the pommie logger

2012-01-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

resin - wonderful stuff

two artists:

sean nettleton - glasser supreme

buy your next wave riding implement from him

the brown shed

and resin in a differnt way - beautiful

Dawn

2012-01-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

A semi secluded spot not a million miles from home- not quite doing it this morning

more and less

2012-01-19T23:33:00.000-08:00

from the jai division

pommie gets a couple

2012-01-15T00:33:00.000-08:00

a fun day, low expections - bigger payoffs

2012-01-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

the wife

2012-01-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

plays some mean totem tennis

So, as a prize for being the single most awesome person i know, im shaping her a board, a board she will most likely ride twice, but even so, its another excuse to shape.

here is is...

The blog has been getting confessional, but thats ok. There is thoughts in all these images.

Surfing is a funny thing, such pleasure, sometimes, such demand, ego, personality, its oftentimes hard to reconcile with myself, in action, enough is always enough.

pond

2012-01-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

I am reading Thoreau again - Walden Pond - and i as sit here, hokey, on the porch swing, comtemplating the unfathomable, i am reassured that the act is itself is enough.

The new year commenced with a surf - and i was different within it - selfish almost, not greedy, just alone amongst the crowd, the the pressure I have been feeling fell away somewhat. Today, I was involved again but moments shone through like glimmers of sunshine through threadbare curtains, breaks in the cloud. - there is space, everywhere, but the eyes deceive, you dont need eyes to see, you need vision.

"To be awake is to be alive." Walden, Henry David Thoreau

2011 comes to a close

2011-12-30T23:19:00.000-08:00

It is the end of 2011. Its been a full year for me, I have learnt a great deal about myself, and now find myself on the eve of 2012 with more questions than answers.

This year, I have taken more photo's than other years. Here is a few choice snaps from 2011:

I have also shaped a few boards - these are they:

The last few weeks have been especially challenging, in lots of ways - personally. I am once again viscerally reminded of the distance from home, from friends and family and I am feeling that gulf acutely. If i could swim it, i would, tomorrow.

As for surfing, which this blog is about principly, there has been loss there - the ocean still revives me, and fills my life with something i am unable to adequately explain, but the act of riding a wave on a surfboard, has been caught up in too many other things other than purely the act in itself - my mind is much in the picture again, cluttered with other things other. Symptomatic of other things I am sure. The influx of people into my small home town give me the excuse i need right now to step back and remind myself of why.

christmas stick

2011-12-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

born on christmas eve - for a good friends surprise christmas gift

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

a swim

2011-12-19T23:53:00.000-08:00

The onshores just wont let up - still - there is fun to be found - and the water, like usual, cleanses...completely.

hell or high water

2011-12-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

thanks to Billy (billys blog) for pointed out this rad movie is available now on the surf network

Super stoked for this flick

pommie

2011-12-17T02:08:00.000-08:00

today was easterly, and lame mushy windswell - but i surfed regardless - it was fun

finding a little quietness on a busy day

2011-12-16T10:56:00.001-08:00

a quiet bank along the long road

boyd is bloggin

2011-12-16T02:41:00.000-08:00

he's bloggin! - he's shaping, his loggin!

mr boyd!

great to see "that" board high speed trimming along "that" sandbar just down the road

i can testify - that green thing of his just flies

I know what i want next

Phones

2011-11-26T20:45:00.001-08:00

Pink phones

2011-11-21T01:34:00.000-08:00

Puppet

a great day

2011-11-13T00:41:00.000-08:00

another pommie creation

2011-11-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

so i made another board, a midlength this time - 8'3", cut laps, deck patch - Lflex volan flex fin - its rocking - now we just need some swell so she can get wet!

midlength

2011-10-26T03:35:00.000-07:00

nick enjoying a small one down the beach a little

Ben

2011-10-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ive had the pleasure of meeting Ben a few times in the surf - a good logger with a nice style. On the few occasions i've had the chance to chat Ben always seems centered and grounded and happy to be getting wet.
Great to see a local logger getting some worldly recognition - this video seems to exemplify what i found - a good all around dude.

Good work Ben

Attica is on my list (long and mostly unobtainable) places to dine one day, along with the French Laundry, Les Halles, Fat Duck and others.

Kobe and the Sea : Ben Shewry from Johnny Abegg Films on Vimeo.

bill is seriously rad!

2011-10-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

possibilities

2011-09-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

...are endless

commitment at boings

2011-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lochie commited to this one at boings thursday morning...it paid off

andy

2011-09-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

leaning into one

funtimes

2011-09-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

2011-09-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

Theres been loads of these tiny birds along the beach recently - not sure what they are, but they are fast and seem pretty busy. i snapped one. not literally, that would be hideous.

Oh yeah, great waves at my favorite spot this morning, just a few out - and then grove with crowds, but fun all the same.

homesick

2011-09-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

i love this place - i miss surfing there. Why, today, im not sure

croyde bay, UK - NYE 2010

nick

2011-09-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

nick - making the most of a too low tide at that spot a little down the beach

making something out of nothing

a moment...

a morning at posso's

2011-09-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

a little stop motion clip

2011-09-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

my first attempt at stop motion, 700 frames for 25 secs....

moments

2011-09-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

dawn

2011-09-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

road trip

2011-08-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

pommies loggers pommie logger pal

2011-07-29T03:25:00.000-07:00

pommie loggers pommie logger pal is due to arrive at tulla in 8 hours or so, this pommie logger is pretty excited to log with another pom

two waves

2011-07-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Nicks new whip!

2011-07-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

frothing

2011-07-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

The stinger.

2011-07-14T03:08:00.000-07:00

The bee

2011-07-14T03:06:00.000-07:00

Nicks new creation!

bellarine music!

2011-07-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Local surfer and all round nice guy Davin, is performing at Harvester Moon on the 22nd July. Dav is supporting Jordie Lane as part of his national album launch tour. Should be a great gig. Davins music is excellent, and having heard it before, it translates excellently to a live performance, definitely not one to miss!

Harvester Moon, do great meals and some awesome Tapas, so its a winning combo if you ask me, food, music, supporting local talent.

Come along next Friday

harvester moon

2011-07-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

Another creation !

winki

2011-07-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

more than a photo less than a video

2011-06-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg's work, animating small amounts of stills to give digital images another dimension - i wonder how far we are from hanging this stuff on our walls. Pretty clever work.

done

2011-06-26T13:45:00.001-07:00

all but the final polish - should be christened on Wednesday

half way glassed

2011-06-23T04:09:00.000-07:00

and tonight....

2011-06-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

this will hopefully be glassed....

andy - ocean grove

2011-06-19T01:38:00.001-07:00

slowly taking shape

2011-06-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

BING FOR SALE!

2011-06-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

craig woma's beautiful Bing Silver Spoon longboard is for sale. Its a beauty!

click me to see the ebay page

a mctavish how to

2011-06-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

(a) DEEP BOTTOM TURN is virtually a stall, as you are holding back from travelling across the wall till the hook is hovering overhead.
When you actually lean into the turn there is a redirection of momentum gained by taking the drop, so it's also an obscure manner of acceleration.
Fig. 1

(b) CURL ACCELERATION TURN is virtually a bottom turn minus stall.
There is no wait while the hook catches up.
This turn then, must be executed deeper, sometimes following a fade into the hook.
The basic acceleration of the bottom turn is still there.
Fig. 2.

(c) TOP RAIL PIVOT TURN, used to get hammering across the already hot wall, is hardly a turn at all, just a slight bank performed on the inside rail, on the widest point of the board.

(d) CUT BACK followed by one of the above turns is a pretty obvious way to jam back into the hook.
Fig. 13

The turns indicate how to get into the action from below, above, or behind the eye. But to slip back into the pocket from ahead? Employ one of the many stalls. Try these.

(a) THE TAIL STALL is the oldest, most obvious stall.
By jamming all your weight on the back half, or less, of your board, means you bury the in- side half and fin pretty deep, creating a mean drag.
The big hang-up with this stall is the acceleration that fol- lows, as it's a damn long way to the fast points from on the back.
Very handy of course to allow you to get to the tip, and hold the stall from there for a while.
Fig. 3

Which leads us to ...
(b) THE NOSE STALL.
To perform this, simply bury the inside rail while on the tip. Most noserides are performed this way, b

(c) DRAG BODY STALL is obvious.
Just create a resistance by getting yourself smashed by the curl.
Fig. 5.

(d) BOUNCE OR CHOP STALL can be performed in any uneven conditions.
Any bounce or chop upsets both trim and break-away effect from rail by establishing turbulence, hence drag.
Fig. 6.

(e) INSIDE RAIL ON FAST POINT STALL
two-thirds towards the tip is a safe bet for speed on most boards.
It's a simple matter to establish a trim here, also simple to upset the trim by burying the inside rail and creating the usual drag.
Fig. 7.

(f) FIN DROP-OUT STALL is by far the most efficient, most difficult.
If performed correctly, it can eliminate a cutback.
Everyone has experienced a fin drop-out and its main effect - loss of forward motion.
When emerging from a hot hollow section it's possible to remove the fin from the wave intentionally, and establish a sideways drift towards the beach.

Perfect stall. No forward motion.
As the wave recovers and starts to wall, drop the fin in by back-peddling, recover some sort of trim, and move out.
Nat Young and I spent two days at Noosa working on this, succeeded about four times each.
The big problem is knowing just when the fin is going to break out.
We are working on special nose and fin shapes for this purpose.
Fig. 14
Right: There are the various techniques of getting in the tight spots. Get your jollies back in there, and then try to get out, and make the wave. To get out of the hot parts you'll need three things. Acceleration, speed, knowledge of handling trouble spots. A few handy acceleration techniques.

shaping day 2

2011-06-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

tonight... the template, first cut into foam, and removing the crust...dirty work

things are slowly taking shape, and my eyes are full of PU...fun times.

shaping day 1

2011-06-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

my first adventure into shaping, with Nick. Adventures and inevitable mishaps to follow! -the more you measure, the more complex the whole picture becomes.

nicks blank

(squint) how thick!?

wide

patagonia vid - good stuff

2011-06-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

thoughts

2011-06-06T23:23:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure what kind of surfer i am, I'm even less certain what kind of "person" i am. I know that i have a pretty poor work ethic, but am enthusiastic and passionate and committed to some things in my life. Surfing is one of them, but its just one of them. Cooking for friends, my wife, taking pictures, writing with a fountain pen, these are other passions. But surfing eclipses most of them, i don't know why, not sure that i want to know, theres a mystery to it, an unconscious 'drive'.

There are some days when i don't feel like riding waves, even when they are small and clean and good - some days i just don't want to ruin the great waves i have in my mind with the waves i will ultimately ride, poorly.

Im not a great surfer, but i do love what i can do. Im barely above an average surfer, but i think im getting better. I know what I like, small waves, no bigger than me, with just a few others to share them with, these times are getting rarer - im becoming less interested in surfing "those" spots, most people know where i like to go, it might not be great, its slow, but sometimes its just me out there. Those days are rarer still.

hatzikian

2011-06-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

surfed the poss yesterday.... click here for Rons pics

and a twist of fate, the latest issue of the journal popped in my box today, page 22, a Devon Howard piece about the man himself...

Hot rodder, board builder, no-leash wearing, single-fin riding surfer. El Segundo’s Tyler Hatzikian is your man’s man. With hands constantly at work, he’s carved out a niche for himself in the heart of L.A.’s congested coastline. Taking board building cues from Hap Jacobs and Lance Carson, he’s rooted in tradition, but his sleds, as he puts it, “are designed as if the shortboard was never invented.”

playground

2011-05-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

right on the low...at that place

being a dickheads cool

2011-05-18T15:01:00.001-07:00

beach

2011-05-15T21:55:00.001-07:00

craig m

2011-05-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Craig M surfs...for all the right reasons, with humility.

an uncrowded day at LP

i love :that: moment - the potential of it all

my dad

2011-05-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

...is a craftsman, and puts my woodworking to shame...
he's made a handplane - this is it...

spruce and oak, concaves, resined - it looks super fun - the next production is mine! - very excited to surf a craft shaped by dad.

posso session - murf

2011-05-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

funtimes at the poss this morning, nice little waves and fun people in the water.

here is 3 of murf

fast eddie

2011-05-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

i love my new board, it does strange things, its loose and fast, and lighter to carry down the beach! im a happy man

2011-04-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

i have a new surfboard, dave made it - it shreds

my dad is making me a handplane - thats awesome

i have hardly any money - not so cool

if i had lots of money - i'd buy this:

i really want one

its been quite the run of good swell

2011-04-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

ive been surfing lots, finding a few less crowded places...nowhere special, but special nonetheless...the comp is over, the tourists are heading back up the freeway. Soon the town will quieten down.

ive taken lots of photos, got a few addresses and driven about today and dropped of CD's of images for people.

Its making me happy.

here is Sunday morning...

a stunning sunrise - no colour correction with these shots

kelly 1

kelly 2

kelly 3

kelly 4

kelly 5

Bells 2011 Winner - Joel Parkinson

my favorite of the day, classic.

somewhere else

2011-04-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

...other than bells, the surf was doing its thing.

posso perfection

2011-04-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

this morning - posso's turned on, and the crowds turned up - and amidst the chaos of the crowd there were moments - like these.

unknown shredder

morning lineup

a rare moment of emptiness

jordan noble

a board of NOTE <-----click me

on a busy day, a quiet spot

2011-04-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

handplanes

2011-04-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

here are my handplanes - my sanding and shaping and glassing need some serious refining - but even so, ive been out on one of these, and im having some fun - i doubt that i would feel the difference - my abilty on these things being somewhat lacking. But i got into shore-break barrels at 13th the other day - so at least i know what i looks like in there now!
Im addicted to these things.
and...ive gotten resin everywhere,

ive always had more than enough respect for those that have built the boards i ride, but now- tenfold, its a messy, complicated hard job, and these are just playthings made from scrap wood.

kp

2011-04-14T03:24:00.000-07:00

handplanes

2011-04-12T01:59:00.000-07:00

ive been making and having some fun with handplanes recently (affectionately termed the "cheeseboard") these little pieces of paulownia have had me scooting along little closeouts at 13th - with much merriment.
Picture to follow of my creations....
thought i'd share this little clip found via www.deluxepaipo.com

hope you like....
ive got 3 or 4 of these things in the back of the van for anyone who wants a try, and a couple of pairs of fins...im ready for flat days....

My hand boards from GotSurf.ca on Vimeo.

andy racing

2011-04-12T01:27:00.000-07:00

one from "that day" at Ocean grove, Andy, good man - racing this one.

winki tonight

2011-04-10T03:54:00.000-07:00

So i had a little bodysurf this morning with the handplane, swell was small and week - but it was building, and build it did...
These are from tonight at winki
Ed Sloane was there, im sure his pictures will be amazing....

ed's blog

handplaning and coming movie

2011-04-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

ive been playing in the sea these over the last week with a couple of homemade handplanes, pics to follow. i found this trailer...

Come Hell or High Water Trailer from Woodshed Films on Vimeo.

surfing eddie

2011-04-09T03:38:00.000-07:00

my friend eddie
i first surfed with him, climbed with him, travelled with him...
he's a fun dude

movements

2011-04-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

we all do rad things with our bodies when flying alone, often unconscious - i love watching the body positions and little movements all associated with sliding along the face of waves. Here's a nice example...

the surf badger

2011-04-06T13:12:00.001-07:00

update your bookmarks

2011-04-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

pommielogger has a domain.

www.pommielogger.com

you should redirect anyways, if ive done my web trickery correctly - if you have subscribed to my RSS feed, then all should still be well...pommielogger.blogspot.com will still update

Working from home is so productive.

kennett

2011-04-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

one surfer and two lids enjoying some morning cleanness - a logger would have ruined the vibe...two days, when i've found waves, i've just shot them, not ridden them...whats wrong with me...?

paipo posso glide II

2011-04-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

couldnt muster the energy or enthusiasm to slide this morning, so i hung around poss and shot a few.... ive seen this guy before, and love his flow. my amateurish snaps don't do it justice.

rockpool

2011-03-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

ocean grove at its best

2011-03-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

WATCH THIS

2011-03-23T13:07:00.001-07:00

awesome

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

paipo posso glide

2011-03-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

yesterday

2011-02-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

the morning started like this

then DSA - a good time