What can I say - It's been a while!

I dont know how it happens, sometimes things just fall into your lap - I was aware of the new Southpoint range but hadn't really thought too much about getting one, no need the Naish is just so good. Having said that I had been thinking about a board that would be just a fraction easier in chop. I didn't want to loose any surfability or add too much length, just keep the nose a bit wider and possibly add a little more glide. You can tell that I had not given too much thought to it.

I was eyeing up the new Naish / Kalama Nalu boards, but that element of the unknown and the opportunity to try out another shaper revs me up a bit . So in a moment of madness I pulled the trigger on a new Southpoint Bonga Perkins 9'6" fish. I have to admit one of the things that turned me on to it was the price. £619 for a new board with a bit of Bonga pedigree about it - can't be bad in fact I reckon thats bloody good value providing it floats!!!

The full story on the Bonga fish Width: 28 7/8”

Thickness: 4”
Fin-Setup: 2 +1 w/FCS side
Fin Set: 7 1/2'' Schaper center, FCS GX sides
Includes: Deck pad, handle

Step deck rails and the bigger brother of the 9'er and the smaller sibling of a 10'r and a 10'6 fish

The 10' Bonga Southpoint always intrigued me with it's stepped rails but I have to admit - I always thought it looked a bit naff at least in my opinion (that does make me sound like a bit of a tart?). I have never ridden one just gathered 2nd and 3rd hand from web reviews that it was pretty loose and my BK Pro was already a bit of a handful, plus I had progressed to sub 10'.

Anyway - instant decision and what you see above should be with me by the the end of next week.

June - Came and went in a blinding flash!

Lazy summer days, insanely busy at work and irregular surf have kept the posts to a minimum recently, but then I think if there is nothing to say - best say nothing.

It's not been crap just odd. The most noticeable thing is that if I had relied totally on surf forecasts the chances are I would not have got in at all. They are not wrong but it's just too easy to slip into a lazy 'star watching' game. If the ratings don't give it I don't go. Theres no substitute for jumping on the bike and checking it out first hand.

Highlights? One of the few sessions that I got with Shane recently was at Praa sands a couple of weeks ago - was not expecting much it was blowing a fairly stiff onshore combined with a pushing tide creating a really confused very choppy wind swell coming out of nowhere. For the first 10 - 15 minutes I spent a lot of time falling off the Naish thinking 'What the hell am I doing here'. But it seems that each sea (and session) has it's own rythym, and as I dial into the rythym I anticpate the correction needed to stay on the board rather than react late to whats already happened, resulting in over correction and the inevitable rinsing. Perhaps it's just loosening up who knows? But in conditions that were on the face of it attrocious we had a blast.

The conditions were such that on one particular wave we both paddled for it side by side, Shane on his 6' Matt Adams, caught (dropped) down the face and I stalled, how does that happen? Yet as he passed in front of me his head was below my feet! Bizarre and probably not too clever but we always coose each other when surfing and never ever give any quarter.

Later that week the swell was predominantly Southerly with a little West in it. North coast was flat but there were some cracking clean conditions on the South coast. I took a flyer and got in mid beach and pretty much had the break to myself until this lone shortboarder paddled out to meet me - Gavin, having sold his Starboard and finding the Naish 10'6" a bit of a mission to get around he had taken to his shortboards for a while.

I did get to see this video of Ivan van Vuuren messing about without fins - totally blew me away -



I'd love to be able to add some of that to my sweet skills cupboard.

A couple of snatched, random sessions including a fun knee high evening at Gwithian on the Uli Lopez - and a very early dawny Sunday before last at Gwithian that just beat the onshores - in at 6.00am out at 8.30 fantastic.

Fathers day came and went with Charmaine getting a couple of tickets for Shane and myself for the Paul Weller gig at 'The Eden Project' in aid of the Princes Rainforest Project and Green Britain Day

First band up were Florence and the Machine - think Siouxsie and the Banshees meets Kate Bush and Clannad - it works check it out here - this is the first number that really gets going at about 2m30'



I liked it - but Paul Weller - that was something else - I have always been a Jam fan, they were the soundtrack of my late teens and I have the entire back catalogue but sadly never got to see them, after this I dont feel so bad about it



You will have to trust me that contrary to the anonomous recording on this mobile phone the sound was superb - it just seems in keeping to have it here like, this. Great night.

So Friday was a late night, forecast for the weekend was lame, onshore windy shite - Gavin text me at 8.00am Sunday confirming it. Settled for a family day until it started to brighten at 6.00pm. Quick sort out - text to Gav - going to give it a bash and I went in to an angry looking Pete's Point. I had bought some new smaller fins and fiddled about with the centre fin. Can't say I noticed too much difference however despite it being fairly choppy I thought I surfed reasonably well until about 9.00pm when a decent set came through. I managed to paddle over the first got caught by the second and had the third break the leash cord (not the leash) Arse - that has not happened for a while - heh ho. Swam in with the elegance of Quasimodo hoping my board was not getting trashed on the few rocks at the head of the beach. (It wasn't). Got out and took these pics.







Looks really mellow now.