small towns

There is only one good use for a small town, you hate it and you'll know you have to leave

1966 Hansen 50-50 Yard Sale Tale

The Hansen 50-50 was one of the best riding boards from the 60's. It was a popular board on the east coast in the 1960's during the surf craze, and you can find some hidden gems at yard sales, so act quick. Well, here's my yard sale tale.

The way the guy described it made it sound like a total wreck. "It's in the garage if you want to see it, it says Hansen-Cardiff on the top and it's in pretty tough shape". Uh oh, a Hansen, I freakin' love Hansens. Going into the garage I was thinking to myself "Please don't let it be a 50-50, please, let it be a mahogany brown d-fin waterlogged dog, 3 boards in 5 months - are you out of your **cking mind?". I am.

Nope, no wreck, damn it, it was a clean-ish 9'6" 50-50 tied up against the wall behind some ladders and motorcyles in various stages of assembly. I was powerless. It came home, I wiped it down and it shined up nice! OK, it's not trophy condition, but no delamination, bright enough foam for a 43 year-old board, and any dings are from kicking around a tight garage for decades. No water stains. Yay.

A comparison to the Tyler 777 (largley influenced by the 50-50) yielded some interesting facts. The fin placement, narrower nose and lower rocker were the most notable differences. It's good to see Tyler's no copy artist, and a 777 today is different than the one he made for me 2 years ago. But that's another story.

I've seen surfers around here kill it on old 50-50's. My thinking is with $150- $200 worth of TLC, it will be good to go. I think I did OK, or did I?

Post work surf, The Present, and the Mattson 2

Mushy waves but the warm, light off-shores were so welcome, and the sunset was one for the books. All this made for a good time, a perfect way to unwind after a long week.

The real story was seeing the present last night at the Portsmouth Music Hall up in New Hampshire. Thomas Campbell has done it again, that’s all I’ll say. There I was, seeing a T. Moe flick on the big screen with a room full of other like minded folks. It was one of those rare occasions where I felt like I belonged. Or was at least fully and unconditionally welcome. Al last: a square hole for the square peg.

We picked up our tickets and took our seats. The Mattson 2 were jamming on the stage as a pre-show warm up. A pair of lanky brothers in sharkskin suits and skinny ties were just doing their thing. One Gibson and a set of drums and mellow jazzy sounds full of light and space. Please check the links. I wish I had brought my camera, dang it. The look the part - quintessential San Diego surfers, but it ends there, they hung out after the show, totally unassuming. Zero pretense - they don't need it, being such an original act.

A quick raffle and then the show. And get this, a theatre where you can go to the lobby for a pint of beer or a box of Junior Mints. Whatever you desire. Was it a men’s room – or a grotto? That’s entertainment. The folks up in Portsmouth got a good thing going.

Next time – all about Hansen 50-50’s

Breaking Bad and Los Cuates De Sinaloa

I caught the last half of the last season and it's safe to say I'm hooked. So last nights episode starts off with a very telemundo-esque music video by the brilliant mariachi trio Los Cuates De Sinaloa.

I found this on the the web: ". Their stripped down acoustic style, consisting of two guitars and electric base, combined with their controversial and unapologetic subject material caught the ears of Regional Mexican Music fans nationwide. Los Cuates' lyrics tell stories of political corruption, drug trafficking and loose U.S. borders. Their 2006 hit single "El Carril Numero 3" (border gate number 3) caused some fellow artists to caution the Berrellezas against speaking too freely, only a short time after the murder of fellow musician Valentin Elizalde. Political pressure and controversy notwithstanding, Los Cuates de Sinaloa continue to rise to the top of the Regional Mexican heap."

Check it:

Early April

Can really bite around here, cold, rainy, and not very Spring-like (today: driving rain & 38°) But we did have a gorgeous moonrise Thursday nite. And Jon K's birthday and a non-surf movie at surf movie nite rocked. Happy Easter Y'all.






Rock climbing isn't really my bag, but I know tons of great folks who are heavy into it. Climbers & surfers are kindred spirits, but some of the stunts these boys & girls pull take some serious stones and incredible strength.

Try watch:



Big up yoselfs!

Payoff After Much Driving and Waiting

What was supposed to be a fun waist plus swell turned out to be a true long period head high groundswell.

New Hampshire – the points were firing, and as is customary the wind was blasting offshore. To give you an idea, an unsecured surfboard blew off the roof of a car on two separate occasions. I’m all set with this wind, and I just wasn’t feeling it with a noserider.

Back to Cape Ann. The thinking was wait out the wind (still cranking 36 hours later, by the way), and get wet on Cape Ann if I felt like it, the tide would be favorable. I changed it up and grabbed the Mini Zeke (unused since November) and hit shoulder high fast breaking sectiony Bad Harbor for a late afternoon go.

So-so with the you know what until the last wave of the day. A blistering left, straight into the offshores, but who cares the Mini Zeke is the original saucy monkey, doing stuff a volan single fin isn’t supposed to do.

Climbing, dropping, trimming. No cutting back, just trim and stay ahead of the break. In a low stance over the sweet spot, I covered over 100 plus with speed I’ve never known at the home break, the ride just wouldn’t end.

Why don’t I ride this more often? Tyler knows his stuff.