Mystery man

I was up in San Francisco last Tuesday and decided to drive down to Mavericks and see who was surfing. As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed a guy on a SUP board paddling in the harbor heading towards the jetty and Mavericks. The guy walked across the jetty and headed right out to the break. It was a big day but the wind was up and it didn't look fun at all. Nobody I talked to knew who this guy was. From the look of the pic it might have been Sasquatch with a full wetsuit on. What I do know is that this guy is bad ass. Maybe it is Sasquatch!!

Gone fishing

I don't know about you but this pic remindes me of a good time. SUP boards and fishing poles on a dive boat heading off to a secret spot!! This will be my last post for about 8 days as I am packing and ready to head for the hills on a ski trip. Happy holidays.

Texalium

I have been using a Texalium deck and bottom on the 10'2" noserider. I picked up the latest 10'2" from the glasser today. This board lost a full 8 pounds over the last one. Good to go!!

BlueLine 11' er

Just got home from the glass shop. John Burges, owner of Glass Monkey Glass Shop putting the finishing touches on my latest BlueLine SUP board. He does a hell of a job.

SONAR DESPIERTO

Another rough day at the office!!

Da Bomb

I was going through some pics and found this shot of me dropping into a nice wave while watching a tow in surfer dropping into a nice bomb about 100 yards in front of me. I say drop the stinking rope and grab an SUP board!!

Little rippers

My son Ben on the left is 9 years old and is on a 7' foot surfboard. He is getting better everytime we go out and he surfed a ton of waves today. Tucker, on the right is 11 years old and is on a 6'6" Nash surfboard. Tucker is really tearing it up on this small board. He is a better SUP boarder than 99% of the adults around SB. I'll post some pics of these kids in the waves soon!

Better half

WarDog from SurfingSports took this pic of my wife today in the water. She has now got the SUP bug. You go girl!!

TAIL BACK

Every top has it's bottom. Every head has a tail. I just like looking at the ass end of a SUP board. It remindes me of hitting the lip and making a big bottom turn. Two of my BlueLine tails looking good and ready for some surf!!

Spit pic

A nice little pic of a guy in the Santa Barbara green room. Another local spot that only breaks on a swell like the one we had last week. You have to look close to see the dark figure in the wave.

Jimmy Lewis

Just got home from helping WarDog at Surfing sports unload a container of 50 new Jimmy Lewis SUP boards. They really look nice so check out WarDog at www.surfingsports.com. I'm going to take out the green one as soon as the weather gets better.

RARE SITE !

The south side of the pier was working for the past 3 days. 364 days a year this body of water is as flat as a pancake. This is a rare site in Santa Barbara. Even on a nice winter swell it doesn't break. For some more great Santa Barbara pics of this last swell check out War Dogs website at www.surfingsports.com

After, after.........

Well the waves are REALLY big this morning. Our quiet little beach looks like something out of Nor Cal.

AFTER.......

Same spot as below, 24 hours later. Got some fun surf today with some monster sets.

BEFORE.............

This is a pic I took of our local break early this morning while walking the dog. If all goes as planned the next pic of this same spot should be cranking. Thats how it workes here in Santa Barbara. It can to tiny in the am and cranking in the pm. After shot coming soon!!

Heads up !

Buckle up your chin straps boys and girls because a giant swell is on the way. Should hit here in SB starting Tuesday afternoon and be macking on Wednesday. I'm going to eat my Wheaties and rest so I can grab a few big ones on my SUP board. Pics to follow. Have fun everyone and be safe.

White wash

Another pic of Laird on his 14' Ron House gun. I remember last year while I was picking up my 10' Ron House custom board seeing this gun in the glass shop next door to Ron's studio. I have to say that after doing my own SUP boards and surfing numerous other SUP boards that Ron House really knows his shit. NOTHING works better. The thin, drawn in tail, with the small tri set up is the best!! I still use my 12' Ron House on smaller days and the board is amazing. It surfs like a 10 footer. Keep up the good work Ron. I use your boards as a measuring stick when it comes to high performance and so far I haven't even come close on my own boards. I'm working on it.

BADA BING !

We sure don't get waves like this around these parts. Good thing because if we did I would actually have to stop drinking so much beer and rum and start working out just to stay alive in the surf. Now that sounds like to much damn work!!

Close out!!

You may have seen some pics from this session on the net a few months ago. A friend of mine sent me a series of this surf session right after they were shot in Hawaii. I have a few more if there is any interest.

BlueLine noserider

I have been lagging on the photo of this board so here it is. The board, including the rails is wrapped in Texalium.Texalium is an aluminum weave in the regular fiberglass that makes the board bomb proof and it also looks cool. A lot of work went into this board. The only problem with wrapping the rails with Texalium is that it made the board heavy due to the fact that the rails had to be wrapped in another layer of fiberglass to hold the Tex down. I have another one getting glassed right now and I left the Tex off the rails this time. The board should be about 8 pounds lighter. OUT.

TEN TWO

Spencer checking the concave on the BlueLine 10' 2' noserider.

Nash 10' 6" Tri-Fin

I took this board out for the 2nd time today and let me tell you it kicks ass!! Turns great and drives down the line. I just might have to get one. Nash also has an 11' 6" and coming soon a 9' 6" Tri ripper!!. The boys in Maui now how to make them work. To see more go to www.nashsurfing.com.

Odelay!!!

Ryan dropping in on a nice looking wave. Once again showing us his SUP skills.

Carbon Cruiser

I was down at the Beach House yesterday checking out this 12' Kauai Boys carbon SUP board. Super light and big $$$$$.

BlueLine 11'

The boyz getting busy with the finishing touches on my 11' SUP. We now have three boards in the water (10', 10' 2", and 11') and three more being glassed for the local surf shop. When I decided to get back into the surf biz the surf shop here in town had ZERO SUP boards. Now by the time I get my boards in the shop they have about 20 in stock and have sold over 40 SUP boards. Things are happening way to fast!!!!

DOG DAYZ/40 CENT

No surf in Santa Barbara the past few days so all I can add today is a pic of my dog "40" (aka "40 Cent") kicking it on the couch. The last of the Thanksgiving gang left for home today so things will get back to nomal around here. It should be a good winter and I look forward to seeing all the SUP guys riding some big fast waves. Santa Barbara is a great place to live, visit and SUP surf. I/we have plans in the near future to add some SUP events to this area. This will include SUP surf contests, distance racing and group fun paddles.

Va ala izquierda

iShapes

My long time friend Spenser Kellogg from iShapes watching one of my SUP boards come to life. I design the boards on a CAD program and have them buzzed out. Back about 10 years ago I hand shaped all my surfboards and let me tell you that "Da Machine" is the way to go. The biggest problem I have now is working with the new EPS foam. Back when I was shaping by hand the Clark foam was like molding butter. This new EPS stuff is like trying to finish shaping a styrofoam ice chest from Vons.

Pappa Jerry

Jerry Shalhoob, local icon and long time Santa Barbara surfer, kite surfer and windsurfer showing his skills on this wave. Jerry is 65 years old and is showing no signs of slowing down. Jerry was one of the first guys in Santa Barbara to standup paddle. He spends a lot of time at his house in Maui and saw the locals doing it years before it hit the mainland. Thanks Jerry for turning us on here in SB to a great sport.

Pt. Conception

part of this
Jumping in the water at Pt. Conception for the 46 mile paddle back to Santa Barbara. Check out the light house in the background. This point is known for being really rough and nasty year round. The paddle back took us 12 hours and we all had a blast. We did this to raise money for a friend that had terminal cancer. He passed away shortly after. It was an honor to be a part of this event and I was so happy to help his family.

Some more California heat

Most folks I know ask me if we actually catch waves on our big ol SUP boards. Sometimes we do, I say with a grin. They have no idea what they are missing. My friend Steve busting a move at an undisclosed local break.

Michael Robertson

A few people have asked me about the surf pics. Who took the shots and what kind of camera they ask? Well if you look at my early posts, you know, the blurry and fuzzy ones, I took those with my Pentax Optio. It's a small waterproof pocket camera. The clear nice pics were taken by Michael Robertson. He has a big fancy expensive camera and he learned how to use it at Brooks. You can see more of his stuff at www.globaleyephotography.com. I might be able to dig up a few more SUP picks by Michael. If so I will post them.

Sporting some wood

Two of these paddles belong to my kids and one is my back up. Two are made from wind surfing masts and outrigger paddles. The other is made from fiberglass and a wood pole. These worked much better than using an old canoe paddle our an aluminum boat oar.

Old School?

Just two short years ago most guys here in SB were using the 12' "Soft Tops" for SUP. These bad boys are only 26" wide and not very thick. Using one was like tryting to balance on a 9 year old's surfboard after drinking a few beers. Actually I did try that once but that's another story. We also used paddles made from outrigger paddles and wind surfing masts. Our boy Ryan shown here in the pic is still using the Soft Top and homemade paddle and making it look good. Hey Ryan, when you're ready to upgrade, there has been a lot of progress in the SUP boards and paddles the past two years. It's unbeliveable how far this sport has come in that very short time!!

Storm window

"-We'll rail on through to surf and tangair and on down by the sea-The moon she shines the midnight ocean goin down the line-Gavioty, Govioty, O Gavi-oty, Singin and drinkin wine-Camarilla, Camarilla,Where Charley Parker went mad. We'll roll on to L.A-O midnight, midnight, midnight ghost, rollen down the line. Saint Terese Sainte Terese, don't you worry, We'll make it on time, down that midnight line..............Jack Kerouac.

Steve "StyleMaster" Marsh

Not bad for an old fart eh!! And to think we just got into this sport for some flat water exercise.

Sooooo Smooth!!

It doesn't get any glassier than this. Nuff said!!

California Gold

It's easy to forget about all the sore shoulders, ribs and pulled muscles you get from paddle surfing when you score a day like this.

California glass

StyleMaster

Steve "StyleMaster" Marsh riding the new 10'2" nose rider. Great conditions this day in Santa Barbara.

10'2" "StyleMaster Model"

This is a sneak peek at the new BlueLine noserider model. This board was designed for local SUP'er Steve Marsh. Steve helped design this board and we think that it will surf like a mo-fo!! One thing we do know for sure right now, it will have the looks of a pimp mobile. Bada-Bing!! We should have it in the water early next week. I will keep you posted. Jim