Was coming up little bit

Date: October 3, 2004
Time: 0600--0930
Spot(s): Lanis
Conditions: Mostly light trades, average crowd
Swell: Trying, but not really mature
Surf: 3-5' Haw'n

Words: Back in May I got a big surprise at work. Sitting in my cubicle was an old surfboard that a workmate let me borrow. The logo was of unknown origin (possibly the Lollie brothers glassers), but the template and signature left no doubt who shaped the board--Richard Brewer.

Just looking at the 8'6" board was scary, imagining what kinds of waves this board was meant for. Definitely a Pipe gun. I figured that I would not use the board until winter came, so I stored it for the summer, awaiting a solid swell to give it a go.

Well, a decent north swell was finally forecast. Time to bust out the Brewer and give it a go at Laniakea.

Paddled out in the dark only to find that Lani's just wasn't happening. After valiantly trying to catch something, I headed over to Holtons where it was at least breaking.

Everything about the board was novel to me, from just paddling to positioning to riding. The board was super thick at around 4-5 inches and quite narrow--reminiscent of a torpedo. Most of the volume is in the front half of the board, with the back half tapering down substantially to the single fin at the back. Just a whole different groove.

Surprisingly, the board rode real easy. Catching waves was a breeze as it sliced into the wave face. I had to remember to stand further towards the nose rather than back on the tail. It did smooth, big carves pretty easily. I think its just a matter of time before I find the sweet spot on the board and right line on the wave for it to just fly.

One my one and only left I tried, I remember accidentally standing towards the tail, and the board just bogged out. I couldn't understand why until afterwards. It was meant to ride fast and forward.

We were all hoping for the swell to come on stronger, but it never really did. At least the surf was well overhead on the inconsistent sets. I need more water time on this board before even considering taking it out at (small) Pipe, but I do want to give it a lash. It's so awesome riding a 30 year old board that still works so well.

Aloha from Paradise,

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