Who was Neal Townsend? Who made the plug for the pictured board? Who was Jim Fowler? Who was Rodger Adams?
The normal board for 68 was from an 8-6 bingfoil to 7-2 round tail with s- decks .Boxy flat deck boards didn't
happen until 69. Where were Buzz and H&O surfboards located? More questions to come.
Haaaa! Yes indeed, Bert, I remember those very well indeed. Jelly rubber or as we called it here in the States, ‘surgical tubing’. Same stuff they use to give the zap in the Wrist Rocket slingshots and most spearguns.
And as a leash material… hooboy. You got a really good understanding of why they used it in slingshots and spearguns, far better than the understanding posessed by whoever thought it would be a good material for a leash in the first place. You would think somebody woulda connected the dots on that -
Board would go out…and out…and out, and when it came back, it came back a-hellin’.
Suddenly, swimming after your board wasn’t that bad an idea after all. Far better than having an indentation in you that looked Just Like the back edge of your fin…
Add to that the fact that they made at least some of the ankle loops out of the same stuff, with a slipknot… did I mention that the original use for the ‘surgical rubber tubing’ was as surgical tourniquets? Worked Real Good for that too. So you’d be paddling back out, dented if you were lucky, and then doing contortions outside to try and Loosten The Damn Loop around your ankle while your foot went numb.
That, naturally, was when a sneaker set would come through and catch you unawares. Restart. Game NOT over…
Miss them? I don’t think so. I seem to recall that swimming was what I went back to very quickly and I didn’t start using the Urethane cords for a while after they came out- scared off, I guess.
Be happy, though. No way in hell could I ever get anybody to even think I was good-looking once. Let alone now…
Best regards
doc…
Geez! I post photos of my 'Jet and everyone becomes focused on Surfing safety (a la mon corde de bungee). Have you guys considered getting work at OSHA? I appreciate your concern for my safety and livelihood, but you are way too late and I am after all a lost cause…so if you are still concerned about me …pray to St. Jude (the Patron Saint of Lost Causes.) Sniff…I didn’t realize until now the Geezers on this discussion board have grown so fond of to me. Even LeeDD exposed his true feelings toward me. I must have shown my sensitive side??? I think not!
(Fortunately I am not using my scuba gear from 1970). Both my daughter and I do have newer well equipped modern boards for those pretty days and I want to look like everyone else in the water.
Like I stated in previous posts the Aquajet is relegated to those very special days. I have never lost that board and the board has never injured me. I do wear a helmet when warranted. The helmet is more for torpedoing into the white water and the breakers on the way out. It saves me from those cold Atlantic water brain freezes…Right Doc?. 'and from serious cranial and brain damage from bouncing off the bottom terrain.
I don’t duck…I turn turtle once in a great while when the conditions allow me to. On most occasions I wrap my arms and legs around the board and ride it out so I am not seprated from my board…a few times I have gotten nailed just right by a perfectly breaking crusher and carried back toward shore going a considerable distance flipping end over end like a pefectly executed Adam Vinatieri Superbowl winning field goal. That must be a sight…enough said! It has been fun…thanks a pantload!
Preface: “I’m not bagging…I swear, no bagging here…just being straightforward, so please don’t think I’m being rude.”
Now that that’s outta the way…
MadDog,
Threads always skip around due to various angles within the discussion. For the most part it’s all related…kinda like the 7 steps from Kevin Bacon.
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Geez! I post photos of my 'Jet and everyone becomes focused on Surfing safety (a la mon corde de bungee). Have you guys considered getting work at OSHA?
It looks to me like most of the responses to “the bungee” are written out of personal experience. I’ve had mine. Nobody wants to see someone get seriously injured or killed if it can be prevented.
Which brings me to my first question:
May I ask why you still use “the bungee”? The hazards far outweigh the pros for this outdated gear and they are just plain dangerous. With modern technology, there is no reason not to switch to a re-inforced, dual swivel poly leash that can withstand tremendous amounts of pressure and is not as likely to fire back at you with the speed of an out of control torpedo. Not saying it doesn’t happen, it just doesn’t happen as often. Remember, le helmut will not protect your face. I believe there must be some uncontrollable feeling of nostalgia when riding the original equipment.
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I don’t duck…I turn turtle once in a great while when the conditions allow me to. On most occasions I wrap my arms and legs around the board and ride it out so I am not seprated from my board…a few times I have gotten nailed just right by a perfectly breaking crusher and carried back toward shore going a considerable distance flipping end over end like a pefectly executed Adam Vinatieri Superbowl winning field goal. That must be a sight…enough said! It has been fun…thanks a pantload!
Are you SERIOUS??? What an absolutely BRUTAL way to get through the whitewater!!! As Tom Carroll said in Endless Summer2 “…deserves the medal of honor…” insert “MadDog” at the beginning.
You are a unique and interesting person and I look forward to future posts from you.
My OSHA hand book has been lost for decades, but I’d like to think I have common sense. I tried to give you credit where credit was due.
Still, glad you like the vehicle.
No need to repond.
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It saves me from those cold Atlantic water brain freezes…Right Doc?. 'and from serious cranial and brain damage from bouncing off the bottom terrain.
It’s true. Surfing in crystalline slush happens here in midwinter - and bouncing off the bottom, etc.
And if he gets cold, imagine how I feel-
Ya might say the insulation is a touch scant ‘up theah’ . The light reflections off the dome bother some people on very sunny days.
‘Brain freezes’ …might explain a lot in my case. My first wife, certainly…
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You are a unique and interesting person and I look forward to future posts from you.
Heeee… man, we are all like that ‘up heah’. That’s the charm of the place. Surfing where the water and air are blood-warm is one thing - but when the snow is coming down and there’s ice on the shore and it’s still part of your life, that implies a certain devotion. And perhaps a certain madness.
That and considerable investment in rubber.
I’ve done some travellin’…but I always come back home.
doc…
The seemingly obvious answer is that mad dogs don’t like leashes or ducks. I concur with Doc… though I would have sent a free leash and a bone.
The man makes a hell of an entrance, doesn’t he. Welcome to the party!
Gil
You’ve nailed that right on Gil!
Keep the leash, but you can cetainly deliver the bone…Heh Heh! I look forward to my daily visits to review the creative exchanges on this and other discussion boards. I am still chucklin’ over the “Shitshoveler” creation partly developed by the Newfie and shaper extrodinaire who goes by the handle of “Goombah”.
Keep this party ragin’!