Winter has arrived...

Winter has arrived, and with it chilly blustery conditions. Everything shifted around favorably last week producing a few days of nice clean waves. Last Thursday was really fun; the pics below are from Friday when the waves were dropping but still fun enough. The wind has shifted around from the north yet again, and we are back to flatness. I'm hoping for a few more decent days before the new year and my annual trip to Hawaii...but with it being solidly below zero I don't mind the lack of surf at the moment.

November's Last Blast

After a fun October, November was pretty inconsistant. During one 11-day spell it was completely flat. Unfortunately, when the winter north winds start blowing across Russia it completely flattens everything out here in eastern Hokkaido...must make for some decent swell in the Aleutians though. We did, however, finish the month with a nice four-day swell. Caught some real gems over that period, and got pounded pretty heavily as well. All in all, a nice last bit of surf before winter arrives.

Fall Swell

After a bit of a lull last week, the waves are back up. Throw the swell together with the warm autumn sun, and this has been a great couple of days of classic Hokkaido fall surf. It's supposed to continue into the weekend as well. I took the day off and surfed two and half hours at Gyokyo, check it out....

Post Typhoon 19

Typhoon 19 turned out be a non-event up here in Hokkaido. The way it tracked over the main islands meant we didn't get the epic waves we hoped for. It was fun though, especially this morning, with sunny weather and shoulder to head high sets rolling through. Once again, I had an hour and half by myself at Kako this morning, then stopped and snapped a few more pics on the way home in evening. Another beautiful day in Hokkaido...

 

New longboard

Just in the midst of finishing off a few projects before winter arrives. Below is a longboard deck I just finished. My son came back from Canada a few months back with a plastic penny skateboard, and I just had to put the hardware to better use. So here it is, epoxy tint over pine and mahogany over a 10 ply glue up. Looks much better than the plastic and rides nice and smooth.

Typhoon 19 update

This, undoubtedly, is the most amazing typhoon picture I have ever seen. The eye is 25 miles across. The astronauts who took the picture said they have never seen anything like it. Just incredible...hang in there Japan.

Last one for 2014

Just finished up my last board for 2014. The short, fat and flat single fin (6x23x3.25). As the weather cooled off over the last couple of weeks I had a bit of trouble with curing of the top coat, especially on the deck, with it drying pretty lumpy. I've got to remember that in Hokkaido fiberglassing isn't a good idea in October in an unheated shed. Anyways, it's done and I can't wait to give it a go. The waves should pick up with the approaching typhoon. I'll report back how it went. Here's some pics: