My Own Surfing Thread!

[Heel n Toe]

The ecoFin is the world’s first surfboard fin made from ocean waste

“We’re just two surfers that decided we could no longer ignore plastic pollution in our oceans." -Luise Grossmann



Whether it is collected from the ocean or will end up there, FiveOceans founders Luise Grossmann and Felix Wunner give ocean rubbish a new life. The ecoFin is the world’s first surfboard fin made using plastic collected from the Indian Ocean, and proves that it’s possible to close the cycle with ocean waste and make high quality surf gear.

Matt George: What was the genesis for this idea?
Luise Grosmann: In 2015, on a surf trip to Bali, we were shocked by the pollution on the beaches and floating out in the surf breaks. We paddled out through plastic bags and packaging and watched the tides bring more and more waste ashore. It broke our hearts. 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic are floating across the world’s five oceans. This is a surfer’s problem. Clear and simple. And not a lot of people other than surfers are ever going to do anything about it.

With our backgrounds in engineering, we decided to use what we knew best to find a solution. Our ecoFin is the world’s first high performance surfboard fin made from ocean waste. There it is. No longer do we need to choose between performance and environmental impact.

More: The ecoFin is the world’s first surfboard fin made from ocean waste | Swellnet Dispatch | Swellnet

[Geary]

Fred Hemmings Ala Moana 1959


I think this is Harold "Iggy" Ige (Ala Mo)

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by Geary

Fred Hemmings Ala Moana 1959


I think this is Harold "Iggy" Ige (Ala Mo)

Ala Moana...Not a good place for a mainlander tourist to paddle out ...Unless all you plan to do is take pictures (or you're Kelly Slater)

[Geary]

1967 - I'd gone off to college in San Diego, and hadn't yet purchased a wetsuit. Got myself a 9'7" board, and wouldn't you know it, the mini board revolution hit about 2 weeks later.

[Baz]

Nice pic, Geary!

I think it was around '68 when I got my first board - a 9' 3" Hobie. I remember the short board revolution happening right about that time. It was a fantastic and wild time in surfing history!

I ended up cutting my Hobie down and reshaping to make my own short board. This was right after we moved to Florida in early 1970. Then I bought a new short board from Ron Jon's in Cocoa beach. It was a tri-fin Surfboards Australia for $89.00 plus tax....brand new. I thought the 3 fin option would be cool. Little did I know....

[Geary]

Those really were exciting times. I remember a guy (Bob Foley?) who rode a 7' board in the '60s .. We all laughed at the notion.

Who would ever have believed that 40 years later, these guys would be riding even shorter boards?

Mikala Jones @ Peahi

[trader220]

China anyone?

https://www.facebook.com/WSL/videos/10154184361897058/

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by trader220

China anyone?

https://www.facebook.com/WSL/videos/10154184361897058/

I love the follow-up post...

"They just outlawed surfing in China and the guy is in jail for 8 years"

[trader220]

Thats not exactly true.

[Geary]

Inside line up @ Sunset Beach on TV tonight

[Geary]

My old tow-in partner @ a place we pioneered near Sprecklesville, Maui. We just called it "Big Left" ..

[tevake]

Nice conditions there for your pardner at big lefts, Geary.
Used to do great coast runs windsurfing on medium to big days, launching at Mamas fish house and sailing down the coast to sprecks. Picking off good waves along the uncrowded way. Nice outer breaks lining that coast.

Cheers Richard

[Geary]

We'll get some riding in this winter, Richard ..

[Baz]

[Baz]

[Baz]

[Baz]

[Geary]

Even with Christmas crowds, a solitary line today .. bowl after bowl, top-to-bottom ..

[Baz]

That's so beautiful, Geary....wow...thanks for sharing!

If anyone is interested in what ever happened to Gordon Clark after Clark Foam shut down.....



Foam on the Range
The second life of a SoCal surf pioneer

In 1961, Gordon “Grubby” Clark struck out on his own, building a factory in Laguna Niguel, California. He refined techniques for molding and reinforcing foam and his reputation grew as being the best in the business. By the start of the twenty-first century, industry experts estimated that Clark Foam supplied as much as 90 percent of the American market for blanks, and they said Clark may have supplied a majority of the global market. In 2002, Surfer Magazine placed him at No. 2 in its list of the “25 Most Powerful People in Surfing.”

In December 2005, he closed the factory without warning. Clark Foam’s market share plummeted to zero. In a seven-page fax to suppliers, he wrote that regulatory challenges—environmental, workplace and fire-related—gave him little choice in the matter. One line in the letter spoke to a reality affecting many American industries: “… You could build many blank making facilities outside the United States just for the cost of permits in California.”

[Craig T]

Thanks for that information Baz. I drove by Clarks shop almost everyday in high school on my way to Salt Creek. The length of his parking lot had racks with large blanks stacked 15' high. I remember the sudden closing. It sounds like he's fulfilling a dream. I hope he brought some of his long-time employees with him. From the looks of it, he did....And by the size of his ranch, he did well financially as well.