Fresh look x Gulfstream Surfboards

A new look for the Gulfstream Surfboards shop in Woolacoombe. Looking forward to visiting soon and checking out the very best of British Surfboards.

Pintails vs The Oklahoma Attitude!!

Back in the 70's a surf film called Big Wednesday (for those who don't know, but should know better) had a scene where two of the lead characters Matt Johnson and Leroy 'The Masochist' argued over the benefits of the square tail vs the pintail!! The reply from Matt to his friend who had dared to prefer the Square, was simply "thats just your Oklahoma attitude". Matt was right, pintails are simply the most beautiful thing and create such smooth unbroken lines. But then that is just my opinion!!!
This fine represenation of the pintail is presented to you by the finest shapers and purveyors of surf craft Gulfstream Surfboards.

Whatever!!

As I contemplate getting back in the sea after my broken foot (another four weeks till full weight bearing) I'm becoming quite excited about the fun I'm going to have. Firstly, I won't be worrying about crowds, I'm over that, right now just to be in the ocean again after a few months and pick f a few nice ones will be reward enough for me. I'm not worrying about board choice as I have three beauties that suit everything we get here in Sennen, all lovingly shaped by Jools at Gulfstream in Devon. This one is my 8'2" 'Whatever', its like a shorter longboard or a larger Egg. All I know is I have had more fun on this design board in the past two years than any other and I can't wait to get back in again on this beauty this summer. Its like a transitional time piece of fun, its 'whatever'!!

My Friend Steve, has taken his to Morocco for the past two winters and must be about ready for a newbie as he says he has endlessly surfed in in perfect points and raves about it.

Unlike a lot of boards around at the moment this was fully custom shaped and if your looking for sustainable then look no further. This is no part-time hobby for Jools, for 20+ years he's been supporting local suppliers, local workforce and by using Homeblown blanks, he's not relying on imported blanks to get your board started. The only problem with UK sourcing is resin and cloth and yes on standard boards the machine is occasionally utilised, but if you want custom, you get custom, you get the hand shaped experience of an award winning shaper and the stunning resin work of Matt.

I can't wait to get back on this board and get in cranking again. Drop knees on an 8 footer, nothing better!!!

Easter Eggs

Always have an Egg in the Quiver. The new eggs designed by Jose Walker and beautifully bough to life by the team at Gulfstream Surfboards

The Widget x Gulfstream Surfboards

Its been a while since I posted a board shot so here's my first. The super cool 'Widget' Longboard. At 5'3" this is another stunning setup with resin panels shaped specially for Ted Baker London by the team at Gulfstream Surfboards. I've ridden Gulfstream for years and they are such great refined boards. Jools and his team really do make the Best of

British.

Some days!!

Some days are just special. A session on the Van Weyden Model by Gulfstream Surfboards began with a few clean lefts and rights with a few of the local Sennen crew. This was fun. I then returned to the beach and grabbed my hand plane lovingly made by James Otter and went out and got into some serious High Tide whomping wedges.... Some Days!

International Surfing Day

 Happy International Surfing Day...I'm going to grab one of my Gulfstream Boards and get some onshore fun!! Be nice today people, say hello and share some waves.

Inspiring Lines

Amazing shot by Anthony Dodds of Tom Shuler a weeks or so ago in Bali. When I see shots like this it makes me want to grab my Pierre Pig shaped by Gulfstream (blatant punt) and head down the hill and shred a couple of waves Then reality hits when its gale force winds on a sunny Monday afternoon. Its just not fair!!!

Its all about the 8's

My 8' 'Whatever' shaped by Jools and lovingly tinted in Royal Blue at GulfStream Surfboards is an amazing thing. Whatever I feel like surfing its been there, Whatever the wave size small or large (within sensible size for the average person) its amazing. Whatever the crowd level, its a paddler and whatever you think of 8' boards.....Whatever!!

The Van Weyden x Gulfstream Surfboards

The new 'Van Weyden' Single fin from Jools at Gulfstream surfboards. The one picture here is 7'4" and partly inspired by the 7'8" Wild West Shooter. This board is designed for smooth easy entry surfing with a real bite when the wave gets a little meatier. Some super hard rails in the tail gives this board some speed and acceleration and is quite happy being surfed from the middle of the board when you need a little trim to make the next section, then, step back and throw some weight into a biting turn.

Unlike the 7'8" Jools has added a diamond tail which is a great addition giving it some extra merit with water releasing off the tail and preserving some speed. Aesthetically it looks great too!!

If your a Chunky Brother like myself, these boards are amazing for dropping down from a longboard to something shorter. The volume and float in this board will suit someone well over 14 stone and from experience riding my 7'8" Wild West Shooter this board will paddle like a dream but really get you going when the wave calls for it. Transitioning from Long to Short takes time and why make this process an unenjoyable one. Go down gradually or keep some float and volume in the board. The Van Weyden is perfect one stop shop if travelling, or a great board to just step down from the log.
In my quiver now, I have three perfect boards for me..7'8", 8'2" and a 9'8" and to be honest not ridden anything shorter than the 7'8" for some time and I'm 14.5 stone or just shy of 200lbs!!! This board is in the shop at Braunton so if your passing drop in and have a chat with Jools and get one of these custom made for you. www.gulfstreamsurfboards.co.uk

The Pierre Pig x Gulfstream Surfboards

I've been so busy lately I have been waiting to post this and can't tell you how stoked I am to hear that Jools at Gulfstream Surfboards has introduced to The Pierre Pig to his line of boards. This is totally unexpected and feel amazingly honoured. I've been asked if this is a signature model and I'm not sure if I deserve that credit, it holds my name and that will do for me!! We've been working on the Wild West Shooters for nearly two years and the Pierre Pig has been inspired partly by this process.   We've played with shapes, sizes, rails, foils, widths... you name it and this is the result. The board pictured is 9'8" and currently in the shop in Braunton ready for some lucky Easter Customer to purchase a stunning British board made by the best british craftsman of all types of boards.
The board I currently ride is phenomenal. I have ridden this now in all types of surf over the past few months and it still surprises me. These boards are fast, responsive, stable and with the pintail super smooth in the turns. With no concave in the nose you rely on the wave a little to lock you in before running to the nose but when it is hooked in there, i have had some cracking tip time.
Jools is a an amazing shaper and the with an amazing team to complete the entire process this is why Gulfstream are so proud of the boards from foam to finish. Their priced from around £925 which is very much standard today for a beautifully handcrafted Longboard and you'll get a fin with that too, which in itself is a massive saving. I'm running a 10" MD3 Mikey Detemple in mine right now and its great in all the conditions I've tried this board in so far.  Jools at Gulf Stream is there to talk about what you need to so this board can be customised to suit your needs, be honest about your ability, your weight and you'll get what you need. If its no the Pierre Pig then take a look at the Saunton Foil too and these boards are amazing too.
I'm so excited to surf this board more this spring, summer as soon as the swells drop and the rubber is shed!!

Gulfstream make exceedingly good boards!

More beauties from Jools at the Gulfstream Surfboards andy shop...They keep getting better.

Wow!!!

My 7'8" Wild West Shooter completely blew me away yesterday afternoon. Some epic waves led to some extremely fun surfing with a few friends out. All I can say is that if anyone is looking for a clean board which is super stable,  and easy paddle, fast, responsive and incredible fun then call Jools at Gulf Stream Surfboards right now and order one of these. If your a bigger chap looking to scale down from a log then 7'8" is perfect, plenty of volume and some beautifully refined rails. Love this board.

A bag of tricks!

Not knowing what to expect, today I packed the car with a quiver of Wild West Shooters by Gulfstream and headed South and enjoyed the second of two great surfs this week.  With my wife, Jill en route I even squeezed in her 6'0" twin fin.  My midweek return to Sennen happened thanks to a morning tide, time before work,  the dropping swell and a perfect little bank was a peach on the 7'8".

Today the 9'8" pig was the cherry on the cake!! A dropping tide,  a well deserved day off, a north wind and a shining sun in the bright blue spring sky at my favourite spot left me smiling and frothing for more!!

Get some!!

So nice to have a surf back at Sennen today. That sounds like I have had to travel there, to make a road trip, to drive hours after searching the other spots...Nope, its at the bottom of the hill and due to the banks being crap and the swell to big for the bay to hold I've been surfing elsewhere on days that I can.

But today... today was a beauty. Apparently yesterday was nice, but work got in the way, today the swell was perfect size, the bank was great and the lefts were super fun. The board of choice, my 7'8" Wild West Shooter, perfect choice for the wave as its so easy to surf. Easy paddle, easy entry, super fast when you need it to be, turns really nicely and had a couple of cracking bottom turns where I could push her a little and see how the 9" Greenough single fin held. It did!!

The Sea Wolf x GulfStream

Check this beauty shaped by Jools and finished his team at GulfStream Surfboards. Introducing the Sea Wolf. This is a stunning board that looks like its name sake, a board that can take what it needs to survive!! This looks like a board that would be howling (excuse the pun) down the line and so much fun to ride. Its a board that can be custom ordered for your specs, Single Fin, Quad or as Jools say "or your own crazy concoction". The board shown is 6'4" and at £645.00 this board is on my wish list and would sit so nicely within my quiver....Just need to sell something now!!

"Maaaaate I do love a left"!!

As and Aussie once said to me surfing the Wreck in Byron Bay "Maaate I do love a left"... never forgot it and have to say this morning was great fun. Took a few on the head but also had a few sick ones. The sets were as good and as shapely as I've seen in a very long time and the one that nailed me I fulley deserved as I hesitated and pulled back...I went down laughing though!!
The 7'8" Wild West Shooter shaped by Jools at Gulfstream Surfboards was such a great board for the conditions, especially as the line up was pretty crowded and this allowed me to get in early and snag a few lined up lefts...I do love a left but I had a couple of great rights too and the board was really great on the backhand too, really responsive to turns and either way it was fast!

Today was a good Day!

Today was one of those solo great days.

Loading my little old belingo with a bike and race kit, and my 7'8" Gulfstream Wild West Shooter  and with the sun shining headed up the road.

On the way up to race practice I took a slight detour and surfed some small but very clean waves at Gwithian Beach and that alone made me feel quietly satisfied. However, following this went to Cornwall BMX and put in about 2.5 hours of training and skills practice and this was great fun and felt like I made some more progress towards my first regional championship race at the end of March. On the way back, with the extra light now, I popped back into Gwithian again and paddled out to head high reeling lefts.  I took a few on the head but picked off a couple of beauties which always makes it worth it.

I am now on the sofa totally f..k'd!!

Today was a good day!

And this is what Jools and his team can do...

Surfer, Shaper and Purveyor of these!! The Finest British Surfboards at Gulfstream. This is the Saunton Foil Model and this is stunning. I've had one of these but in my preferred pintail and it was an amazing board. Surfed it for 10 years and only let it go to make way for a new one!!

Surfer, Shaper and Purveyor

Surfer, Shaper and Purveyor of fine surf craft. Jools from Gulfstream Surfboards and shaper of the Wild West Shooters