10.29.12 pm.

hearn.

photo: emion

california 2012. part two. surfing heritage museum.

while in san clemente i headed up on the hill to check out the surfing heritage museum. i arrived to find the door open and the lights off. i was worried they were closed, but even better, i was the only visitor. museum of surfing history all to myself. 

hawaiian boards from early 1900's.

 nazi surfboard? no.

a symbol with good connotations before its bad associations. 

simmons. 2 on right.

 2nd from right: early carl eckstrom assymetrical.

boards for chargers. dead center: butch van artsdale model. black board to the left of that: herbie fletcher gun. black and white board on far right: greg long's eddie aikau winnging christenson.

i was fortunate to come just as they were wrapping up the innovations of hobie exhibit. would have been bummed to miss it. right to left: innovation and evolution of hobie.

innovations of hobie. items ranged from polarized sunglasses to skateboards to catamarans, to kayaks, to removable fin systems to remote control airplanes and beyond. the man dabbled.

hobie tandem boards.

whats left of the first board hobie ever shaped.

skateboards.

"shortboards"

california 2012

once again work beckoned me to southern california. like last year i decided to stay and do a bit of vacationing after fulfilling my obligations with work. with minimal planning, this years trip turned out to be a blast. had awesome accomodations in san clemente with the most hospitable family. surfed trestles every morning and cardiff one afternoon. drooled over beautiful boutique surfboards at the icons of surf and hobie shops. and ate delicious food and drank makers mark every day. suffice it to say i feel vacationed. already looking forward to next year.

 entertainment.

 icons of surf.

 trestles.

 uppers.

toy.

inspiration.

a picture of a picture i took while at the hobie shop in dana point last july. this guy ( im pretty sure its hobie alter) has managed to combine my three passions into one activity. eating. drinking. surfing. rad.

log pile.

ho_ie. (b,m)

the ladies got us hobies for our birthdays. 

6'4'' deadly flying glove.

6'4'' hobie deadly flying glove. shaped by terry martin. a corky carroll inspired transitional shape. these boards are generally shaped as single fins but for some reason this one came as a bonzer.

i bought this board to take to spain in 2007. i never took it (baggage fees were absurd, ended up buying a longboard from a french guy who bought it back when i returned to the u.s.). held on to it till 2009 when i sold it to pay for my dog's hip surgery.

it was a pretty fun board but i was never really stoked on it. felt a bit sluggish. probably not my best intro to bonzers but will not deter me from trying another.

deep single to double concave.

california3. hobie.

went up to dana point one afternoon to check out the hobie shop. in all honesty, a big disappointment. a giant retail space with a little room off to the side that housed maybe 15 boards. BUT, at the same time i got to put my hands on one of those tyler warren bars of soap i so frequently gaze at online.

another positive was the shaping bay located right in the shop. an employee informed us that terry martin had just left, that we could catch him the following morning and that he would enjoy the visit nonetheless.

early the next morning we stopped by the shop on our way to the airport. terry martin was there and happy to visit, just as the employee said he would be. he told us of traveling to fort bragg in 1961 with the airforce. he and some buddies went down to myrtle beach during some off time. unimpressed with the calm conditions of the south carolina coast, they swam out several hundreds of yards. he said before they knew it there was a large crowd of people and officials on the beach, shouting and waving them to shore. they swam in and were informed that it was against the law to swim past shoulder depth. a sad experience and poor representation of our region no doubt. almost arrested for swimming.mr. martin was very charming and friendly, did not make us feel at all as if we were a bother or interruption even at such an early hour. it was a pleasure to meet him.

9'6'' one fin pin.

the one fin pin is the result of a collaboration between surfer/shaper tyler warren and shaper terry martin. beautiful double stringer, piggish, single fin nose rider with wide point pulled back. nice and heavy for lots of glide. and a pintail to facilitate almost effortless cutbacks.

vern gifted me this bad boy for my birthday this feb. i was floored. in addition to a bitchin' party, i received this beauty. hands down one of the nicest, most thought out gifts i've ever received. i have had a blast on this thing. riding it almost exclusively since (in part because its been flat but mostly because its such a fun board to surf). im very happy with my hobie.

 

i'd never ridden a pintail longboard, nor a board with the wide point back of center. it felt a little squirrely/ shakey at first when walking, but i've adjusted and come to like it. especially on cut backs. the board comes around suprisingly quick for its size.

hand drawn logo by tyler warren.