A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood

Just thought I would share my morning walk with you.

More Reason I Love Summer

Surf, sunshine, warm water, jumping dolphins, southern hemis, tomatoes, salads, bar-b-q's, tans, bikinis, camping, vacations, Disneyland, cool movie theaters, water balloon fights, swimming pools, body surfing, family, friends, chill evenings, cold beers, walks on the beach, swimming dogs, swimming kids, corn on the cob, dirty feet, leash tans, tanlines, fresh board shorts, blonde hair, new boards, fresh wax, salty hair, sunscreen, afternoon naps, hammocks, watermelon...

Things I Love About Summer

Here in Oceanside, the late summer and early fall are really something special. Take yesterday and today for example. Yesterday was sunny and warm all morning and all day, with a beautiful sunset. Not many clouds, not too windy, borderline perfect. The swell was building nicely, overhead on the sets, pretty consistent, and still nowhere near peaking. Ended the day at a Surfline party overlooking the US Open of Surfing.

The water is warm, right around 72.

Woke up this morning to overcast skies, and perfectly still air. The swell is still building.

How to Order an HSD Surfboard

I just wanted to real quick explain the steps in ordering a custom board from us.

1. Decide on a board model you would like to ride and consider the dimensions and rail shape you like.

2. Email or call us to set up a consultation with JP. It can be done by phone or you can bring in the board you are currently riding. JP will ask questions about what you like/don't like, why you want to try the model you chose, how you'd like to improve your surfing, and if you are here he'll make you skate down the street to see how you use your legs and body to turn. This is 10-30 minutes. Together you will decide on final model, materials, and dimensions.

3. Place order and put down deposit. Cash or check is best, credit card is ok, too.

4. If you want, JP will have you come by when he hand-shapes your board. He lets you come in the room so he can explain what he is doing and how it will translate into your surfing. JP wants to improve your surfing experience and for you to begin to understand design and performance. Lots of shapers don't do this but we think its WHY you order custom boards. This is about 2 hours.

5. When your board is done, we call you. It usually takes 2 weeks from this point but we will give you an ETA. You finish paying and its yours, only thing left is to go surfing.

Surfrider and Green Boards

Last night's Surfrider meeting was about educating surfers on the greener options now available to surfers. The San Diego Chapter invited Ned Mc Mahon of Malama Composites, JP and Andrea Holeman, and shaper Jake Moss. Each company is trying to build a greener surfboard and lessen their carbon footprint. Everyone also agreed that the health of the people making the boards and materials was a big motivating factor to cleaning up the industry.

The surf industry is an old-fashioned and stubborn thing, especially when it comes to the building of surfboards. The technology used until Clark's closing in 2005 had been relatively unchanged since the 1950's, when foam cores were invented. Since 2005 there has been a rush of technology improvements and experiments to improve aspects of surfboard building. Its confusing for those of us in the industry to keep up with the different foams, what they are made of, what resin it needs, new epoxies, stronger cloths, and what fins and boxes are made from. I can't imagine a consumer trying to sort it all out, so Surfrider engaged us all in a discussion about greener options for surfboards.

Ned Mc Mahon is a great source of information. He thinks like a chemist, talks like someone that knows about composites, and really cares about worker's health and the environment. He's been leading green improvements for some time now and seems determined to educate consumers. He talked last night about ingredients in foam, resin, catalyst, and cloth. Ned explained that foam and resin can be made from basically any oil- soy, linseed, castor, petroleum- but there's really no getting around (yet) the toxic catalyst that account for less than 5% of the final products. He and Dan Van Zaten showed off a new Super "Green" surfboard that looks futuristic, but is a green option. There is no sacrifice on performance.

JP and I brought in a board Wyatt is laminating for me. It wasn't done yet, but it was good enough to explain what we have been working on lately. Its made with 30% post-consumer recycled styrofoam (we can get 100% now if you want it), a bamboo stringer, sealed with Elmer's glue, and laminated with a linseed epoxy. Everything can be washed up with soap and water. The fins are the tricky part. JP can hand-foil some from scrap wood if I want glass-ons, or i can just use Futures. Rumor has it they are going to be greening-up their fins and boxes because of demand, so thats good. JP and I try to run our business like we run our home- sustainable and green.

Jake Moss showed off his latest, tripped out design. Its made from locally sourced greener materials and has bamboo fins also made locally. The bamboo fin was an interesting story- the guy making them chose bamboo because of it strength and flex and didn't even realize or care that he had a greener product. Jake talked about durability, how any oil can be epoxified, and hemp.

The three presenters all proclaimed the same message really. There are green surfboards, not in stores yet, so you'll have to look around and ask for them. You can get greener, custom, hand-shaped boards that perform and last. Surfboard builders are striving for cleaner, safer work environments. The "Wal-Mart" mentality of cheap, cheap, cheap has all but made the once booming and revered craft of surfboard building an "endangered species". Smaller carbon-footprints are good.

Change starts small, change starts local, and change starts with you!

Green Surfboards

JP has always wanted to make high-performance, environmentally sound surfboards. Something that is not poisonous to the workers or the immediate surroundings. Something that maybe biodegrades or can be recycled. For past Surfrider events he has collaborated with other environmentally-conscious surfboard builders to create better boards.

What makes a surfboard green though? Is it taking TDI out of foam? Must it be all-natural? We at HSD have some opinions on this that we would like to share.

First, you vote with your dollars. Consumers are the best catalyst for change in business. If you, an eco-minded surfer, want a high performance board made from recycled foam that is durable, ask. If you keep showing up with money in your hand and leave without buying when you can't get what you want, businesses will notice. And change.

Second, there are different aspects to consider when thinking about "going green". If you want to lessen your foot-print and support local businesses, then order a durable epoxy hand-shape from a local shaper that gets boards glassed by surfers in your area. Take it one step further and ask about a blank made from recycled foam or plant-based linseed epoxy. Did you know that styrofoam can be recycled over and over again while retaining all of its virgin properties? Its about as recyclable as aluminum. An important note on the "durable is green" arguement is care. You need to take care of your board and fix dings properly in order for it to last.

Next, we realize that it is a big investment to buy a board made in a new, possibly experimental technology. The board may not come out as fast as "regular" boards and it might be hard to fix. Ask yourself, what kind of car do you drive? A new H3 or a Prius? Why didn't you buy the car that spends more on marketing, because you know that long-lasting environmental degradation is not cool. Ask your shaper or surfshop kid about technologies, feedback from people who tried the boards, how you can try a board, and just be interested in green technology.

Finally, change takes time so be patient and keep asking. Just be willing to experiment, be prepared for some room for improvement, and engage other surfers in discussions about green technologies. Be the change you want to see, isn't that what they say. If you want to learn more, swing by the Surfrider chapter meeting in Oceanside this Weds, July 15. JP and other surfboard builders will be talking about what they've seen and tried, what they are going to try next, and take questions.

Morning After Mess

The Surfrider Foundation always hosts a huge clean-up after the 4th of July, to clean area beaches from all the partying that goes on. This year the Oceanside location was at the South Harbor Jetty. While I'm sure it gets messy, I really wanted to clean my beach. So I signed in early, got some supplies, and headed back down to my house. JP, Derek and I all cleaned what was is our normal walk to surf.

There were cigarette butts, 275 Derek counted plus the hundreds JP checked off in groups of ten. There were bags and broken bottles, drink cups, razors, fireworks, and dead animals. The street sweeper must have drove by three times, and it seemed that for all that effort, the guy walking around with a broom would have actually cleaned something up instead of push trash towards the storm drains. At least we guilted some of the partiers in the neighborhood to sweep up in front of their house. Its a start.

After 2 hours of walking, stooping, and sweeping the three of us had collected 30 pounds of trash and almost 1000 cigarette butts. We, sadly, walked by the mother-load of Starbucks cups, because we really wanted to get to the beach. Waves are overhead and barreling, now is time for our reward.