the future of surfing

The quicksilver 2020 heated pro invisible wetsuit.



I'm a mer-MAN! a MERMAN!

 

amen to that...the guys that invented that shape in the reefs off san diego sure as hell werent tyring to make a board for groveling in 1-3 foot mush. They were built with two pin tails for a reason...parallel rails with pin tails at the back of each rail to be ridden FAST and high in walled up waves.

 

i think the rip curl h-bomb is just the tip of the heated suit revolution.


zach, i too began surfing in the late 80's/early 90's. i was, however, lucky enough to be born into a surfing family. my father began surfing in the mid-60's & was very involved in getting the old ocsa (ocean city surfing assoc.) organized, in getting nssa up & running on the east coast, & even was a judge for the asp east for a time. in the mid 80's, he took the nssa national team to south africa along w/ ian cairns & a couple others. a 16 year old todd holland was a member of that team.
b/c he got to live thru the shortboard revolution & shaped a bit, he's always been interested in design & the theory behind it. he started riding bonzers in the early 90's, not long after the bros. campbell came out w/ the first 5 fins. it only took me about 15 years or so to follow suit (despite the fact that he kept telling me, "you really outta try one of these, i think you'd really like it"). so i got really lucky as far as all that goes.

 

As good as the forecasting on this site is, is agree with Mr. Swellinfo...lots more to be done. Open ocean swell forecasting and long range wind forecasting may be mature sciences but there is a long way to go in taking those open ocean conditions and translating that to nearshore surf forecasts. Taking open ocean swell models to site specific surf forecasts using swell period, swell direction, small scale coastline orientation, sea breeze, land breeze, tidal effects are things that surfers demand and have been trying to do on their own for decades, but its never really been attempted on any kind of scale. I think this website is by far the most progressive in that direction (sites like surfline and magic seaweed arent even trying) but there is a lot to do. By the way, the forecasts 2-3 days out on here are WAY more accurate than they were a couple of years ago IMO. A lot of the site specifc overcall/undercall issues seem to have been resolved. NICE!

 

I was lucky enough to start in the early 80s and rode most of today's 'retro' shapes when they were cutting edge. one of the reasons I passed on the retro revolution of today is because I really didn't like the way they rode. IMO there's a reason those shapes died out in favor of the thruster and only marketing brought them back today.

The really smart shapers took only the best qualities of those dated shapes and incorporated them with modern designs (like the ...Lost RNF).

As far as suits.......spray on suits FTW!!

 

I am also part of a Surfing Family. My dad surfed and got me hooked on it . I really didnt get serious about it til I was about 13 or 14 thats when I started surfing year round. It amazing how far wetsuits have come since then . My first winter suit was a bulky Ripcurl 5/4/3 back zip from shoulder to shoulder . It was Blue and black and so uncomfortable.

 

zach that was welll put. yea i kinda know what you mean, during the winter i ride the same boards and the same like 2 breaks usually haha 5'10 pintail toothpick board and a 6'0 squash. both thrusters and they are what i perform best on. the retro fish is just for fun in the summer

and the lost rnf board is a sweet board but its not really like a retro fish its more like a hybrid. its like half as thick as my retro quad

 

very interesting read...thanks for that.

 

Definitely wetsuits have drastically improved and cost less now (and should continue into the future) why there are so many more folks surfing year round in colder climates.

I wonder if there will be some innovations like at Wikiki beach where thousands of newbies want to learn surf but get exhausted in the paddle out/paddling in? Sort of like a ski lift for out of shape or wannabe surfers)? After all, that is usually the hardest part of surfing for beginners anyway (paddle endurance). Just thinking up some crazy stuff here.

 

god, i hope not!! what w/ the way wetsuits are going, being able to paddle out thru the surf in the only thing that's really separating the committed from the uncommitted. when suits were less flexible & not as warm, that kept a lot of folks away from winter surfing b/c they didn't want to freeze their @$$es off & get major armpit chafing in the deal. the addition of a chairlift type device at some spots would just be the last nail in the coffin.

i can't imagine sharing today w/ a ton of clueless dorks. for a reason that is lost on me, my school was closed today. so i got to surf all morning completely solo...there wasn't even anyone on the beach! it was so nice & peaceful...

 

No offense to you personally, but if the conditions are too much for you to get out in - you shouldn't be out. Paddling is really important for newbs to learn and having something to pull them out while they just lay there would be totally counterproductive. Newbs need to learn their boundaries and paddling is the quickest way to that.

 

I have to agree . You gotta know you limits and be comfortable with the level of surfing you are at. If things dont feel right its best not to even paddle out. Some people get presession gitters and thats normal but, If you head isnt in the game and you cant decide weather to paddle out or not its best not.

New years Day is a good example. Santa must have gave every inexperienced surfer winter gear. Its was a mess that day to the point were I went a cpl blocks down to where it was less crowded.

 

Yes thats me