Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Board for all Seasons

As the holidays fade into the rearview and we settle in to some serious winter weather, there are some that refuse to let the gift-giving spirit die.
SF surf enthusiast Sebastian is one such man. His single request after the shaping process: a happy birthday message to his lovely lady to be written on the stringer, then memorialized in fiberglass and resin by the talented hands of Leslie Anderson.
The gift of an 8'2" Broadsword is a romantic one, indeed. With a 4+1 fin setup, round tail, and chocalately cedar stringer (US Blanks has also been in a gift-giving mood with their cedar stringers lately) it's dependable, versatile, and capable of some seriously fun surprises well into the relationship.
It can also handle much of what Northern California can throw at us.
And right now, Northern California is throwing us rain, wind, and rip currents. By proxy it is also throwing me, personally, two very restless girls under the age of three who don't want to spend their entire weekends huddled over crayons, or helping their dad make spaghetti sauce, or watching ten minute clips of Cinderella on Youtube.
They want the impossible gift of sunshine though, right now, they'll be more than happy to settle for another round of hide 'n seek. It's the least I can do.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tomorrow the Green Grass

7'2 BatTail Egg.
For Spencer.
A student.
The future is bright.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Full Blood Princess

I've written before about Bedroomers--boards so elegant, so innocent, that to leave them in the holding pen (guest bedroom) with the other sticks awaiting pickup would be scandalous.
How can one, in good conscience, place a finely foiled, fragile-as-china displacement hull in the same rack with a mush-shredding gremmie thruster?
What ethical shaper can allow an outer bar gun, high-polished and sleek as a needle to share the same space as a brutish, wide-backed, sand-finish quad fish?
None that gives a damn, I say.
So, on occasion, one of the more enchanting products from the Fattyshack is moved into the bedroom where, if mood strikes, one might gaze upon its lines and be hastened toward an exquisite idyll.
Or until one's wife tells them to cut it out.
So imagine my surprise when, still feeling the effects of East Coast jet lag, I woke in the wee hours this morning to find the lovely Mrs. HHG not just contemplating, but dreamily trailing a few fingertips, along a rail of this full-tint glossy log from her side of the bed. Imagine the betrayal--yet the thrill!--that accompanies such a discovery.
Also try to imagine an intense need for an egg sandwich on sourdough, which is what finally pulled me from the throes of this unanticipated spectacle.
Anyway, this model--a 9'6 Squareback--is designed for the soft and the cruisy up here on the Northcoast. She's headed to 2 Mile Surf Shop in Bobo, where she will hopefully find a good home with a tip-riding enthusiast. And while we're hoping, let's hope Drew and the boys keep her separated from some of the more nefarious shapes I've seen lurking on their racks.