The following quote was taken from the Web- Tudor, a former world longboard champion, was controversial with his first round victory, riding a hybrid style surfboard that was somewhere in between a retro-60´s pintail single-fin and a rounded-nose longboard. At 8´2", his surfboard was not a longboard, but the design of the board provided him with longboard paddling advantage. He was able to stroke into the waves more easily than his rivals and found his way into the best tube-rides of the heat. “There´s nothing stopping anyone from riding a board like this, so if they choose to, they can,” Tudor said diplomatically after his win. “It´s pretty controversial,” said rival Strider Wasilewski (Haleiwa), who was in Tudor´s heat. “He was paddling into waves from wide on the shoulder and still getting them over us. But I guess he´s right, there´s nothing stopping us from riding the same kind of board.”
I just looked at the surfermag.com report on the contest and they didn’t even mention Tudor being in the contest. But then he’s just a longboarder is their eyes…
…It’s about what’s popular,and paid for,not necessarily the best/most functional. …We here at Swaylock’s can change that,and we are.Herb ,Welcome to the Revolution,Joel!
What was also interesting was bodyboarder Kainoa McGee, riding a regular surfboard, making it to the semi finals. It would have been interesting to see both Tudor and McGee make it to the finals, but it was not to be. Congratulations to the finalists, seems it was BIG and BAD out there.
So the description of the board Tudor rode is something in between a retro 60’s single fin and a longboard - pintail single fin with rounded nose at 8’2". Except for the “rounded nose” doesn’t it just sound like a single fin gun? Doesn’t my old scrambled head remember something about Lopez making his reputation at Pipeline on 8’ single fin guns? When I read things like this about Tudor I always am left feeling like he just sits around, wide awake, paying attention, laughing his okole off at the status quo. More power to him. Now if we could only get a photo of his board here…
For a specialised competition like the Pipe masters todays modern shortboard pros should be on a board like what joel was riding. Especially in a wave like pipe, where the deal is get tubed. Thats what his boards are made for. The pipe contest is about gettting tubed. A 7’8’ pulled in pintail egg might actually be better than a modern gun to surf a wave like the pipeline with!! this type of board lets the rider in heaps earlier which give a superior advantage to set up the tube. The shorty magazines rave on about how hi-tech and refined the boards are today, and yet when i look at some of these 6 figure pros they dont even seem to be able to flow between tricks. Its just whack, flap, whack, flap, whack. I think that magazines these days play a part in this as well, the pros dont need to be able to surf smooth, they just need to be able to look good for a split second while doing each trick, to get the photo. But thats what shortboard surfing has progressed to for our generation, tricks over style and flow. thats why there is such a big movement these days back to riding thicker wider nosed boards like eggs and such, the focus is on surfing the wave rather than doing tricks. Shortboarders dont like to ride these designs because you cant do tricks like a shortboard does I have lost respect for plenty of shortboard and longboard pros after watching them on video. They are put up on this pedestal and promoted as the best in the world, and by looking at photo’s of them i thought they were. To me its what they do in between the tricks that matters the most.
The boards (2)that joel had for this contest were not longboards. One is 8’3" and the other is 8’5". The widths are closer to what Lopez etc. rode in the early 70’s. We made some 9’0"s that were along the same lines that were inspired by the Bing Pipliners. Contest rules state that you can’t ride a longboard (above say 9’0") so we brought them down in size. Joel’s regular pipe boards range in size from around 7’0" to 8’0" and of course all are single fins. sk
Stu is that you? Your boards rock!!!
“The shorty magazines”…absolutely classic line! One for the archives.
Stu? Seriously, how about getting some photos of the board on here. This has the potential of being a real turning point in contemporary surfing history. That’s mostly for his willingness to ride something outside the current norm, which makes sense for the conditions, supported by his riding it well. I’ve written either here or elsewhere that Tudor or Curren ought to go on the WQS Tour on this genre of equipment. It’s the best opportunity to reintroduce some style, for lack of a better word, back into the mainstream of surfing.
I don’t have a scanner as of yet so I am unable to post photos here. I will have a new website up sometime around the end of March, and then I will be able to show some things in greater detail.The board Joel rode in the contest last week will be available soon thru Joel Tudor Surfboards (in about 4-6 weeks). As to why you don’t see Joel in more pro style shortboard contests, if you don’t surf like everyone else, the judge’s don’t know how to score it. It would be a thourough wast of time. What sets him apart from most pro shortboarders is not an inability to ride the boards they are forced to ride, but a desire not to be forced into a set mold of only riding what everyone else does,ie; 6’2"x 18"x 21/4",with three fins on it. Best Regards, sk
Super photos available on the Surfers-Directory.com website. Saw this board a few days back. Interesting and appealing shape. Just looks like it will work well. Outstanding colors too! I’ve been dreaming about it since then. I’m at work now. If I have time later I’ll post some photos. Rob Olliges
“As to why you don’t see Joel Tudor in more shortboard-stle pro contests …it would be a thorough waste of time.” (I miss being able to edit original text in replies). Understood. But it wouldn’t be about winning so much as just traveling around infecting the general population with mind-altering perspective; of presenting alternatives. Real expensive to do, I guess, and probably not too motivating for him. He would need one monster sponsor who could, I suppose, buy him into some wild-card berths to go along with all the trials surfing he would be required to do. Maybe a year on the American domestic circuit, and one for the WQS as just described. Figure it all would be advertising for the major sponsor, and any win/placing would be gravy. Pipe Dreams, maybe, but he’s the one guy in surfing with enough youth and experience to rock the surf world to the core. Laird Hamilton is off in the Danger Boy direction and while amazing it won’t really have that much effect on the multitudes.
Stu Post No Photo’s Give Nothing Away Make Them Pay The “REVOLT” Needs Cash Swell Boy
There is a younger generation coming up in the local and natinoal contest scene that are riding what the mags llike to call retro shapes. I personally shape mostly the shapes my “dreamcatcher” model is based upon the 70’s style cal semi-guns we use thinner nose and tail, down rails and I still keep the boards thick enough to float, and our “cosmic odyessy” model is based on the double ender designs. The bottom contours vary from flat to light vee bottoms also double barrel concaves and or wishbone concave with vee bottom combo’s Alot of my customers like the 2+1 fin set up.Check out my web sight. Let the revolution begin!!! http://www.ancientartsurfboards.com
the modern high performance shortboard industry and media is on a different tangent to the modern single fin shortboard movement. the majority of young kids who are die hard shorty surfer couldnt give a toss about some wierdo with a smooth skin vest riding a single fin. they would give joel tudor novelty coverage maybe once or twice like they do now. surfer and surfing will probably not print pictures of what was a very important moment in surfing. why would they because as far as a shortboard rider is concerned joel was riding a longboard in a shortboard contest. the people (kids) who they market to have no interest in that style of board. i think it would be far better for the longboard industry to get behind this and start looking into having contests which use these style of boards rather than being stuck on minimum 9’ equipment. nothing worse than seeing a longboard pro flapping 8 feet of nose up and down to get speed so he can do a layback cutback cause his boards too big and heavy to do a normal roundhouse cutty on. i think one day there will be a retro kind of tour where everyones on eggs, single fins and midlengths. the modern shortboard is becoming irrelevent to most people these days.
How similar was JT’s board to one of Gene Cooper’s comets (albeit a longer one)? I couldn’t find a pict, but I occasionally ride a comet and like the way it works in hollow surf. A real different feel. Frankly, it’s become my shortboard of choice.
