Sunday, December 16, 2007

A couple of days ago I received my much awaited copy of The Surfers Journal. This edition more anticipated than usual as I knew it had an article on the Musica Surfica event.

As expected a very Derek view of things... my first reaction was "Huh?" but on reflection the lad exists on another planet, and a very special one at that.

My view, for what it's worth as someone who saw pretty much every minute of every session from the land, is he was pretty accurate in his assessments, bar a couple of things. First, he underplayed where he was at relative to everyone else. Too modest.

Because his passion for the finless experiment runs so deep, on the modern finless he is a phenomenon. He handles the alaia well, amazingly so, but his bag, clearly, was in that world that he owns.

Richard Tognetti. I think Derek underplays his ability by rating it as average. Richard's surfing played second fiddle (did I say that?) to his violin for many years, so his level on a finless is a testimony to the extraordinary focus he possesses.

Tom Carrol, the guy's athleticism, and the focus he brings to things is what separates "us" from "them". Tom went from flailing to sailing so quickly, and as Derek said, really favoured the wooden boards.

Tom Wegener and Sage Joske ruled the alaias, however, but Derek did forgetfully neglect to mention anywhere the other Joske, the little brother, Heath. Heath is red hot, and one of the most beautiful sequences in the film is captured by Jon Frank as he sails by on the 12 ft parabolic railer.

So.. for your viewing pleasure... a nugget or two...














9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Morning!
Nothing like the soul of surfing...
Im up early for a 200 mile trip south for wood, for my own little fin less project...
Have a good Sunday mate!

Patch said...

Thanks Mick!

R.T. said...

sure it's hard to fit everything in the limited pages of an article. after reading it i definitely wanted to hear more about tom carrol's experience. THANKS for filling in some of the gaps.

Anthony Rodier said...

hey Mick,
My name is Anthony Rodier, owner of the Alaia surfers blog. I live in noosa and was lucky enough to be offered a front row ticket to MusicaSurfica by Derek when he was here.
My email address is anthonyrodier@gmail.com.

Anonymous said...

Hello!
I came across you're blog when searching for finless info on the net and I can't wait to see the footage/more photos of Derek H.
I'm interested in having a finless board myself and was wondering if you could help me out with some info (or let me know who I should get in contact with).
From what I've seen/read and experienced from surfing on boards without fins (aka my boards without their fins on) I've come to the following conclusions:
-a finless board ideally should have a parallel outline
-thin rails especially from the midpoint to the tail (because without fins they're the only part of that holds the board to the face of the wave)
-channels/deep concaves are vital so the board doesn't spin out

Now the only thing I'm wondering about is tail rocker...do you need to reduce it so that the board doesn't spin out from under you when you do the takeoff/bottom turn? Or doesn't it matter so long as you already have razor sharp/thin rails and channels etc?

If any of my conclusions are wrong please feel free to "enlighten me"!

My email is: fred.trial@gmail.com

Thanks!
Fred

PS: I am of course talking about foam/fibreglass finless boards (like Derek H) and not alaia like wood boards.

pranaglider said...

Thanks for the additional info regarding the journal article. Looking forward to seeing Musica Surfica in the states sometimes.

6ftnperfect said...

the most disappointing aspect of the article was that it did not mention you. still an interesting read, and as you said, very much a Derek perspective. Makes we want to try out an Alaia (while no one is looking)

Anonymous said...

alas and alack mick you forgot to mention the mat,an over sight no doubt.the quest is always for speed for without it even the turn cannot be accomplished.it is so nice to ride the fastest craft of them all.gg has the musica surfica grab,he has not heard from you.regards warren.
warrenpfe@gmail.com

ras said...

Hiya Mick,

you sure know how to build anticipation for musica. my questions is, how can I get a copy to screen in atlantic canada? let's chat.