Really enjoyed my latest experiment with the Mini simmons, it really flew and definitely was an awful lot of fun in remarkably poor conditions. It proved to pick up swell as quickly as the long boards, but was so much quicker, and more fun to slide. However, sadly Its already in for repair, as I may have over sanded where the stringer was. So it gave me a great opportunity to get back on the Seedhouse Fish today. The forecast was 2-3 ft, but it seemed a bit weak, and despite this the fish still picked up really well and I enjoyed the session. The board is just so stunning, so its nice to actually get it going and surfing as well as it looks.

The Curse

Despite cancelling my Birthday celebrations, it was great to catch up with my old windsurfing friend Rob and his family. Nothing quite like seeing old friends, and just catching up on whats been happening. One thing that I always remember Rob for, was his seeming ability to scare off the best conditions. Even if the forecast was perfect, we often used to think the curse of Rob, would kill off any wind, and even swell would flatten. Superstitious, and ridiculous really, but no apologies. True to form, despite a strong wind forecast, we really saw little wind during his visit, but literally within 12 hours of his departure, the wind notched up and we scored a perfect fun session in some micro swell and strong off shores.

Beastly

All-in-one; fleece romper suits, and lyrics that will always make you chuckle. Glad to finally find this track after so long.

Beastie Boys - Alive (Moby Remix) from tokimoric on Vimeo.

Cetacean

Its been a busy few days with a relatively consistent fun wave, depending on where you were looking. As long as you had the right board, chances are you would be scoring a rather premature, perfect summer session. However, after too much excess over Easter, events have finally caught up with me. The last two days, I have been flat on my back, with a brutal virus (man flu). Hoping I am through the worst of it, I couldn't wait to share the completion of my latest project. I would rather call it an homage to the mini simmons, than an attempt at one, but I wanted to take some of the elements from my 8'0 hull and incorporate it into this board. The main aim with this board is just to be fun, I had a Fisher Price 'Adventure People' vibe going through my head, when I designed it, and the graphics were meant to have a raw feel to reflect a lack of maturity. Its still been designed on the computer to ensure some integrity in the hull dynamic, and Badger kindly did the glassing, leaving me with the sanding and graphics. I really enjoyed doing this, but won't consider it complete until someone unbiased rides it : )

Snapped with my latest find, an app for the Iphone called Pano. Cooked up to 24 (76 fahrenheit) degrees today, and nice to have a little cloud around.

A wave still seems to be lingering and the swell building again for the weekend. Looking back through my old blog posts, it seems to be a recurring theme for warm springs, good swell with consistantly sunny weather. No real rain for 5 weeks now, I guess our weather patterns have definitely changed.

Caught the early train with my nephew, and we scored some perfect rides in the first light. Super fun glass and a clean peeling left, somewhere between waist to the occasional shoulder. Have been so excited to get home, and so glad to score it before the swell that everyone has been talking up, disappears.

Away from the surf, but no less inspired. Its been an amazing few days hunting through galleries and museums,
but was most impressed by the story of Ai Weiwei, a chinese artist producing over 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds (with the help of 1600 villagers) for the Tate modern's latest exhibition.

It didn't look or feel anything like this, when we surfed this morning. Skies seemed more blue, waves higher, and only a handful of guys; just friends.

A beautiful thing..

Justin with his latest label 'Seedhouse' dropped off his inaugural board; a raspberry red resin tint 6'2 quad/keel fish. The board looks amazing and right now I can't imagine even waxing it. It is quite possibly the most exciting thing that has happened to me in months. Thank you, thank you, thank you...it really looks unreal. This is something I plan to never let go of !

Man's best friend ?

I still claim to 'not be a dog person', but he is growing on me. Bear models the cliff scene with precision !

Mini Simmons

Had the great pleasure of testing out a clever little hybrid today. Mike Peat of Atlantic has been testing a mould, designed and built by the talented hands of Randall . Ulitmately the board is a popout complete with moulded fins, which is a little bit of a turnoff. That is, until you get in the water. The float, and speed of the board is just fantastic, and I had so much fun sliding the little board around. It seemed to have so much pop, and felt like the 'surfing on a bar of soap' feeling a lot of people expect from a mini simmons. In short I loved it, but it might have been the fact it was around head high and offshore.

Local produce

Swell is finally on the increase again, and none other than Mike P and Rob MG caught the interest of my lens. Mike always takes such a nice line on the wave and I could watch him for hours, whilst Rob will literally huck off anything. Note both guys were on boards only made and seen really within a five mile vicinity (Cake Boy & JB(If 6 was 9)).

Today

Found the sweet spot on the Mini simmons today, and it just flew. Still seems to want a chunkier wave, but it was nice to give the 8'0 a rest.

Found at Drift Magazine

The Fatal Shore from Simon Treweek on Vimeo.

I don't think Howard Swanick gets the credit he deserves, with all his endeavours at Drift magazine. It is without doubt the best free digital publication I have found to date, and his articles are always a worth a read. Check out Drift

Dusk

As soon as spring arrives, all I can think about is how much it feels like summer. No gloves, no hood, but still enjoying the warmth of my boots and familiar faces in the lineup. What a fun little evening. The last few days of surf have put the biggest smile back on my face. Just perfect. Thank you.

Had a great day at work and snuck out on the mini simmons for its inaugural flight. Not sure what was happening but savoured the comfort of my 8'0 hull instead. Nice swell and haven't laughed so much in a while, showing my redneck routes of dropping in and whooping down the whole lineup. Surfing saved my life.

Downhill

Thanks Alex for the heads up and look forward to hitting rock park really soon.

Cleaner than a whistle and scored a perfect session today, despite not much higher than waist.
Goes to show that with the right board, any size can be fun.

Eternal Father, Strong to save

After a strange start to the week, with a funeral, I feel a lot of sad energy. So with no real sign of swell, I caught up with the Braunton mariner, Skelly and marvelled at his beach scavenged cottage. The place was full of some amazing detail, not to mention a ridiculous catalogue of beautiful boards. Boat keels, and drift wood littered the house, and it just felt like stepping inside the life of a very unique surfer come ancient mariner. Whilst I quickly hurried round, taking in all the old timber and breathing in the salty air, the church hymn 'for those in peril on the Sea' kept ringing in my ears.
Thinking nothing more of it, and being slightly disgruntled to meet another labrador aptly named Bear, I headed home trying to recall the words of the song.

So it caught me a little off guard today, when I arrived at the church only to sing the very tune, as the first hymn in a farewell to my Gran. As we all paid respects to a truly great lady, I couldn't stop thinking of how very precious life is, and a growing feeling to enjoy every last second of it. She did.

Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidst the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep:
Oh hear us when we cry to thee,
For those in peril on the Sea,

William Whiting - 1860

Nephew

Its been a great couple of days despite the diminishing swell. Driving through the lanes in the blue sky, and watching my nephew improve with each session, has been a great start to the spring. The hull has continued to perform in the small stuff without the need for a long board, and its perfect to paddle alongside Henry as he pulled into his first waves. Thanks Dan/Carl for loaning Henry the wetsuit.

Hull 1, Pin Tail 0

Had such a great surf today on the closest thing to a hull I have ever ridden. It just flew down the wave, and felt ridiculously fast. I was just buzzing on the drive back home and haven't really settled since. Andy grimaced and just called it a minimal, but then he did acknowledge it was flying, and I promise you it surfs nothing like a minimal. It has no rails to grip and the fin is so far forward, it almost feels like a keel. I don't think it needs to be catalogued, other than a damn fine surf day, and you can bet i'll be paddling it again in the morning.

Back pain

Funny thing about the severe back pain I have been suffering from, is that it all but disappeared for the hour I sailed yesterday. As I was rigging, Nick strolled past and mentioned a physio friend had extolled the virtues of windsurfing and what it can do for your back. It all seemed like a good idea, but the pain I have this morning, leaves me in some doubt.

Kick flip

More Surfing Videos

Diplock

Dropped by to see Zen master Bro yesterday, and he showed me his latest take on the mini simmons. Slightly more drawn in on the tail, for a little more control. Looks like a fun little shape though. The finishing is second to none !!

Bestward Ho!

Two reasons why I love this place so much.

Orbs

Its been a perfect day with a nice head high swell and blue blue skies. I scarred myself by under dressing in a 4/3mm suit, but the ride I did score was definitely worth the freezing water. However perhaps more of interest is the continual appearance of orbs (BTW -above is lens flare) in certain pictures taken around the gardens of where we live. I hadn't really given it any more thought until I heard an old gardener telling me his chilling tales of being haunted here 30 years ago. We have agreed to meet up at some point in the near future, and as he we ended our telephone call, he asked me if I knew the story about the buried treasure. It was just too much to take, and am already imagining what other great tales he might have up his sleeve.

Dark art

Had some interesting conversations this week with too many shapers. I have to admire their craft but always prefer those with their ego in check. Looking forward to seeing the Cake Boy, his enthusiasm is contagious.