The creative folks in Cardiff (Cardiff by the Sea, CA) have outdone their selves with the latest uhhh…. enhancement to the lamest surf statue in a surf town.  Nice work mystery crew!

Lately surfboardbuilders.com has been doing lots of custom surfboards for companies with corporate logos.  We’ve been using some new processes for small logos or logos covering the entire deck or bottom.  The latest processes print your image directly onto rice paper (for small images) or directly onto fiberglass for incredibly detailed beautiful, photo quality images.  Some recent projects have been completed for Microsoft, Coach, Loreal, American Eagle, La Playa Dulce, and lots more.  The feedback from customers has been pretty exceptional.  From La Playa Dulce, “Surboardbuilders created a beautiful logo/menu board for my boutique. They were timely and treated me great. We get a lot more business since we put it outside on the sidewalk next to the store.”  If you have a corporate event or just need surfboards as a decoration, don’t hesitate to call us. 

Matt is heading up this effort and can get you just about anything (longboards, shortboards, fish, eggs, mini longboards, rippable, rideable, and non rideable).  For info and quotes on corporate logo surfboards you can call Matt directly at 760 613 7163.

In 1971 I went to Biarritz France.  After staying in a hotel for 2 or 3 nights we had to get out ‘cause it was really expensive.  We met 6 Australian guys on beach who were camping south of Biarritz, at a surf break called Lafitenia.  So there were 8 of us at a campsite and campsites were $2/day.  So divided by 8 it was $.25 per day!  The only other people there were 4 guys from Santa Barbara.  Imagine camping in front of a break just like Swamis…there were no French surfers yet so it was completely un-crowded.  The day we got there was the biggest day we surfed… 15 to 20 foot then it dropped to about 10 feet in afternoon.

That afternoon we saw this goofy footer drop in and just rip apart the wave so I asked the other guys, “who is that.”  They said, “that’s Lopez (Gerry Lopez).”  Later down in Cabo I talked with him about it and he remembered that day.

That season a ton of pro surfers were in France.  It made it really fun cause some were really ripping.  Guys like Mike Tabling, Lopez, Bruce Veluzzi, Brad Maccal, Jeff Hakman, Mike Diffenderfer, Doug Haut, Jackie Baxter, and Mike Miller.  Hal Jepsen the photographer ( A Sea for Yourself), was there with Hakman.

That September I remember Hossegor with full on Santa Ana type conditions.  Back then it was a 45 min drive.  We’d drive there super early and would be on the beach in dark waiting for it to get light.  A whole week in mid September Jeff Hakman and his crew would be there before us by a bonfire waiting for the sun to come up.

At the beach break in Biarritz the cutest girl on beach was named Bridgette and she was on vacation from Paris.  So of course a bunch of guys were hitting on her.  Rodney Sumpter was a film maker showing surf movies in town and so I invited her to go.  She said yes.  I had bought a scooter and had gotten a surf rack welded to frame.  The scooter only cost me $20.  I ended up selling it when I left for $20.

So I get to her house and found out she was only 16.  OK, so I was only 20.  So we hopped on our scooters and went to movies.  In the movies it was pretty funny.  Here we were in France watching Hakman and Lopez on the screen and in the audience is Hakman and Lopez!

 After the movie we went to meet one of her girlfriends.  It’s like 10pm and Bridgette couldn’t speak any English and I couldn’t speak any French but her friend did.  So Bridgette and her friend were talking and her friend asked me if I had to go all the way back to the campground that night (a long 10 miles on a scooter).  I said, “yes”.  Then they talked some more and her friend turns to me and says, “Bridgette said that you can stay at her house but there’s one problem, you have to sleep in the same bed with her.”  I said that that wasn’t a problem (with a straight face).  We said goodbye and went to her house.  Her parents  were asleep but we had to walk through her brothers room to get to hers…so she introduced me to her brother.  So, I spent the night!  In the morning she told me I had to climb out the window.  My scooter was outside the window so I had to walk it down street before starting it.  So I went back to the campground.  When I came pulling up everybody said,” look at that smile.”

…also John confirmed Greg’s Trestles stories from the previous post.  They even got their technique down so that they used a construction looking truck and eliminating anything surf looking from the truck!

Click here for more about John Kies

Click here to see John Kies Custom Surfboards

It was about 1972 and I was with my friend Charlie and three others in Charlie’s ford van.  We were coming south on 5 from LA…I remember 3 guys in back.  I’m in the passenger seat and we are close to the 55 (by Newport Beach).  Charlie is reading the newspaper, drinking some coffee and steering with his knees.  John, who is in back reaches around Charlie’s eyes so he couldn’t see the road…just joking around like that. We got to the exit by Trestles, parked, and waxed our boards up.  It was about 3:30am in morning so it was pitch black.  Charlie said he figured out a “new” way there so we followed him.  We went down this driveway and everyone was saying, where are we?  So Charlie says, “This is Nixon’s house”…then President Nixon’s house.  So then everyone is getting really nervous.  We end up walking by a guard shack and we had to duck under the window of the guard shack where he was reading a magazine.

We climbed over fence…I remember it was pitch black.  At some point we noticed we were being followed by cameras …on tracks…it was freaky.  Of course we had to stop to moon and flip off the cameras.  We got down close to the surf and could hear it pounding.  Finally down on the beach we could see the surf cause the moon was out.  When the first bit of light came out we started walking over the rocks to the surf.  Just then we heard Jeeps coming so we started going over the rocks as fast as possible.  There was this guy on megaphone yelling to get out of the water?  Charlie of course, “knew” the rules and began telling us about how we were past mean high tide and so were within our rights etc..  Anyway we got out there and there were 5 other guys in the water. 

So were in water ignoring the guy on megaphone.  They must have decided to just wait till we got out.  My Dad was a cop so I decided I wasn’t getting caught.  When there was about 20 guys in the water this little submarine pops up and a guy is in it on another megaphone telling us to get out of the water. Someone said that Nixon was at the house.  Of course we all ignored him.

 After surfing those guys were still on the beach.  We paddled north to cottons…got out of water by the campgrounds then went back to car and never got caught.  Pretty fun…

Another time I went there with John Kies and I think Marc Adam from Encinitas.  They said they had another way in to Trestles.  So they told me to get off on the Basilone.  We then went over the freeway and got back on going South.  They told me to park the car on the side of the freeway by Church’s and to pop the hood up like we were broken down. 

I did and we went surfing at Lowers.  When we got back John says I can’t believe it worked!  There was a little flag on my car to show that the car had been checked but it was still there.  Evidently they had never done this before and so had me be their guinea pig.

For more about Greg and to see his custom surfboard models click here

Here is an interview and video of Greg Sauritch:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdPcbA3OhYc

You have a reputation for being able to duplicate “magic” custom surfboards.  How did this come about?

Most shapers in the 70’s stuck to their model or plan or just made their own surfboards to promote themselves.  I’ve been mainly a ghost shaper and have had to learn how to make so many different kinds and models of boards.  It’s just ended up that I haven’t been promoting me… but in the process I also saw big name guys go through their highs and lows…as a ghost shapers and having versatility I could move between shapers.  So when someone comes to me it’s just what I’m used to.    Basically ghost shaping prepares you for that…you see so many shapers ideas…lots of interesting stuff.  Today I work for 5 different people.  The only bad thing is all 5 use 5 different types of foam and that gets a little crazy.

 What’s different about being a shaper now?

It’s interesting.  In 70’s and 80’s people came in to watch their board shaped.  I guess people just have better things to do now, cause I hardly do that anymore.  It’s weird, really different.  Although even back then there were a few crews that wouldn’t let you watch…like the Brewer crew.  Now people will bring their boards in and say what they like or don’t like and then leave.  Also, now the surf industry seems to be really into “models”.  Instead of being constrained by models I try to listen to the needs of a customer and to put what they want into a board. 

 Your thoughts on the state of surfing and the surfboards you’ve been making?

Finally people are coming around to some width and length.  High School kids always seem to stick to what pros are riding…thin etc.  That’s not likely not to go away.  In the last issue of Surfer Journal Kelly Slater was talking about… he said people were just riding board that were too narrow.  People are happier now (with the new style custom surfboards).  I’m making a lot of shorter boards with fuller noses.  It’s gone from 10.5” to 11.5” to now at 12.5” to 14”…sometimes a little bigger…we call them “tweeners”.

This started in the late 90’s with “tweeners”…hybrids.  The first ones didn’t have wings but we added those and it took off.  Now you see lots of people following.  People are opening their eyes more and riding boards that work.  Magazines are finally starting to promote them also …which is nice…not just selling what the pros are riding.  Customers are now also seeing a design they like and then they will tune it.  And that’s a great trend…  starting to fine tune their primary board.   In my case it’s often that what people want isn’t readily available…that’s where I come in.

You can read more about Bill here: http://www.surfboardbuilders.com/shaper_bill_minard.aspx

To see Bill’s custom surfboard styles: http://www.surfboardbuilders.com/BrowseBoard.aspx?ShaperID=32