Top Shot from Tommo

Old Fart Surfer No. 26, Tommo, sent this weeks top shot of a backside rail grab somewhere on the east coast.  According to Tommo, "it was the only shot I got and I was out there".  Now Tommo being a cripple would have got plenty of rail grab time on this fat beast.

The Break, New Wave Surf Music

When the Oldfartsurfer first heard the new Album by The Break, Church of the Open Sky, he thought he was hearing the soundtrack to his surfing life.  It put a big grin on his faced as he tuned in and imagined himself carving down the line of a big walling wave to the music, no vocals, just solid thumpin' guitar twangin' music.
The Break is a reincarnation of Midnigh Oil musos Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey along with Violent Femmes bass man Brian Richie.  What they are doing is having fun.  Which is what oldfartsurfing is all about.  All the tracks are named after surf breaks like Cylinders, Cyclops, Winkipop and the music reflects the character of these breaks.  However, its not all hard driving surf rock, some of the tracks are are more sublime and slowly drift along like a tropical afternoon having a Bintang in a hammock.
Avid readers will know that the oldfartsurfer Mexican was pretty disappointed when he missed seeing The Break in Byron Bay by one day when he recently went to pick up Bob the Bobsled.  Well you'll be pleased to know that the Mex finally caught the boys in Hobart.  "It was a sticky carpet pub crowded with about 300 people" said the Mex.  "The gig went off, Hirsty thumped the crap out of the tubs, Richie bounced around like a man possessed while Moginie, Mr. Cool, master of sounds, just put it out there".  "Not only that" said Mex, "I used my surf star status to catch up with the boys for a single malt before they hit the stage and we discussed their oldfartsurfer status".  The Oldfartsurfer has announced that The Break are now the official band of the Old Farts Surf Co. and the boys declared mastersurfmusicians.  Congratulations Rob, Jim, Martin and Brian!

An Eclipse, Stone Men, Bob and The Mexican

(The sun went dark in the middle of the day)

It was a weird weekend in Byron Bay, sometimes the universe seemed to be aligned for The Mex and Spot and other times things were out of whack.  It was the winter solstice, the natives were restless and beating the drums through a full moon.  Mex and Spot had managed to pick up Bob the Bobsled from the McTavish factory on Friday which gave them more time for sea trials over the weekend, so that was something positive.

(Mex sets up Bob for the section)

After the morning sea trials success, Spot suggested his favourite spot for Eggs Benedict and Latte.  "That's bit Metro" suggested Mex but woofed down the eggs to fuel the  next session in the water.  As the NE breeze came in the boys headed around to Tallows and found some lumpy 2-3' swells on the bank.  As they paddled across the channel to the outside bank Spot said "I don't like this, its spooky" so Mex said "go with yer instincts" and Spot paddled in .

(Mex Drives Bob through the section)

Mex paddled out the back and joined a couple of Japs and Brazilians.  Bob was behaving himself nicely.  Mex then spied a fin cruising from the south about 20m away.  "I paddled in a bit and kept looking about but didn't see it again so I figured it must have cruised on by" said Mex, "but it did spook me".  Mex caught a couple more waves until he got caught inside for 10 min so he decided to call it a day.

(Mex flies out the end of the section)

That night the boys wandered into town for a meal.  "check this out" said Spot, "The Break are playing tomorrow night, that's the band with Brian Richie and the Midnight Oil boys".  "Bugger", said Mex, "we're going home tomorrow, stomping around to a bit of surf music would have gone down nicely".  So their luck was out with the music, but that night, something unexpected and special happened.  There was an eclipse of the moon.  "It was pretty weird" said Spot, "we were sitting in this restaurant and everyone started pointing at the sky, we thought there must have been aliens landing or something but when we went out the full moon was disappearing."

(Sumo's turned to granite)

It was all pretty spooky.  Early the next morning Mex went for a walk and found weird things all around the Byron beach park.  "I found these Sumo wrestlers who had been turned into granite" said Mex, "who's going to tell their mums?"
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Hammer Scores Big Easter Magic

(Some Friendly Easter magic)

Oldfartsurfer, Stu Man (aka Hammer) sent in this shot he scored last Easter.  Seems he got it to himself too.  For his effort and dedication to the cause, Hammer wins a Top Shot Award.  Thanks Hammer.

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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.

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Byron Bay Welcomes the Mexican

The Mexican, keen to get on the road, spied an opportunity to take an early minute and fly down the Pacific Highway on Friday evening to pick up the Mexican special Old Farts Surf Co. Bobsled (Bob) from the McTavish factory before it closed.  Early pick up on Friday evening would enable The Mad keen Mex to hit the waves early Saturday morning instead of having to wait until the factory opened at 10 am. 

 (Spot & the Mex head down the Pacific Highway)

To avoid the congested Pacific Highway on a Friday evening on the first day of the school holidays, Mex enlisted Spot to pick him up with the gear already packed earlier in the afternoon.  Brimming with excitement of picking up Bob, Mex encouraged Spot to floor the accelerator of his jalopy, but Spot, undaunted, stuck to his under 100k/hr rule to prevent the beast rattling to pieces.

(getting closer)

The Mexican and Spot made it to the McTavish factory on the outskirts of Byron just before closing time.  the Mex said "as soon as I walked in I spied my Bobsled with the distinctive Mexican livery, just like the beast from 1978.  A helpful dude, Greg, showed Mex how to set up the fins and gave Bob a polish"

(Bob, the Old Farts Surf Co. Mexican McTavish Bobsled)

The Mex and Spot cruised into town to find a welcoming sign showing the town had banded together to open a cafe' with his favourite food.  "The Mex was thrilled with the gesture and quite chuffed" said Spot.

(Cafe named in honour of the Mex's visit)

The lads quickly booked into their hotel room and donned their limited gear to snag a quick 15 min sea trial before dark.

(The Mex and Bob set for the 15 min cameo sea trials before dark)

No photos were taken of this cameo sea trial but according to the Mex "Bob the Mexican Bobsled had plenty of floatation and paddled easy.  The surf was only small but Bob caught the waves easily due to the lift and acceleration given by the heavy concave under the nose.  Early entry meant easy to the feet and it felt comfortable straight away.  I felt the acceleration and drive the perfectly placed quad fin set up, even on the small waves with subtle ankle pumps.  I can't wait for an other crack at it tomorrow."

(Sunrise at Australia's eastern most point)

The Mexican was up early the next morning sussing the surf while Spot did what he did best and slept in.    "It was a beautiful sunrise and there was a small glassy surf running" said the Mex.

(The Wreck, waiting for The Mex and Bob to paddle out)

The Wreck was right out the back gate of our hotel so it was chosen as the scene of the initial sea trials.  it looked magnificent in the morning light.  The Mex went back to have breakie and wake spot to come and take a photographic record of the sea trials.

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McTavish and the Mexican

After reading Bob's book oldfartsurfer Mexican got pretty excited.  A couple of tacos and some hot chillies and he was mumbling "gotta get me a McTavish, gotta get me a McTavish " repeatedly.  The Mex did his research, found the web site for the impressive sounding McTavish Surf International Pty Ltd in Byron Bay, and, in response to the site's suggestion to ask for advice, the Mex sent an email asking for advice on what type of board would best suit him.  This is what the Mexican asked:

I’m 53 so starting to get slow to my feet. Have also moved from 75kg to 82 kg mmmm – better lose some. Have been riding a Webber 6’6” Afterburner which is great once I’m up and get my feet in the right spot but that only happens half the time or less so ends in a bit of frustration. I’ve got to admit it and go for something a bit longer. I’ve got an 8’8” mal that works really well in small stuff around the local point but I can’t carve on the average beach break.



My mate and I built a few hollow timber boards, he a 6’8” fish, me a 6’8” rounded pin with a lot of volume. Its OK, easy to paddle but a bit stiff and doesn’t accelerate.


Looking at your range I reckon your Carver or the Carver Fish look about right but the Bobsled might do the trick.

What do you reckon?

After a couple of days the Mex received the following response from none other than the General Manager of McTavish Surf International Pty. Ltd. with the following advice:

Thanks for your email. I think one of our shorter models with a bit of volume would be ideal for you, without transitioning to anything too big. The Carver is a good all-rounder for both beach and point-breaks, and you could go for something around 7’2” x 21” x 2 7/8”. The Bobsled is another option, and is still buoyant enough to get plenty of waves, but is also quick and loose. For the Bobsled I’d recommend about 7’0” x 21 ¼” x 2 7/8”. The Bobsled is more suited to beach and reef breaks, waves with a bit more push. I hope this helps out, and please feel free to email back with any further questions.

Well you can probably guess, the Mexican was, to use a grommet term, frothing with excitement.  "McTavish wrote to me, McTavish wrote to me" the Mex muttered.  But is wasn't all 3' and glassy for the Mex.  He was now tormented by the choice he was offered.  He couldn't sleep and lay awake all night for a week with "Bobsled or Carver, Bobsled or Carver" going round and round in his head.  Finally he made his choice.  "I like to catch waves and I like to surf a short board so my choice is the 7' Bobsled" said the Mexican.
One important thing the Mexican did in his order was to ask for his traditional board marking of a green swoosh through his board just like his original design on his first sponsored Oceans surfboard.  "by incorporating the traditional swoosh, I am paying homage to oldfartsurfculture" said the Mex, "oldfartsurfing cultural heritage is very dear to my heart"  Another critical request was to ask for the Old Farts Surf Co. decal to be placed on the Bobsled, a stroke of marketing genius and a sign of his allegiance to his current sponsor.

(The Mexican's first sponsored board, a 1978 vintage Oceans 6'6" swallow tailed twinnie with his trade marked green swoosh, a fine example of oldfartsurfing cultural heritage)

The Order has been placed, funds have been transferred and the decals have been posted.  Current attempts to ascertain if the decals have arrived have, however, are proving frustrating.  The Mex is planning to meet up with Spot in Brisbane next weekend and drive to Byron to pick up his new weapon of choice.  McTavish Surf International Pty Ltd have said that they will endeavour to get the board ready in time.  A phone call by Mex on Friday ascertained that the order had made it into the production system, but how far it is through the surfboard crafting process is currently unclear.  The Mex is getting excited and agitated and currently muttering "I hope its ready, I hope its ready, I really really hope".  We'll keep you posted as delivery day gets closer.
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