Lis

There's a little fishy web-article on surfline right now. I'm not a huge fan of surfline but classic pix are always a lure. Nice, if not a touch redundant after Cher's article in TSJ a bit ago.

New Blood...

5'9" Steve Lis Quad Fish. Just wet for the first time.

Seventy-five degrees. Yes, the water and air both.

Hop on the bike and put the board on the rack. Forget the leash, it's a beachy. Wax in the pocket and slaps on the feet. Pedal and glide down Stratford, sliding under a low-hanging branch in anticipation of a head-dip, a cover-up, a micro-tube.

A manicured doormat of grass that sits in front of the sand, framed by city landmark and children's playground on either side. Take the bike onto the sand, tuck it into an eroded sea-cave and grab the board.

A few recognizable faces greet me on the sand, in the surf. A few familiar feelings return to me after a rather lengthy land-locked period. That first duck-dive. Ooh, that first moment of slippery speed. Welcome.

The new digs, a haunt in coastal affluence, has an ocean view and a few trails to the reefs. A bike takes me to the beachbreaks, not too bad on their day. It is refreshing to sense the sea so nearby again. Each morning for the past many I have sen the coastal airshow; fog  and a delta of pelicans soaring just over the bluff.

Seeking Shade...

My favorite barrel-rider of all time. 6'6" Lis quad. A true revelation to me.

Average surfers like myself make memories out of mere moments.

The trail down from Triton Town is ever beautiful and baffling. Sea thieves conspire and scheme to take every single wave that they possibly can by any means that there has ever been in any conditions that there might be. And not to smile about it. Seriously. Why even surf if you're not going to smile?

Amongst the battling beasts I place myself. A kitten with the tigers, a pigeon trying to fly in falcon country.

Then Triton stirs. Salty karma can be sweet. A head and a bit peak rears and then jacks up double. I spin and gulp. I surf small waves, not barrels anymore, my real life has dictated as much. But there it is. A true barrel. Blue/black and robust. I slip to my feet and crouch back on above the fins. Click, click, zip! Fins, rail and rocker align and seek exit. I spread my arms and tickle the curtain as I exit.

There is nothing, nothing like being scared and then barreled. Back for more.

Not sure if you noticed but...

Lis, Civil Rights.

Lis. Cell-phones do not take good pictures of bagged beauties.

Cher Pendarvis, surf-matriarch of San Diego Proper, researched, penned, and produced a fantastic piece about my favorite shaper of all time, Steve Lis, for my favorite publication, TSJ. She participated in the very organic and experimental timeframe when Mr. Lis and his cohort were at the heights of their collective and individual creativity. Please read it and fancy the phrasing and photographs. Imagine a moment or two along those sandy shores, next to those sublime reefs, during those dynamic years.

Thanks Cher!

Feeling the kneed...

1977, Huffman, Rex. The Banzai Pipeline. Oahu, Hawai'i. Photo: Jeff Divine.

Flat, short, wide, keeled and kneeled.

In the middle of a satisfying session it happens. You've been enjoying some speed runs, turns, and stylish this'n'thats. You're feeling good about your surfing. You're in rhythm, you've got a flow. You even start to feel a couple of sets of eyes watching you. All is right with in the salty sea.

Then it happens. The peak down the beach gets bombed by a beaut. Overhead and hollow. Only that mysto-kneelo is down there, where only he tends to lurk. He's too deep. He'll pass it up. He'll never make the late drop. Oh, well, maybe he's going to try it. Oh, wow, he made the drop. Oh, damn. He's deepish. Oh, yeah. He's going to make it. Perhaps he's on to something.

Knees if you please.

Half-stance for a chance.

Cripple-style for a while.

Half-man is the plan.

Turns high-g for li'l ol' me.

Find each little barrel a true kneelo-style feral.

I'll pass on the fins, though. I like to standup on those kneesleds too.

Valyou...

Lis fish, Select Surf Shop, Roots!

I received these images and a request for a determination of value. I responded by asking what was meant by "value". I could see myself valuing this beauty through a high line or two. Smirk. Grin.

I/We...

Solitude sent me searching at my out of the way spots. High tide and decent swell mixed with a rambling shuffle of the feet. Two days, many waves, tired, satiated but not satisfied. The only surfer I surfed with was an invitee. Crowds are a manifestation of expectations too high or explorations too limited.

Above, Larmo etches petroglyphic echoes. Since the inception he'e nalu has been filtered by a collective and singular duality of thought. I am me on a wave at this moment. I am a member of us who are on waves at many moments. Sometimes I need to get lost in the former in order to put the latter in perspective.

Suggested reading as an alternative to surf media described in video above : Footsteps as Flotsam; Granuped, Janus

Let it be...

Enjoying my new Lis. Many more of these little pocket rides this year...I hope. Oh, and maybe I can learn to bend my knees. Pic via BA

I love resolutions but hate New Year's Eve.

1. Create more/Consume less. A holdover from last year. I was pretty successful with this goal. This goal is empowering in its overarching breadth. In every moment to ask what can be created rather than consumed is a perspective altering behavior. Think broadly on this one, not simply book>TV.

2. Be present. I feel the pull of competing concerns almost constantly. Particularly troubling are the ubiquitous screens which offer a two dimensional mirage of a three dimensional world. I am here and with those around me. I am in this ocean, on this wave, on these feet, in this turn, in this tube, in this water.

3. Develop a sense of complete health- Physical and beyond. This resolution grows from a couple of conversations with interesting peripheral characters in my life partnered with the exhortation (and warning) offered through the story of Dorian Paskowitz and his family.

And, of course, Surf More!

Best wishes to all for Two Thousand and Ten.

Via Stevie Lis...

Beachbreak fishy. Pulled in tail, curvy outline, and higher aspect ratio Geppies. I'm looking forward to getting to know this one.

Ofishially...

A little clarification was shared via Sin Diego surf matriarch and artist divine, Cher Pendarvis. Educate the educator...

Hey Andrew, hope that you are enjoying a nice weekend! I enjoyed your post about the Larmo stories and the fish on Born to Lose.

Actually RK first rode Mikko's fish in 2003, and got stoked and inspired by the fun little board! The fish resurgence started earlier (as confirmed by Hanky Warner) when his friend Derek Hynd came to San Diego (1995-1996) and visited with Skip and Hanky when they had Harry's Surf Shop in PB. As Hanky remembers, Derek was looking through Skip's quiver and discovered a small old keel fin fish that Skip had in a bag, and asked what it was. Derek was stoked to have a fish, so Skip shaped him one. The next year, Derek came back and asked for Skip to shape him another one, with a slightly narrower tail. Derek ended up taking it to J-Bay and rode it there. Tom Curren rode Derek's fishes as well, at J-Bay, and inspired folks with his amazing surfing. Some of their rides were filmed by Andrew Kidman and can be seen in his movie, Litmus.

Aside from this story, some of us never stopped riding fish, and have kept them in our quiver since the early fish days. FYI: the fish is my favorite design of all time! I'm stoked that Hanky helped clarify some of the dates as to when Derek first saw Skip's fish. We look forward to talking with you, soon!

Aloha, Cher
Is there a more consequential modern surf film than Litmus? Not to me.

Contradauction...

Art of Shaping entry from Steve Lis. I haev such a soft spot for classic Sin Diego fish. Photo: Cher Pendarvis

I tolerated the vapid ASR drones bumping their be-stickered freebie bags into each other as I walked to Billabong's Art of Shaping event. Something to look forward to. A cool idea. A potential for acknowledging the core of what makes surfing special- authenticity, originality, craftsmanship, regionalism, characters of all types.

I arrived late, checked a few boards then sat next to EpicAker and watched the festivities. The highlights were the remarkable boards at hand. The woodwork by Mitzven, R., Christenson, Toby- jawdropping. The handiwork by Hanky, Bahne, Pendo, Lis, Larmo, Peter St. Pierre, Sam Cody- phenomenal. The crowned king, an unbelievable glue up with matching fin from The Genius, went for lots o'cash to R.

Some nice words and actions were made from the podium to honor craftsmen in the trade. Some guys now have their boards stocked in some shops. An ad about supporting your local shaper/glasser is going to come out in Surfing Mag.

Problem- every moneyed entity involved- publications, shops, even the event sponsor and presenter- swell their bottom line with vacuous product sold at the expense of the real craftsmen. The popouts and overseas market destroyers will still outnumber Hank Warner boards at local Megaxtreme Store 1,2, and 3. What would happen if suddenly the real craftsmen were asked to make all the entry level boards for a fair price in place of all the popouts? Would Megaxtreme go out of business? No, they'd just sell boards of higher quality and support the men and women who make our surfboards great.

Billabong, thanks for gathering great boards, shapers, and enthusiasts together for a nice event to raise money. Perhaps The Art of Shaping will begin a reawakening among consumers, media, manufacturers, and retailers that reproducible flotsam is out and craftsmanship, functionality, and uniqueness is what makes surfing special and what is ultimately the most valuable basis on which to market our beloved diversion.

I used to be a sales rep in "action sports". It's much better being a participant/critic in surfing.

Refer to original...

Photo pilfered from G&S

I spent part of this morning speaking with Larmo. He was kind enough to shed some light on a few topics in San Diego surfing and board design history. He's fifty now and grew up surfing the same zone I did. He reflected on his early shaping and glassing jobs, his continued excitement about surfing and design, and some seminal moments in San Diego surfing history. Some gems:

-Skip, literally without a home, shaping behind Select Surf in P.B., surfing continuously while his contemporaries had long since quit shaping and surfing.

-Larry, driving Skip and Donna north to a legends contest at Surfrider Beach where Skip displays his never-fading prowess and reasserts himself as a premier shaper and surfer in Southern California, emerging from his "dark days".

-RK, surfing a local pseudo-point on a Slater-Slipper type shortboard during decent swell (late nineties?), breaks a fin and trades with MFleming, who is riding a 5'5 fishy. RK rips and rediscovers the classic design. At home after the surf, RK records his thoughts on paper, soon thereafter KG fishies are shredded up and down baja and, for better or worse, the fish resurgence moves past the ranks of the truly tuned-in and Litmus-inspired and is brought to the attention of the greater surfing populace.

-Clark foam plugs designed by Rawson, now reside above a shaping room in coastal San Diego.

-There will now be 12' blanks available designed by Larmo and Skip. Glide.

I recommend you read this article on Drift.