This Week In Not Surfing

1. My two (or is it now three?) year love affair with softtop surfboards is starting to feel like the proverbial rake hidden in the grass; the mythical banana on the sidewalk. The Inertia reports that Bloomberg reports that Costco reports that sales of Wavestorms are at an all time high. Jack reports that he read a report that said there are twice as many surfers in the water than there were ten years ago. The sheer amount of reports being filed about surfing is vaguely alarming.

 2. What are softtops made of? A petroleum based, heat molded plastic of some sort. Glue, resin. More plastic. It all just harkens back to the inherent double bind of the 21st Century outdoor hobbyist. We drive gas guzzling cars, fly in fuel guzzling jet planes, glide along on boats that sputter fumes. All to pat ourselves on the back at enjoying nature in our 100% biodegradable rubber plant based eco wetsuit. If you’ve splashed out the cash. One of us is sitting on a shredded plastic landfill time bomb, the other, most likely, on a slab of slowly decomposing foam, fiberglass and resin poison machine.

 3. Mikey DeTemple made a film about the coastal waters for the Surfrider Foundation. You can watch the whole thing here.

 4. I am going to lobby Nike to make a softtop surfboard out of recycled soccer boots. Calling Tom Wegener.

 5. I surfed this week. Sprained-ankle to trick-knee high quasi peelers with my friend and surfing soul mate Antonio. It was likely the last session we will surf together before I join him north of Barcelona next week to celebrate his nuptials. Here's to you, Eva and Antonio. May your decision to get married after living together for a baker's dozen be the sort of a decision based solely on the opportunity to orchestrate one hell of a night of dancing along the Costa Brava.