From Olo To Eco

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From Olo To Eco - Historic Surfboards Mark The Ultimate Surfari

Surfboard Blanks

Gumby Lock improvements

Stolen Longboard

Skipp Surfboards Number One In New South Wales

Cruise ship terminal proposed at The Spit on the Gold Coast

Inventions

Links etc

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An ancient Hawaiian surfboard that would have been around when Captain James Cook sailed to the Islands and saw surfing for the first time is being sent over to the great explorer’s birthplace for a unique exhibition of surf history. It’s known the solid wood board used to be ridden by a High Chief in only the biggest Hawaiian swells. Now the 14 1/2 foot monster, that weighs 148lbs, will be on display in Europe for the first time. You can only imagine what Captain James Cook thought when he sailed into Hawaii in 1778, and saw near naked locals riding massive wooden logs on the beautiful blue combers rolling into idyllic palm-lined beaches. And what of his hardy crew? Seafaring men with salt in their veins, their senses exploding with pleasure at the sight of the glistening brown bodies of Hawaiian women surfers, hair flying in the wind as they rode one last wave under the orange glow of the setting sun.
An ancient Hawaiian surfboard that would have been around when Captain James Cook sailed to the Islands and saw surfing for the first time is being sent over to the great explorer’s birthplace for a unique exhibition of surf history. It’s known the solid wood board used to be ridden by a High Chief in only the biggest Hawaiian swells. Now the 14 1/2 foot monster, that weighs 148lbs, will be on display in Europe for the first time. You can only imagine what Captain James Cook thought when he sailed into Hawaii in 1778, and saw near naked locals riding massive wooden logs on the beautiful blue combers rolling into idyllic palm-lined beaches. And what of his hardy crew? Seafaring men with salt in their veins, their senses exploding with pleasure at the sight of the glistening brown bodies of Hawaiian women surfers, hair flying in the wind as they rode one last wave under the orange glow of the setting sun. “Where there is a very great sea and surf breaking on the shore, they lay themselves upon an oval piece of plank. They wait the time of the greatest swell and push forward with their arms. It sends them in with a most astonishing velocity, and the great art is to guide the plank so as always to keep it in a proper direction on top of the swell.” Cook’s main man, Lt James King, was clearly blown away by what he saw when he wrote the world’s first description of surfing in the ship’s log on that fateful voyage.
Now one of the ‘planks’ described two centuries ago is being sent by the Bishop Museum in Honolulu to Cook’s homeland for a five-month show opening on the explorer’s birthday in October and charting his ultimate ‘surfari’. High chief Abner Paki’s giant koa wood Olo surfboard is being shipped across the world in a gift of aloha. It’ll be displayed at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum at Marton on England’s north-east coast as the centrepiece of an exhibition of British surfing history. “This is the first time Cook’s link with surfing has been truly celebrated, and what a way to do it,” said Peter Robinson, director of The Surfing Museum which is organising the event. “The Hawaiians are sending us the jewel in the crown of their heritage.” Also on display will be a range of classic British surfboards and memorabilia showing how surfing has developed over here since the early 1900s. You’ll also be able to see the new ‘eco’ balsa surfboard made by the Eden Project in Cornwall – showing how shapers are trying to find a way of going full circle back to natural products. Paki is known to have ridden his solid wood surfboard around 1830. But when Tom Blake restored it in the 1920s he was convinced it was an antique when the chief acquired it – so it’s likely it dates back to the time of Cook’s arrival in Hawaii. 227 years later, if Captain Cook were to thread his way through the reefs that litter his native Yorkshire coastline, it’s likely he’d sail past some rubber clad soul pulling into a thick brown barrel thousands of miles from where this dance of balance and grace began centuries before. The exhibition runs from October 21 st 2005 to March 19 th 2006 at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, Stewart Park, Marton, Middlesbrough. For more information log onto www.thesurfingmuseum.co.uk

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Surfboard Blanks

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We have put a new section in our Industry Contacts page that lists the main surfboard blank producers in Australia.

If we have omitted to include your surfboard blank business then email us and we will update the list.

 

 

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Gumby Lock improvements: Parts, T-shirts, Packaging, Cable & Online Ordering now available

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We have expanded our range of products to include Gumby Lock assemblies (component parts), spare cables, safety lanyards, stickers and Gumby Lock T-shirts.

And you can now order Retail Packs and parts online. See our Order Online page for details.

We have also updated out Trade Orders page to make it easier for surf shops and distributors to order parts, retail packs and t-shirts. A price list will be sent to all our retailers shortly. If you would like a Trade Price List contact us with your details and we will send you an order form.

We are also in the process of improving the Gumby Lock packaging in an order to prevent pilferage of parts from the Retail Pack. We are also looking to upgrade the cable to a thicker PVC coated twisted steel.

 

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Stolen Longboard

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click for larger image

The board has great sentimental value to me... as well as it being an excellent board to ride...if you should sight it in your travels at all, please contact me by email or on my mobile: 0407 241045.
Laurie Mossuto
Arrawarra NSW 2456

Congratulations to Wollongong's Skipp Surfboards, winners of the FCS Manufacturers Challenge, proudly supported by Australia's Surfing Life and FibreGlass International.

The second event in the FCS Manufacturers Challenge series - pitting NSW's best surfboard shapers against each other - took place at Curl Curl on Saturday amongst a small-but-rippable swell, but the waves didn't stop the wily old sea dogs putting their tails in the right place to score valuable points in critical heats.

Results:
1. Skipp Surfboards
2. Onboard Industries
3. Aloha Surfboards
4. Clear Surfboards

The standout surfer of the day was Michael Hopkins from the Skipp team, who amassed the two best heat scores of the day, taking apart the substandard conditions. Danny Sherwood also surfed outstandingly for the Aloha team.

In the not too distant future, the Skipp team will be leading the charge alongside Onboard, Aloha and Clear in a state-against-state battle with Queensland winners; JS Industries, Machinery Drive, Salomon, and Mt Woodgee

For further information please call:
Andrew Dalton, FCS - 0403 387 296
Jimmy O'Keefe, ASL - (07) 5520 9163

Trudy Croad
Marketing Manager
Morrison Media
P: (07) 5520 9167
M: 0421 384 429
E: trudy@morrisonmedia.com.au
W: www.morrisonmedia.com.au

POD Training Fins. Is a new training swim fin or flipper. It features some radical design innovations aimed at alleviating strain and stress load on the swimmer’s ankle and generally improving the training experience and performance of the swimmer.

Inspiration
A redundancy package was the inspiration for the creation of the POD Fins. Four years ago, Shane was made redundant from Network Ten after 13 years and ploughed his redundancy money into his ideas and passion for swimming. The swim fin was the product of his first innovation.He patented a technique to line the inside of the fin’s foot pocket with soft rubber to make it more soft and comfortable.

A representative from a large rubber manufacturing company in Malaysia saw the product in an Australian surf shop and was suitably impressed. A business relationship ensued and the Malaysian firm alerted Shane to the fact that training swim fins had a massive market in the USA and many other countries and would he be interested in designing a new one.

Shane enlisted the help of his best friend graphic designer Anthony, and together they spent two years developing the POD Training Fins.

How does it work?
POD Fins is a new training swim fin whose main design innovation, shifting the widest part of the fin from the front to the middle of the foot, takes the strain of the swimmer’s ankle. At the same time, the surface area of the whole POD Training Fin remains the same as a traditional swim fin.

As already mentioned, the rationale behind this shift is that the widest part of fin is the part which produces stress and strain on the swimmer’s ankle. By moving the widest part to the middle of the fin, the stress on the ankle is reduced by up to 56 percent and 25 percent to the knee.

When the swimmer trains with POD Training Fins, the load, which the ankle bears when traditional fins are used, is transferred to (and shared by) the whole back of the leg (including ankle, calf and thigh). This means the swimmer wearing POD Training Fins turns a negative into a positive. The excess strain on the ankle becomes a shared, complete workout and strengthening exercise for the muscles in the leg.

Another radical design innovation is the different shape and alignment of the inner and outer side blades. The inner blades are concave up while the outer blades are concave down which, according to the inventors, work better with the natural rocking motion of the swimmer.

The inventors also claim a ribbed section in the inner heel of the POD Training Fins creates a more comfortable fin for the swimmer and, more importantly, one which doesn’t slip while swimming.

Check them out on ABC TV's New Inventor's program: www.abc.net.au/newinventors/txt/s1504736.htm
See how they topped the Viewer's Poll: www.abc.net.au/newinventors/vote/results/

Shane Vassallo
POD Design Pty. Ltd.
P. +61 2 8338 0101
F. +61 2 8338 0102
M. +61 412 89 2000
www.podfins.com.au
www.podhandboards.com

shinfin™ Leg Flippers

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multi-purpose swimming fins (pool & sea) ~ training beginners to elite level squad coaching ~ fitness increase muscle tone and strength, reduce fat ~ learn how to swim, for individuals and swim classes ~ water (aqua) aerobics cardiovascular, aerobic exercise ~ fin swimmers wear with your monofin to boost speed ~ snorkeling explore the underwater world with comfort ~ bodyboarding wear with or without foot flippers ~ kneeboarding kick out faster and still kneel on board ~ bodysurfing more comfortable, better wave streamline ~ surfing kick out faster and still stand on your board ~ disabled swimmers great for disabled swimmers too
the benefit of over foot flippers ~ your feet are free to walk, swim, dive, turn, ride boards ~ more comfortable feet, ankles, calf, achilles tendons ~ more streamlined kick matches elite swimmers ~ bigger muscle power for freestyle, backstroke, fly ~ stronger & lighter about 300g (10oz) per fin & strap ~ guaranteed to fit one size flexes easily to fit your leg
power without pain, speed without strain ~ watch the swimmer at the top of the screen ~ streamlined blade extends down to your toes ~ kick forwards and fin bends along front of leg ~ kick backwards and fin bends away from leg ~ smooth kick, up and down like a dolphin tail ~ look at the pictures to the right ~ blade bends with your ankle to let you walk easily ~ shinfin™ fins avoid many foot flipper problems
Marc Lee Shinfin Pty. Ltd. 1 North Arm Road Middle Cove, Sydney NSW 2068, Australia 61 2 9417 0487 61 2 9417 0487 help@shinfin.com www.shinfin.com