Can you Canggu?

You were probably expecting some picture of some Bali Goodness. It's all in the eye of the, well, you know. Here are some shots of Mikala Jones new surfshop in Canggu. Notice anything that stands out?

I guess it wouldn't be a reasonable Canggu post without your token barrel shot:

A Couple Customs I Like

Intercourse with the Ocean

Words: Johnny Knapp

I can’t remember the last time I was on a surfboard. There have been waves, but none of my boards have left the corner in which they lean. Spiders have even taken to weaving a web that utilizes their dormant position.

My friends admitted that they are starting to worry about my absence from surfing. Because for some time now all I go to the beach with is a pair of swim fins and a piece of wood.

It all started when I tried a handplane,as they’re called, that belonged to a friend. I was always curious about them but never really gave it too much thought. I didn’t think it could be that different than the regular whopping of body surfing the shore break. Contrary to what I thought, I soon experienced a ride unique to anything I had experienced before. As vivid as my first ride was on a stand up surfboard, my first body surfing encounter with such a tool is equally ingrained. As the wave rose out of the ocean and across the sand bar, I managed to kick into it and glide across the face as one would on a board, in proper position the whole ride. Riding in the curl, the critical sections of the wave, never straying too far ahead.

Since that moment, I have dedicated myself to what I like to refer to as having intercourse with the ocean. There is a certain sensation that comes from skimming across the surface of the ocean with the water rushing across your body. The buffer of the surfboard as been removed. The ocean and your body are parallel to one another, becoming one during the act. There is a transfer of energy between the two, both feeding off one another. Through this developed energy, pleasure is received. The body’s sensory mechanisms are overloaded by what is happening in that brief and intense moment of the ride. Jolted, thrusted, and twisted into parts of the wave not seen or ridden by boards, it takes a special medium such as the body to get there.

The whole key to the gig is to have the eyes wide open during the whole ride. Even until the moment when the lip dumps upon you, the eyes must be open–alert to what is going on all around. It’s about the view. The lip is projected in the form of an aquatic cathedral with the curtain closing in, shimmering with light from the outside world. Droplets of water, though moving fast, appear to be in slow motion as time decelerates: an intimate moment with nature veiled under the cover of the lip. The ride climaxes with a tumble down to the ocean floor, bouncing up and gasping for air, wide-eyed and alive.

For now I’ve seem to have lost all desire to do a turn. Slashing and gashing the water seems like such rude thing to do to so a beautiful lady. Today I’d rather lie down and make love to her, face to face, touching one another in the glory of the moment.

Borrowed from:
The Drift Surfing Blog

A Post I Like

I copied this post from markmarchesi .  It really brings out the true spirit and feeling of the whole handplane experience:

This weekend we had a pretty good sized swell come in from a deep low pressure system a little ways offshore. I saw it coming and rushed production on a new handplane. I still hadn’t tested the first one I made because I realized shortly after finishing it that the weight and thickness were all wrong.




My new one is a swallow tail shape, made of mahogany and poplar. It’s much thinner and lighter than my first attempt and has a strap instead of a cut out hand hold. I heard that the cut out throws water in your face when riding so I salvaged the strap off a free diaper bag we got at the hospital when Penny was born, sewed some velcro to it, and fastened it to the deck with stainless screws and washers.



It worked great. I took it out Saturday morning in the fog before the swell started to peak. It was only about waist high and I had an absolute blast. While even the longboarders were scrambling for two second rides I was catching everything with ease and riding most all the way into the beach. Sunday was solid head high with overhead sets so I surfed - nervous to swim out with just the handplane for flotation. I managed a few good rides but it was finicky and the waves were hard to paddle into. That got frustrating, so this morning I left my surfboard at home and decided I was going to give the handplane a try no matter how big it was.

The swell had dropped slightly from Sunday but was still around shoulder to head high and the inside was dumping. I put my fins on and swam out for one of the most thrilling and insanely fun sessions of my life. This may sound weird, but I had such a good time that I felt kind of guilty afterward - like a grown man with the amount of responsibility that I have shouldn’t be allowed to have that much fun.




There is something so pure and joyous in the act of flying down the face of a sizable wave with nothing but the length of your body and a small piece of wood making contact with the water. From now on I plan to leave my surfboard at home more often. There is nothing like standing and carving around on the face of a wave either, but handplaning is a whole different sensation and a welcome change from stand up surfing.

Around the World- Final Version

Here it is. Jason at the The Daily Bread will be doing some final testing at the Wedge this week. Luckily there is a decent swell. If she holds up, then we feel she is ready for the voyage. If all goes as planned, she'll be shipped to the first destination in the next week or so.  Contact Jason for details and watch for coming footage from around the world.

Here is Jasons first testing session at the Wedge.  Kinda cloudy and a little texture.  I can't wait to see what kind of footage he's gonna get when it clears up.   He said that it worked real well.  I have a feeling once he sends this one around the world, I'm gonna be shaping him one for home use.

Revenge- Burning your Fiberglass Brethren

All of you out thier these days that are Handplane/boarding, Bodysurfing, matt riding, etc. have experienced the utter lack of respect by our fiberglass brethren.  I have posted my experiences numerous times in the past.  Sadly,  I am probably the first guilty party when the shoe is on the other foot.  Here is a little revenge.

Mr. Cunningham Circa 1982

Natural Paulownia at Surfy Surfy

Something about the natural Paulownia finish that is just so clean. I would say that even though I love doing colors, pinlines, redwood glue-ups, etc. at least half the boards I make, leave the finishing room natural. I just dropped off 6 natural Brownfish Model planes to JP at Surfy Surfy. They will be in the shop, but will most likely be offered in his Surfy Surfy On-Line Surfshop as well.

Mmmm Redwood

Out of all the handplanes I make, my favorite by far is the Redwood Stringer boards. It's a little more work, but, there is something about milling down the redwood and paulownia, gluing it up, looking at the mess you've made, shaping it out, then being able to appreciate the beauty of the finished product. Never did I invision myself making such things.

Dry Reef Humping

I was testing out a GoPro Handplane Prototype while in Kauai, and took it out at the Bodyboard spot that I had been eyeing for a while.  Good thing about a bodyboard is when you go across a dry reef, most of your upper body is protected from the drag.  What I learned from this experience is that bodysurfing over a dry reef can sometimes leave you, well, a bit unprotected. 

Foamballer