Waitin' For Amor

Everyone was down at the hospital waiting for our first grand daughter to be born. My son's wife is Mex-Am so she has a big family. All her cousins, uncles, mom, sisters, etc. were there...about a dozen or so and of course my wife and her mom. Me? I had a noon appointment and decided to go surfing in the morning. After all, I can wait on top of my board and see the baby for the first time when there's less congestion and I can hold her. Life is good!

Surf was better than I thought it was going to be. I was just out for some exercise in pristine conditions. It also turned out to be old home week. Andy and Nancy were out for Nancy's birthday surf. Dean and his buddy were out enjoying the day. I paddled over to where Daniel was snagging a few knee slappers at Casa. And Keith was down from the City, surfing GDubs on his 9-3 PSH Ripper which I immediately swapped out for my Custom Angulo.

The 9-3 Ripper is the best short SUP I've surfed yet. At 28 and 3/8ths" it's remarkably stable, and at 9-3 it's very loose. The board was hardly tippy at all for a short board and I think the added weight of a production board is what a short SUP needs. Even still, the shorter SUPs (we're talking very small waves I got to ride it in) don't want to drop in like a more longboard SUP shape. Overall, this board was fun to ride, stable to paddle, stable in the whitewater and loose and maneuverable on the wave face. This would be an extremely fun shape when the surf gets bigger and more energized. After all it was designed by one of Hawaii's foremost SUP surf shapers, for the beefier Hawaiian waves. But the 9-3 is not an all-arounder which PSH readily admits. They have the 9-2 and larger boards and shapes for the AA classification. But I was impressed with the 9-3 and have been wanting to surf one for a long time. For anyone who is looking for a production, short stand up paddle surfboard, the 9-3 would be well worth checking out. Thanks for letting me take it for a surf Keith!

Keith surfed my custom 10' Angulo and really liked it. He said I could quote him that it's the best custom SUP he's ever surfed. The waves were perfect for the custom Gu as this board truly is an all-arounder. Great for everything from gutless ankle biters to double overhead bombs. I had the thruster fin set-up on the board and Keith like that a lot too. (I just ordered a Detemple MD3 "kelp cutter" (i.e. lot's of rake) from Freeline. I'm looking forward to seeing how that fin works in the kelp.) I got it because I love the feel of the custom Gu as a single fin, but the RFC Pivot just has too tall of a profile in the kelp, and is forever catching in the stipes and fronds.

Dave C. was heading out on his 10-2 production Angulo with Dave's custom paint job, as I paddled in. Nice! Great day to be out on the water.

Mar 30, 2009 (M)

In: 1025
Out: 1120
AT= 61.8F to 59.9F
WT= 51.1F
Wx: Clear and sunny
Tide: 1' Rising to 2'
Wind: Light from the southwest to calming
Sea Surface: Glassy in the kelp with some very light sideways backwash bump
10-0 Angulo EPS/Epoxy Custom SUP with Infinity Ottertail carbon fiber paddle

Fin set-up: Thruster with K2D2 4.75" center fin (fourth mark up from back) and Future Fiberglass YU (actual fin not shown)
Bathymetry: Sand bars
Deep Water Swell and Wave Face Heights CDIP Archive
Buoy: NWS (Nearshore)
1000: 4.6 feet @ 11.8 WNW (2 - 3 ft. faces)
1030: 4.6 feet @ 11.8 WNW
1100: 3.9 feet @ 10.5 WNW (1 - 3 ft.)
1130: 4.3 feet @ 11.1 WNW