Pretty much what I got from Charmaine this afternoon really - we finished about 1'ish closed the shop and she said 'If the surf's that good you might as well make the most of it' - it was so we did.
Shane and myself high tailed it over to Gwithian to catch the high tide. 10mph bang offshore and 7' at 14 seconds - thank you Santa.
I was a bit nervous as there were loads of people out pretty much from Godrevy to the Rivermouth - but there were gaps and the sets cleaned up a few more spaces as they came rolling through - still new board and I was apprehensive that I was going to look like a bit of a dick. Paddle out was uugh bracing but not as hard as I feared Shane, John and myself soon found our slot and I got stuck in fairly quickly - nerves washed away with the rinsing inside. Shane and John were both riding shortboards under 6' I was on my new Naish.
I'm always amazed how my opinion of a session can change with a single wave or event - I was having plenty of decent rides and not falling off too much between waves but still feeling a bit clumsy on the board. I had fitted a larger centre fin and this seemed to slow up the tipping slightly and after an hour or so started to feel a bit easier on the board. Then the session just seemed to switch with a single wave.
A peachy head high left found me in just the right place to stroke in and ride it cleanly backside just in front of the curl - might not sound much but I was stoked, in my book that was a good one. Paddling back out I was way left of the others in a big empty gap pretty much as soon as I got out a set started to show I paddled to where I thought I would be best positioned and waited for the first couple to roll through before taking a half decent right. This was my wave of the day lots of power hard bottom turn off the top and back to start all over again and again and again to pop out at the end and paddle back to the lineup. Please did anyone see that - John did YES - Shane had got out. I had gone from way left to way right for me absolute perfection. A succession of really nice waves seemed to follow although none as good as that - well worth it though.
I got out tired and content - I really like this board - a lot!
So thats it hope to get a few more in over the holidays - catch up soon.
Many thanks to all who have passed through here - have a fantastic peaceful and wave drenched Christmas all the best Steve.
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10 years ago
4 comments:
How is the stability compared to the BK when just paddling and trying to stay upright?
Mine is probably another week away.
I was thinking about that today. Originally I thought that the BK was super tippy - but I sort of got used to it - This is a bit like starting over again. I think that the 'Flat Spot' under my feet is smaller because there is loads more rocker. It's definetaly very loose and I'm off it under way more so than the BK. Today I spent a lot of time paddling out on my knees - what a cop out - that would not have happened on the BK. It makes me want to go back and re-visit the BK trouble is now I have too many boards. One thing for sure I think a smaller paddle will help both in length and blade size. I think the board is a slow burn, it's not easy - which could be a good thing for the future.
Good luck with your's Dwight - merry Xmas to you and your's.
You should definitely go with a small paddle blade. It helped me a lot. Cutting the blade width down is easy. Cut or sand away 3mm per side and test, then repeat until you find your magic width. That's how I did it.
You loose some blade area needed to catch your balance when falling, but you gain easier paddling without the board turning with each stroke.
The C4 rep told me the Sub Vector has similar stability to the 10' classic C4. I'll believe it when I try it.
In 3 weeks all the brands will unveil their new stuff at the US trade show. Should be interesting stuff coming.
Merry Christmas
I took a few waves this morning on the 9'3 PSH ripper. I hadn't surfed it since last Jan. I was curious what I would think now, with more balance skill than I had back then.
My balance was better and my impression of the board is still about the same. Volume is not distributed evenly. Volume is biased toward the nose. It makes the tail feel sinky. Still too tipsy for all but glassy days. I was not wowed by the performance like I was 11 months ago. I guess I've ridden too many hot boards since then. I prefer the 9'6 C4 over the ripper. The ripper makes a snappy bottom turn, then loses speed. The 9'6 carries the speed. The owner of the ripper prefers it over the 9'6. They just feel different, but perform at the same high level.
I should have the 9'3 C4 within a week.
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