I’d always wondered when this subject would arrise. Dale, have you taken an intern before??
I’m honored to be nominated, and I’d be on it in a heartbeat, seriously.
Need an extra set of hands, Mr. Solomonson?
First, You really can’t do a real duck dive with a matt as you do boards since you can’t push them straight down with your arms and knees/legs. What you’re really doing is diving under and pulling the matt with you and since the matt is basically a big bubble it does everything it can to resist being pushed down. The air will bulge to the back as you dive turning the matt into a big sea anchor and drag you back. I’ve been out in DOH surf both here and Hawaii and I can tell you in consist surf you won’t get out with an inflated matt unless there’s a channel. This effort will wear you out big time in heavy surf so I swim out with my matt deflated and rolled-up in my hand and inflate it once I get outside. Dale S. and Martin (PP) were working on a fanny pak kind-a belt that you can stuff your matt into as you swim out. So on big days you swim out deflated and inflate at the line-up, ride in, deflate and swim back out. Sounds time consuming but compared to getting the crap beat out of you punching thru with a inflated matt it’s more effecient.
As for smaller days, I basically do the same thing as the other guys I push the matt down as I dive and trap the matt between my elbows while I hold on to the two front corners. Word of warning on this technique, do not push down with your arms STRAIGHT, this is an excellent way to dislocate your shoulder should you get ragdolled. keep your elbows bent slightly.
For small white water I just bump over the top.
Wipeouts on a matt in large surf basically means you’re probably going to swim for it unless you manage to wrap your arms around the matt 'bearhug" style cause trying to hold on with just your grip is tough. I actually dislocated a finger trying to hold on to the matt when I got hammered by a OH closeout at Magicsands on the Big Island.
I actually asked Dale about this after I had my first go out on my new Neu. He said no one had ever been interested who was in the vicinity. He’d thought briefly about his daughter but her interests are elsewhere. Too bad, a dynasty would be totally cool. Anyway, he didnt’ say one way or the other but I would not be surprised if he’d be open to the idea if someone was willing to live in the area awhile to really learn all the nuances and have him do quality control etc. Have to have some serious business sessions about “rights” and labeling etc. No idea how all that would work. He definitely doesn’t want to let go of design and quality control. It his “baby” after all. I’d guess right in line behind his wife and daughter. Probably ahead of the dog. Does Dale have a dog? It sure wouldn’t hurt to ask about being the Sorcerer’s apprentice if you have good hands and are interested. I thought about approaching him myself but 1) I’m old 2) my wife would shoot me and then herself if I even suggested a move to coastal Oregon. She has the SAD pretty bad and is constantly scheming moving to tropics somewhere. Soon as we can figure out how to support ourselves we likely will move to warmth…
I definitely have the interest, and i’m young enough to not have anything tying me down.
What i’m more wondering is what I would do to support myself and have a place to live up there.
I’d want to be able to dedicate as much time as possible to learning Dale’s craft, and I wouldn’t expect him to support me, so the rent and food situation could pose a dilemma.
suggestions?
SCgary’s right - a mat duckdive ain’t nothin like on a board.
really when yr duckdiving, as he say’s aiming for the bottom as the wave rolls you, is positioning yourself so that the force of the wave puts you in the right attitude to come up swimming, without wasting time getting on the mat and positioning before kicking out.
Dudley, if you really are interested, call Dale and see if he is open to the concept and maybe get preliminary negotiation going If it seems like a go, just take a road trip and scout the area. You could likely get some kind of part time gig and cheap rat hole to live in while training. Be a real noble, surf monk thing. These kinds of things, I always think if its meant to be it will work out some how. You never know in advance so you just have to start moving in the general direction and see what happens. You will soon find out if its happening or not.
As for the duckdiving chat, DOH is out of my league on a mat for now for sure. At that size, I can definitely see where deflate/inflate would be the only way to go. With flippers and a deflated mat I would imagine you could get out as fast or faster than someone with a hard board.
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Be a real noble, surf monk thing.
lol Jamie’s that already.
Dr S, I looked in my crystal ball and here’s what I saw for New Year’s Day… mat heaven
Thanks Mark. For that I’d probably make a first attempt at standup on my boogie board.
I’ll be there for that!
Mat guys, why don’t you uses leashes? Before you laugh… Dale engineers a nice grommet for one corner, reinforced. You hook on your thin, light, long leash. You head out, first 5’ wall of whitewater you come to, slip off the side, go down a comfortable depth, and your mat, which weighs nothing, pops unharmed over the whitewater. Once you’re out in the lineup, you just loop the leash and tuck it under you. Good to go…
See, we haven’t even gotten together yet and the wheels are turning and I don’t ride a mat. What will happen once we’re there.
WOW! this thread is fun!----now i know why my ‘duck diving’ never worked! i was trying to do it like a hard shape(surfboard)----my worst experience was down in Panama last summer at an island break known as Nestles, a sort of heaving reef peak thing. i was on my way over to the peack when a set wave swung wide missing the pack(8 people) and came right to me! as i get ready i suddenly saw that i was a bit too far inside, and with a cry of “O shit” i made my attempt to duck dive the wave-----spin cycle over , i began to swim inside to get the mat—lesson learned—pay attention and get that 'bag o’air ’ down deep…the rest of the sesson was unreal8 to 10 foot faces and crystal clear
Dale will do the grommet thing with plenty resistance. He has done many experiments and found that basically a) it greatly shortens the life of the mat; eventually tears it apart and b) when you really really need it is when it will fail. Basically its old school all the way. Kinda like the Japanese tea cups w/ no handles because “too hot to hold, too hot to drink.” Same w/ mats…“too big to hold on, too big to go out with a mat.”
One thing about the duck dive/air bubble thing i’ve found is that if you redirect back up at the right moment the air will shift to the front of the bag and aid your ascent instead of dragging you backwards. Takes perfect timing but it gives you a boost rather than holding you back. When surf is big though, all bets are off.
I heard about the guy who lent his mat to someone on an offshore day and the mat took off to a distant island. So I asked Dale to add a retainer to my #2 and yes, I was met with resistance. But he knows his stuff better than me so I’m over the retainer thing.
In he several years I’ve ridden my mat, I’d only lost it twice. One of those times I only let go in the last seconds of soupenergy so I swam only a few feet to get it. That was until this summer I was at a popular beach that is known for good waves but has a tendency to be burly at times. On a head high day there’s about 4 to 10 rows of whitewater to push through, but there’s deep spots here and there to get a little relief.
Sitting almost far enough outside, a wave appeared about 30 yards to the north that I started to kick further out to get over the shoulder. But it shifted and broke exactly right on my head and the mat was gone in an instant. No chance to even bear-hug it which I’ve never done anyway. I started swimming in and was using whitewater to speed up the process when I heard a call from over a ways. A smiling older guy on a board was holding my mat in a deep spot and waited til I got over to him. “I didn’t have a chance” “I’ll say…” and he went on his way. A friend was paddling out a few feet back and laughed at my encounter. Seems the guy who helped me out is one of the more ummm, heavy of the hard-core crew that lives further north. My friend was surprised at what he saw. I had to remind him that mats aren’t sponges and hardcore old-timers, I think, generally have appreciation for them.
I kicked my way back out and five minutes later the same damn thing happened! Two times in two years, then two times in two waves.
I went in.
PC, look familiar?
(off topic ? or ?)
…isn’t there the world kneeboarding contest in Santa Cruz some time shortly after your planned swaylockian get-together ?
next question …
is anyone here going in it ?
on a spoon ?
cheers
ben
bba, how’s this for crappy?
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…isn’t there the world kneeboarding contest in Santa Cruz some time shortly after your planned swaylockian get-together ?
The Worlds start three days later, Jan. 7. The venues are P Point for 2 days, Lane for 2 days.
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next question …
is anyone here going in it ?
on a spoon ?
Don’t even go there.
Let me, and my ever diminishing budget, and the girlfriend schedule, think about that. Can anybody pick up an old, bald fat man in Oakland?
And have a spare board, of any description? I can deal with fins and a wetsuit, but having flown into SF and had a board thrashed, I dunno if I want to do that again.
Meanwhile-
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my worst experience was down in Panama last summer at an island break known as Nestles, a sort of heaving reef peak thing. i was on my way over to the peack when a set wave swung wide missing the pack(8 people) and came right to me! as i get ready i suddenly saw that i was a bit too far inside, and with a cry of “O shit” i made my attempt to duck dive the wave-----spin cycle over , i began to swim inside to get the mat—lesson learned—pay attention and get that 'bag o’air ’ down deep…the rest of the sesson was unreal8 to 10 foot faces and crystal clear
(chuckling ) - know the spot well. It comes out of 100 fathoms and into about 18" of water, on top of a rock and coral shelf. Once saw a whale jump completely out of the water, just outside the break. A ‘once in a lifetime’ thing, you could feel the water shake when he hit.
doc…