3rd Tube Ride of the Year Entry!

Hi Mate 

Finally got a little tube at what Adam calls “Hava go bernies”,but like lotsa breaks we have different names. I call it “Kents Left”..named after Kent Ladkin who is the owner of the local surf shop and lives on the hill above the break. He knows Mark Thomson (krypt) well and sold me my MT5. This was the first time out here for Adam and I had surfed it with Kent only the week before. Adam got in great position for the shot and I made it thru.

Da Bolt 

Thanks SCUMM boys. A worthy entry and a great bit of work to get it too!

Ramsnake gets a few slides!

Footage over a couple of days taken on a GoPro Silver HD at 960 X 30.
Somehow in the editing process all that lovely definition has disappeared.
I will keep working on it along with the drops on and the fogged up lense.
Only 4 waves were considered good enough to make the cut. I can't believe how much this thing flattens out the waves many of which actually had a bit of size as there is a good swell in at the moment.
Looking forward to getting a Soloshot so I can get the view from the beach to cut in with the POV footage from the GoPro.

People are starting to notice and finally I replace the GoPro!

I really think that I am starting to make some solid headway with this mat riding lark. Of course, compared to a mat riding beast like Prana, I am still really only a baby, but I like to dream!
However, after nearly 3 years, suddenly, rather than being completely ignored, I am more readily getting approaches from others in the line up. This usually occurs some way in to a session after they have had the opportunity to observe the mat's performance. Clearly, the result is the opposite of what their initial notion might have been on first seeing me join them.  They will often remark on the speed or the uniqueness of what I am choosing to ride and want to know more about it.
I am starting to get a bit of a speel down now to try to encapsulate as quickly as possible for them the nature of the surf mat and why I and many others choose to ride one.
I will often start off by stating that in a very important area it is a more sophisticated water craft than most that are used. Now that takes them aback for a moment. Until I explain that, because I ride it partially inflated, the mat adjusts itself in realtime to fit whatever is happening on the surface of the wave and that is why it performs as it does. Often that explanation really seems to make sense to them, providing the opportunity to elaborate further. I then go on to state that I can choose to overide the mat's natural inclination by subtly or fairly vigorously altering the shape myself but more often than not the mat is best left alone to it's own devices.  Then the conversation usually moves on to where one can get a surf mat at which point I now direct people to ASMR. I tell them they can find out pretty well all they might want to know as well as get a good overview of the surf mat scene.
That early model GoPro 2 I lost round the bay never turned up although I live in hope that maybe one day it might.
In a couple of weeks time, I morph in to a gorgeously matured velvet smooth 60 year old vintage with a fine bouquet, heaps of fruity punch and great depth! Well, something like that. I know you may not be entirely convinced.
Anyway, I decided it was appropriate that I rewarded myself with a brand new almost state of the art HD Silver GoPro 3.

Backs away from the chorus of "Are you mad? A silver? Why didn't you get the black?"
"'Cos, although I am a geek when it comes to technology, I do try to buy what I think I might need rather than what I might want and for me the Silver meets the need."
Of course, the waves will be crap now that I have it but soon hopefully there will be a good day and I can get some footage. Michelle also wears a Gath Hat and if we happen to be surfing the same break she has agreed to swap Gath's and get some front of the wave footage too.
It is also timely as I am expecting MattJ and ET during Easter and hopefully the wave goddess Rosie will deliver and I can get some bonafide WA chapter SCUMM mat meet footage.
"What's that you ask?"
"Oh! WTF is Rosie the wave goddess all about?"
"Ah my friends patience. That will be a post for another day!"

4th Gear Flyer Australia?

I have been meaning to post for a little while now about an interesting development for 4th Gear Flyer surf mats in Australia. I have held back as I have had been waiting for something more concrete to emerge but so far nada.
Anyway, recently, a Facebook page named Fourth Gear Flyer Australia made it's appearance announcing:
"Fourth Gear Flyer surfmats will soon be available for the first time from an Australian distributor! That means no more tediously long waits for your mat to arrive! Stay tuned."

Although, there has been quite a bit of activity on the page since it appeared, for some reason, and I cannot for the life of me understand why, whoever it is, seems to be keeping their identity under wraps? Why??? I am not the only one who is a little bemused as Henry Hester enquired about this also in a comment to a post on behalf of Kendog. There was no response.

I am now beginning to wonder if it is some sort of hoax which would be a sorry state of affairs as many Oz mat riders have a 4GF in their quiver and might like to add a couple more with a bit of a quicker turn around.
As for me? Well, I still probably won't be able to get my hands on a 4GF directly where ever they are distributed from, but fortunately, "Ve haf ze vays und ze means!"

2nd entry for the 2013 Tube Riding Comp!

Last year's winner, Chad Stickney, emailed me this bit of barrel perfection yesterday and here it is for your viewing pleasure!

A Krypt MT5 anywhere in the world in 3 days and it's free!

Yep that's right. MT has done a deal with an international freight forwarder to offer his customers a global express delivery service. 
That is, 3 days door to door anywhere in the world, fully trackable, access to international call centres with 2 complimentary redirects if your not home on the day. So no more waiting 2 weeks or more for the snail mail to deliver your new mat.
Unbelievably this shipping deal is free with the purchase of any Krypt MT5 Surf Mat, so order your new mat today and surf it real soon!!!
Not only is Mark Thomson one of the fastest things on water but now his surf mats wing their way around the world faster than ever.

Get ya Duck Feet today!

MT has got his Voit website up so you Aussies can get that pair of Duck Feet or UDTs you have been hanging out for shipped free right to your door. $100 for a pair of UDTs is absolutely awesome. It cost me $160+ to get my first pair from overseas which was the only option for us here in OZ until MT got the distributorship. These new compound Voits are much easier on the feet and legs. If you have tried the old compound ones in the past and chucked them aside, I am recommending you seriously consider giving the new ones a go as I don't reckon you will regret it!

Aussie Pipe!

Hey Robin

Hope all is well and you are getting the water, these are a few pics my mate Rob Slater took from last Sunday mornings surf at Wreck Bay...We originally started out on the other side of Jervis Bay but the wind was blowing it to crap so we came back here to Wrecky and the wind was slight cross shore about 4ft on the big sets....and nobody out! Been a long time since we have scored it with nobody and have seen way worst with about 20 guys sitting on it, so it was a treat to score it solo! There was no rights so Slats decided to plug some pics of me ...I started out over a Learners and hope to get one across to the Peak, but the swell was way east, so after a couple of take offs from Learners it was the Peak or nothing. Interesting is a word I would describe the take offs , no time really to set the rail, more just drop and go for it, with most of the waves out running, but had one smaller inside wave where I was able to pull my inside arm back beside me and would you know it...the rail locks in and holds it line perfect. It was a good learning curve and am now hanging for a good day from Learners to run some speed up and see if I can back door the Peak like I did with my kneeboard. 

Keep on Sliding

SCUMM

waka

Ramsnake creates a little mayhem and the new booties!!

Woke up to light offshore winds yesterday and was looking forward to the day's session. Only problem is it is a long weekend and the town is full of escapees from the heat of the city 5 hours north of us here on the south coast. The point was chockablock full of longboards as there was a visiting club holding a bloody competition on the main surfable break! I had heard that they had caused some concern the day before also with a level of arrogance and aggression and riding leash less longboards in a lineup that includes plenty of beginners and young kids. A really, really stupid thing to do!
Anyway, although knowing I could assert myself there if I wanted to, there was no way I was going to be bothered competing with the 20+ throng for a wave that was not getting through terribly often. A little further round the bay there looked like there might have been a surfable left with a bunch of shortboarders on it and they looked to me like they might have been a beginner or two amongst them. As I walked past the clubhouse and through the throngs of clubbies also clogging up the beach, I was stopped by a local who I had directed to ASMR recently. He had previously asked me about the mat as his efforts to teach himself to standup surf were frustrating the hell out of him. Adding further to his frustration, he was now out of the water for awhile as he had injured his foot, just before a two week snowboarding trip to Japan. Having checked out the blog, he was keen to know which of the mats, that I have links to on ASMR, I owned. I replied most of them, much to his surprise and recommended either a Krypt MT5 or a 4GF Standard as he is a tall skinny guy. I told him I could let him try them both and he can make a decision for himself. With a bit of luck I may not be the lone mat rider out the back in the future.
So I get out to the peak amongst the group of shortboarders and it becomes apparent pretty quickly that they are all learning to surf and pretty hopeless at it too. As is par for the course, there was the usual level of amusement as the old guy on an inflatable wearing a Gath hat paddled out towards them before turned to bemusement as he went straight past them all out the back to wait for the sets! Then the fun started, these guys had no idea what hit them it was a hilarious! For some reason, people who have not seen a mat in action before, seem to automatically assume that they only go straight when the truth is they can change direction incredibly quickly. So, I take off on the first wave noting that it is basically left, wag my hips and whizz down the face straight over the top of one of these guys who was completely taken by surprise and frantically trying to get under the wave and bump, bump he cops the mat whack! Now, I know some of you maybe thinking, well I could have avoided him but it is not in my nature to do so and I will hold my line and rely on any obstructions getting the hell out of the way. Especially as these waves are not that flash and there is only a ridable face for a shortish period of time. One down and they are starting to change there view of the mat rider now. The next wave is also a left and I am under the nose of another one of them and across the the back of his mate before they realise what is going on. It is then that I think I heard the comment "This guy is crazy!" Beautiful and inside, I fell over myself chuckling so much. It wasn't over though as I went on the attack again, to the right this time, straight over the top, bump, bump, of one of them who I had just remarked to that it was a shame the waves were shit for learning on.
I have a new pair of 3mm Ocean Hunter Stealth Fin Socks to go with the new UDTs and they are really good. Previously, I have been using low cut surfing reef booties but the extra rubber around the side of the foot made it very difficult to slide the fins on and off. These new ones slide in and out of the fins more easily and have the bonus of being high cut. I got them from Spearfishing Supplies for $50 and the service was brilliant as I had them in under a week.