“I’ve been doing work with Grain on one level or another for about five years. I’ve always been enamored with their commitment to their beliefs and their creativity. To actually spend eight days learning from and working with them was even better than I thought.”

Johnny can’t pass up an opportunity to shape someone else’s rails. The spokeshave is just too addicting.

“I know the weather in Maine can be kind of rough – even more so than New Jersey. But that week, everything just came together. You juxtapose fun waves with the green Maine countryside, throw in genuine, conscious, motivated people, add 19 hours of daylight and wrap it all in flannel.

I’m also amazed at the group dynamic. You take six people from all over the world and they come together to build a wooden surfboard. There’s something very organic about the experience.

Some of the highlights:

• Camped on a lake in Berwick
• Rode the demo model of the board I was building a few miles from the shop
• Johnny made us listen to the Dead
• Canoed the Mousam River
• Bombed hills through the Maine countryside
• Sat by a fire with great friends”

Randy and Nick and the first Striper of the season.

A room with a view.

Another room with a view.

Matty with his own 5’10″.

The Lobster Roll.