quick note to other mat surfers. i was in san diego this past week (i am from NY) – i also had to pick up a rather large board so i couldn’t really bring a board even if i wanted. so, again as usual, i brough a neumatic, a pair of da fin swim fins i had yet to try and my wetsuit. i was staying on coronado near the hotel del and the navy base. i didn’t think i would find any surf but i woke up to really fun, off shore waist to head high peeling waves. warm water, warm air and not so crowded break with a super nice vibe. anyway, the mat worked splendidly, as did the fins although i had to buy a pair of socks cause one of my feet got a bit ripped up). took a while before i got the feel again trying all sorts of take-offs, eventually, on this day the take off that seemed to work best was the from the same spot as if i were on a longboard, with a couple of kicks to get me down and bam – speed. i am not a good mat surfer, but i have a blast. funny thing, after a while in the water i heard two people talking, one said, “hey that guy on the raft is getting some really good rides” and the other responded with, “yeah, and he has had the biggest smile in his face the whole morning.” went out the next day as well, it was bigger, and tougher to get out, but the waves weren’t peeling as cleanly…still had the big smile though. Just thought I’d share the good times.
“quick note to other mat surfers”?
Who? That species dont post in Swaylocks anymore.
Hey Tim -
Yeah, most of us have moved on to the latest in high performance inflatable models…
Au contraire, Mr. McClellan we mat riders are still here. We are just flying under the radar.
Yeah Tim, I have had my mat for almost two years and I now ride it probably 50% of the time. I can't believe how much fun it is. When I went with my wife to Hawaii last year I only took my mat and had a blast. Didn't really miss my surfboards. I could see making trips with just the mat again. In fact I just ordered another mat from Dale just to make sure I will always have one available. I am geting this one with flat rocker. I also have DaFin fins and I like them a lot.
Tim,
Ignore them.
I am a wannabe mat surfer.
I am not the only one on here.
I appreciate your post.
And I think the others do too.
-doug
Whatever happened to “SCGary”? He surfed on a mat. His last post was on June 10. I’ve been going through the archives. So many people don’t post here anymore. There were some great threads.
I’m somewhat in Bruce’s camp.
This is an informational group.
Not a group for people who have just completed surf lessons to proclaim
their joy of the sea, or in a similar vein to be proclaiming the happiness
of riding a mat or a Surfsail.
Start a thread it should be about getting or sharing information, not glee
and not a personal blog about your sessions.
There are a couple of matting groups out there for just such a purpose.
informational groub?
mat roidaz dont post here anymore…
ahhh he deluded youth
of the informidable age.
lest we forget ,exhuberance
dispells ignorance,dont ignore the stoke
transitional inspirations come of such.
today for example
I was thinking about adhering the floatation bladders[mat]
onto fiberglass board,spoon encased in fabric sealed with a zipper closure.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm when I wasnt riding my mat.
is there a place
for such?
nobody knows like the ignorant.
…ambrose…
Informational group only? No stoked testimonials? Is this a new rule? I think it would be cool to hear more mat surfing stories that contain glee. What’s wrong with proclaiming a joy of the sea, or sharing the happiness of riding a mat? How do mats ride a wave? Why do they seem to make surfers so happy? More please!
Tim:
Smiling IS still allowed here, I hope. I’m still riding my Neumatic and it still brings a smile to my face too. I ran across a couple of posts and e-mails you and I exhchanged way back when the world was young here on Swaylock’s (the Neo-Herb era). Your posts were some of the first glimpses of the Fryed Fish dimensions we were hungry for…some 5 years ago! Thanks for sharing the smiles from Coronado, I’ve been there and it’s a great beach to wake up on.
Tom S.
…SHARE your stoke !
cheers ,
ben
What’s this crap about just giving info on this site, some people should get their sh*t together. This site is for all those who ride mats and for those who ride boards or paipos body surf what ever. As Chipfish says “share the stoke”,and for those who don’t think so take your head out of your **s before you post.
Sorry this just pisses me off when people who are new to the site, make stupid comments.
Mark
Picture a big, ugly and mean, choppy afternoon at Rincon. George Greenough flying his mat from Indicators to the seawall. Absolutely ripping through carves and unreal SPEED. Witness something like that and you’d be faced with all kinds of questions.
Well didn’t this topic heat up nicely? I hope Tim (and Dale if he caught it) realize that my post about moving on was meant in jest.
Some of my earliest experiences in the surf were on rented canvas inflatables with my younger brother. We had such a blast taking off over the falls on close outs and riding straight in. If the best surfers are truly the ones having the most fun, we were the best.
Riding inflatables again as an adult brings back some of that stoke on a level that a more serious minded stand up competition surfer would have difficulty understanding.
To read of Tim’s stoke and his biggest smile can mean only one thing… HE was the best surfer out that day!
even in the worst conditions, when riding my mat i just have a constant, shit-eating, ear-to-ear grin(just like idid as a kid)yesterday glassy 2’ closed out beach break-wouldn’t even consider riding a board in that stuff, but the mat was a hoot!!!i am about 30 minutes from doing another mat run…cheers!!
Howzit John, I bet that almost every kid rented a mat at some time in their youth,I know I did at Hermosa Beach when I was really young and hadn’t started my surfing career yet. They were a ball to ride and if you couldn’t afford to rent a mat there was always body surfing.Aloha,Kokua
this thread falls in the group of ‘if it ain’t fun don’t do it!’ i haven’t gotten my matt yet ,i’'m still using a canvas one i got at a yard sale this spring, sucker flies ! i plan on taking it with me on my next trip wherever, it’s another toy to play with…
some folks seem a bit 'full of themselfs or full of something? a surf toy is anything you can ride a wave on or in or with or whatever…
A friend told me a story of borrowing a Women’s mat while surfing north of Gaviota. My friend had never ridden a mat, so after watching this gal rip a few, he asked to give it a try. After the first one he let go on impact and the blustery offshores got a hold of it and it was never to be seen again. This friend of mine had no idea of the cost of replacing one of Dale’s mats. Now it’s somewhere on San Miguel Island.
After the first one he let go on impact and the blustery offshores got a hold of it and it was never to be seen again.
“weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…”
next time, maybe he will tie a bit of string to each arm , so he can kitesurf san miguel !
I remember being caught inside , throwing my mat , and then having to swim for ages to retrieve it from out the back . [No wrist leashes in “those days” heheheh…]
ben
At the Swaylocks gathering in Big Sur there were as many mats as there were any particular type of surfboard.