Moby Dick; or, The white whale. 1961 Signet Classic

There is an endless tide of imprints devoted to Melville's classic work and each carries a different cover. This happens to be my favorite.

Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul

Tom Blake Biography (2012)

Tom Blake Biography: Presented by the Tom Blake Board Across the Bay - Race & Festival.Compiled by Tom's family and friends in Washburn, Wisconsin.

Tom Blake's 1940's Hollow Surfboard

Nice talk about Tom Blake and his boards. These guys are "legends"... too bad they don't understand what the plug is for; equalizing pressure. If you don't equalize the pressure, the board will blow a seam going from warm air to cool water and vice versa.

Centro Bell

Proposed use of Human Bell as soundtrack for Centro Travels.

During the early 1970's a small group of surfers dropped out of the mainstream and dropped into the Central American line up.

Song: Capriecio Hieroglyphique, from the Human Bell S/T EP available on Thrill Jockey.

*Note: Exact synch not intended to reflect a final cut.

Functional Redundancy

Sometimes looking forward requires acknowledging those who have championed the past. Dental Ding Doc, consider yourself acknowledged. I think your dream helmet escaped this plane somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. I won't go looking for it but I heard it is floating in the Straits of Juan DeFuca.

How Its Made: Osagian Aluminium Canoes

Saint Brendan's Day

PRAYER OF ST. BRENDAN

(The Navigator)

“Help me to journey beyond the familiar

and into the unknown.

Give me the faith to leave old ways

and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You

to be stronger than each storm within me.

I will trust in the darkness and know

that my times, even now, are in Your hand.

Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,

and somehow, make my obedience count for You.”

AMEN.

Cardboard Surfboard

Nice work from New York cardboardsmith, Ben Gallegos, circa 2015.

Huzzah Ben, Huzzah.

The Art of Wave Riding

Several years ago I procured the rarest of all surf related tomes, The Art of Wave Riding by Ron Drummond. I am proud to say that this most valued and beloved book has been framed and placed above our mantle. It is people like Mr. Drummond that sustain the faith.

Riders of the California Surf (1947)

Excellent silent film with a great segment on shaping a 12-foot, solid/laminated, redwood board (2:03).

Hands: Curraghs - Traditional Irish seacraft 1978

Hands was a great Irish television program produced by David and Sally Shaw-Smith. The Shaw-Smith's presented traditional Irish crafts, from the weaving of crioses (colorful wool belts) and the making of pampooties (moccasin-type shoes) on the Aran Islands, to the creation of items as varied as harps and candles, curraghs, drystone walls and Irish lace.

Orson Whales

A unique take on the classics - Moby Dick (novel), Moby Dick (song), and Orson Welles (a whale of an actor). Huzzak Alexitin!

Orson Welles - The Afterdeck

Another excerpt from a never-produced adaptation of Moby Dick.

Loomings by Orson Welles

Orson Welles performing his abridged and edited take on the classic Melville chapter, "Loomings" from Moby Dick; or the White Whale.

JFK's Victura

"I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because, in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.”

 – President John F. Kennedy speaking at the America’s Cup in Newport, RI in 1962.

Those aren't the boards you're looking for...

Stormtroopers at the beach. Sables-d'Olonne, Pays de la Loire, Francevia: Let's go surfing

In the Mist of Summer (1977) Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Classic surf movie by Gary Pennington and Rick Jorgenson that captures a dreamer's ideal of the summer of '77; "Emerald green tubes, scented offshores, and summery water". Thanks to Scott Starr for keeping the dream alive.

Kayak Unknown

Found this sweet ride on Flickr via Dave Langlois - Check out the sweet handles fore and aft. Hard rails. Big Seat. And of course, Personal Flotation Device.

John Coltrane - Live At The Village Vanguard (Full Album)

A1. Spiritual 00:00

A2. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise 13:45

B1. Chasin' The Trane 20:23

Bass – Reggie Workman

Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy (tracks: A1)

Drums – Elvin Jones

Piano – McCoy Tyner

Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane

Recorded at The Village Vanguard, NYC, November 2 and 3, 1961.

Coltrane defending his music against the critics.

Down Beat: April 26, 1962, vol. 29, no. 9

And then from Melville:

"The heavers forward now resume their song, and while the one tackle is peeling and hoisting a second strip from the whale, the other is slowly slackened away, and down goes the first strip through the main hatchway right beneath, into an unfurnished parlor called the blubber-room." - Chapter 67. Cutting In.