Hey all, I just got the Litmus DVD the other day, and I’ve been absolutely floored by the Derek Hynd segment, as I’m sure many others have. That layback/laydown thing he’s doing in the bowl—one of the literally jaw-dropping rides he has on there, I had to rewind it about 3 times to see what the @$#^ he was doing! Taking off standing parallel, dropping to his knees on a bottom turn and just gunning it, etc. Anyway, I found his interview in the extras section really interesting, for those that haven’t seen it he’s talking about how the “50 rail” (I’m not sure if he means '50’s style rail, or the 50/50 rail, which should be about the same anyway) with a slightly rolled bottom and minimum rocker will always be the fastest, most functional setup. For some reason, I’ve always associated fish with more of a downrail, but most likely the Frye fish he’s riding have more rolled rails than other, “modern” fish. The Frye fish in Glass Love has a pretty hard downrail in the tail, but I’ll have to freezeframe/zoom in the other parts to check it out. I’ve done heaps of archive exploring but I haven’t found a definitive description of the Frye fish rail, probably because I get too easily sidetracked while searching! Can anyone clue me in?
PS-I’d like to hear anyone’s take on what DH is talking about in his segment in the movie in regards to feminism-my take on it is that he’s saying it’s dangerous to treat women and men as exactly the same because history hasn’t had a chance to say whether or not ignoring the differences between women and men for the sake of total equality, regardless of actual fact, is beneficial or extremely dangerous. Anyone else got an opinion?
I think Derek had a pretty ugly separation , so was not real stoked at the time…[have you seen the ‘litmus’ magazine , where the woman writes about him ? ]
…no wonder he just surfs …
…very very well , I may add …that fish footage of him is freakish , when you watch it in slow motion .
Can’t help you on the fryed rails , sorry …never seen one , being in west australia…
No Chip, I didn’t see the Litmus magazine, just the articles in the Surfer’s Journal which turned me on to Andrew Kidman’s whole program. What was the gist of the article? I’ve seen some great photos of him surfing with his son, and playing on the beach…hope all is well for him.
Dereks sequences in Litmus imho is the best surfing caught on film, its so different to what everyone else is doing, pretty meaty waves for a fish. I reckon you would need softer rails on a fish for a day that size.
Litmus is def my favourite movie and I think the that the Joel Fitzgerald scenes are execllent too, and its filmed in Ireland which makes me biased.
I wonder which of those 2 fish got the most time in the movie…I think Derek blows the concept that the fish is more of a small-wave board out of the water with his part in Litmus. I’ve also seen photos of him piloting one of his Frye fish straight vertically up a bowling, warping wall during a trip to ummm…shall we say Isla del Rey (I’m sure you know where that is Chipper, pretty much directly in the middle between where I am and where you are!) Not really a secret spot but research and discovery are half the fun. Anyway, very inspirational stuff and a mind-bending joy to watch!
When I saw that Derek Hynd’s section in Litmus I thought (and still think) I wanted to surf just like that, it inspires me much more than the punk surfing we can see elsewhere even though they are doing amazing things too. Hynd’s surf is so clean and aesthetic.
When I first watched Litmus I had to replay the Hynd segment several times. It just blew me away. I also think it’s some of the best surfing caught on film.
there is a spirit of greatness in names like greenough, lis, frye, pavel, liddle, solomonson. I dont know any of them (does anyone know anyone really?) but have explored some of their design concepts and believe I have feebily felt a bit of what they understand and implemented into their designs (that you are speaking of though i’m sure any of them could produce a modern tucked under edge/downrailed concaved shortboard which are a very complex, well balanced, practical and enjoyable craft unto themselves to ride).
But lets face it these people rise above the jerk-offs who copy a merrick.
The commonality I feel between them is using the rail to surf the wave, not as much so the fins- maybe not specifically mr hynds quote of 'that san diego 50-50 rail" but pretty close. It can also be understood as a bit of convex/hull/roll midboard or a bit up front. The result is a smoothing of the ride, an ease of rolling it on a rail, and a bit of suction to hesitate and feel the high line. Depending on outline and length the speed can be immediate, or a bit more to work up to, but either way it has an extreme top end on good point waves - the resultant speed being delt with in longer and longer drawn out powerful smooth arc turns still in control.
If you are stoked on exploring the more drawn out smooth arc form of surfing, which it seems you are or already have, may I suggest surfing a mat, greg liddle smoothie, or pavel speeddialer (watch rasta pump the 5-4 pavel inspired speed dialer through a bit of hollow-point backwash on the hydrodynamica clip at allaboutsurf.com or Daniel Thompson bury the rail on those turns same clip fishing with a bit of hull up front) also watch curren surf at a point on non conventional equipment or old children of the sun footage of greenough in australian points surfing velo which when taken in context of the 1965-1967 era is light years ahead of ANYONE yet. The relativity of it all and the big picture and so forth.
Beyond the geometric commonality between the shapes just spoken of; more important is the difficult to describe but undeniable sense that the mentioned shapers/surfers/craft seem more in tune with the true spirit of surfing a love if you will of the feel that riding waves provide, a bit more depth (literally in terms of convex contour in wave face) (and figuratively in the sense of long term craft experimentation and relationship with a certain type/place of/in wave (most often offshore points) etc
Great reply Run, thanks for the insights. I have Children of the Sun on order, can’t wait to see it especially for the Greenough footage. I want to make my next fish in the same vein as what Mr. Hynd was talking about, for me the speed and the long, drawn-out arc is what it’s all about. I would love to try a mat someday, I’ve never witnessed anyone on one in person but from the photos I’ve seen it looks like an incredible amount of fun. Thanks again for the replies!
If you ever see footage of Lis & friends in his/their prime on fish you would be have been blown away as some of us were. The neo -standup fish riding isn’t even close…just a fact.
Hey Chipper, I can’t wait to see Children of the Sun. I found an online video rental place that had it, they also have Crystal Voyager but sadly no Innermost Limits. I’ll see it sometime!
i bought Litmus about little over a year ago, together with Sprout- and to tell you the truth, i was more captivated by Sprout
BUT, i just pulled it out and gave another go, and man-o that surfing Derek’s doin is some of the best shit i’ve seen on film. It’s just great to see him mix up boards and styles like that. hell, most peeps don’t surf like that when they’re 20- what’s he like close to 45 y/o in that flick? Definately, he’s the standout.
Maybe i dismissed it cuz Sprout looks real colorful next to it - but after laying off and giving LITMUS another go, I realize it’s a gem of a movie.
It’s definitely ethereal and mysterious, but much more deeply than a film like Shelter (which is also awesome). To me this film is about the great journey.
no kidding about those fish scenes, they steal the whole show. The man just levitates in the lip like a ghost.
If you havent seen Glass Love, I would recommend grabbing a copy. The opening scene grabs you, it’s amazing what Andrew does with the overexposed shots of Daize. Trippy.
He is selling a Christmas package of this one, I just received mine. I think its a good place for my money to end up.
