Topics

1

Gear Talk / Rethinking Quad

« on: August 26, 2022, 10:13:18 PM »

Our surf here in Okinawa Japan is so different day to day, that it's really hard to do a back to back comparison on fins, unless you're willing to drag out and change fins while in the water. Even then, with a 6' tide swing, the wave shape changes drastically within the space of an hour.

What I have settled on with SUP is how much I hate quads compared to thruster...but I have this one board...

Where the forward fins are so wide, that it likes to slide more than rail turn. It's sooooo annoying. Like when jamming a hard backside cut back it seems the board wants to stay flat instead of going way over on the rail, causing the fins to slip.

So I was thinking maybe it just needs more fin on the rail...aaaand back to a quad. For three days in similar conditions, I've surfed it with Futures F6 fronts and QD3.75 rears. While this makes the board a rocket, and goes top to bottom very well, foot steers insanely good, hard on that rail, and it still wants to slip.

Today looks to be more of the same conditions, so I'm swapping for the QD4.0 rear fins, which are still small, but substantially larger.

Pics are the fin comparison, front spread, rear spread.

Just a possible interesting exercise in futility.


Will report back 


 

2

Sessions / Groundhog Days

« on: September 22, 2021, 12:15:24 AM »

The next day. About the same size, but a little more glass and back to the kook cam :-)

To be honest, I only hate the small days because I think they make for videos people probably won't want to watch. I actually love surfing these small days, catch so many waves it's ridiculous, and have the time of my life. Blessed to live somewhere so beautiful 

Seriously better to watch in 1080 on a screen bigger than the imbedded player.

3

Sessions / September Blues

« on: September 20, 2021, 06:19:30 PM »

Been a while since I did any video. Summer's been slow with only two real typhoons, when we should have 20+ named storms. Took the camera out and did a little with the normal bump we get out of the Pacific. My main spot near the house. Got into kind of a funk for a while, but surfing four days this week and probably today too, might be coming to a close 

4

Sessions / Okinawa Remote Point Break

« on: February 07, 2021, 05:25:51 PM »

Sun is back out. I get so many comments about the stupid mask, it's ridiculous. Before all this covid BS, people simply assumed (rightly) it's for the sun. Now they automatically assume it's for covid...when you're out in the water...surfing...alone... Like the whole world went and caught a case of the stupid. Skin cancer is real. Have to deal with it all the time now, because the first 3 decades surfing, I was dumb. I'm still dumb, but smarter about four hours on the ocean at UV index 7 in February /rant

So anyway, this is a remote point break. 20 minute paddle by SUP. Only left. It gets big and nasty. Super shallow. When it's overhead, it'll drain, and half the wave turns into the lip. When it gets really big, think Teahupo'o with a pinch of Ship Sterns. This break hates people, and loves human flesh. Today is head to a little bit overhead on the peak we're riding. Probably close to double at the point, but that's above my paygrade on a SUP    Even on a smaller day like today, it's constantly shifting, and shape changing as it moves across the reef. To surf it well, you have to be able to read the reef and water pretty well.

Board is the Blue Planet Pocket Knife at 8'8"x29"x116L with Futures F6 Honeycomb fins set up as a thruster.

5

Sessions / November Finally Glasses Off

« on: November 20, 2020, 05:38:18 PM »

After weeks of brutal wind, it finally turned off. Last week I surfed a local "soft bottom" spot at 15-20kts onshore, five days in a row out of desperation.

About 1 mile out, this reef has a gradual sloping bottom for a soft, deep water peak. So really easy to get in at this size, but when it comes up on the inner reef, it goes shallow really quick, and can turn into a bottom pounding slab you need to be ready for. Unfortunately, the swell was straight east, making for a lot of close outs. When it runs NE or SE, it can really fire.

Didn't get many good clips, as I was really struggling with wave selection, hurt back, learning a new board, and the damn camera...LOL

Blue Planet NP9 9'x27.5"x105L with Futures F6 Honeycomb thruster.

6

SUP General / October Okinawa West Side Outer Reef

« on: October 25, 2020, 11:33:31 PM »

Short video from yesterday. Dying swell on the west side, so we decided to hit an outer reef that no one goes to because it's a pretty far paddle. Grabs more of the swell though. North side of the reef was bombing, but dangerous (draining almost dry) and on-shore wind, so we stuck to the more south-west side. No real shots of the sets because I'm not patient enough to just sit and wait with the camera...LOL 

Tried some different stuff with the paddle camera, trying to look back and be able to see the lip behind you, but that's awful hard to do when it's steep enough that you are grabbing the rail. Thinking about holding the camera in the right spot, trying to keep the nose of a 10' board out of the water when the board won't even fit into the shape of the wave, and on and on. So as I suspected, paddle cam works best in chase (behind), which is good, as that's where it's most comfortable to keep the paddle, even if you can't really see the wave. Was being pretty conservative with what I took with the camera, as I was pretty focused on the camera and not what I was doing    The whole video thing has been really interesting and eye opening.

Brought the 10' board because I thought we'd be surfing the smaller inside breaks. Makes that long paddle a breeze, though! Blue Planet NP10 in standard lay-up, 10'x28"x128L with Futures F6 Alpha side fins, and a Blue Planet carbon honeycomb center (4.72" depth x 4.33" base).

Question: Do people prefer the talking and stuff, or should the videos just stick to the surfing?

7

Sessions / The Last of the Tropical Cyclone #12 Back Swell

« on: September 27, 2020, 06:32:04 AM »

The last of the back swell from Tropical Cyclone #12. This thing gave us many days of good waves. Sunday late afternoon runners. More experimenting with the paddle cam, and some slow motion. Shot at 1080P/60 and slowed in places to .400.

Youtube video is slowed down. The Instagram version is at full speed.

Board is a Blue Planet Pocket Knife 8'8"x29"x116L with Futures F6 Honeycomb fins set up as a thruster.

8

Sessions / Paddle Cam

« on: September 07, 2020, 04:01:47 AM »

So this was a new and frustrating experience...

Tried the camera in different places, and holding the paddle different ways. Some people do it pretty well, but for me, I found it pretty frustrating. Other than on the toe side as a trailing cam dropping in or pulling into the barrel, the paddle just ended up as a big camera stick, and surfing the board "normal"  Using the paddle for more aggressive surfing just made me motion sick when reviewing the footage. DID NOT like the weight of the camera on the end of the paddle. That took some getting used to!

Like 40 clips today, and these were the best.

Last of the swell from Typhoon Haishen on the east side. Picked a little smaller peak, as I was pretty much doing "research" with the camera.

Board is the Blue Planet Carbon NP10 with Futures F6 Alpha side fins and a Blue Planet 4.6" honeycomb center. Amazing how well this board surfs without using the paddle...LOL

9

Sessions / Typhoon #10 (Haishen)

« on: September 05, 2020, 03:01:49 AM »

A short Insta clip from Thursday with no wind and the first front-runners arriving. Then some pics and a short clip from today. Swell today is running 18' at 17". This hits the outside reef where we were, but it's too windy to surf out there (third reef), not that I would, anyway...LOL  Then it reforms and bends into where we surf it, usually 12-15 feet on the face in the peak. You have to really pick the wave, but you can catch that on a chip, where it will break a little, and get you into it. The it ledges out on the inside bowl, and slabs if the tide is right, usually around 10-12 feet on the face. Pretty bumpy, but super fun. 

Hate how the GoPro makes everything seem small... First pic (POV) is the same wave and same time as the fourth pic (from shore).

Super fun, and caught a lot of waves this day. Surfed six hours on Thursday, six hours on Friday, and then four hours in the heavier stuff this morning. Legs are DONE! Board is the Blue Planet All Good with Futures GL2 thruster, and Mink System diffusers. Board was a little wide, and on hard turns at serious speed, I found myself wanting my Ninja Warrior or Pocket Knife.

   

10

Sessions / The Streak Continues

« on: July 25, 2020, 08:56:38 PM »

The first time in recorded history that we will have no typhoons before August 1. Still, the normal pulse of the Pacific keeps the spirits up. Too bad it's not quite big enough to sneak under the lip. Won't keep me from trying, though 

Blue Planet carbon NP10 with Futures F6 Alpha bites, and a Blue Planet 4.6" Honeycomb center fin. Love this board, even though it's not much use under the lip.

11

Sessions / July Dawn Patrol

« on: July 23, 2020, 02:27:57 AM »

This summer has been ridiculous. Our area of the Pacific averages 26 Typhoons per year, and here we are at the end of July, and I think there was one...months ago...when it's usually way to early for storms. So our small wave streak continues. It's been that waist to shoulder pulse from the Ocean all summer, with a few head-high days. Even then, I'm grateful that we have something to surf almost 365.

Smokin' sunrise this morning. Out at a local (to me) outer reef break. Joined by about five surfer friends this morning. They have a little boat that makes the commute easier for them :-)  Board is a Blue Planet Pocket Knife 8'8"x29"x116L with Futures F6 honeycomb thruster fin setup. Wrong board this morning. I thought it was going to be bigger, and more hollow, so I brought this board and the Pocket Friend 8'2"x28"x100L. These are sick boards in hollow waves, with the pulled in nose, and rocker template, but the All Good, with it's much wider nose comes up on plane, and glides in the fat sections much better. Currently have a 9 board quiver (soon going up to 12 boards), and I always manage to grab the least optimal one... 

12

The Shape Shack / Built Like a Brick

« on: July 12, 2020, 09:43:09 PM »

School me on why we don't build a SUP with a basic layup sort of like what a surfboard has?

What would the problem be with using something like a more dense EPS in the middle of the range, and not the low-density, light weight stuff you see in many boards, and then just doing a heavier glass job like 6oz. on the bottom and two 6oz. on the top, with some reinforcement in the standing area? Other than wanting the board to last forever, why add the wood veneer or PVC in a sandwich? 

On the surface it seems like standard glass over a more dense foam would make for a livelier board (yet to surf a SUP like this). The sandwich boards I've surfed are tough, but don't' "feel" right. I guess my question is other than just making the board tough, why don't we see boards with a traditional layup, only a little thicker?

Thanks for your thought.

13

Sessions / Spring Blues

« on: June 28, 2020, 06:26:12 AM »

This spring has been a struggle, with small waves, lots of wind, and usually a bad wind direction. Short clip from today at an outer reef by myself. Wind side-off at 15 gusting 25 kts, but better than not surfing at all ;-)  Lately I'm just using Instagram, as it's a lot easier to do a 1 minute video that doesn't require a bunch of editing.

14

SUP General / Spring Swell is Finally Picking Up

« on: May 04, 2020, 03:56:16 AM »

Just a couple of from-the-nose pics. Sorry. I generally surf alone, and far from where people can take pics from the beach.

The south east swell is late but finally picking up. Was better than 12' faces on the points, but I picked a smaller peak at 6'-8', as I was by myself. Wore my helmet, and wetsuit, even though it's warm enough for trunks. Good thing, as I got absolutely smashed at the three hour mark :-)  It's nice to feel the warm water again, and typhoon season on the horizon.

On the Blue Planet All Good at 8'8"x31"x120L. Futures GL2 thruster and Mink Systems tabs. 

15

Sessions / Couple Offshore Runners

« on: February 24, 2020, 03:13:03 AM »

This spot is just over a mile out (1.7km) from the put in. Has to be light wind, but when it goes, it goes. This day, we knew there was a front coming, and it was still way to shallow to surf an inside break, so we decided to grab a few on the outer reef, and when the wind switched and turned on, paddle in to an inside break. Tide coming up, it was just starting to get a little too deep for the size, and fatten up.

On a headland, the wave comes out of really deep water, jacks up really quick, and will grow much bigger after you commit and start to drop. Challenging to get into the best take off spot, and the couple of POV's I recorded were taken more from the shoulder. Just overhead this day, but it will hold much, much bigger, and turns into a hollow slab akin to many famous drop-barrel-into a deep channel waves. Water is always crystal clear, lots of current on the outside, and lots of big fish. The one and only time I've seen a Great White Shark (3 meters) was less than a kilometer from here. One of the spots I used to take my sea kayak to when I left the lineup, and started surfing by myself. SUP makes it much more enjoyable, and you will never find another surfer here unless you bring them ;-)

I've decided to mostly stick to 60 second clips on Instagram. With my poor recording and editing skills and short attention spans, it feels like the right thing for now 

Thanks for watching!  Blue Planet All Good 8'8"x32"x120L. Quad with Futures GL2 forward fins, and Futures QD2 3.75 rears.