Last day of holidays...

 

The waves (though small) have been really inviting over the past few days. Tomorrow will be the last chance to steal and early session before going back to work on tuesday and I'm using this for some extra motivation!

A quiet week away...

Managed to get a few nice snaps over the last week while enjoying a restful holiday with Hannah. If only I had the camera at Crescent last week when it was peeling :(

Critical Cresent Weekend

Managed to jag another clean session at Scotts and Cresent last weekend. Things got a bit sketchy on the log as the swell built but I managed to sneak a few in before I dragged the simmons out of the wagon.



2012 has been an extremely busy time and unfortunately I have neglected the old blog. Here's a few shots taken recently in the beautiful autumn conditions we have been experiencing here in Newcastle...

PH

The long and the short of it...

Once upon a time, an ambitious young surfer named Pistol took out his recently modified longboard for a couple of slides at Dixon Park. The board was a vicious mongrel that refused to lock into the pocket when noseriding and turned like a partly filled coal loader.

Suddenly, young Pistol gave it a bit too much on a cut back and 'BANG', out snapped the fin! On his return to the beach cottage, Pistol decided something drastic had to be done.



 Without a moments hesitation, the courageous Pistol summonsed a saw and began to operate on the damaged board. It brought him great sorrow to see a valued member of his quiver in distress...



After a good hour on the saw, young Pistol had made a right mess of the backyard, twice filling the rancid wheelie bin with old fibreglass and bits of foam...

Realising the scale of the operation ahead oh him, our hero began to wonder if he had bitten off more than he could chew this time. The blank he had in front of him was barely over five foot and presented him with challenges well beyond his skill on the power plane. Despite this, he rambled on towards what he hoped could be a good board and after many hours in the shed, he emerged with a blank that had many intrigued .

With the confidence of a lonely bull, our hero pushed on glassing, sanding and polishing until his fingers tingled from the hours spent on the orbital sander.





And at last he created something he could ride again. Like a Phoenix, the "Mini Hull" was born out of the ashes of "the boss", ready to conquer the mediocre Novicastrian beachbreaks and shore dumpers.

Fishy's new lad...

This is the new look fish stick.Probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of making your own board with your mates is watching as each board looks and feels more professional. Dale's really getting into the swing of it and with the collective experience of Swanny and I, we've started to discover all the little tricks save you time, sanding and money. I'll put up some more shots up when he gets some glass on it!

the sunday walk...

The best way to start another week. Cowrie hole a.m

Ph



An anxious wait!

Fishy and I have been anxiously awaiting the re-opening of the fibreglass shop so we can glass our boards. In retrospect, we really should have bought the supplies before Christmas as we've been sitting around watching the cricket for the last couple of days.

I'll get some shots of Fishy's new stick in the next couple of days but here's my new midlength log, shaped and painted. I used my Thomas stepdeck to get some ideas on the final shape and I'm hoping it will get me up for some serious tip time in the coming autum months.

I also thought I'd chuck in a few photos from home I took over Chrissy. Nothing like stalking some local wildlife.
Ph

Fish Fish the second...

A few months ago Fishy knocked out his second fish. Up until today I forgot to upload a shot of it onto the blog.

As you can see from the photo, it's a nuggety little 5'4" quad fin with hardwood keels. After some extensive testing he came to the conclusion it would perform better as a twinny and has since lopped off the additional fins.

From all accounts it's still a loose little brute but a hell of a lot of fun in the shories that have been breaking along the stretch over the past few weeks!

A merry Christmas

Santa really knew what to bring this year. Something to keep me occupied until school goes back!