Rusty

Boardworks announces a new Paddle Sport Division. "Stand Up Paddling has been among the bright spots at retail in a very tough market," said Boardworks' Bob Rief. Boardworks has "been there" since the beginning of the category with C4 Waterman, the "original SUP company" well known for its great products, world class watermen, website marketing and category leadership. We have watched SUP grow from a small "surf only" sport to one that encompasses the full spectrum of waterways around the world; surf to fitness, touring, rivers and lakes.

With C4 Waterman as the cornerstone, Boardworks has been dedicated to bringing the best and most innovative SUP products to market and providing retailers and consumers with the tools for success both on the retail floor and in the water.

With the newly created SUP Division, Boardworks continues its commitment to excellent products, outstanding service, support and is expanding its product line to include a collection of the best work from shapers and brands that are leaders in their categories. With that said, Boardworks is very proud to announce that Rusty has joined its family of shapers.

Rusty Preisendorfer and Boardworks' Mike Fox announce an agreement to manufacture and sell Rusty's SUP collection of boards. According to Fox, "This is a great day for us. We are flattered that Rusty has chosen us to introduce his collection of Stand Up Boards in our Thermal Epoxy Compression TEC construction. Our concept is to bring leading shapers and their brands into our Paddle Division, and I cannot think of a more notable or authentic brand than Rusty. We will have his SUP collection available at the January tradeshows and will be shipping to retail in early spring."

Rusty commented, "With 40 years of surfboard building and designing experience, the transition into building SUPs has been relatively easy and natural for me. I am an avid paddler and have been riding, designing, and building custom SUPs for several years, which has led to what I feel are some very user friendly and performance-oriented designs. I look forward to working with Boardworks...it will free me up to spend more time designing and testing while someone with a solid track record can help with manufacturing and distribution."

Boardworks Surf manufactures and distributes over 100 models of surfboards, SUPs, and paddle boards designed by some of the world's best shapers and brands including C4 Waterman, Rusty, Bill Stewart, Mike Hynson, Ben Aipa, Dewey Weber, Kane Garden and many others. Using our proprietary TEC (Thermal Epoxy Compression) construction Boardworks produces light and durable surfboards and SUPs with excellent flex and rebound characteristics for enhanced performance. Go to www.boardworkssurf.com to learn more.

Jake from Orion Owens on Vimeo.

Moby Fish

Big Cat

Question: 
I'm interested in the Big Cat or Moby Fish. I was wondering what size you would recommend for a guy like me: 5' 8" and 200 lbs, maybe more with my wetsuit. I'm 57 years old and still in good shape because I snowboard, surf, and rollerblade. I have been surfing since 1965. Had a lot of boards. I want a board that paddles well, but still rides well. I was thinking Big Cat 8' x 23" x 3 1/4". You guys are the first site I've found that gets the idea about boards for a bigger guy. Typically, I have always had a problem with shapers that recommended a smaller board. Usually they were guys 135 to 150 lbs and couldn't relate to a bigger surfer.

Rusty's Answer:
The Moby is more of a small wave design with some range that will allow the rider to enjoy most conditions up to head high. This is a good design to contemplate if you want something other than a longboard for the small days. They paddle like a board a foot longer yet still retain the looseness of a board a little shorter.

The Big Cat is a much more versatile design. It is an update to the Desert Island with much more all around performance. A great candidate for the 5 fin convertible box setup.

PS: The shaper is big and he is 56 years young.

Click here to go to the surfboard site and check out the Moby Fish and Big Cat!

We met Benjamin McCrumuda on a recent trip to West Africa to document an episode of "On Surfari" (Fuel TV) with Shayne McIntyre and his family and we quickly got the impression that there is something special about Benjamin. However, it was not until we surfed together that we learned of his gift...

"Kway-Pu-Na! Kway-Pu-Na! Kway-Pu-Na!" Benjamin bellowed at the top of his lungs while slapping the ocean with his open palms, displacing all the water around him. He took a break from his unique ritual and glanced up at me. With a quick smile and a look of pure confidence he assured me, "Big wave coming." Again, he called out and slapped the water, "Kway-Pu-Na! Kway-Pu-Na! Kway-Pu-Na!"

Sitting on our boards we dipped down the back side of a meager passing wave. As we bobbed up the face of the next wave to a better vantage point we caught a glimpse of the approaching set. Corduroy lines stacked on the horizon and with a promise of size and power they steamed in like runaway train. I shot a quick look at Benjamin and with a grin that said, "I told you so," he repeated, "Big wave coming." There was a great rumble as the waves drew nearer and, like passengers in line for a roller coaster, we each got into position and one by one, embarked on the ride of a lifetime.

This was not a fluke set nor a case of right place/right time, but Benjamin actually has the ability to call the waves. He has a deep connection with the earth and Mother nature and, like clock work, when he recites the words "Quoi kpuoo Na" (sounds like Kway-pu-na), the sea comes to life. In his native toungue of Vai "Qwey Poo Na" translates to "big sea wave come." We tried to mimic the wave call ourselves but with no success; we even tried recording Benjamin doing the wave call and playing it back to the ocean, but we were not rewarded. Benjamin is the chosen one with the gift to call the waves. We surfed with Benjamin a lot.

Benjamin's gift has served the developing surf community well. The abundance of surf has helped increase the surfing skills in this small fishing village at an accelerated rate and with a style all their own. With no surf videos to obsess over and no surf magazines to memorize, the boys simply acquired a few boards, threw themselves into the Atlantic, and the result is pure, untainted surfing. Watching Benjamin and his friends surf is truly a reminder as to why we all started surfing in the first place... It's just plain fun.

Text and Photos: Brody

Thanks to our friends over at Surfers Journal for running this piece on their website.

Beloved home town hero, Joel Tudor placed a custom order with Rusty for a very unique egg design. Tudor told us, "I sort of got off the egg thing for a while and was riding a bunch of different designs. But, so many San Diego shapers make them so well I decided I to renew my love for riding eggs and ordered a few different designs from a few local shapers, Rusty being one of them."

Check out the nose concave

Tudor picking up his new baby and renewing his love affair with the egg...

Photos: Brody

Click here to watch some video from the event...

The weekend started with an early am drive to El Porto in Manhattan Beach for the "Seaslug" division of the Volcom Crusty Tour. Jay took down all 48 surfers in his division resulting his first BIG WIN in the Volcom series as well as a monster haul of swag that included a sweet bike, shoes, watch, fins, and more. The win also locked up Jay's spot in the National Finals for the series. Sunday found Jay at Oceanside for the 4th event of the WSA series where Jay surfed out of his mind from the first horn, dropping a 7.5 on his first wave and backing it up with a 10 to secure his highest heat total to date- a 17.5. Jay finished in 2nd in U14, and killed the bigger boys, taking a 3rd from the U16 crew. Great weekend of surfing for Jay!