Well...I finally pulled the trigger on a soft top board. Eight footer too. :D

I have an eight foot fun board but it's a traditional fiberglass and foam board and sometimes having the extra bouyancy a soft top offers gives you more options for our smaller summer surf.

I'm an Amazon prime customer so it will be here on Thursday. Normal delivery (for normal people) would have been 1-2 weeks. ;)

Here's the model I chose.....the rasta livery!

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....SL._SX679_.jpg

Nice. Will rip in 1' to 2'.

And certainly nicer when you get whacked on the head by it LOL

Also it's a bit more socially acceptable if there are kids and swimmers in the immediate area.

This guy on Facebook makes miniature 8" - 10" copies of classic/vintage surfboards.

He makes them to scale and reproduces the logo and color.

Insane talent, he is in Japan and his display is in a liquor store in Japan.

Check it out and friend him on his page or the below FB page if your into vintage boards.

‎Hatsushi Yamanaka‎
Vintage Surfboard Collectors

Pic taken by a friend who just returned from CR......

https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.n...5b&oe=5D828E6B

Nope.

Secret Spot.

:D

Well there are still some spots that are little enough known to warrant not being named on the net.

I've been watching the pro contest in Rio the last couple of days. Not having been watching in recent years, it's surprising to see how off the lip airials have become such a big part of contest performance and scoring.

Neat to see the performance levels of the women contestants too. They are now getting equal prize money too.

Cheers Richard

Heads up guys!

There is some very high performance surfing going down now in J Bay.
The tour is there and a new clean swell just arrived.

What a spectacular down the line point break setup that place is!

Phillpe Toleto is on form and surfing with controlled abandon beautifully.

Some hot rides to be seen in every heat.

Cheers Richard

I spent a month there in 1989. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic.

Anything from 3' to 8' was just magic.

And spent another couple of months around the other breaks too. Lots of good spots.

Yes Bill, I remember well when J Bay first came to light here in the US thru the movie Endless Summer. What an eye opener! You were smart to get there before the build up of the area. I hear that the condo wall along the beach there has caused the sand to shift away from te beach a bit, changing the shoreline to more rocks than before.

It's fun hearing of your wide spread travel adventures!

Cheers Richard

Thanks but I'm an amature compared with you LOL

I had a very nice weekend back your and my old neigbourhod Titirangi/Huia. It's looking good.

J-Bay is one place I always wanted to surf, but I'm afraid my window has passed. I love watching movies of the place, though ..

Fond memories of Titirangi. My Arapito home was centrally located between downtown Auckland and Piha Beach, which often had fun waves (Endless Summer 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYzmB7K9vFE).

I recall taking my Maui surf buddy through the Key Hole for his first Piha experience, popping out just as a 6-foot set came through. Eye opener for sure ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8xukEGuocY

Thanks for those video clips Geary. Some fun nostalgia in looking at the Endlass Summer. What a ground breaking movie that was.

The Piha footage is so beautifully artistically done, that's a keeper.
Very cool spot, that.

Bill. My time in NewZealand was so focused on getting a Tevake rebuilt and tuned for cruising that I didn't get in much surfing. Had a few windsurfing go outs on the east coast N Island. But usually ended up back on the beach shortly trying to get warmed up.

The name Tevake means Tropic Bird and is well suited to me. Also the name of one of the last traditionally trained navigators from the Soloman Islands, a key figure in the rebirth of polyneisian voyaging.

Our boat, Tevake did end up carrying us to many best life time surfing adventures in warmer waters along our travels.

Cheers Richard

Thanks for all the entries......loving it......

What Ive come to understand , is that if we want our favorite threads to continue, then they take support to keep going.

And this is a very good one , thanks Tweeze. Wish you were still sharing your stoke with us Girl!

You too Baz have continued to post cool pics and inspiring stories, keeping it going.

In the years I've been here I've progressed from an somewhat active surfer and very active windsurfer into a spectator and fan. This thread is one of my portals into that world for me.

I hope others enjoy it likewise.
Let's keep it going!

Cheers Richard

Richard another way to enjoy the water without beating the body up too much, as windsurfing does, is to get out on a SUP.

I love getting out and just cruising. Sometimes kilometers out to sea which LOL sometimes isn't a good idea around here. I love the feel of the big ocean swells passing under the board and being in my own mind space out there.

And sure, if a nice looking swell is coming in while I'm paddling back to shore I'll hook into it.

I hear you Bill. Lots of friends here in the islands have gotten into Sup, and recomended that I give it a try.

I have done a little, but lately I've been kayaking in the spring fed streams that are all over the Fla panhandle area. Really enjoy the cool flowing waters and wildlife along those streams.
Unfortunately many of them are now a tangle of downed trees from hurricane Michael last year. These will take many years to recover. So I've been looking further to the west for areas less affected. Still some more to explore that way.

A little more strenuous that regular stand up. Is this new foil paddle boarding, the guys doing that say it's big fun even in marginal waves. Have you seen any of that happening in your area?

There are a few of them with small electric motors mounted down near the foil that Ive seen cruising hanalei bay since I've been back. This seems like the easy way to get the feel for foil boarding , sort of a training tool to learn the critical weight placement aspect involved.

Cheers Richard