Last Saturday night, a bunch of us from the shop, along with the Corduroy and Drift crew headed up to Rockland Maine for their first ever Surf Film Festival put on by the Strand Theatre. Now if you know anything about Maine, you know that Rockland is in the middle of the Penobscot Bay, miles and miles from any sort of consistent surf break. Walking around the waterfront, surfboards are outnumbered by schooners, many of which are one hundred-plus years old. For any waterman though, this town is as inspiring as any setting in Hawaii or California. People continue to make their living with their hands, building boats and making a living operating them.

The Festival featured many great films including Dear and Yonder, Ishmael, Little Black Wheels, Power of Three and 180 South. Between each movie, shorts from Joe Carter’s work on Get in the Van were played and during the two hour intermission, they showed a stunning slide show featuring Nick’s images and Corduroy hung a cool art exhibit across the street. It was a packed house with over 350 people viewing the films, including some intrepid people who drove from as far south as Delaware to attend the event.

It was exciting to be a part of the event and helped remind us again why we’re building surfboards in Maine.

Intermission under the marquee

Corduroy brought art for the wall and for the water

Brad & Alex brought five Grain boards up on the beemer

Tyler
All photos courtesy of Jim McGinley.

Some photos from this week’s class. The boys have been treated to sunny days and warm nights, some reggae music, thigh high peelers and some delicious food from our friend Laura. Top planks went on today which – in the world of wooden surfboard building – is like Christmas eve.

Mickey and his friend Tien came all the way from Singapore.

Peter eyeballing the rail of his new Steamer.

Tien is building the new 5’6″ Biscuit, the first one ever to be built in a class.

If you like surf movies – really like them – you may want to meet up with us at the first annual Surf Film Festival in Rockland Maine. A total marathon of movies, it’s being held on Saturday April 24th at the Rockland Strand Theatre and runs in two sessions – from 3pm to about 6:30, with a break for eats, then a second session from 8pm to whenever. Check the film descriptions and schedule here.

It’s a great spot for this event… besides all the standards – pop corn, goobers, milk duds and all, they also have a well-stocked bar and a super-cool renovated historic theater. They’ve selected films with either a Maine connection or those with an indy vibe and a story to tell. We haven’t seen all of them ourselves, so we’re looking forward to being there – and we’ll bring some boards and other stuff along with us.

The other bonus is that our buds from Corduroy are going to be there too with an art exhibit they’re hanging in the lobby for the day. I’m pretty sure they’ll bring some of their cool new T’s along as well.

Donna and Liz at the Theatre have collected some premier surf stuff to give away including a nice new Alaia donated by Mark Anastas of Liquid Dreams Surf Shop. Pretty sweet.

Ishmael Trailer here

Pretty soon, we’ll be losing our Nolan for a month or so (more to follow on that), so for the next two weeks that we have him – until May 1 – we’ll be knocking 10% off custom boards and kits. After we get your order, we’ll credit 10% back to you. If you place an order for a kit after May 1, you may have to wait 4- 6 weeks until Nolan is back before we can ship your kit. We also have a shipping special for some east coasters – if you live north of Hatteras and are driving distance from the beach, you may be eligible for free delivery. Give us a call to find out.

Nolan Collins with his first Home Grown Kit.

Barely heard a peep from the fellas out at Sacred Craft, so I know they must be having a good time… only way I keep tabs on them is through other people’s blogs. Our friend Ed Lewis is coordinating an effort to get some photos from Ventura posted to Daily Shaka.

They have a video setup this time, showing all sorts of clips from our pal Mick Water’s newly released film “Little Black Wheels”. Such a beautiful movie about an extended trip with wife and child in their camper to visit incredible surfers and shapers all around Australia. You can get your own copy in the Grain booth.

Can’t view? click here