Prone to transition
How should I start a post after a hiatus of several months? Just like this I guess...
Was he pushed or did he jump? September marked a significant shift in lifestyle - a shift from the lab and field to kitchen and laundry, east to west, country to city. Well, a little south of the city. Now near the sea on Dublin's south side I've been happily surprised to have discovered east coast surf has a lot to offer. In the water here more in the past five months than the past year-and-a-bit while interred in Galway.
My local here needs at least a day of howling southerlies to push some wind-swell up the coast. Swell of a sort - such that it encourages careful reconsideration of equipment. From the above snapshot it mightn't look like much foolish be the choosey begger (bugger?).
Things got weird. Maybe my brain was addled from the abrupt alignment to toddler-time. I try to cast my mind back to recall what had inspired the sudden binge on scouring the webs for whatever I could find on surf mats.
The Krypt MT5 was a flash purchase. I think it was sometime in late September after the umpteenth hypnotism of Mark Thompson drifting the Ox. The package arrived and I was sprawled on the sitting-room floor breathing life into what I could then only describe as a stealthy looking pool toy.
All wave-riding since has gone prone. Scouring about I've glimpsed a robust underground scene. Perhaps it's best left at that - those who get it seem to keep quiet, smile and froth on various blogs and in forums where lies ample details on matting history (back to the 1930..?), development and current innovation.
Those who don't know perhaps have yet to make the discovery; fair enough - in 30-something years of surfing, I've never seen one being ridden. Naturally there's many quick to cast surf mats to the dogs... folks who surely reached such conclusions after investing considerable time in researching and riding to qualify such judgement.
Two more mats, custom- and hand-made 4th Gear Flyers, are on their way to Ireland funded by the sale of boards. What can I say? Inflate 'em if you got 'em.
Was he pushed or did he jump? September marked a significant shift in lifestyle - a shift from the lab and field to kitchen and laundry, east to west, country to city. Well, a little south of the city. Now near the sea on Dublin's south side I've been happily surprised to have discovered east coast surf has a lot to offer. In the water here more in the past five months than the past year-and-a-bit while interred in Galway.
My local here needs at least a day of howling southerlies to push some wind-swell up the coast. Swell of a sort - such that it encourages careful reconsideration of equipment. From the above snapshot it mightn't look like much foolish be the choosey begger (bugger?).
Things got weird. Maybe my brain was addled from the abrupt alignment to toddler-time. I try to cast my mind back to recall what had inspired the sudden binge on scouring the webs for whatever I could find on surf mats.
The Krypt MT5 was a flash purchase. I think it was sometime in late September after the umpteenth hypnotism of Mark Thompson drifting the Ox. The package arrived and I was sprawled on the sitting-room floor breathing life into what I could then only describe as a stealthy looking pool toy.
All wave-riding since has gone prone. Scouring about I've glimpsed a robust underground scene. Perhaps it's best left at that - those who get it seem to keep quiet, smile and froth on various blogs and in forums where lies ample details on matting history (back to the 1930..?), development and current innovation.
Those who don't know perhaps have yet to make the discovery; fair enough - in 30-something years of surfing, I've never seen one being ridden. Naturally there's many quick to cast surf mats to the dogs... folks who surely reached such conclusions after investing considerable time in researching and riding to qualify such judgement.
Two more mats, custom- and hand-made 4th Gear Flyers, are on their way to Ireland funded by the sale of boards. What can I say? Inflate 'em if you got 'em.