Endless Summer 2009

We just spent the Northern Summer traveling around Spain, France, Cornwall in the UK and Ireland. We immersed ourselves in the different surf cultures and came back with one conclusion: These are Surfing’s Greatest Days!

The types of boards available and the unique approaches that many individuals are taking to riding a wave have boomed in the last 5 years. The Alaia has opened up a new universe of surfing. Everywhere we went we were greeted by a crew of amped Alaia surfers.
Now foam boards are going finless as well! Check out this blog from Jon Wegener - wegenersfinlessfrontier.blogspot.com

The SUP thing, like it or not, seems to be here to stay. I can see how it can develop in different areas. For example the board can be finless for speed but then use the paddle as a fin when the wave gets steep.

The use of boogie board rails and the concave on the Tuna has opened up a whole new door for the big boards. We now can control a lot of board in a tighter space. Also the weight of the big board is much more manageable.

Recently I made a couple of hollow wood noseriders that were just oiled and not glassed. They ride insane and add a speed dimension to deep critical hang tens. I have also made a few foam noseriders and kept one for the family. They help me keep in touch with what we have done while we experiment with new designs.

Last, but not least is the re-emergence of the plywood body board. I will tell you that they are fun! Again, if you have not tried one lately, you do not know. One of my highlights of the summer was riding a tiny shore break in the north of France with Takuji on these boards. I spent more time hot in the pocket than any other day of the trip.

I made this 12 foot tuna in Spain. Several days I surfed fat waves that were not inviting on other boards
Photos by Marcelo Diaz

Although the board has some weight; it comes extra alive from the super-slick oiled surface
Photos by www.danepetersonphotography.com
Surfer, Christian Wach

This bodyboard taught me a new, very important lesson. The makers of this board pulled the nose up as an accelerator when the board is in the pocket. Pushing down on the nose creates a reverse rocker in the middle of the board which gives the board a terrific burst of speed. Pull up on the nose to stall. I was amazed at how advanced the thinking was behind this board!
Photos by Dame Margaret

Rails
Now that we are back in Noosa I am sort of going out of my head thinking about all the boards to build. My passion for this summer will be the Tuna and variations of wood and foam Alaia shapes. There is a lot more to be learned from the Tuna rail mixed with my concaves and flex. Along side of this I want to work on the Plankton noserider. This way I get to look at the two sides of the surfboard rail spectrum. The Tuna has the dry rail while the noserider has the suction rail. They are opposites and both work. Rails work different depending on how fast they are moving through the water. There are thresholds for how they work.

Just like water has three different forms (gas, liquid and solid) the salt water works with rails three different ways - slow, medium, and fast. I want to get a much better understanding of all the different rails.

The first thing I did when I came home was make a Tuna with a slightly new rail set up. The surf was breaking very fast down the points and you could only go a short way before getting closed out. The new rail grabbed the very steep face of the wave and I flew faster down the line than I thought possible. I was thinking, “I shouldn’t be making this wave.” So there is a truth to the rail, I just don’t know quite what it is yet.

Experimenting with the new tuna rail
Photos by Margie

What is a Tuna? Last March we made a little video of a day celebrating wood. Check out the vimeo at http://vimeo.com/4284833

While traveling and making surfboards for the last three months, I really enjoyed being surrounded by stoked surfers. We were making boards and trying new things. Now, back at home I miss the camaraderie. Margie and I are thinking of opening our house and factory up to some people who would like to build their own boards here and help me with my projects. We have to charge for it because having more workers around actually takes away from Matt and my ability to fill orders, but it will bring more excitement to the factory. Please contact us directly if you would be interested in staying a while at the Creation Plantation.

New Blanks
I have been working with David Evans at Port Phillip Plantation Shudders (www.portphillip.com.au) on an improved Alaia blank. There really is a lot to making a good blank. The glue joins have to be perfect of course, but then there is the choosing of the wood for the blank. The wood has to be able to withstand the amazing pressures of tons of water pushing it around without cracking. There are certain cuts of wood that are better than others. Working with David and the millers I have had the four best cuts of the tree saved specifically for Alaia blanks. There are also different types of paulownia trees and grades of wood. I have tried them all. The stock of paulownia coming out of Paradise Plantations in NSW is the best and that is where all my wood comes from. I have been very fortunate to have been able to organize the blanks from the growing tree to the customer. These blanks are worth the $250 price tag. Matt and I took the first two boards from the new blanks and surfed them all summer in Europe. We rode them hard and really put them to the test and they passed with flying colors.

This year will be the goofiest year yet for me. We will be working on tiny belly boards and hand planes to 14 foot tunas. We will be mixing what has almost been forgotten and mixing it with vision and imagination to make new shapes. Where do we want to go on a wave next? What new steps do we want to add to the dance?

Thank you very much.
Tom Wegener

ENDLESS SUMMER SALE
Well seeing how we just about managed the endless summer this year we are calling this the Endless Summer Sale. We have got straight back to work in the office, ordered more blanks and rounded up the last of the gear left over for the shop, plus some new things. There is definitely a recession of sorts out there in the world so we have reduced prices where possible. Read on for more details and check out the Endless Summer sale in the on line shop.

TOM’S CREATION PLANTATION
We have just got Cyrus Sutton’s new DVD in stock. When Cyrus stayed with us earlier this year, he and Tom made Tom’s Creation Plantation. Take a look inside at the Wegener factory and learn how to shape your own Alaia. It is in two parts – one captures the best Alaia riding going on in Australia and southern CA right now. The second part is a re-edited version of how to shape your own Alaia. In the extras Jon Wegener shows how to repair a ding in an Alaia. We are so happy to finally have this DVD for you. We are huge fans of Cyrus’ work. You can see more of his innovative instructional website at http://korduroy.tv/
Buy the DVD

ALAIA BLANKS
Top quality Australian Paulownia Grade AAA
Quarter sawn planks, machined to perfection
We have the best blanks on the market, quality tested by Tom and Matt and proven in the UK and Europe this northern summer
Tom has taken his knowledge of paulownia gathered from over 10 years of experimentation and is now working closely with the plantation owner and miller to deliver the best quality blanks available anywhere
Templates included – Finley model, Stuth model and the Peanut model or create your own
DVD’s – the Alaia Story DVD and Tom’s Creation Plantation (presented by Korduroy TV) providing the background on the story behind the Alaia and the know-how to create your own
ORDER BY ENQUIRY

TEE SHIRTS
These original tee shirts are available for a short time only on-line If you are in Noosa for the Australian Summer be sure to check out two unique stores in town. Firstly Phil & Jackie Jarratt’s Back Beach Noosa in Noosa Junction is the home of surf culture. They stock our D-Fin tee shirts and an incredible range of clothing, art, collectibles, linen, furniture and more… http://www.backbeach.net.au

Solace http://www.findsolace.com.au Surf, Art, Life… You will find them on the river at Noosaville with a very cool collection of surfboards, skateboards, art, clothing, books, DVD’s and accessories. They are stocking The Present Australian Tour tee shirts.

Special Prices for on line customers -
WEGENER D FIN TEE SHIRTS ONLY AUD39.95
THE PRESENT AUSTRALIAN TOUR ONLY AUD34.95
BUY NOW

DVD’S IN STOCK NOW

MUSICA SURFICA
One of my all time favorite DVDs to watch at any time of day or night (and not just because Tom is in it). The ambitious experimentation, matched with a truly unique surfing soundtrack performed by Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra inspires me to reach for greatness. Described as collision between classical music and experimental surfing, it is finless surfing on the remote King Island at the edge of the Southern Ocean. Filmed in 2007, Musica Surfica features Derek Hynd, Richard Tognetti, Tom Carroll, Sage Joske, Heath Joske, Dane Peterson, Tom Wegener and Belinda Baggs.

By Thomas Campbell
The Present
Sprout
The Seedling

By Nathan Oldfield
Seaworthy
Lines from a Poem

For the last word on our overseas odyssey please take a peek at http://www.driftsurfing.eu/index.php?cat=235 This is the blog that Tom was able to keep as we traveled around. With gratitude to the team at Drift Surfing, be sure to bookmark their home site as well. http://driftsurfing.com/

Summer or winter, wherever you are, love the surf you’ve got…
Margie