Surf Competitions are Overrated . . .

until you see the trophies and realize you will surf your happy ass off to get one!

Once I saw the trophies, I was done. I had to have one. Since I couldn't exactly steal one or bribe someone for one, that meant I had to sign up for the contest. And surf! In front of a whole bunch of people!

I did a terrible job of keeping count of my waves. We were told something about a 10 wave max and something else about the top three waves counting. Well, I've never been good about remembering where I am when counting things. I thought I'd gotten my 10 waves, heard them announce that we had two minutes left in the heat and promptly exited the water when I got a wave that took me most of the way in. I thought that by the time I braved the shorepound and paddled back out to the lineup, the two minutes would have been up. Paddling back out and catching another wave or two, since that two minutes seemed to last for at least five, might have given me the win. Who knows? A lot of people thought I'd won. Many others were certain I'd won. It doesn't matter.

While I stood on the shore waiting for the heat to end, I cheered on my competitors. Hell, we'd been cheering for one another the entire time we were in the water. It was hardly a day of stinkeye or bad attitudes. We all just paddled out and had fun.

I don't plan to do the contest next year. Then again, if the trophies look as good as they did this year, I will probably change my tune.

There's Nothing Better Than a Good Ole Mat Sale!!

You know you want one. I keep telling you all how much mats kick ass. That is something about which I do not joke. Ever.

Fourth Gear Flyer mats are now on sale. If you consider yourself a waterman/waterwoman/waternut, you'll get on that!

Here are the details:

Over the first half of this summer, we received a larger-than-expected number of orders. It's a nice problem to have, obviously, but we just plain ran out of material.

 

The next delivery of fabric will arrive around the 15th of August.

 

We work hard to get our handmade mats out to people within 48 hours...which means a lot of all-night building sessions for me to keep up with demand. But, since we're on hold for the next 3 weeks, we're going to have a sale in 4GF mats to help compensate customers who'll have to wait for their mats.

 

From now until the middle of August, there's $25 off each mat. The earliest orders received will go out first. The later orders will have to wait another couple of weeks, since we'll be buried with work when we get back into production. So, there's good reason to order now if you are interested in a new mat. 

 

When you order, the order form on surfmats.com will charge the full amount. We'll rebate $25 per mat within 2 days after your order comes in.

 

The sale price applies to US and foreign customers.

Smile at Your Local Shaper—DANC—and Put Him on Your Blog

Watch the Estrogen Shred!! (Now With More Worm!)

Say No More from Bird Man Media on Vimeo.

Whole Lotta Helter Skelter

I Cannot Stop Staring at This Photo (Not Surf-Related)