Decent February waves

We've had some decent waves this month, and a couple of huge days as well.. I was out four times last week, which is pretty good for February. The waves at Gyokyo were really fun, not big, but lined up really nice. The dredger was out dredging the entrance to the fishing port. Unfortunately, less sand means less wave action at Gyokyo, and while I got it good on Thursday, the clean left will probably turn to closeouts the more they dredge. Oh well, I still have Kako in Noboribetsu, but I'll miss the "warm" sheltered goodness of Gyokyo as a winter getaway spot. 

  

Speaking of Kako, it was full-on Hawaiian style a couple days last week. Mark took this picture below of huge stand up barrels peeling off the tetrapods; good luck paddling out and dodging the ice chunks flowing out of the river mouth. Yesterday was even bigger. The two low pressure systems that brought Tokyo its most snow in 20 years rolled up to Hokkaido producing unreal short period swell action. Some of the old timers said the conditions were "once in ten years", but they lasted less than a day each, with the waves going from huge to flat in a matter of hours. 

Nice pic Mark

A belated happy New Year

We're into February, so I guess it's time to update the ol' blog. January was busy with a trip to Hawaii (and a crackin new board from the factory on the North Shore), and getting back and finishing up the last month of the academic year. There's been some surf, albeit bitterly cold, but fun nonetheless. And, well, it's been uncrowded, so that's a good thing.

In terms of my board building, I have the one rebuild ready to glass, but I've got to wait for the air temp to go up a before I can glass it. I started what I cleverly call "Rebuild 2"; it was the second board I made, and while it was aesthetically pleasing it was an absolute tank (which is why it sat decorating my office for over a year). Well, the board kept staring at me, begging for a better fate, so I decided to rebuild it into something more ridable. So I sawed the board in half along the rails, ripped out the internal frame, and now have a glassed top and bottom. I'm putting together a new lighter frame, reducing the length and weight, and will build up lighter rails. Hopefully it will come out better this time around.
I'm also trying to make my own fins this year, learning how to make fins is kind of my New Year's resolution. I've got a set of plywood speed dialers ready to glass, and can't wait to see how they turn out. I threw up pictures of the set in their current state.