New Artist in Town - Hilary Crahan

My friend Hilary Crahan just moved back to Leucadia. She lived here and then moved off to do great things. She came back to settle in again and to get serious about her art. She has always been prolific with creating and is one of the most genuinely talented people I know. Art, poetry, jewelry and writing. She does it all and produces amazing and inspiring work in heaps. Now that she is back I'll be doing a lot more posting on her work. It will be easy. Lost of material to choose from.

The above pieces are from her new site www.crimsonartboutique.com. She just launched it today.  We built to help her showcase her work along with other local artists she takes a liking to. A new artist each month will be featured. If you are an artist and like her site, send her an email and see about how you can get promoted on her site as well. 

She has a blog going on the site. Check it out, she writes some great poetry.  Enjoy.

John Peck and His Cyrus Sutton Handplane

Last year I got to meet John Peck. He was really soulful and a joy to be around. In the visit he pulled out his new toy, a little handplane he said his friend gave him. He was very proud if it and said he was taking it out all the time. It was one of his favorites.

Months later I got to meet Cyrus Sutton at sacred craft. He was doing his DIY demonstration about making your own handplanes. It was right when his new film came out along with the korduroy.tv website. We chatted and I told him I got to meet John and that he had a handplane as well. Turns out that was the first one Cyrus made and he had given it to John.

It's a small surf world after all.

Photos, Ed Lewis

Movie off the Week - The Present - Only $6.99

If you don't already own it, now is the perfect time to add it to your collection. The * Present at www.thesurfnetwork.com for only $6.99!

Made for Pipe But Never Made It

This is an amazing story. This is from Murphy's archives. It's a circa 1970 Nectar single fin that when he was  glasser and half owner of Nectar they made it to surf pipe. The trip was set and then suddenly Puerto Escondido was discovered. Apparently when that happened the boys decided to head south and avoid the crowd.

The board, never ridden, got stashed and ended up in a PB bar for 15 years. Finally the board made it back to Dennis and it now sits on his wall. It has never touched water.

Beautiful. Enjoy.

Note the vintage MR photo below.

Photo Ed Lewis

Long Live El Nino

This winter has been about as good as it gets. More days of quality swell then we have had in a really long time. Here's some proof as to how good, good gets. Long live El Nino.

Photo Ed Lewis

Wood Goodness - 5'8" Bortoleto Keel Fish- by Felipe Siebert

Brazilian shaper Felipe Siebert has always inspired me. He has style and skill. Check out his blog for (siebertsurfboards.blogspot.com ) more photos of this board and many more. This fish is 1 of a series of 20 that he is making in collaboration with American artists: Jesse Ledoux and Dustin Ortiz. Enjoy.

Photos by Felipe Siebert

REMINDER - Allison Renshaw - Plastic Fantastic- Oceanside Museum of Art - THIS SATURDAY

Click to enlarge

My friend and local artist Allison Renshaw is having an opening for her new art show, Plastic Fantastic at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Reception is 5pm to 7pm Saturday Jan. 30th. See www.oma-online.org for details. Check out her site at www.allisonrenshaw.com . Hope to see everyone there.

Dreamy

A rare day. Off shore, 12' and less then 5 guys out. Here is a local taking advantage of it. 

I called Erik to come down hoping to get some good shots. As the session progressed we moved to get a new angle and David and I also almost took it in the back with a land slide. Quite the adventure. If you ever hear a pop from a 300 foot bluff above, run like hell. In our flight to escape the slide his camera ended up in the sand. We never did get good shots of Erik. I was bummed. But the good news is we made it out alive and Erik got to surf this with one other guy out filmed entirely in memory cam. Play back is instant and on demand for life.

photo: Ed Lewis

Scripps

Last week David and I ended up at Scripps to do a little shooting. The place was amazing. I've never seen it so good. Here are a few I got. David got one of his in the surfline.com feature and a few on fuel.tv. Go check'm out. Way to go David!

There is just something about the contrast of a perfect right barrel and a pier in the way.

Outside! This was about 15 foot plus. These sets would come out of nowhere. Check out the guy paddling out on the left.

Everywhere you looked there were barrels and fans and fans of barrels.

This is right off La Jolla Cove. I'm a half mile away. It's big.

Finally, one more little duck dive and then I'm out!

11am freight train headed south.

Finally, no one around and I'm set up for my first tube ever. Nothing can stop me now...

Photos: Ed Lewis

Dom's Alaia Test Drive

We featured Dom De Pietro's handy work a few weeks back with some photos of him making his own Alaia. Today I got some shots from his first test drive.

This is the third Alaia he's shaped, but it's the first he's made using the real Paulownia wood from Oz. He is digging this board over his others because the Paulownia is lighter and has more floatation. According to Dom this new board glides much faster and turns easier due to the reduced weight. It also paddles much easier than the Alaias he made out of Douglas fir.

Like any stoked craftsman, as soon as he finished making a wood board, he's already starting to think about the next one he's going to make, and the different design changes he wants to try out.

We'll be keeping tabs on Dom to see what he makes next. Keep up the good work Dom and keep sending us photos!

Ryan Burch on 4'10" Foam Thingy. Really Cool.

I was amazed watching this. Check out  the new short from the guys at Korduroy.tv .

Filmed on one winter day, Ryan Burch lays into his 4′10″ block of styrofoam. He took a saw to a soft top surfboard blank and voila- no fins, no resin or fiberglass, no stringer, no leash… just a square chunk of foam. More shenanigans coming soon via the new surf film “stoked and broke” a surfari epic on zero dollars.

Lucky Shot

Shot from a moving vehicle, at 70 mph, from the passenger seat, through the closed limo tented window, after suddenly looking up and being stunned by the beauty of this image. Sometimes it's just pure luck. Get inspired, pull the trigger and the rest is done for you. I love it. Enjoy.

Mattson 2 playing Jan 23 in Cardiff 7-10pm

Check out the live music and art show tomorrow night. Click on the image for details. Should be fun.

Holy Scripps

Grey Goodness

Go ahead, click on it. Make it bigger. Then move your fingers around in front of it like your surfing. Keep quiet though, your coworker is right around the corner.

Kipps New Mini Wood Fish

Kipp's been at it again. This time he made a beautiful mini wood and bamboo railed fish. Kipp got the blank from Cowboy Dan's Wood Working Wonderland, complete with built in rocker and precut fish template. The fins are custom birch plywood he made himself.

Local Leucadian Family Need Our Help

My friend Judy Finkbiner sent this to me about one of our local families in need. If you know the Reynolds read on. They can use our help. 

Dear Family and Friends,

Many of you know that on Christmas night 38 year old Sabrina Reynolds, mother of two girls ages 3 and 7, suffered a brain hemorrhage on the left side of her brain. After 10 days in the hospital with multiple tests and medications administered, Sabrina was released believing this was a one time event that would be treated on an out patient basis. Well since last Friday, January 8, 2010, Sabrina has suffered several types of seizures and had another bleed in the front of her brain and is again in ICU for more testing to determine the course of treatment.

Since these two episodes happened in 2009 and now in 2010 Billy and Sabrina Reynolds have incurred two annual deductibles with a myriad of other co-payments. They are facing hospital bills in the 10's of thousands of dollars even with PPO insurance. We have set -up a bank account at California Community Bank (in The Lumberyard) at 851 South Coast Highway 101, Suite 300, Encinitas, CA 92024. This is a new community bank and Ann Lim, New Accounts Representative, has waived the fees for this bank account to accept donations for the family. The bank is open from 9-5 Monday through Thursday and 9-6 on Friday.

Many of you have asked how you can help and this is how....you may make a direct deposit into the account, checks made payable to Billy Reynolds, you do not even need the account number since the staff has been alerted that donations will be forthcoming. You may also mail checks to Billy Reynolds, Care of Judi or John Finkbiner, 140 Range Street, Encinitas, CA 92024 and we will deposit these checks into this account. CHECKS MUST BE PAYABLE TO WILLIAM REYNOLDS AND NOT SABRINA since the bank was unable to identify Sabrina in person.

The bank can also accept ACH or wire deposits please just contact me via e-mail for the wiring and ACH instructions.

Please consider making even the smallest donation since you will be helping a family in your own community. Billy has taught many of the children in this community as a History Teacher at Oak Crest Middle School. Sabrina has also touched many of your children's lives as the Treatment Coordinator at Rawlings & Hydo Orthodontics in Encinitas and Solana Beach.

This has been an unbelievable event that has occurred to this famliy and we appreciate any help you may give. Billy was a bit hesitant of "being
on the dole" so to speak and suggested that you could also help the family by purchasing his educational CD titled "Professor Presley" onwww.cdbaby.com/cd/professorpresley which is a rockin' way to learn historical facts. Also, you may purchase his band’s CD, Lo-Fi Nipple available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/lofinipple 

Thank you for your continued prayers and positive thoughts for Sabrina and please feel free to forward to other angels!

Sincerely

Judi and John Finkbiner

I know that money is tight after Christmas and that you probably already donated your grocery money to the Haiti disaster, but please help the Reynolds if you can. Thanks! 

Eli Mirandon

The other day when David and I were shooting, we met up with with Eli Mirandon .

Now I had met Eli before but I've never seen him surf in person. I had never seen him in his element. That day I got a lot of respect for the guy. David and I had watched all day as double to triple overhead sets came in with no one on them. All I thought all day was you couldn't pay me to paddle out.

Then comes Eli. He looks at it, suits up, paddles out and catches the most insane offshore, double overhead barrel. It was amazing to watch.

p. E

p. E

p.E

p. D

p. D

 Photos by David Gray and Ed Lewis

David takes me under his wing. I get my first big swell shots.

David took me under his wing yesterday and brought me shooting with him. I have to admit I felt a bit intimidated. I wasn't sure how anything would turn out. Would the swell turn on? Would the lighting kill the shot? Would I choke? It all crossed my mind as I sat back and followed what David was doing.  He was a good teacher. Guiding me, showing me his tricks, keeping me entertained as the conditions looked iffy at best and then got me stoked as his persistence and knowledge turned us on to the perfect spot at the perfect time.

He knows what he is doing for sure and the two of us balanced each other out. He guided me on some techincal things and I pushed him to find some new angles. It worked out well. We had fun and David even scored a shot on surfline's feature of the swell.

All and all it was fun and I got some shots I liked. A bonus! Thanks David for showing me the ropes. I had a blast.

JP Marengo at it again.

Photo by Mike Delanzo

Photo by John Slavin

Murphy team rider JP Marengo, has been out doing his thing. Here are a few to get you pumped up for more swell tomorrow.

Some Waves Last Weekend!

Movie of the Week - Water Man - Only $6.99

I own this video and like it enough to have watched it a few times.  It's with Laird, Dave Kalama, the Malloy's, Machado and Jerry Lopez on a boat trip all trying different equipment. I like documentary style films so it was entertaining to watch and the crew is top notch.  Can't beat it at $6.99 if your looking for some new films to add to your library. www.thesurfnetwork.com