Messages

151

SUP General / Re: The World's Sexiest Sup

« on: November 10, 2019, 05:55:24 AM »

Sweet edit, great waves, and good surfing!

Thanks for sharing. What I wouldn't give for some long shoulders like that...

152

Gear Talk / Re: Longboard SUP Advice

« on: November 09, 2019, 03:57:53 AM »

All of the name brands with a longboard in their lineup should have an excellent board. In addition to the Blue Planet stuff, I've also ridden an Infinity New Deal 10'x27", Sunova Style 9'6"x29", Starboard Longboard 10'0" in Starlite, and a few others. All excellent boards in their own right, some feel better than others, heavier or lighter, but they all surf excellent, so it really comes down to how much you want to spend.


With the money you're looking to spend, you're not going to find a high quality carbon board like the Infinity New Deal. At least not in regular sales of new boards. Not even the Blue Planet carbon boards are in that range. I surf three to five times per week, and beat boards to death. While not immune to abuse, the Blue Planet performance boards in glass layup are very tough. Carbon boards are a few pounds lighter, but not really "tougher." My favorite board is the NP10. I surf it from ankle-high (see my most recent video) to just overhead, draining and super hollow slabbing reef break. I surf it as a quad with Futures F6 Honeycomb quad fins, and the rears replaced with QD2 3.75's in place of the standard QD2 4.0's, but I don't really surf it as a longboard much. I surf it from the middle to the back, and more carves/floaters/snaps than anything. I love this board so much, I ordered another one in carbon. If you're looking for something shorter, they still have the 2019 NP9's, but at 105 liters it might be tough to paddle for some people. I also have one of those on order for December. It's not listed on the site, but you can call them. If you want more volume, the 9'x29"x138L Nose walker might be a good option. Lastly, most of their 2019 boards are on sale right now, the price on the site is well within your range (for glass layup), all of the boards come with a bag, and they offer free shipping to the nearest major US airport. 


Full disclosure that I'm a Blue Planet team rider...and might be a little biased ;-)  but I'm a true believer in the quality and performance of their boards, as well as the business model and customer service. Outside of smashing them into rocks, the reef, and other boards, I've yet to have a quality issue. I even destroyed a GL2 fin ($140 set)  the other day by hitting a rock, and it didn't damage the board or fin box. 

153

Sessions / Home Runners

« on: November 08, 2019, 11:36:06 PM »

Some knee to waist high runners at one of my "home" breaks. A spot about 10 minutes from my house. Small but super fun. Caught more than thirty waves this day. Glassy and knee high until a cold front passed over, wind switching to north and side-onshore, but picking up the size to waist.

There's a narrow opening (window) to the bay, so it takes an east to northeast swell to make it in to this spot. When it breaks, 90% of the time, it's onshore and sloppy, but a few times a year, it breaks super clean, and on the right typhoon swell, it'll hold 3+ meter faces, wind turns offshore, and it's magic. This area is one of the best beginner spots on the island. Modern swell predictors don't do a good job of telling when it's up, you just have to be dialed in to how it works. So I get a lot of days here by myself, especially since switching to SUP, as you can have so much fin on waves you can't even ride on a shortboard. Third day at this spot this week, and only had one day with another SUP, and another day with a friend on a surf ski that showed up. 

Shot 100% in POV with GoPro bite mount. Not ready to start adding music, so enjoy the wind and breathing noises... ;-)

Board is a Blue Planet NP10 at 10'0"x28"x128L. I love this board so much, I just ordered a carbon one ;-)

154

Gear Talk / Re: Longboard SUP Advice

« on: November 08, 2019, 07:28:42 PM »

I like to say positive things about the things that work vs. negative about the things that don't. The following will feel weird for me to write, as you don't normally see negative things written here, but my experience with the 9'0" Carbon Classic is such that spelling it out might save you some money. I don't believe they're a Zone sponsor, and hope I'm not breaking rules, so here goes...

Late July 2017 was the first time I ever stood on a SUP. Lifetime surfer, but knew zero about the SUP game or market. Bought a race board and paddled/surfed that. Soon realized I was hooked and needed a more surfable board. Bought a local branded junker 10' board because it was a 2+1, and would definitely surf better than the 12'6" race board. It did, but I soon found that it wasn't very good as far as surf SUP's go... Still didn't know squat about the different brands out there, but a friend had a Focus Torpedo he liked. So I found the Carbon Classic online. "Name brand," carbon, less than glass layup price...or so I thought. Bought two, one for me and one for a friend, and saved on freight to Japan. Great customer service.

The Carbon Classic has a great shape. Pretty stable, gets in very easy, and rips. That said, when the boards arrived, the volume listed on the board was 116L and not the 121L listed on the site. It's actually around 116L, and you can feel it. Board is super light, which should have been a red flag about the layup.

Like I said, it surfs great, and a great shape, but a carbon board for $1,200?? You get what you pay for.

Problem #1: It's normal to have pinholes in epoxy, but not that go through all of the layers, including the paint, and more than a couple. The layup was so thin, pinholes around the nose and tail were leaking saltwater as soon as the board hits the sun after a surf on both boards.

Problem #2: The rails in the tail were way over-sanded on both boards to the point where the paint was all that was sealing it...and soon started leaking. Once I found it, I was able to push my fingernail right through the rail.

Problem #3: Super fragile board that soon developed cracks, leaks, and delam where you put your hands to stand up.

Problem #4: The handle, being the type where you can hook your fingers into, is two-piece plastic which is glued together. A requirement for a mold with that type of grip, and not a problem if it's done right. Lots of manufactures use this type of handle. Both boards, the handle wasn't glued correctly, and started leaking...a lot. To "fix" this, I pumped polyurethane sealant into all of the corners inside the handle.

Problem #5: Not too long after fixing the leaking handle, the area under the deck pad, and around the handle started leaking. Cracking around the handle. Again, both boards. 

Problem #5: Around both leash plugs was leaking, both boards. 


Every issue surrounds a thin (lack of materials), weak layup. Not trying to direct you to any given brand, but if you go to the Blue Planet website, scroll to the bottom and there's a section on board layup. It shows the reinforcement around things like the handle, leash plugs, fins, extra glass and carbon layers in the highly stressed areas, etc. Any of the quality name-brand boards out there are going to be built along these lines, and last for may years.


Cheap price, cheap build. All of the above happened in under a year of owning these boards. This isn't to "bag" on the Carbon Classic. It's a performance carbon board for way less than a carbon board costs. It's my fault for not doing more research, and knowing that that price was way too cheap for a carbon board. I own eight SUP's now, and have four new boards coming in late December. The Carbon Classic is no longer in my quiver because I like to spend my time surfing and not working on boards.

My advice would be to keep shopping.

155

SUP General / Re: Surf Park Long Island, NY

« on: October 28, 2019, 11:00:40 PM »

Last I read, the "Slater" machine cost $11,000 per day to operate, including staff. They rent somewhere near $50,000 per day.

Even at cost, how many waves does $11,000 buy someone?

Personally, even the idea of wave machines for surfers just seems silly. 

156

Sessions / Re: An Inconvenient Sunset

« on: October 26, 2019, 08:19:06 PM »

Thanks TD. I bought a paddle mount and have been playing with it. Not happy with the results so far. The bite mount and kook helmet mount are working better, though. Hardest thing about the bite mount was just learning to ignore the camera. I surf so much better without the camera...when I know it's on, it's like I try to hard and fall off a lot LOL. Just doesn't flow right. Getting better, though.

157

Sessions / An Inconvenient Sunset

« on: October 26, 2019, 06:05:25 PM »

Truth be told...there are no more secret spots, only inconvenient spots. Meaning that some spots are more inconvenient to get to than others, making them less crowded. Being able to easily get to more inconvenient breaks is one of the major appeals of SUP surfing.

Late PM session with one other surfer. We traded waves for about an hour, and then he left, leaving it to me for about another hour. Outside reefs are booming with swell from the northeast, but the wind beats most close places up. There are really good spots up north, and although most likely epic, I don't like to drive two hours for a couple of hours at dusk (yea, spoiled, I know). This spot faces south-southeast, so the swell has to turn better than 90° to get in. With only a 10 second period, it looses quite a bit of size, and all of it's power. Head-high on the largest set waves, but mostly chest to shoulder, and only good for a top turn or two, finishing with a cut back. When this spot lines up, it really fires with a big, hollow, long left. We surfed the outer reefs the day before yesterday, and the day before that, and then this spot yesterday. My legs are so beat up, I can feel them give on a hard bottom turn or cut back.

Feeling more comfortable with the camera, and will soon start taking it out on more critical days. It's more distracting than people realize, and can lead to mistakes in waves of consequence...so I leave it in the car on heavier days, but that will change soon as I feel more and more comfortable on the SUP in heavier surf.  Filming surfing seems to be the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's been a blast! I experimented with 120fps on a couple of clips, and while you can really slow a shot down (nothing under .400 in this video), the stabilization drops from Hyper-smooth to normal, and it starts to look a little jerky vs. keeping the frame centered. A couple of POV shots I like, and I think I'm getting better at that, so will run more with it in the future. 

Board is a Blue Planet Ninja Warrior at 8'10"x29"x116L.

Thanks for watching.

158

Gear Talk / Re: New Blue Planet 'All Good'

« on: October 25, 2019, 04:48:30 AM »

This was a great review. An All Goodwill be joining my quiver this December, along with two other new boards. The All Good specifically for the more choppy days.

159

SUP General / Re: New Airline Policy.

« on: October 12, 2019, 08:05:01 PM »

126" seems to be the universal standard for maximum length. Even standard air freight is only up to that length. I was told it's a "cargo door" thing, but whatever... There are air freight ways to ship big items, but not for mere mortals. It costs me about $500 for a board for air freight out of HI, $600 for two boards, etc., but a 14' board is $700 by ocean freight.

160

Sessions / Re: Typhoon #19 (Hagibis)

« on: October 12, 2019, 05:57:37 AM »

I don't know how this clip didn't make the video... It's the custom video thumbnail, but the wave got cut. Anyway, it goes to show how you never know what you're paddling into at this spot. Some are gentle crumblers with no shoulder, and the next one might be this. Size can even be the same, just some have a lot more energy.

Yes, I'm working on breaking the paddle in the outside hand habit. I'm so used to putting my hand on the wave when I think there might be a barrel, and doing doughnuts with the paddle on the inside when it gets caught and goes around with the lip, that this became a habit. Consciously working on it...

161

Sessions / Typhoon #19 (Hagibis)

« on: October 12, 2019, 05:14:50 AM »

Typhoon #19 (Hagibis) has been in town for a few days. Was a Cat-5 storm, and providing lots of good waves in more sheltered spots. Outer reefs are maxing out and not surfable. Today was the third day I surfed this spot, video is from Friday, later in the day. This morning on an ebbing tide, it was a little bigger than this video, top-to-bottom, and a shoulder that holds through the deep spot. Of course it was pretty dark when we started the paddle out, and thinking conditions would be worse than the day before, I left the camera in the car...of course... The opening to the bay is narrow, the swell has to turn almost 90°, so with an ebbing tide, the outflow is around a knot, which really kills the push. The window the storm has to be in is so narrow, it goes from maxing to flat in 12 hours. Completely flat this evening, even though outside reefs are still huge.

The spot in this video has 3 reefs; inner, second, and third. Third reef is the outside one breaking in the beginning of the video, followed by a shot of the second reef (SUPer caught inside). Third breaks pretty big, and is surfable. I've seen it break up to a 30' face, with long, barreling lefts. Second reef, where we were surfing on this afternoon, was around 10'-12' faces on the largest sets. This spot only breaks on a big typhoon swell with a long period (4 meters at 13 seconds this day), as it really has to bend to get in to the spot. This also means there's lots of wind, making the third reef outside of my paddling-in-standing-up ability...not that you'll ever catch me charging stuff that big, but this day was within size "limits"  :-)   

Tide this session was around 5:30PM, on the flood, and really deep, making the wave "soft" on the shoulder, so it has a good take off, but empties into a deep section pretty quickly. It's best on flood, around mid-tide, where the barrels are gaping, predictable, the shoulder holds up, and you can make it through the deep section and into the first reef section where it really fires. It's a tide balancing act, as the outer wave needs less water, but if there's not enough, it'll go dry on the inside section. Very narrow window to catch it just right.

As always, apologies for poor camera abilities, and not filming during the best of the best. When a bigger wave is approaching, I often ignore the camera...but I'm getting better. Lots of wind and chop making for some herky-jerky not-so-stylish surfing, but still loads of fun. Getting much better at paddling in the wind and chop. Hope you enjoy.

Board I'm riding is a Blue Planet Ninja Warrior (8'10"x29"x116L) with Futures GL2 quad, and Adam (tan color SUP) is on a Blue Planet Pocket Knife (8'8"x29"x116L) with Futures GL2 thruster.

162

Gear Talk / Fin Fit

« on: October 09, 2019, 04:53:10 AM »

Coming from the era of glass-on fins, sloppy fin fit bothers the hell out of me. The small amount of play you can get in a Futures box probably makes no performance difference, and I see people just snap the FCS II fins in without using the screws at all...but... 

I'll add aluminum body tape until you have to push the fin in, and there's no side clearance before tightening down the screws. The tape is malleable enough that it "conforms" to the box, but won't wear out over time, like regular painters tape will. I've found that with actual Futures fins, it only takes one strip (0.005") to close the gap, but some aftermarket "Amazon" fins take up to 3 layers (0.015"). When I find fins that work, they go in the board for good. A real Futures fin will tighten in pretty well if you crank down on the screw, but will loosen up over time, as the fin rocks against the screw, requiring tightening the screw again. Using aluminum tape, I don't need to crank down on the set screws to get the fin tight, just enough that you see the fin move down and seat.

I wonder how many other people out there are obsessive as me about fin fit... Some days it's ridiculous...LOL


   

163

Sessions / Re: Opening day

« on: October 08, 2019, 05:10:50 PM »

Great pics J!

164

SUP General / Re: Soul SUP'n

« on: October 06, 2019, 07:37:47 PM »

Sweet deal Creek. There's a spot in southeast mainland Japan that breaks just like that. Never anyone out. As soon as I get about two weeks with nothing to do, I'm headed that way!

165

Sessions / Re: Some Backside before Breakfast

« on: October 06, 2019, 07:30:09 PM »

Board is a Blue Planet NP10 nose rider with Futures F6 quad fins, QD2 3.75's in the trailing slots.

As always, I enjoy watching your videos. And I really like the technical "details" above which you provide.

Thanks for sharing your videos.

Thanks. I think it makes it a little more interesting than just some guy riding waves.

Good stuff Oki. We just had a swell roll through. The lefts were way faster and didn't close out. It was good to just go backside for a whole session. I'm still getting used to my new board, so it was nice to work out my foot work going backside over and over. It must be nice not having to deal with Gale Force winds and paddling into waves from your knees? Thanks for sharing the stoke as always. As for the slump, a new shorter but wider tail board might be the ticket my friend. 

Thanks TD. I'm getting two new boards in December, and a shorter and wider one for the choppy days is definitely on the radar.