Little Black Wheels is here!

Well done the Post Office, a parcel of cinematic goodness arrived from Australia quickly and intact. Now in stock, DVD copies of Mick Waters' 'Little Black Wheels'. It's a lovely film, a paen to road trips and sun and family and good surf. Mick put the pregnant missus, the toddler and the dog in a camper and went wandering the Australian coast for some months. Naturally he ran into all sorts of fine surfers- Dain Thomas, Mick Hughes, Danny Wills, Rasta and of course Johnny Abegg amongst many others- and documented it all. There are beards and alternative surfcraft, but the film is the better for them. It's limited to 1000 copies and so is signed and numbered, and comes in a nice digipack for $25, shipping inclued. Mick being the generous and cheerful guy he is has also sent CD copies of the Orange Bird EP so you get a free one with every DVD. There's also a few 'Believe' T-shirts, all in this nice sky blue, which are also $25 shipping included, or $20 if you buy one with the DVD. Awesome. To order or ask questions, just email inf0 @ foamandfunction.com.

Photo by Dean Dampney

Some weeks ago I ran a photo I thought was taken by Mick Mackie, but was in fact from Dean Dampney, a central NSW photographer who let me know the photo was his, and steered me towards his website and his other work. It was one of those fortuitous mistakes as his other photos are, like one I poached, really good. Here's a few more and the site is definitely worth looking at, he has a lovely clean black & white aesthetic going on and some great material to shoot. Once again I am thankful for the wonders the internet shares with us.

So Much Quality...

All images via Mackie, and that's him putting a flextail into a very tidy turn in the first image. Much goodness on it's way from the remnants of the British Empire, ostensibly for Sacred Craft but it will all be displayed for sale here too. There's been waves here too which is a bit of a capper to it all. If I can squeeze a couple more sessions out of this swell combo I'll be well pleased.

Sacred Craft, Ekstrom, Mackie & More...

It's Sacred Craft Surfboard Show time again, October 8 & 9 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Not only is Carl Ekstrom this year's honoree but he's kindly offered up a spot in his booth for us to display our wares. Not only will Carl undoubtedly have some exceptional boards but there will be books, there will be shirts, there will be films and there will be some surfboards from Mick Mackie for people to check out and buy should they desire. The above HP Sidecut fish will be there- 6' x 20" x 2 5/8" of handshaped EPS joy for only $800. There will also hopefully be a few bonus items from our friends across the pond in the UK, but more on that as it gets sorted out. It'll be a fun show definitely. We're even expecting a one man Australian contingent and he usually brings swell so here's hoping....

Little Black Wheels

After a bit of time due to Mick being a man on the move, we've finally got this sorted out. Copies of 'Little Black Wheels' will be available in the US very soon, as soon as the post office get them here in fact. It's a lovely film, I'll let you know prices as soon as we sort them out.

A little more Derek Hynd

Yes, that board did fly once he was done with it. Some lovely philosophizing from Derek as well as a few outrageous speed runs. I love the floater 360s too. Again, thanks to the Surfer's Journal for making this available.

No Fins Good

A bit more Kidman, this time filming mad bastard Derek Hynd knocking the fins of a channeled asym with one of the better surf video soundtracks ever. More Harry Partch than Kraftwork I'd say Derek. This thing will be interesting in the water for sure. Video courtesy of the Surfer's Journal site, which is predictably good as always.

Three Fins Good

Kidman, at North Narra on the 6'6" thruster Simon Anderson shaped him. It's based on THE board, the one Simon won Bells on in '81. (The one with the blue deck on the left.) So many layers of stuff going on there it's amazing, and Andrew still manages to lay a decent turn down.

The September of Australians

Ah the Aussies- they talk funny, they drink all your beer and they've been scoring all the good surf of late. At least they haven't been letting it go to waste, and they've been very good indeed about sharing the documentation. The inbox is full of image files so it'll be a decidedly aussie-centric month. Mick Mackie has been extra good with the high grade material, there will undoubtedly be a post a week involving him, so why not start there? Couple of sleek looking fish, very tidy stub with volan inlay, an exotic flex experiment- this stuff is golden, and we're just getting started. Go see Steiny tonight if you're in San Francisco.

And immediately the Australians are sorting me- that top photo is in fact by Dean Dampney. Entirely my fault, I plucked it from batch Mick sent and figured it was one of his. This is why you ask these things. I liked it well enough to use it first, and after checking Dean's website Submerge I can at least say I've got good taste- his photos are pretty amazing and worth a look. Sorry Dean, but feel free to share a few more- we'll give you full credit for here on.

Garage Sale Steiny

Central Cal. charmer and all round legend Steiny is part of the Garage Sale Project. That means if you're anywhere near San Francisco this weekend you can score a fine addition to your art collection (or better yet, start an art collection) at a very reasonable price by going to between 730 & 740 San Jose St, SF CA 94110 on Friday (7-10pm) or Saturday (12-4). There will be photos and the like for sale, and Steiny will be the tall well dressed chap with the good stories. Do say hello to him.

boards & waves

Waves courtesy of Ben who lives in Western Australia and boards courtesy of Ryan Burch who lives in some sort of weird future apparently. There were some waves here today, quite big ones at times too. Usual story, the points were a circus and the beachies mostly closing out. Unfortunately it looked better than it was, there were some corners off of head high waves, but there was a lot of water moving around so being in the right place at the right time was not easy, and the occasional sets of well over head high stuff kept you on your toes. Finally gambled too long and there was the set that was inescapable so some cartwheels were done and I called it a day. After weeks of soft, blown out 2 footers this was almost fun, and in a few days when it backs down a bit it will be fun for sure.

Normal Transmission Is Resumed

Boards and waves time. This week there weren't really waves to speak of (again) but a jaunt to Ninelights Surfboards headquarters was made. A project was dropped off (more soon) and the amazing compsand modtwin was walked off with. Waves are coming supposedly, but I didn't mention that to Jeff as I strolled out with his handiwork.


From Mackie, a nice little peak and a shiny stunner of a classic sidecut fish.

Tomo, getting utterly mat barreled. If you'd like one of his mats, let us know- $195, shipping included to wherever you are. email info @ foamandfunction.com and we'll sort it out.

From another matter- somewhere on the hurricane coast last year. Hope you're all hanging in there OK Jamie

And there you go, boards, waves and some bonus mats. We try to deliver on promises.

Image Free

It's been a long day and it involved a complete lack of swell, very large Nigerians, outrageously beautiful Hyderabadi's, Lebanese Arak and 3 Weber grills amongst other things. I promise there will be a post of awesome waves and jaw dropping boards within 48 hours, but for now I bring you simple genius. Go here to vote for Mick Waters' segment featuring Dave Rastovich in the Innersection thing. Mainstream surf movies need more of this. Go here for Jamie Brisick, New Orleans and the One Minute Disco- this is truly fabulous stuff. Thank you for looking, you people are great.

wood & foam

The boards we like are definitely all from the more unusual end of surfcraft, but not all of them are hi-tech or high end. Case in point, Kevin at December Snowskates has been building what look like some very fun rides. His initial experiments involved spray foam and a couple of sheets of ply and rode well apparently. He's stepped up the game to real foam and ply and we await test reports. Homemade ingenuity at it's best here.

Oska

I'm going north for a couple of days, no surf but some surf related business might get done along with a bit of relaxing. In the meantime, here's Ozzy Wright being one of the most watchable surfers around today.

Wood

Meanwhile, on the shores of good old Blighty, they have waves and are tearing it up on some truly old school sleds even as the Squire is knocking out some 21st century versions. World Bellyboard Champs are coming up- how much fun would a surf contest that features a cake bake-off be? This is all absolutely non corporate and quite fantastic surf frolics, and we hope to have offer a few gems from Revolver available here in the USA very soon.

Merch

A few summer treats for those that may want them. Of course the mighty Ether book, and posed seductively on the December Snowskates board ($239) you have from left to right: Point Never zine ($5), 'Thread' book ($30 signed by Trefz), 'Jay Boy' book ($20) and the Johnny Abegg "___" dvd ($30 as zine, $50 as spiralbound book). All perfect ways to while away a bit of the summer (or winter for our Southern Hemisphere compatriots). Shipping is included in the price, email info @ foamandfunction to order or ask questions.

Rastovich & Waters

Lovely- our friend Mick Waters (who made 'Believe' and 'Little Black Wheels', two films you should own) has done a clip for the Taylor Steele 'Innersections' thing. Rasta riding all manner of stuff with outrageous style. You can check it out by following this link- http://innersection.tv/video/379 and please feel free to sign up and vote for it- as with Trefz's clip it's fantastic to see something 'alternative' make it into a mainstream film deal. I'd also like to point out that apparently the reason we have no waves is because the Australians have been taking them all- at least take some of our onshores as well you jaffle eating bastards.

surf rides

Admittedly for most of us the ride to the beach is probably along the lines of a 10 year old Corolla with a missing hubcap, or at best something in the 'modern, reliable and a bit mundane but keeps the significant other happy' range (or a dented black truck if you're me). Still, it can't hurt to dream. The bottom one would be the sort of thing you could do a trip in down the coast of Peru, or Morocco, or some Scandinavian spot, and do it in style. The Bucky Fullermobile might want a bit more forgiving roads, but would look mighty good cruising the Basque country for instance, especially given how many bottles of Patxaran you could stash in the back.