Distant Shores

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

'flor' wetsuits

　　　　『flor design』

秋冬ウェット特集です。
Dや・Kんさんにも愛用してもらっているflor design wetsuitsのこの冬のおススメは、ノージップ、ノーストレスの4㎜×3㎜ジャージセミDRYスーツ。
着脱にはコツがいりますが着てしまえばその保温性、運動性に驚くはず！
興味のある方は是非っ。

Good friend, Kenji @ Donya restaurant in Kamogawa, picked up his new 'flor' winter wetsuit from Maki @ BLOOM SURF SHOP. With the weather and water beginning to cool it's time to start thinking about winter and keeping warm. My 'flor' wetsuit has been working great, is light, flexible and most importantly dry and warm! Custom sizing and orders available from Bloom Surf Shop in Kamogawa.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Super Mario Brothers

Halloween 2011 was a little different @ WinBe than in previous years. Instead of a 1 day "Wham-Bam-Thank-you-Ma'am" deal it was stretched over a week with lots of little parties within each class. We needed a costume that was both functional and easily recognisable (while not being too scary). One of Dave's students, Sakura-chan, came up with the suggestion of being the Super Mario Brothers of Nintendo video game fame.

We both fit the basic body types required and without further ado we started looking into putting together costumes. With the season being autumn and heading toward winter, local stockists were out of overalls so Aiko tracked some down from a supplier on the Internet and an order was placed. Next it was across to the 100 yen shop for some hats and felt material, with which we made our badges, buckles and moustaches. We tracked down some white gloves and Bingo, Bob's your uncle!

Mario and Luigi

The costumes were a hit with young and old so I'd just like to say a big thank you to Sakura-chan for the inspiration!

Jnr High School

Kindergarten

Boys chillin before class

Adults

Elementary School

High School

Elementary School

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Super Sunday

Lots of good things going on this past weekend.

Kamogawa local girl, Mizue Oguri, surfed her way into the final of the ASP Women's LQS Pro Longboard Event presented by Real B Voice in Nichinan, Miyazaki, Japan, in only her second ever LQS event placing 2nd to Hiroka Yoshikawa. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
The men's title was taken out by Bonga Perkins from Hawaii. (photos from the ASP website)

The All Blacks, lead by captain Richie McCaw, marched through a challenging semi final with Australia, yet again raising the bar, to claim the second finals berth and will play France next Sunday, Oct 23rd. (Video highlights HERE)

And lastly, a student of mine, that attends Kisarazu Sogo High School and is a member of their Taiko drumming club, had a show at a local shrine in Amatsu, near Kamogawa.
I have seen his group playing on a YouTube clip at an event near Mt Fuji (see below) and have wanted to see them play live ever since. The Taiko drums are amazing and the passion and energy that goes into playing them puts tingles down your spine.
My hat goes off to them for their dedication and pursuit of excellence as the show was AMAZING. Here are just a couple of pics I took.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Bloom Surf Shop USER'S MEET 2011

This year's Bloom User's Meet is set to take place @ Seaside Point in Kamogawa on Sunday, Oct 9th. That's this weekend! Fingers crossed the sun comes out and the weather warms up a little so that it can be an enjoyable day at the beach for all involved.
To contact Maki@Bloom regarding entries, follow his link on the right hand side 'Bloom Surfshop' for details.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Test Riding the DY-3 shaped by Taro Taniuchi @ Grace

This board was shaped by Taro Taniuchi @ Grace Surfboards in Kamogawa for Dave Yamaya Pro and is his DY-3 Model. It paddles great and feels really solid and smooth when you push it hard on rail turns. I got a lot of confidence in the equipment riding this board and had a lot of fun surfing it!

Huge thanks to Dave for both the photos and lending me his boards to try out and use this weekend in the local K-SOS Contest. Mahalo to Taro Taniuchi @ Grace Surfboards, too!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Great Memories

LNF: Alex Smith in SUMBAWA! from Lastnamefirst.tv on Vimeo.

My first overseas surf trip was to Indo and I spent a month hanging at Lakeys Peak in Sumbawa with some great friends, Zane, Andy, Pierre, Dave and Rich. Also met some great people along the way including a very young Timmy Turner, his mates and chaperon/cameraman who were classic for laughs and ripping groms. That wave at the start of this video is still one of my favourite fun waves to surf! It looks just like it did back in 98! The only difference is that we had to walk around the bay to get there (in the hot sun) instead of taking the boat that runs now or riding bikes...but it was always well worth it! Great memories...

OFUCHI Shape TEST!

With an eye to getting a new board shaped, I've started doing some research. Just like buying a car, it gives you more confidence in your choice if you've test ridden a model first and get a grasp of what all the small/big differences in design offer a boards performance.
OFUCHI (shaper) from GRACE SURFBOARDS here in KAMOGAWA was kind enough to let me borrow and ride his new 'SUPER FREAK' model. The board was really fun to ride, quick and easy to turn and able to nose ride.
TOSHIZOU san was down at the beach taking photos in the morning and captured these shots.