Stripes & Strawberries

I just bought a BN Lightweight. Matt Calvani describes it as "an overall lighter, more versatile traditional log with all the noseriding functionality minus the weight." It measures nine feet eight inches long and features a single bass stringer, lighter glassing than their Original Noserider and has a single fin box. Sounds good. But why did I buy this board? Honestly, it all started when I borrowed Matt's BN Lightweight when we were in Mexico a few months ago. It was everything I wanted in the water - fast along the face, trimmed well from the tip and turned like a traditional log. It was wonderful. I surfed everything from four foot peelers to eight foot A-frames. I couldn't help but want one! And I felt like it would be the perfect companion for my Feral Pig.

One evening, after two or three tacos and more than one Modelo, I sat down and drew a surfboard in my Moleskin. I'd brought a jail-striped shirt with me to Mexico, as well as a pair of strawberry red surf trunks. The combination made it easy to see myself in photos and film - pretentious asshole I am. Anyhow, it's what inspired the aesthetic, so when we returned to the States I sent my sketch to Matt's wife, Margaret. She called me a couple days later, asking all kinds of questions. After we'd settled on the number of stripes, the type of tint and how long I wanted my board to be, she emailed me an invoice. Done deal. Fast forward a few months and Margaret emailed me again, this time telling me that my board had been built. A photo followed. I could hardly contain my excitement. It's everything I expected it to be. We're going to So-Cal real soon, and I'll be bringing the board back with me. Until then, follow the link if you'd like to see my new stick.

Tame Impala

What I've been listening to lately...

Holes In The Map

Jen Smith, Mele Saili and Jenna Balester leave the sunny shores of So-Cal and search for surf on their way to the Queen of the Peak contest in Tofino, British Columbia. Brought to you by Hayley Gordon.

Breckenridge Brewery Backpack

Breckenridge Brewery and Topo Designs have teamed up to create a limited edition backpack, made right here in America. The pack, which is based on Topo Designs' popular Daypack, has been widened to fit a full size six-pack and includes a roll-down cooler compartment, coated pack cloth interior and a custom bottle opener made by Machine Era Co.. The whole kit and caboodle will cost you a cool $140. A bargain for such a bad ass backpack. Follow the link for a few more photos.

Andy Bokanev

You meet all sorts of individuals on the internet. Artists, authors, entrepreneurs, overly opinionated passive-aggressive people and a lot of idiots. There are, however, a few exceptional souls. My dear friend Linhbergh, or Slurpee connoisseur, Camden Thrasher, for example. And then you meet somebody like Andy Bokanev. An NYC transplant that swallowed the PNW pill whole, Andy has the attention span of a twelve year old; interested in everything from mountain climbing and canoeing, to craft beer, weird cabins, surfing and stuff made in Seattle.

As a result, Andy has an eclectic collection of film and photos featured on his blog. To be honest, though, I don't know what he does - you know, for a living. But forget that filler. What I do know is that Bokanev spends his Saturdays and Sundays exploring the outskirts of our state, taking fantastic photos and finding some of my favorite music. So with that being said, I sat down and asked, er, emailed him a handful of questions, trying to better understand his inspirations and ideals. Follow the link and take a look at his answers.

Iceland

Short film shot by Reid Jackson, Chris Burkard and Mikey Detemple during their expedition to Iceland.

Sling Shit

Admittedly, I don't have a wholelotta patience. I want what I want, and I want it now. Sorta like the song. It's probably a problem. Surfing, however, has taught me to wait. For waves. For the wind to die down. For the sun to show up. For all sorts of stuff. But for whatever reason, I couldn't seem to sit still this Sunday. We'd spent the better part of the day prior shooting empty beer cans with a couple of sling-shots Bricky had in the back of his truck. I then proceeded to drink ALL of the sangria Karissa had made on Friday, leaving me, well, more inebriated than most. It was windy, though, so I wasn't missing much. Tried to hug the campfire a couple of times. Shameful.

I woke up around nine the next morning - a miracle - made a cup of coffee and tried to shake the inevitable hangover. The wind had shifted from the southwest to the northwest, making a mess out of what waves there were. I tried to be patient, to wait for the wind to die down, but the backside of my head hurt so damn bad I couldn't sit still. Everyone else was willing to wait. We should have. Instead, we packed our shit and hit the road, stopping at Granny's Cafe for a hamburger on the way home. I've had worse weekends. Follow the link for a few more photos.

La Luz

What I've been listening to lately. Brought to you by Bokanev.

Van Diemans Waters

I've really come to appreciate Matt Chojnacki's 'involvement' style of surfing. A throwback to logging's last days, when short sticks and umbilical cords were still somewhat unseen. It's fast, this involvement stuff. Ten steps to the tip. Poised positions on the end. Drop knee cut backs that make Henry Ford's famous photo look, well, lackluster. It's not like we haven't already seen this stuff. But sometimes the second time is better than before. An upgrade! Retro-Mod or whatever. Anyhow. Check out this video, done by Nicholas Damen, featuring Matt Chojnacki and Andrew Warhurst surfing somewhere sunny.

Surf Wagon: Captain Coffey's Econoline

My old man has three vans. THREE. Two of them are four-wheel drive cargo vans, and the other one is a full blown camper conversion. He has a 1977 E-250(?) Pathfinder with a hard sided pop-top roof, a fold down bed in the back and a small kitchenette. He also has a four-wheel drive 1979 E-350 cargo van, what I believe to be a Quadravan conversion. The third van is what you're looking at here - an extended length 1996 E-250 with a Quigley 4x4 conversion.

It is powered by a 351 cubic inch V8 and has barn doors on both the back and the side. It's empty, like a cargo van, but has a headliner. Now, you're probably wondering why the fuck he owns all three. Well, like anything exciting, all it took was the one. The aforementioned Econoline with the hard sided pop-top. It was cheap and exactly what he wanted; a van he could camp in, carry surfcraft and fix himself if he had to. But it wasn't bad ass enough. It wasn't a 4x4.

Work For A Living

Short video from So-Flo surfer, Drew Miller, filmed somewhere in Florida around five o'clock.

"You Missed It."

There's been better. There always is. But I don't care about sixteen foot swells and six second rides. I just like the little stuff. Smoothing sailing on the short and slow. Trying to twinkle my toes. Over exaggerating my turns and trimming toward the top: High & Tight. I prefer to pilot my Bing Pig past people. Cheating five. Jazzing some fucking glass. I'm not interested in anything else. Not right now. Which is why Sunday was so much fun. Just the right recipe. We had stayed up late the night before - charbroiled chicken, pineapple and peppers, plenty of pinot and quiet conversations at Angel's. It went well.

The next morning, Angel made Cuban coffee, apple cider waffles and peppered bacon. It was wonderful. And we didn't give two shits what time it was, or whether there were waves. By the time we pulled in, parked and paid, the wind had stopped working and the waves were waist high. My first few were fragile. It had been weeks since I'd surfed something smooth. After an hour, I managed to take a few trips to the tip. All sorts of unstable. Karissa even wandered her way out there and hung her first five. She was so stoked you could smell it from shore. Good thing Bricky was there to take a few photos ;)