More Roger Proneman Kelly, cheating death and riding on his knees!
Same Day, Two Hemispheres
2 weeks ago
From Matt
Hope this finds you well.
Wanted to give you a research update as I just returned from Lobitios,
and Chicama Peru. Was the best surf trip I have been on yet and I took a
full PG selection that couldn't have performed better.
The
first few days we spent in Lobitos, Northern Peru and we surfed a heavy
tubing left hand point. Honestly the first day was likely some of the
biggest waves I have been in and what an incredible current. I rode the
Lotus and it handled great. There is a deep local body boarding scene
that thought I was crazy out there on " the mattress" but I got 2
screamers and they were pumped. I tried the 6'6" the second day with a
bit less swell but I got worked pretty good. I am not a shredder LOL,
though I did meet a generous local who is into hand planes and
different surf craft and I gave him the board. Seemed a nice gesture.
We
then headed south to Chicama where we got 4 solid days of chest high
swell, really a life changing spot. Got some 2 min rides for 400 yards,
and such a beautiful setup/landscape. Rode the 8' Simmons and you
couldn't take a better board. Got the hang of going left on the second
day and developed a low knee boarding style to work it down the line and
stay out of the howling offshore wind. The last couple days a local
filmer was out so attached below are a couple pics and a short vid.
There was a brazilian surf group that wore matching red shirts and was
out every morning, LOL, so we would watch the wave from our hotel
balcony and once we saw the red shirts wandering in, the four of us
would head out and surf all day basically alone. I should retire now!
Anyway! thanks again for sharing all your work. Best surf craft
MP
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From The Tusked Beast
If you can make it to the section of Wayne Lynch, it's amazing how much better he was, and how advanced his board was...being a roundtail V.
From Max
I wanted to first share a quick story...
My
first longboard, purchased after moving down from Humboldt (HSU class
of 98') to Santa Barbara, was a 9' Paul Gross beauty. I got it used (I
was living in a VW Westfailia at the time, to give you a sense of my budget)
from an SB surf shop in 1999, right out of the stack. I think the
"shaped for" name was Cesar??
It had/has a bomb glass job, including
double overlap on the rails, and being my first longboard I was stoked
to have anything that floated at the time. LB's are a must in SB and I
made an instant connection with the hully shape.
Among its many
adventures the board survived getting blown off the roof on the 101 up
by those Gaviota Coast wind tunnel canyons. I literally watched it
bounce off the highway on the tail, narrowly avoiding a semi and somehow
rolling/blowing into the median, all through the rear view mirror. It has
worn the tail rebuild well ever since. It rode Campus Point, small El
Cap, maybe too much Refugio, many a random Gaviota break, and lots of
c-street (I ended up living in Ventura my last year in the area). I've
pushed many friends or kids of friends into their first wave on the
board and it is now in the possession of a very good friend who is
progressing to the point of truly appreciating the board.
Around 2010 I
asked Jim Phillips to shape me a copy with full license to make any
"adjustments" he saw fit. He definitely followed the hull shape but
thinned the tail out and sharpened the rails. I had moved to San Diego
by then and was pretty locked in to a break between Swami's and Cardiff. Knowing the break, he may have been
customizing to my weight, overly closed stance, and the SD waters.
Despite the minor edits it is certainly the living embodiment of that
very first and very magical 9' Paul Gross longboard that I still hold
near and dear to my heart.
Thanks,
Max
PS I've attached some pics of the new board. Jim expressed a genuine appreciation for the shape. Thought you might like to see it.
New 9'6'' Velo Simmons
This one has a full 2.5" of hull depth -- same as George's red Velo spoon -- and was inspired by the Simmons board displayed here by Nat Young. It has a sharp break in the belly under the nose, where most of the hull is concentrated, rather than a blended rocker with the hull distributed throughout the board.
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