Sacred Craft 2010-San Diego

Phew!!! We just finished up a great weekend down at the San Diego Sacred Craft. We had a booth, and as usual we hooked up with our good friends at Hydrodynamica and Karl Ekstrom which makes for a very happening booth, and a range of boards that can't be matched by any other booth in the show! Thanks to all of the friends of Wegener Surfboards and lovers of all things alaia for stopping by and saying hello! And I dare say we walked away with a few more converts to the cause!

Richard Kenvin, John Elwell, and Carl Ekstom talking design and story...Thanks to Richard for putting this together and reintroducing the world to Bob Simmons and his designs.

Our friends at Korduroy.tv hosted the movie lounge where they debuted some great short films. They also put together a display very reminiscent of my backyard!

It's always great to see old friends at these events, and getting to meet new friends... Jon was stuck in the booth all day so I'm afraid I had to represent in most of the photos. Margaret (Bing and Jacobs surfboards) Riley, Charger Linda Benson, Me, and Farrah (I mean Robyn).

Bing Copeland and Carl Ekstrom catching up... and talking about surfboard design...how'd ya guess?

One of my favorite SC moments was when a surfer from Barbados came to check out the boards...he said that he smelled the booth long before he saw it. He said it smelled like his grandmother's house! He learned to surf on pieces of wood and there are still guys that won't ride foam boards because they are too slow! He and other converts to foam have the kids take off in front of them on the planks so that they'll make a good lip for them to smack. He said they can never catch the kids so everyone catches waves and paddles away happy! He also mentioned the best boards were made from school desks...so school teachers watch out!

Tom Carroll stopped by to say hello and say that he loves his Tombstone/paipo that Tom made him! He apparently hurt his ankle recently so he couldn't surf but staying out of the water was out of the question! Jon and I just nodded a little star struck and of course spaced on taking a picture!

I found this guy a little lost looking for the booth where he was supposed to drop off some mags and a skateboard. I asked what booth he was looking for...and as it turns out he was looking for our booth. Jeff Ho (Jeff Ho Surfboards, Zephyr Productions) and me!

Congratulations to Ryan Burch; notorious yard possum...and now the winner of the YOUNG GUNS Of Shaping! His fingers bleed and he gets blisters every time he shapes...makes me cringe looking at his hands after, but I'm sure after another 1000 boards or so he'll get some callouses!

Stay tuned as we have a few more pictures of the show for you...Jon thought that there was one booth in particular that deserved it's own post!

Overall, the was show was a success and a lot of fun...there were a few gliches and hang-ups at the set-up and take-down, and I do have to say that I did miss the board demos in the morning. They are usually a great opportunity for the curious to try the boards...as well as getting a surf in before a long day indoors! I hope you join us at the next one! Santa Cruz here we come!!!

Thanks,

r

Sacred Craft Ventura 1

We just got back from the Sacred Craft Consumer show in Ventura. This was our fourth Sacred Craft, and wow did we have a good time! We had such a good time that we kinda forgot to take photos during the show! You'll notice that most of the pics are after it is all over! So hopefully you were there to enjoy it with us! We just wanted to share some of the highlights...

We were up bright and early for the board demo on Saturday morning with a nice quiver of boards for people to try. Jon believes that no one wants to go first so he always takes a board out to show people that "you can actually surf on those crazy things"! Everyone wondered why he wasn't on the beach talking about the boards...I told them that it's just his strategy...he is just priming the pump. For some reason no one really believed me.

Here is a brave soul getting ready for take off! That's Homie (Jeff Scardine)getting his first ride on a bluegill...he came in with his eyes looking like saucers!

Jon got a big surprise when a nice man came into the booth and started chatting about the boards. Our friend Bob Stassi leaned over and whispered hey Jon that's Tom Morey! If you have ever spent any time with the Wegener bros, or checked out their boards up close...you will certainly know that they revere Tom Morey! Jon is all smiles talking to one of his heroes!

About a hundred years ago when Jon and I lived in O.B. we would admire Cher and Steve from a far...Steve Pendarvis is an awesome shaper, and surfer, and Cher is an awesome artist and surfer...I always thought that she was the coolest lady ever...and as I laid on my towel I had fantasies of surfing and being as cool as she was...Thanks for the inspiration Cher! -r

We met and spent a little time with Reno Abellira
and his chihuahua Lola. Reno stole the show with
his personality and fashion sense. Rosa's heart is still beating a little fast. -j

Danny Hess's boards rule and he is a super cool person. I will regret not taking his invitation up to do some karaoke Saturday night. Word is we missed Reno bringing the house down with a rendition of "Purple Rain." -j






Hold on just a second...It wasn't only my heart that Reno set on fire! This is what we call a "Reno Sandwich"! That is Jon, Reno, and Richard Kenvin in the afterglow of the Sacred Craft.-r

Okay, Mike LeVeccia from grain and I are usually the designated photographers for good reason...neither of us really enjoys getting our pictures taken! But here we are, the Grain Surfboards booth was directly in front of ours, which made for lots of good fun!

Once the show was over we had a celebratory snack with Richard Kenvin and Kirk of the Swift Movement. The conversation soon turned to preparing for the next big events. Look forward to a new design with the slick surface of hairless dog grease. You may want to order one now before the dogs dry up.