kako

kako
kako

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Back to Work

Back into the swing of another semester here. Three weeks of teaching in April, then a nice 11 day break over Golden Week. The spring semester is always enjoyable, new students, increasingly warm weather, good morning low tides, and south swells make it an awesome season. I've been out steadily four or five times a week the last month, and have had a ton of fun days...had a really nice clean morning last week on my big 47th birthday.

Enjoyed a couple of sessions on my wood boards. Basically giving them a run for half a session and switching off to poly boards later. It's nice getting back on wood, but I feel I'm giving up a lot performance-wise compared to my other boards. Still early in the season, I think when I get down to thinner wetsuits and no gloves, it should make the wood boards easier to deal with.

I'm currently collecting materials for a different kind of surf-related build (a Japanese Itago belly board), once I get it started I'll post my progress. I'm really exciting about this one, it's a great chance to dip into the history of Japanese surf culture and re-examine some of the principles and characteristics of prone boards and planing shapes.
Lab testing: comparing my new Stewart fish and my wooden mini NR

Happy birthday to me: small but clean and empty

My new beach conveyance: 1979 Yamaha MR50
Currently shopping around for a surf rack for it.