster from Tim Griffin, check that double bump tail. Tim has kindly allowed me sully his reputation and put his boards up on Foam and Function, so hopefully there will be a new page added in the near future. For those of you who were unaware, Tim is the Wayne Lynch approved shaper for the US and is doing a line of Lynchy's modern singles and thrusters all of which look epic. More soon I swear. Some adds over there on your right, This Rich Tapestry is Daniel Crockett's excellent blog and I'm hoping for class and intelligence by association. I've also linked to the MofoSurfer forum because I unashamedly love me a good surf forum. At their peak they can be an online parking lot bull session with a really good board pictures as a bonus. A truly entertaining way to while away time I should be spending working. Finally, if you're in the general LA area this weekend, it's all on for you. Shelter in Long Beach are hosting yet another excellent party, this time with art work from the very talented Tyler Warren, music from the Mattson 2 and some film goodies. Meanwhile up in the hip heart of the beast, Shepherd Fairey's Subliminal Gallery at 1331 Sunset will having the opening night shindig for Glen E. Friedman's retrospective show. Plenty to keep you occupied while the rain washes all those toxins into the surf....

Sailin' On

Richard Kenvin rolled into town with a van full of boards and a mission this past week. He collected myself and a couple more boards and we ducked up to a Cuban coffee joint on Sunset Blvd where we first handed off two very fine surfcraft to some Austrians heading to Indo (I'm a loser for not taking a photo of the red pintail gun, but needless to say it was exceptional). We then hooked up with dedicated Surfer's Journal reader Tony Alva and his friend Tere. It seems the folks at Shelter got TA on a mini Simmons, he loves it, calls were made and Richard set up a board loan for him. Tony and Tere were legendary, totally unequivocally stoked. So fully excited about surfing it was contagious. We drank some coffee, talked board design and checked out Alva's crazy little dogs. After a quick tour of the neighbourhood from Tere, RK and I headed back down to the hood via downtown to check the Bradbury Building and got to see the most Blade Runner-esque deal ever going off at the Staples/Nokia complex- searchlights, giant TV billboards and architectural madness. It was a very good day. Things are moving along, we're psyched and to cap it there will be Mackies arriving on Tuesday with a 5'10 flextail that will be up for grabs.