This is just a quick video edit, from a half-hour session, as Hurricane Franklin swell began filling-in a couple weeks ago... I'm not ripping, but I'm definitely having fun on my 9'2 Vec Quad Performance Longboard. There have been waves for days on the Space Coast, and I've been able to get more than half my quiver in the water.
I'm up to a dozen different boards, in about 20 sessions since relocating south. The break at the end of my street hasn't done as well as other spots in town this past month, but it's been way less crowded, giving more space to spread out and hunt for corners. I only left my street TWICE... which felt pretty weird because I almost never car surf anymore. Why drive when I can ride a bicycle? (Moved By Bikes best bike rack system out there))
I normally choose shortboards when the waves get bigger, but when there's this much surf, with this much energy, I get bored after a while ducking under close-outs, on a potato chip, session after session... wow, that's a serious run-on sentence there. But what choice do I have? A longboard can be extremely hard to handle at a maxed-out beach break during a tropical storm swell event. This Vec quad HP longboard however is the best of both worlds. It's definitely still a longboard, but it often pulls off maneuvers that are typically relegated to a shorter craft. This quad log can feel right at home in walled-up, racy conditions, and while it does have plenty of foam, it's still thin enough to mini-duck-dive in bigger waves, kinda sorta. Generating speed comes easy too, only needing a little bit of wiggle and pump to get it cruising fast... and the turns this thing is capable of surprise me on a regular basis. So when I'm checking long-period conditions, if I feel like I can handle the impact zone diving under waves, then the Vec quad longboard is definitely an option for me, because I understand its performance capabilities, and I've only just begun to tap into this board's potential. I've been riding it with the FCS H4 fins.
I've been working on my longboard turns a lot lately, using all of my logs, and I'm seeing some improvement I think (check out surf sliding sun is shining edit too). Summertime on the east coast is known for small to flat waves. So I'm using longboards, a lot of times, just to get into the water and get some rides. But there were a lot of days the past month when surfing on longer equipment just wan't an option, even the 9'2 Vec Quad. The wave conditions were consistently overhead and closing out, with little to no paddle time between sets. And when it gets like that you've got no choice but to duck and dodge on a stick that has a more manageable length.
As we turn the corner from summer weather patterns and start to transition to fall and early winter season, the swell direction and wave periods will begin to change as well. I think there could be a lot more opportunities for the longer boards moving forward. Folks argue about what El Niño means for east coast waves in the winter and spring time, but we'll just have to wait and see. I've just got a feeling the logs are going to get a decent workout... either way, I hope you're surfing where you are!
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The Franklin Video Edit was produced using Final Cut Pro, from footage captured by a GoPro HERO9, stabilized and clamped to a pair of flip-flops in the sand. And with minimal effort. Music in the video is copyright, but permitted for use on YouTube. This is a solid band from Sweden.
Band: Viagra Boys
Song: Big Boy
Album: Cave World
Listen to 'Cave World': https://yr1.se/caveworld
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