Archive for October, 2009

The past two months around the shop have been crazy. This is the time of year where we’re prepping for fall shows, squeezing in extra classes and trying to enjoy as much of the fall colors and swell patterns as we can.

We visited California recently for Sacred Craft, where we’re always in amazement at how surfing is so much a part of the culture. You can’t ignore it if you try – surf shops on just about every corner, old VW’s with longboards stacked on the roof and beach after beach with crowds of people in the water. For those of us trying to earn a modest living building boards, you can’t help but appreciate what a beautiful thing it is to see.

On the other hand, I can remember back to some dark days last winter, and one day in particular when I almost lost it. We had a major nor-easter blow through, and had lost power for the better part of a week (at home as well as at the shop), trees were down, snow and ice covered the road, it was all I could do just to keep my small old dog alive and warm. Sleeping in a cold dark house, on a cold dark peninsula on the cold dark north Atlantic Ocean sure can build character – if that’s what you call it.

It often takes an outsider’s perspective to reinforce what we already know but often forget. And that happened recently when we had a small piece of the California surf community here in Maine. Between classes, tradeshows and parties, we had the opportunity to host Kassia Meador, Mikey DeTemple and Scotty Stopnik here at the shop. We met each at different times over the last few months and they all showed a real interest in building their own boards (even when we offered to build them for them). Luckily, they nailed the timing perfectly, 4 out of 7 days had waves, not big, but perfect waist to stomach, epic Long Sands conditions. They couldn’t stop talking about what they saw – and what we sometimes take for granted.

Though we may be physically removed from the thrum of the California surf-scene, we feel beyond lucky to be living on the coast of Maine. It’s a special experience to come to work each day, especially at this time of year. If we drive by the beach, we might see four or five people out surfing, and with a quick glance to the lineup we can pick out who’s who, even from 300 yards. Heading to the shop, we pass boat shops more than surf shops, we see wild turkeys more than tractor trailers, and the height of the tidal creeks that wind inland give us hints about the current wave conditions on the sandbars.

After a week of hard work, each of our visiting pro’s had built their own board; Kassia a 5′4″ fish, Mikey a Simmons-inspired 5′0″ and Scotty, a 4′5″ Paipo. Each board came out beautifully, with plenty of customization thrown in for fun. We’ll be glassing their boards over the next week or so, then we look forward to getting them under their feet. While it’s nice to have a little California influence here in Maine once in a while, it’s even better to know that a piece of hand crafted Maine will be enjoyed out there.

Through a lucky series of circumstances, I’ve spent more than half my life with a woman whose father, Erik, is wonderfully eccentric. One day in his late sixties, Erik and a childhood friend decided to sell everything, and with just a couple of suitcases, to move to a little backwater in Costa Rica called Nosara. Tourist accommodations were limited, roads were terrible, and a chico had to be sent down the crumbly runway to flush the goats and cows out from under incoming planes.

In the years since then, Nosara has become a surf destination with comfortable coffee shops, tasteful cabanas and a fascinating international population of expatriates living alongside the local farmers and surfistos. The the cows have been fenced out of the rebuilt airstrip, wi-fi is available almost everywhere, and a small group of surfers disguised as internet-jockeys are taking over the local real estate market using an unlikely tool: their popular video-based surf-report.

SurfingNosara.com sends a photog down to the beach every morning and posts zoomed-in pics of surfers scoring, with occasional video evidence when conditions are really good. That beats a web-cam all to hell because the images feature surfers, not wide shots of a whole beach. You can really tell if it’s good because you’re looking right at some lucky s.o.b. right in the pocket. Even when you’re not planning a trip there, it’s a great site to visit when the snow’s flying here for the fourth month in a row, and you really need to know that there’s paradise somewhere.

On a recent trip, I met up with these uncharacteristically motivated surf entrepreneurs and shared with them the Grain Surfboards story and our new wood Channel Islands Biscuit. The sight of a wood board in tropic blue surf is a welcome change from the dark green of the North Atlantic… I’m feeling like I’ve got an obligation to visit my father-in-law more often.

For those of you on the west coast, we highly recommend the Sacred Craft surfboard show in Del Mar. It starts at 10 a.m. and goes for the whole weekend (October 10 & 11). We always enjoy this because it’s a great chance to get feedback from surfers about what we’ve been working on, and to meet up with other board builders.

We’ll have six or seven boards there – we’ve been working really hard over the last month to see that they got ready – ’specially Johnny and Mike. We’re pretty proud of this bunch and hope you get to see them.

We’ll also be selling ten-dollar raffle tix at Sacred Craft for a pretty-much-new surfboard. The only guys that have surfed it are Dave Rastovich and Johnny Abegg… and they want you to have it. Plus, Rasta signed it for the lucky winner. Chances to win this unique board can also be bought online from Stoked Mentoring. Proceeds will go to a fund honoring the memory of Jordan Kelly. Good luck!

Johnny Abegg on top and out front on 5′4″ raffle-fish

We often have visitors at the shop, though we sometimes just keep right on working while we chat. But with over 150 people crammed into the shop this past Saturday, work was not an option… So we just pushed all the shaping stands aside, made room for potluck offerings and coolers, and hoped for the best.

Besides all the locals that make York what it is, we got to see old friends and kit-builders and Grain custom board riders who came back for the do. While seeing all those buds would be reason enough to have a great time, we also had some new friends there. Andrew Kidman’s crew came up with their wonderfully artistic new film – even playing live music as the soundtrack. If you have a chance to see or buy “Last Hope”, do it – great music and beautiful, contemplative images you’d be sorry to miss. As an added treat, the guys from High Seas Films (Picaresque) showed a quick short they whipped up of last week’s students surfing between board building sessions. Kassia, Mikey and Scotty had the whole place cheering whenever we saw them on the screen with Grain boards at our local break.

The whole thing broke down at some point as open beers led to open flames, but nobody got hurt – maybe next year. Thanks to all who came out to make it a special night here at Grain. Special thanks to Maine Root for supplying the tasty soft drinks, all the people at Brixham General Store for keeping us well fed, and Tyler and Jim at Corduroy Surf Boutique for helping make the party a huge success.

Great night, great potluck food, great time. Plus, we got a little closer to giving away a surfboard to a lucky winner (stay tuned for the drawing date.)

This Saturday October 3rd. Rain or Shine. 3pm till the bonfire burns out, we’ll be having another Grain Surfboards Open House and Potluck. Kids, dogs and food are all welcome. This year’s party will feature live music and the premiere of Andrew Kidman’s new movie Last Hope. Buy advanced tix online here. Special thanks to Maine Root for hooking us with some great hand crafted sodas.
Hope to see you there.