Moose makes 150 ft takeoff

The Old Farts Surf Co. is very proud of Oldfartsurfer No. 5, Moose, who recently took off on a 150 footer and survived.  Welcoming herself to the second 25 years of her life, and never one to back away from a challenge the plucky Moose went Chasing Mavericks, ate Gorilla food and took a 150 ft bungee drop.  "I'm really proud that Moose has the spirit of a true oldfarsurfer" said Old Farts Surf Co. Head Honcho, Mexican, "she has set a perfect example of what oldfartsurfing is all about, a really gutsy effort, especially that raw vegan food stuff!"
Describing her adventures Moose had no hesitation admitting the fear she had to overcome "Chasing Mavericks was good but I would never EVER surf a wave that was bigger than 2 feet so I can't imagine how it must feel to surf something so massive. Gorilla cake was delicious as you know.  Bungee jumping was insane, I don't know how you did it twice Mex. I felt like I was going to die when I was falling... I'm really glad I did it though and the location was really stunning.  I've attached a couple shots!"

Spot & Moose Redefine Mavericks

After conquering Canada, popular oldfartsurfers Spot (OFSC No. 6) and Moose (OFSC No. 5) heard there was a big swell headed towards Mavericks.   Spot was keen to take off behind the peak on some 20' bombs and Moose was keen to show her new big wave style.

(Huntington Beach)

Our team landed in LA and asked the local cab driver to take them to the big surf.  "He dropped us off at Huntington Pier" said Spot, "there was a bit of a ripple so we shot (from) the pier."  "It was really cool" said Moose.

(Venice Beach)

"After Huntington we hitched to Venice Beach for a romantic pre-Mavericks sunset" said Moose.  "That really set the mood for what was to come."  They got so moody in fact the then decided a detour via a Chateau Montelena.

(Chateau Montelena)

"We liked the wine so much we thought we might buy the Chateau" said Spot.  Moose said "the Chateau Montelena 1973 Chardonnay was exquisite and we spent the afternoon sculling down two bottles of the beautiful stuff".  "In the end we decided not to buy the Chateau because it had a really stupid philosophy of 'making best period' - go figure, I think the best period is the one we are in now" said Moose.  "Although it could get better" suggested Spot.  Quietly they both agreed that the pinot noirs didn't hold up to the Winstead pinot 1994.

(Spot at redefines Mavericks)

After sculling the two bottles of 73 Chardonnay and gorging on cheese Spot and Moose slept soundly and prepared their minds to take on Mavericks the next day.  There has been no further word on how they tackled the great wave although rumour has it that Spot has changed perceptions on what real surfing is in waves of consequence.

Click here for the previous installment on Spot & Moose in the New World.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Spot, Moose's Mum and the Moose

Never being a man to shy away from a challenge, Spot (Oldfartsurfer No. 6) left the southern hemisphere at the end of November so he could catch the massive winter swells on the West Coast of Canada.  "I get so bored surfing in warm water" said Spot, "I need the danger of losing whole limbs to frost bite or killer whales, and Canada has all that thrill for me".  Of course his sojourn to the arctic north has nothing to do with catching up with Canadian upstart Moose (Oldfartsurfer No. 5).  Moose, of course, has promised to look after Spot and is trying to keep him away from Vancouver Island's big wave spots.  She has even tried distracting him by introducing him to the sport of curling.  "Spot thought he was going to be riding the curl" said Moose laughing, "but instead he found himself hurling 100kg lumps of granite across an ice rink".  Spot was positive about it saying "at least it help me bulk up the muscles for when I hit those big slabs off the coast"

(Moose teaching Spot how to ride the curl)

In order to distract Spot from his biggest rival, Kelly Slater, Moose's Mum (Oldfartsurfer No. 33), took spot on an expedition into the Rockies to toughen him up and prepare him for his big wave destiny.

(Spot sliding into some mountainous waves in the Rockies)

"I thought I could get him sliding into some mountain waves to get him acclimatised to the temperature before he hit the big liquid waves of the North Pacific" said Mouse's Mum.  "We also thought we could distract him from chasing Moose during the day" she said.  The distraction was only short lived, however, and Spot, with all the skill of an experienced hunter, managed to track down a real Moose.  "A poor substitute for a killer whale" said Spot, "but it still gave me that buzz from the potential of losing a limb when I snowboarded between its legs".

(The real moose Spot tracked down in the Rockies)

The last reports of Spot, Moose's Mum and the Moose were that they were doing altitude training in board shorts and tee-shirts on the highest peaks of the Rockies.  The Old Farts Surf Co. is sponsoring the training session by providing gingernut snap biscuits and good coffee.

Click here for the previous installment of Spot's adventures in Canada.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Moose's Mum & Kelly Slater

When Canadian upstart, Moose, spent a couple of months on an island off the south coast of Australia last Christmas getting secret surf refinement lessons from the mastersurfinstructor, The Mexican, she kept it a secret to avoid being mobbed by adoring fans.  "Can you imagine if the word got out", said the Mex, "the beach would have been swarming with bodies and the island would have slipped off the continental shelf into the Southern Ocean."

(Moose receiving instruction on the finer points of surfing from The Mexican)

Fortunately, word of Moose's secret training sessions didn't get out until after she had left the island.  Apparently one of Moose's biggest fans is 10 time world champion and the greatest athlete who ever lived, Kelly Slater.  Moose's mum has sent the Mexican a Canadian surfing magazine with an advert showing the great man surfing on the secret island on the back cover, soon after Moose had left the island.

(Kelly Slater on the back cover of a Candian surf magazine)

Rumour has it that the great man begged his sponsors to place the advert in the hope of getting noticed by Moose, who it is believed is now back in Canada.  Kelly has been a fan since first reading the Oldfartsurfer's stories of her surfing prowess and exploits south of the equator last summer.  Apparently, he had private investigators chase down her location and when he found out he made the trip south to see if he could impress.  Photographic evidence of Slater on the island appeared on the front cover of Australian Surfing Life stating the date it was taken as 20th March.  Unfortunately for Kelly, Moose had already left the island by this date.

(Slater on 20th March)

"The photo on the Canadian back cover and the Australian front cover are identical" said Moose's mum, "the placement of the photo in both magazines is an obvious ploy by Kelly to get my daughter's attention".   The Mexican defended Slater's actions saying " he's not stalking her or anything, he's just a big fan".  Kelly was pretty cool getting towed into some massive waves and he is quoted as saying "towing good waves is surfing's equivalent to a hot woman feeding your grapes".   "We're still analysing that" said the Mex, "we are not sure if he means surfing without towing is the equivalent of eating grapes or the equivalent of a hot woman".  Either way, as the Dude would say "we need to do more research".

Click here for the previous installment of the Moose documentaries.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Spot Applies the Principle of Specificity to Surfing Fitness

Last weekend Mastersurfitness Guru and Oldfartsurfer No. 6, Spot, and Oldfartsurfer No. 4, the Mexican, made a sojourn back to, Byron Bay, the birthplace of Bob the Bobsled. 

(Bob the Bobsled the day he was born in the McTavish factory, 25th June 2010)

Spot & Mex were aiming to get down there for the traditional Eggs Benedict breakfast at their favourite seaside restaurant with none other than Oldfartsurfer No. 31, Les, and Oldfartsurfer No. 3, Yummy Granny.  Unfortunately, our intrepid epicureans missed breaky by about 5 minutes and had to settle for lunch.  "The restaurant obviously hadn't heard of the concept of the all day breakfast"  said Yummy.  However, the oldfartsurfers managed to scoff down two seafood platters in good time for Les to have a grandfather nap before driving home.

(Oldfartsurfers 31, 4 & 3 - Les, Yummy Granny and Mex wearing their team OFSC bucket hats and Yummy leading the team with her original series No. 3 OFSC tee shirt)

After lunch, Spot and Mex had a dag at the Wreck before Spot had to watch the Cats pounce on some poor insignificant team.  Meanwhile, The Mex wandered up to The Pass which was 1'-2' and crowded with missile mals and kooks.  "It looked pretty hairy out their" said Mex, "but I'd made the effort to walk around there so thought I'd give it a crack".  "Quite surprisingly I managed to snag a few zippy ones through the middle section that made Bob feel at home" said Mex,  "Bob had a bit of a battle with a mal missile that insisted on dropping in, but discretion was the better part of valour and bob came away unscathed".  Mex's sage advice for oldfartsurfers wishing to stay stoked is "its better to leave the 6'4" boofhead on the mal alone and live to surf another day".

 

(The Pass at Byron Bay)

After nearly wiping out half the surf school who were floundering on the inside, Mex wandered back and gathered Spot for a late surf before dinner.  The surf weary Oldfartsurfers couldn't quite finish their falafel smorgasbord served by some friendly hippie chicks but managed to wash it down with some BYO brews.  They then managed to watch the Wallabies smashing the Springboks till half time in the local pub before calling it a night.

(Mex cruises past The Wreck, Byron Bay)

The next morning Spot and Mex had a glassy session just north of The Wreck.  Spot got spooked and asked the Mex "are those fins dolphins".  "Yeah sure" said Mex hopefully.

In honour of the great Canadian Oldfartsurfer No. 5, Moose, The boys had a Canadian breakfast with bacon and maple syrup.

(Oldfartsurfer No. 5, Canadian sensation Moose in the Old Farts Surf Cafe)

Over breakfast Spot complained of tired muscles from paddling.  Intrigued, Mex asked Spot the Surfitness Guru what the best exercise for paddling surfitness was.  "Well there isn't much you can do in the gym to emulate paddling"  said Spot professorially,  "I would therefore apply the Principle of Specificity, which basically means surfing is the best way of getting fit for surfing".  "What a great idea" said Mex, "that way you can have fun surfing while you get fit so you can have fun surfing, that's pure genius Spot".

(Mastersurfitnes Guru and Oldfartsurfer No. 6, Spot, practising the Principle of Specificity)

Concerned for the health of Oldfartsurfers around the world reading his advice, Spot went on to caution about risks to people with cardio vascular, cardio respiratory or metabolic conditions.  "Any oldfartsurfer over the age of 45 is automatically classified as moderate risk" said Spot.  "This risk is upgraded to high if the olfartsurfer has one of these conditions or if they have two or more of the risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity or a family history of heart disease or stroke".  "Geez, Better  better take it easy then" said Mex.

Sea Trials for Bob in Byron Bay

"Wake up Spot, Wake up Spot, its 1' and pumping" shouted Mex (Original OFSC No. 4) when he returned from his obligatory early morning sunrise at Byron Bay, Australia's eastern most point.  Mex had just been the first person in Australia to witness the sunrise, was pretty pleased with this accomplishment and wanted to hit the beach for the second sea trials of Bob, his brand new Old Farts Surf Co. Mexican McTavish Bobsled, but he needed Spot to record some images of the trials.  Trouble was, Spot is one of the worlds best sleepers, famous for sleeping through cyclones in far north Queensland.  It took Mex a good hour to get Spot out of bed and fed with a banana, muesli bar and orange juice.

(Spot, counts Moose to achieve world's best sleeper title)

The Oldfartsurfers went out the back gate of the hotel and hit a spot known as The Wreck.  "Mex was out the back before I could get the camera set up" said Spot.  "It must have been a combination of his enthusiasm and the highly paddleable Bob."  The Mex slipped into his first wave of the morning and Spot managed to get the following sequence: 

(Shot 1, The Mex paddles Bob into the first wave of the morning)

.

(Shot 2, "It was an easy take off" said the Mex)

(Shot 3, "the wave suddenly jacked up over a shallow bar and the bottom fell out of the wave" said Mex, "fortunately Bob behaved himself and with some subtle ankle movements I avoided going over the falls".)

(Shot 4, and the 1' wave dredged further and came up to the Mex's shoulder, and he still didn't sucked over or catch an edge)

"I was pretty pleased with Bob's behavior on that first wave" said Mex, "a lesser board and I think you would have been digging my head out of the sand at load tide"

(The Mex cruises while a bird on The Wreck looks on)

 

(Some local fans of the Mex shared a board so they could both claim to have shared the sea trials of Bob with the famous oldfartsurfer.  "That's the sort of sharing and caring place Byron is" said Mex.)

 

(The Mex Cruises past The Wreck crowded with fans watching the oldfartsurfer)

All in all the second sea trials of Bob were declared a success.  "It was just like successful sea trials of the  The Craic and the Old Farts Surf Co. hollow timber board, The Mexican" said Mex, it was just joy all round.  "I'm stoked" Mex carried on, then he took Spot out for a proper breakfast of Eggs Benedict.  But there is more to come, the afternoon session at Tallows was historic.

Click here for the previous story in this series.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Expression Session 1 - The Mexican

The fans have been waiting for it and now at last here it is - the final installment from the Old Farts Surf Co. Expression Session 1.  Arguably, the best has been kept for last as Canadian upstart Moose has captured the elegance and aplomb that a true oldfartsurfer on an Old Farts Surf Co. hollow timber board brings to the art of surfing.

(The Mex glides like a sea eagle on his hollow timber board while resting his right elbow on the top of the wave)

This session is memorable as it is the last installment of photos from Moose who will soon return Canuckland.  "The Mex was gliding with the grace of a sea eagle but had the power and spring in his legs like a young gazelle" said Moose.  "It was a priviledge to witness the surf expressions in that session with the Mex firing" she said. 

(The Mex with a spring in his leges like a gazelle)

The Dude said "this is what oldfartsurfers do, riding waves for riding the waves sake, with grace and style and purity of purpose."  "No flashy logos around here" said The Other Dude.  "Express yourself" said Madonna.  "Art for art sake, money for god sake" said some old song.

(The Mex glides gracefully allowing the lip of the wave to caress his shoulder while he catches up with the spray of an earlier bottom turn)

Spot put on a pair of fins and overcame his fear of the men in grey suits to swim out to take some water shots.  "I thought the expression and art in thewater were informed by surreal spiritualism" said Spot when he got back to the beach.  "It certainly inspired me to take some great photos" he said.

(Spot's photo of Mex's surfing expression informed by surreal spiritualism)

When the media asked if the Old Farts Surf Co. was going to have another expressions session, Head Honcho, The Mexican said "it will happen when the spirits of the oldfartsurfers aligned with either Mars or Jupiter."  Well Hughey knows when the next age of Aquarius will be but for now we will have to be satisfied with reviewing these wonderful photos taken by Moose with water shots from Spot and the Mex .

Click here for previous articles on the Expression Session 1 series.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

SUP Action from Expression Session 1

(Oldfartsufer Nic cutting loose on his trusty SUP)

Whilst Canadian upstart Moose was taking photos of the oldfartsurfers performing in Expression Session 1, Macho left the water and suggested she point the camera up the beach at Oldfartsurfer Nic who was enjoying a few waves to himself on his trusty SUP.  The resulting photo wins a Topshot award.
Click here for the previous article in the Experssion Session series.
Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Expression Session 1 - Spot

Here is another treat from our "featured surfers ofthe Expression Session 1" series held by the Old Farts Surf Co. earlier this year.  This time our featured surfer is Spot.  He has embraced surfing with the old farts with renewed vigour, some say inspired by Canadian upstart Moose.

(Spot paddles out to express himself and watches as The Dude conducts a symphony)

The fine photgraghic eye of Moose captured the photos from the shore, while the Mexican braved the ocean and what learks therein to swim around with a pair of fins to get the up close and personal water shots of the surfers expressing themselves.

(Spot the astronaut launches in to space)

Through his surfing, Spot expressed his secret desire to become an astronaut.  "I didn't know I had the secret desire until I saw the wave face and I just thought 'what a perfect canvass to express my inner astronaut'" said the surprised Spot.  Photographer Moose said "he was a wonderful subject, so expressive and so creative"

(just like the Apollo astranauts, spot lands in the sea) 

 (Spot imitating the Mexican on the way to the launch pad)

(Spot paddles back to the launch pad)

At some stages during the expression session fans of the oldfartsurfers confused Spot with the Mexican.  The Dude said the two surfer's profiles were so similar he thought there was a doppelganger.  "the side profile of Spot and Mex is so similar, partucularly through the tummy area" said the Dude.

(Spot flys through space)

Click here to see the previous article on Macho at Expression Session 1.
Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Expression Session 1 - Macho

If ever there was wise old man of the sea its oldfartsurfer Macho.  Not only is he wise but he is a mastersurfcraftdesigner and what he doesn't know about making boards go could easily be remebered if we could figure out what it is.  In this, the second featured olfartsurfer from Expressions Session 1, Macho shows us how to look wise by sitting calmly on his board staring intently at the horizon.  He looks so wise no one argues with him, but of course he rarely utters a sound because he knows everthing and wouldn't waste his breath on fools.

(Wise old man of the sea, Macho, stares intently at the horizon, summoning a set)

(Macho and the perfect crouch)

Another way Macho expresses his personality is by his measured and precise stylised surfing.  He uses perfect technicque from wave selection, position on the peak, paddling, take off and off course his signature crouch.

(Macho with perfect technique)

We asked Macho for some comments on the Expression Session, but of course he didn't answer, just stared at the horizon.

(Macho expressing himself by staring wisely at the horizon, The Dude in the background)

Surf buddy, the Dude, said "Macho controls the pack and we even think he might be controlling the waves because he always gets the best ones."  Old Farts Surf Co. Head Honcho, The Mexican said "there is a rumour that Macho is actually a physcial manifestation of the surf god Hughey".  Macho neither confirmed or denied this, further entrenching the legend while staring mystically at the horizon.

(Macho paddling out towards the horizon while another dude surfs by)

(Macho with perfect take-off and crouch)

(Macho with his perfect crouch coming out of the sun or is that Hughey)

Click here for the previous article on The Dude at Expression Session 1.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.

Expression Session 1 - The Dude

I am pretty sure that it was 1972 because I went with Scotty, a surfie from Sydney who also played half back in our rugby team, and Scotty was only at the school when when I was in Grade 10, which was 1972.  Scotty took me to a movie called "Expression Session 2" at the State Theatre.  It was pretty exciting turning up to the theatre and seeing Kombis and panel vans parked in the street and guys with long blond hair, Roman sandles and scruffy jeans.  We didn't see them in my suburb.  It was at the time when there was a debate about whether surfing was a sport or an art.  According to the movie, instead of a competition, surfers

(The dude paddles out to conduct the Expression Session)

were paid to surf giant 3rd reef pipeline while they filmed it with four cameras (two in the water and two on land).  They had gathered all the big name surfers of the time, who probably would have been there anyway, and, as the title suggests, they were expressing themselves on the waves.  At giant pipeline "expressing yourself" probably involves expressing your survival instinct and maintaining some form of honour by not soiling your boardies in front of your peers, the crowd on the beach and the boys in the theatre who had probably never surfed anthying over 3'.  The images of Expression Session 2 still stick in my mind today.  Guys riding these huge green walls with a strong offshore breeze, big barrells and massive wipeouts.  I still can't figure out how more people don't die riding those waves.

(The Dude lifts his baton to begin the first movement)

Following the success of the recent World Series Surfing Splinter Group competititions, the Old Farts Surf Co. (OFSC) decided to revive the expressions session concept as a way of showing the surfing world how to enjoy surfing without commercial hype and allowing oldfartsurfers to express themselves without the inhibitions imposed by a competition environment.  OFSC Head Honcho, The Mexican, said "we gathered as many Old Farts Surf Co. stickered surfers as we could for the event and asked them to surf how they felt".  "The results were amazing, we had two cameras shooting the action, one from the water and one on the beach, capturing surfers carving lines on waves expressing how they felt" said the Mex. 

(The Dude paddles back out through the crashing waves, boards and bodies)

Canadian upstart, Moose, manned the camera on the beach and displayed her artistic eye to capture the magic being expressed by the surfers.  According to Moose, "The pure artistry in the water inspired my photo taking".  Talking about his first attempt at water photography,The Mex said he was "inspired by the survival instinct amidst crashing waves, boards and bodies".   Even Spot, after an inspirational performance on the board, took to the water with Camera, overcoming his dibilitating fear of men in grey suits, to take an inspirational photo of The Mex late in the session.

(The Dude extracts pianisimo from his hollow wooden surfboard "The Craic")

We've decided to bring the photos to the readers, surfer by surfer.  This way the mood and feelings being expressed by each individual can be truly presented as "their" exhibition.  The surfer we have chosen for the first exhibition is one of the original oldfartsurfer,s mastersurfcraftsman and perenial crowd favourite, The Dude.  The Dude has a music in his blood, his dad played the guitar, and some photos suggest a subliminal desire to conduct an orchestra.  "We didn't realise how beneficial the Expression Session concept would be for the surfers" said The Mex.  "We thought it would simply be a display for the surfing world that the surfers could be proud of, and didn't realise the journey of self discovery it took the performers on until we got the photos back and the surfers talked to us about them." 

(The Dude lifting the baton for a crescendo as Spot paddles by)

When viewing the photos, The Dude said "that's when I realised I had been denying my desire to conduct an orchestra and now I've done it in the ocean".  Other surfers discovered things about themselves, Macho to be a Yogi, The Mexican to seek the essence of nothing and Spot discovered he could surf.  Stay tuned as their expressions willbe presented soon.

(The Dude, baton down, focusing on the bar ahead)

(The Dude eases the Craic through a movement while Macho watches in awe)

(The Dude in the moment where he lowers the baton at the finale, just before the applause erupts.)

(The Dude, paddling back for an encore)

As to the debate whether surfing is art or a sport, in 1972, I think I just thought it was something you did because you loved doing it, like climbing a mountain, reading a book or growing roses.

Click here to tell the Oldfartsurfer what you really think.