Killer Dana Board Society

Photo courtesy of Servias

“Alana has been been having an okay rookie year—equal 9ths in every event. But the Women’s Tour is a lot smaller than the Men’s Tour, so staying on means putting up a few big results. Sitting at 13th at the moment, she’s in need of a few solid results in these last two events. Well, yesterday she stamped her authority all over the Women’s Vans Triple Crown of Surfing by taking the Vans Hawaiian Pro, giving her an early lead for the Triple Crown. Though the win won’t help her up her ratings to stay on Tour for next year (no ‘QS points), it will give her a huge boost of confidence heading into the rest of the Triple Crown.

The lone Hawaiian in the final, Alana faced three women who each had at least one world title to their names (Steph Gilmore, Becca Woods, and Sofia Mulanovich). The mentality we thought she would be taking was the “Hey I’ve made it to the final. That’s a great result.” But that wasn’t what Alana had in mind.

Photo courtesy CI/ASP Scholtz via Getty Images

Though Haleiwa wasn’t anywhere near perfect, Alana was controlling the sporadic lefts all day long and getting some of the biggest scores on them. Trailing the current 2x Women’s World Champ Steph Gilmore with about five minutes left, Alana picked off another one of those lefts. The runner allowed her multiple fluid swoops on her good-looking backside resulting in a 7.83. She had snatched the lead from the woman hailed as the best women’s surfer, giving Alana the biggest victory of her career.

Photo courtesy of Sarvias

If Alana can carry this momentum throughout the rest of the Triple Crown, she’ll be surfing with them best of them. And to stay with the best of them she’s going to have to keep it up. Congrats Alana!”

Thanks to Ryan Brower at Transworldsurf.com for this great article!

Jake Halstead Wins Grom Search Nationals 14Under Division at Salt Creek‏ Beach, California!

In the Boys 14/Under division, Jake Halstead utilized the rights going into the point to unleash a succession of hacks and blow tails to undeniably scalp the 14/U National Final title and nab $500 in prize money. The powerful regularfoot and decorated G-Search vet fended off Colin Moran (CA), Koa Smith (HI), and Taylor Clark (CA), who finished 2nd-4th respectively.

For the full story check out RipCurl.com

In the summer of 2008, iconic surfer and former Pipe Master Rob Machado flew to Indonesia to experience a different kind of surf trip.

A journey that would take him way beyond his comfort zone, to the point where he could finally be alone with his thoughts, his desires and the empty perfection of an unnamed Indian Ocean reef. What did he discover? You never stop dreaming.

Thanks to our friends over at Hurley, we have 2 Drifter DVD’s to give out today! Whoo Hooo! All you have to do to win is tell us about your most memorable drifter experience. We’re not necessarily looking for some long novel but just something that will wow everyone… and if you haven’t had the opportunity to go abroad then tell us about your dream Drifter experience. For some inspiration check out the Drifter trailer:

For tour dates on the Drifter check out Hurley’s website

Freeee shipping to U.S. residents only. Contest ends Wednesday Nov. 25th

Germany has a long history of high quality design, engineering, and manufacturing, but surfing technology? Germany is not what we normally think of when we think surfboards. Well, enter ‘Bufo’ Brauers, a German surfboard shaper, who has created a surfboard blank, the HydroFlex, that may revolutionize surfboard construction and technology.

After many years of research, starting way back in 1998, Brauers has been developing his ideas for flexible surfboard blanks. The result was the ‘bionic’ surfboard construction process that won a prestigious IF-Award in 2005, one of the world’s most prestigious international design awards. After the award, Volkswagen invited Brauers to Wolfsburg and enabled him to produce his revolutionary blanks in Germany, at the VW manufacturing facility.

“Nature is the best designer,” Brauers believes, and his ideas for a flexible, responsive blank came from studying natural movements and experimenting with natural materials. He never believed in the EPS foam used in traditional epoxy blanks, as EPS absorbs water too easily and lacks shear strength. Eventually he developed foam that is strong, recyclable, and doesn’t absorb much water – a unique, natural construction that enables the fastest flex pattern possible. Flex is very important, and the HydroFlex blanks don’t lose their pop even after years of hard surfing. The blanks produce an amazingly strong, better performing surfboard, and because they use mostly recycled materials, the blanks are very environmentally friendly. They’re very light and stay light even after getting damaged – the blank does not suck water at all.

Today, some of the best shapers in the world, including Lost Surfboards’ Matt Biolos and Timmy Patterson of TPatterson surfboards, are using their customized designs with the HydroFlex technology, enabling them to produce magic boards to the weight, size, and preference of the individual surfer. The HydroFlex design team removed all materials that suck in water such as EPS, wood, and PU, and instead replaced it with their patented bionic process, which enables the surfer to inject air, as much as seven PSI, for the stiffest flex, or less air for more flex. Because the air naturally repels water, the blank stays drier longer, resulting in a surfboard that keeps its lively feel for years of use.

Tom Curren and Chris Ward are among the many converts to the new technology, and if you’re interested, (I know I can’t wait to ride one), feel free to stop by our Killer Dana shop in Dana Point to take a look at a custom TPatterson hydroflex board, and maybe you’ll be ready to join the revolution!!

-GW

Whoops! We totally missed Monday Funday (sticker giveaway) yesterday… our bad. Anywho, we’re doing it today and we’re giving you the choice to choose from FREE Billabong or Mada stickers!!! Sausage fingers holding the stickers up, not included…

All you have to do is tell us about a style or fashion that you’ve been seeing a lot lately… or it can even be something you love, and haven’t seen anyone rockin. We wanna do a Get the Look blog on it!

First 15 or so peps get a little sticker pack of your choice (Billabong or Mada). Free shipping to U.S. residents only.

Tune in tomorrow for free Drifter DVD’s (Rob Machados new movie with Taylor Steele!)

Born in Moorea (French Polynesia) 46 years ago, Aken is in the ocean nearly everyday, surfing, stand-up paddling or kitesurfing, whatever the conditions are: perfect or crappy, tiny or huge. Incredibly fit, he’s got this fearlessness and at the same time easy going and friendly attitude that makes him so special.

I love to be in the water with him: first, because his style is so fluid and powerful; second, because even when you think he’s not going to make it, he still makes it; and third, because his laugh is the most contagious laugh I know.

I also love the fact that even though he will never tell you what his full name is (Pssshhhh…), he will always be there to share great stories and sound advice. And on a bright Sunday afternoon, between two surfing sessions, I decided to take some time to sit down for a little while and to chat with him… just to try and understand what it’s like to be a real waterman.

Photo: Guillaume Chastagnol

When did you start surfing?

I took my first waves when I was about 6 or 7 years old, on long flat pieces of wood. Then around 13, my friends and I were given an old surfboard. That’s all we had, and we had to share it! It was so funny: we would paddle together on a canoe to go surfing the reef break located in front of my place, and we just took turns: one of us was surfing, while the others stayed on the canoe eating mangoes and getting all excited because we couldn’t wait to go in the water.

But it was a different time back then: most of the time, I ended up surfing by myself because I couldn’t find anybody to come with me (laughs).

Huh… doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, especially on big days…

I got to experiment surfing in many different conditions all by myself. And it taught me a lot of things: when you’re on your own, it’s between you and mother nature. That’s how l learned to develop my focus and to “read” the elements: the color of the water, the way it moves, the tides, the horizon, the wind, everything… when you’re by yourself on big days, you become like a wild animal, all your senses are working towards only one purpose: just keeping you alive. You’re in survival mode and it’s an amazing sensation…

Because I’ve done this so much over the last 30 years, it has become second nature; I know how things work out there…

Photo: Guillaume Chastagnol

What does surfing represent for you?

It used to be my passion, but it has become my life, it’s who I am; I cannot live without this feeling of riding a wave.

Surfing has taught so much in life: I learned to go with the flow, in and out of the water. Surfing also taught me to slow down and to look at the beauty around me: ocean, waves, sunsets; I learned to be humble and to respect mother nature. We’re so lucky to have all this, I just wish more people could take a little bit of time to see what we see.

You go out whatever the conditions are: what thoughts cross your mind when a big set rolls in? And when you paddle for it?

Sometimes I get scared, but fear is exciting… and I know where my limits are: I like to think that I’m a “sensible freak”, despite what people think (laughs). When I see a big set coming towards me, the first thought that crosses my mind is: “how do I escape this?” But when I decide to paddle for a wave, I stop thinking. You can’t hesitate when it gets big; if you do, you end up getting hurt. So I just paddle hard, take off, and see what happens.

What’s the biggest wave you’ve surfed?

I don’t know… when it gets to a certain size, you don’t measure the wave anymore; you just can’t. You measure your sensations; that’s how you can tell there’s a difference (smile).

Photo: Guillaume Chastagnol

Your best memory?

Surfing this big left with a bunch of friends about 10 years ago: it was big (more than 9 ft) and perfect. I got the biggest barrels of my life… there was so much water surrounding me… and I broke 2 boards in 1 hour (laughs).

Your worst memory?

I can’t tell you either, I nearly drowned soooo many times; your lungs burn, you have cramps everywhere, you can’t see anything, you nearly pass out…But I’m lucky, I tend to forget fast, that’s why I keep paddling out on big days. And it’s important to be in shape: you want to trust your body, your mind, and their abilities. I don’t get that scared when I’m healthy and clear-minded… because I feel strong.

And you stand-up paddle and kite board as well!

Yes, I started kiteboarding 7 years ago and I loved it from the very first day. Freestyling is fun but kiting in the waves is what I love. That’s the reason why decided to learn the sport: I wanted to surf waves in a different way.

As for stand up paddling, it is a nice alternative when the surf is small or not that fun… I mean, when it’s not big & barreling (laughs).

Photo: Vainui

What’s next?

I want to try foil surfing, tow-in surfing, and catamaran racing around the globe… all the exciting stuff.

What’s your philosophy in life?

Don’t think about the past, it’s gone, what is done is done. Live in the present and enjoy every minute; remember that when you waste time, even if it is just a second, you’ll never get it back. Enjoy life & make it beautiful.

I also believe that it’s important sometimes to be on your own, in order to question your behavior, you assumptions, and your thoughts. I often meditate, especially when I am in the water. This practice has made me a calmer and wiser person; I get to see what is really important and what is not, and I find solutions to my problems.

Words to live by?

Smile at life, and life will smile at you.

Between you and me, I like to call him “Obi Wan Akenobi”… just because I believe the Force is with him.

There is something about Hawaii that makes anything and everything that much better. Take work for example. The other day I found myself digging a 500 foot long trench in the sand. With sweat pouring out every gland on my body and blisters forming with every prod of the shovel, I paused and glanced around at what surrounded me.

All of the sudden digging a trench didn’t seem so bad. It’s a small price to pay to be put up on a beautiful island for six weeks, surrounded by perfect waves.

Arrival at the Reef Hawaiian pro

In case you are wondering the reasoning behind digging trenches in the sand, it has a lot to do with the the annual surfing circus that comes to the North Shore every year. You might know this better as the Triple Crown of Surfing. The trenches are necessary for the massive amounts of cable it takes to run an event and webcast it to the world.

This webcast is the reason that for the next six weeks, I will be working on the North Shore; helping produce three webcasts, checking out the people and hopefully getting piped off my rocker.

Just a tiny bit of the gear for the webcast

The sadly ironic part about the latter is that when the waves are really pumping, I will be working. The first week here has been fairly sizeable although lacking the right direction for prime conditions on the reefs of the North Shore.

Haleiwa, the first stop of the Triple Crown has been absolutely dismal and has only held competition one day so far. This is due to a rare swell direction out of the east north east that doesn’t wrap around into the historic surf break.

The trailer set up

After a few days of event preparation, the swell direction graced our crew with not only a few lay days, but fun waves on other parts of the island.

The amount of surfers converged on this rock during this time of year is a sight in itself. Every breaking wave you see is bound to have a couple guys ripping. Usually there are a couple lenses on the beach to follow their every turn.

The first stages of a cable trench

Familiar faces pop out everywhere you go. From checking the waves, to Foodland, to Sharks Cove Grill, it’s hard to go somewhere without broing down at some point. Much like work though, the bro down here is that much better by the simple fact that you are both in Hawaii.

The guys that have been doing this pilgrimage for years have their programs on lock. Crews form, packs converge and cliques rise out of what was a peaceful country town a couple months ago and is now a collection of national and cultural groups interacting with each other. The beautiful part is that everyone is brought to this island through surfing.

Stormy sunset

The eight mile stretch of beach that makes up the North Shore of Oahu is geared up and ready to roll for another season. The boys will have a week or so of small surf, but we can all bet that when that first solid swell rolls into town, everyone is going to be on it.

Four fins are faster than tri fins.
Four Fins are looser than tri fins.
Four fins ride the barrel higher and tighter than a tri fin.
They drop in easier.
They come out of the gate quicker.
Accelerate on cutbacks.
Do better airs.
Can be ridden shorter.
Draw new and different lines.

Josh Kerr is one of the half-dozen or so of the ASP World Tour who regularly experiment with quads.

So why isn’t every surfer on the planet riding one?

It’s all Hype?
Different strokes?
Media?
The pros don’t so I won’t?

Maybe shapers don’t have it right…yet?

Perhaps if there were a ubiquitous effort, a Manhattan Quad Project, the design would evolve at a faster rate and all would enjoy the benefits.

Sorry, somebody has to win a major friggin contest on one first. (Biggest win? CJ won the Body Glove Surfbout on a quad in ‘07.)

So at this point, who seems to like them and who doesn’t? And why?

Typical first impression of a quad is this: fast and loose, but not confident without something directly under the back foot. It takes a few sessions to trust the setup — and run with the positive attributes.

The lack of an auto-centering sensation seems to be a common complaint from most detractors. Without a center fin, a lot of surfers miss the instant feedback from the back foot and the ability to do quick adjustments. With quads there is an information gap in rail change that varies widely depending on fin (rear especially) position.

Backhand performance is also a concern of 3-fin loyalists. Going heelside, the rider delivers more power through the rear foot and specifically the heel. Visualize foot angle and where the energy is going…for most surfers pretty much in line with the rear fin, three inches and change from the back end.

Early days of the 3-fin, I’d put rear fins way back on some rider’s tail blocks. It was necessary to do this to keep more powerful, rear-foot surfers from blowing their tails out on acute direction changes. Occy’s were set at 2 3/4″ and some of Tom Carroll’s trailers were as far back as 2″ from the end of the board. As rockers and outlines evolved, the rears crept up to 3 1/4″ to 3 1/2″ on an average shortboard.

If a rear fin on a tri is moved up an inch or two from the placement most people are used to, the board loses drive, hold, and moves the pivot point further forward. A surfer would have to completely readjust his rear foot placement. Same holds true with a quad.

Which leads to probably one of, if not the single most important detail in designing a 4-fin surfboard: fin positioning. Not weird-ass tails. Not crazy bottom contours. Fins. How big they are, outlines, and foils. Where they are, their relative positioning with respect to each other, cant and nose vector.

Jamie Sterling is a fan of quads in the barrel at Teahupoo ’cause they go fast and hold at speed. Photo: Tyler Cuddy

Early on I took a fairly simplistic approach to it.

Early quads were an attempt to add drive and control to twins. In 1980/81, Twins were de rigueur. Since 1982/83, tri-fins were most surfers’ experiential basis. In my mind, I’m starting with a tri-fin. So I took the rear fin on a tri, and was theoretically splitting it in half. The more the rider wants the feel of a tri, the further back and closer together I’d keep the fins. If a rider was after more of a twin-fin feel, I’d move the rears towards the rail and the front fins.

My common middle ground: for argument’s sake, a 6′2″ tri-fin has fronts at 11″ and rears at 3 1/4″. A lot of designers go half the distance on a quad, so that would put the rears at 5 1/2″ and the same distance from the rail, about 1 1/8″. In my humble opinion, I feel this is a little on the neutral side. I split the difference on distance from the tail (tri vs. quad: 2 1/4″), which would be 3 1/4″ plus 1 1/8″…or 4 3/8″. Easier math: 7′ board. Fins at 12″ and 4″ on a tri. Half the distance is 6″. Split the difference, 5″ for a quad. On average, I try to keep my rears about 2″ in from the rail. That’s a generalization. It becomes a more complicated depending on tail width and board length.

Fin size: Fronts are similar to tri-fins, perhaps slightly smaller. Rears: profiles similar to fronts reduced approximately 10% in overall area. You can adjust drive by swapping out rears with different aspect ratios. More upright fins for tighter arcs. More rake to add length and draw to turns.

Foils: Your preference on fronts…your favorite tri fin fronts are a good starting point. If you are a fan of cambered fins — stay with them. If you prefer flat-sided fronts, you will probably like them in the trailers as well. Smaller, weaker surf; flats are probably the go as they react a little quicker and provide instant feedback. Bigger, more powerful surf — most prefer cambered or dual (full) foil trailers. Less prone to cavitate and let go. Some prefer full-foil trailers in everyday surf, citing more “feel”…smoother, cleaner, etc. Not as fast.

Cant on rears: Typically, I halve the angle of the fronts. It can vary according to intended use. Smaller softer surf; a little more cant will add some lift and looseness. Conversely, less tilt will increase speed, hold, and drive.

Nose vector (line towards nose): I typically point all four fins to approximately the same place, which depends on board length and type of surf the board is intended for.

Another shaper’s insight into quads and fin positioning: Bruce McKee has done nearly 30 years of homework for all of us and he’s quite happy to share it here.

Why not chuck a quad in the back with the rest of your quiver? Photo: Tyler Cuddy

So back to…why aren’t more surfers embracing this design?

I suspect that there were probably a lot of takers that might have had a go early on before a lot of work had been done. They may have had a less-than-satisfactory experience and shared it with others that may have at one point been interested.

Some of it may be due to negative stigma. The print media. In an incredibly myopic and disappointing “Surfboard Issue” last year the polyurethane/polyester tri-fin was declared the winner and still champ in a fizzling technology push.

Thankfully, we have the Internet.

Search and you will find. There are quite a few board builders offering quads. Even Simon Anderson himself rides and enjoys quads and has several models in his product line.

My suggestion is that if you are interested, search out a builder who embraces the design and has a solid history with the setup. It’s not as easy as just sticking four fins on a board.

More often than not when I let someone demo a quad they are pleasantly surprised.

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Check back later this month for “Part Two: A History of Quads,” with words from Simon Anderson, Jeff Clark and more.

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Thanks to Surfline.com and Rusty’s blog