Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: JL Destroyer fin setup

« on: July 19, 2023, 01:29:29 PM »

 I have yet to get my hands on a Destroyer, but have both my JL 8-11 Striker and 8-6 Super Frank set up as quads. Really love them with that set up, though not sure how that would relate to the Destroyer. How about trying it both ways, if you have the fins? Good luck. I'm waiting for waves too (forever).

2

General Discussion / Re: My Shark Story

« on: October 31, 2022, 10:32:27 AM »

I went to find my login information again so I could tell you how moved I was by your beautifully told story, from beginning to end. So clear-eyed and honest about loss, your unimaginable losses. A college friend of mine, coincidentally, sent me your article from the Independent the day after I read it here. (His daughter Maxine plays lacrosse with your daughter, he said.)
I grew up in Santa Barbara (in small-town coastal NE Florida now) so I could picture your paddles, and that shark. And I too lost my wife after almost three years of illness, to an evil brain tumor a few weeks before the world shut down in 2020. Our kids made me go for a freezing cold paddle-surf the next day, but I just kept falling off and screaming curses at the ocean and whatever it is, if anything, that's out there.
Eventually though the ocean again became a place of joy and restoration and just plain dumb fun. Glad you've found that too. Matt.

3

SUP General / Re: Jimmy Lewis Super Frank review

« on: September 17, 2019, 09:34:13 AM »

I mentioned in my original review that the deck pad felt a little slippery but I don't even notice it now (bare feet, warm water). I think it was just an observation in comparison to my older board, which has a thick, super grippy and heavier pad on it. The Super Frank pad definitely feels more minimalist, which suits it, i think.
This morning, thanks to Hurricane Humberto, was my first chance to get some overhead waves on the Super Frank. Lots of fun. Was generally slopey and walled up rather than barreling, and the board did great, even on some late fairly steep drops. Jimmy's site calls the board a SUP groveler - if this is groveling, I'm all for it!

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SUP General / Re: Jimmy Lewis Super Frank review

« on: August 30, 2019, 02:36:36 PM »

gzasinets, JEG: Nice to know it can handle some size and steepness. I kinda figured that. Good to have it confirmed. Thanks.

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SUP General / Re: Jimmy Lewis Super Frank review

« on: August 29, 2019, 03:03:22 PM »

Hard to go wrong with either, I figure. Exact same volume. I love the looks of the Destroyer; seems like a no-brainer fun all-arounder. I think it depends on what other boards you have. The slightly pulled in nose (but still wide point forward) of the Super Frank filled a hole in my 'quiver,' such as it is. But if a Destroyer came waltzing along somehow, I wouldn't hesitate ...

6

SUP General / Jimmy Lewis Super Frank review

« on: August 29, 2019, 08:29:25 AM »

I was lucky enough to pick up an 8-6 X 30.5 Super Frank Lean in the carbon version, lightly used. Initial impressions were well-made and super-light (below 16 pounds?). Set up with stock quad fins. Clean design: mostly white, with orange and yellow sunburst design on back third. Plenty of float for my recent alarming expansion to a stress-related 210-ish pounds (it's slowly on the way down!). The deck pad seemed a little slippery the first day, but I've gotten used to it. I like the ledge at the end of the kickpad.

Finally got the chance to surf it the last couple of days here in North Florida, two early mornings. Neither day had much power. The first was semi-lumpy, chest-head-high lines that closed out eventually. The next day was smaller, waist-high, very clean, super, super soft, no one else out.

The board: It catches anything, easily, as easily as my 10-footer. I think it's that wide point forward. You can slide your front foot up to paddle for our weak waves. But then some sort of strange mojo kicks in and it's like the board surges forward; I easily caught swells I thought I had little chance to make. One time I even gave up on a wave and stopped paddling -- the board just kept going and I caught it!

Once on the wave, even those soft waves, it just wants to play. A lot of my surfing lately has been longboard-style point-and-aim, cross-walk up and back; the Super Frank instead invites -- almost insists -- that you roller-coaster it, top to bottom, and it was so easy to do, even if I don't always have my rear foot as far back as I should. The turns got me through some of the threatened close-out sections, gaining needed speed even in slow waves.

I tried a couple quick cutbacks and it came around in no time. I think it's the light weight that must help. Also tried some cross-stepping, no problem, and got into a nice trim on the front third of the board (my longboard and longboard SUP roots run deep).

In short: An extremely lightweight board that will put a smile on your face, turning uninspiring waves into fun. Can't wait to get it on waves with a little more oomph and some bigger faces to travel across. A new board can change the course of your surfing -- and I think this is one that will do that for me.

Not sure why the pic is sideways, but you get the idea. Now let's get this hurricane out of the way!

7

Random / Re: Electric Surf Vehicles in 2020

« on: August 22, 2019, 09:41:56 AM »

    It'll be fun to watch this unfold. I have a few years before retirement, and would love to have a full EV surf car by then.
   For now I'm super-happy with my commuter beach-to-downtown car, a 2015 Chevy Volt (plug-in hybrid) that goes months between fill-ups. I've driven it a little more than 12K miles and used 69 gallons (most of those on two 750-mile road trips). Overnight charges on the porch and 176 mpg. Love the silent ride -- I hear a muscle car snorting and wheezing next to me and it sounds so prehistoric. Yeah, smugness is a real risk with these things.
    Should put racks on it, but for now the 8-6 fits nicely on the passenger side when the seats are down.

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Sessions / Re: Spring Small Wave Blues

« on: July 12, 2019, 08:55:04 AM »

Fun waves and nice board. Could you do a little mini-review of the Blue Planet? How's it noseride? Thanks.

9

Gear Talk / Re: Longboard Style SUP: Yes, but wich one?

« on: July 05, 2019, 02:19:52 PM »

Add me to the Pearson Arrow longboard fan club. I have the 10-foot Laird, 28 1/2 wide, thin rails ... it's the old Surftech version that I've beaten up until it's unbelievably godawful ugly but still fully functional. Must be 8-9 years old (stumbled onto it used, cheap), but it's the most "surfboard"-like SUP I've ever ridden. Cranks big bottom turns, has great glides, nose-rides like a champ. I think it's those thin rails that are magic.

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SUP General / Re: What does your SUP carrying vehicle look like...?

« on: June 24, 2019, 07:43:17 AM »

My old beach cruiser finally gave out. Turns out duct tape isn't enough to keep it going forever.

11

SUP General / Re: Bummed with North Carolina Surfing

« on: June 20, 2019, 03:37:21 PM »

Zooport, these last few months have been surprisingly weak down in northeast Florida as well. Some of our most fun waves come in March-April-May ... not this year. Perhaps it's just a fluky thing.

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Technique / Re: Cross-Stepping/Noseriding: My Personal Quest

« on: January 23, 2019, 11:56:59 AM »

I've been riding my old Laird 10 x 28.5 with the stock small center fin (5.5?) and a couple of tiny sidebites, which makes for great turning and speed but some perilous times after cross-stepping up on that wide nose (Laird may be able to spin and survive, but I sure can't, at least not on purpose).
After a glorious chest-high, lined-up, soft day out back, only person as far as I could see, I decided I really wanted to get serious about riding the nose.
So I took off the sidebites and stuck in an old Rainbow 9-inch, which was fun but not quite there. So just ordered the Joel Tudor 10-inch no-flex blocky-looking noserider fin, and can't wait to see if it'll turn me into Joel Tudor. Will report back.
I do know, however, that 10-feet and surfy is a magic spot in the world of SUP.

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SUP General / Re: Florence

« on: September 14, 2018, 10:52:29 AM »

We've had six days in a row of good surf here in Jax. Chunky and big Thursday, and chest-head high and clean the other mornings. Tides have been good too.

This morning at the humble beachbreak near my house was the best: Walled-up low-tide glass, block-long rides all the way to the sand, perfect SUP conditions for the local crew. I told them it was like lying in a hammock, being fed chocolates and grapes by the Swedish bikini team.

Dropping quickly this afternoon, but they're predicting a little boost from Helene over the weekend. After a dismal August, it's almost as if we live in a place with real surf ...

14

Gear Talk / Re: Pearson Arrow SUPs

« on: August 30, 2018, 07:49:08 AM »

A while back I picked up a used Surftech version of the 10 X 28.5 X 4 Laird Pearson Arrow (wide nose, pintail, thin rails). It's probably 7 or 8 years old and I still can't believe how fun and responsive it is. They got it right, early on.

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SUP General / Re: What's your favorite sup surfing maneuver?

« on: August 27, 2018, 10:43:33 AM »

It's all great, but it's hard to beat that feeling of a late sideways drop on a wave you have to paddle out to meet. And what Outside said -- paddling over a wave, especially late, and dropping down the back ... it's an adventure.
One time I got a great ride at a right pointbreak, kicked out over the back and then barely made it over the next four or five in the set, looking down into the barrel of each one as I headed for the horizon. That was almost as much fun as riding the wave.