Earthquake Island

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Taiwan surfing. Killer sessions with good friends never forgotten. On tape, a reoccuring dream. Doesn’t take too long on the ROC to feel the earthquake shake either. This island seems to give so much, take its share. Stoked to be able to go back in time to firing AK point with the late Kyle Z and Terry M, aka the Mayor.

Images for this movie pieced together from old footage, as far back as the 9/21 Puli 1999 earthquake, up to last year’s typhoon season. Featured music from Taiwan foreigner bands: The Deadly Vibes, MILK, and garage band jam-out recorded with Studio D.
Check it out!
安東尼
aka redneyrude

Skegs and Channels…A progressive steering device under your board..? You decide!

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Ok…well not sure what to make of this next little innovation. It looks like a science project, but It just might be the next thruster. We are certainly in one of the most unique times of experimentation in regards to board designs, materials, and fin set-ups.

Most shapers and designers in the industry would agree that it is one of the most exciting times to do what they do, since everyone is more open minded than ever. Just think, we’ve got Randy French with SurfTech.com, and hollow Carbon Fiber boards at AvisoSurf.com, and parabolic balsa composite combinations like FirewireSurfboards.com. Pretty exciting stuff.

Well enough of the suspense…check this out.

Shark Shield

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

For those of you living in Taiwan, this next little innovation is of no use to you. Pretty much anything that swims, walks or crawls has been tagged for food and conveniently waiting for you on a stick at your local night market. For the NorCal crew this maybe something worth having a look at. Especially if you spend anytime on pages like SurfPulse.com’s own Shark page.

So get this, a company based out of Australia known as Shark Shield Pty Ltd has released the first electronic shark deterrent system specifically designed for surfers. Weighing only 355 grams – and 80 grams in the water – the new system attaches to the tail of any surfboard.

The Shark Shield SURF generates an electrical field that is detected by the shark through its sensory receptors, known as the Ampullae of Lorenzini, found on the snouts of sharks. Once detected by the shark’s sensors, the field causes muscular spasms that result in the shark being deterred from the area.

The field is projected from electrodes in the tail of the unit that trail off the back of the surfboard, much like a legrope. This creates an elliptical field that surrounds the user with a shark safe zone that is up to eight meters in diameter.

Pretty crazy, huh?

Scientific tests, as well as observations, show the field emitted by the Shark Shield causes discomfort to the shark, which can eventually lead to muscular spasms. However, they say that once the shark leaves the area, there is no lasting detrimental effect to the shark. It just may twitch from time to time. Poor guys.

So this has actually been around since 2000 and is used by sporting, diving and fishing professionals, the Australian and US police and military, including the SAS and has also been issued with a NATO stock number….whatever that means.

The Shark Shield SURF includes deck grip, mounting plate and 240 volt charger. It is placed on the tail of the any surfboard, although the deck grip is optional. Mounting plates can be placed on numerous surfboards and the Shark Shield can then be transferred between surfboards. Legropes are easily fitted underneath the Shark Shield. It retails for $700 and is powered by a seven hour rechargeable lithium-ion battery that can be charged while driving to your favorite break.

Well Northern California is definately a breeding ground for some pretty heavy locals, but I haven’t seen any early adopters of this new device. Figured I would pass this on since it would probably make you feel good to know that your break is probably not as gnarly as some Down Under and in South Africa where the men in gray suits hunt in packs and you might actually need something like this….Yikes!

As our friend Dante would say…I don’t want to know what is down there…ignorance is bliss!

Now get out there and go for a paddle, ‘Be a Man’!…….Inside Joke!

Radical Rodents

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Ok…you’ve got to see this one to believe it. RadicalRodents.com is the name of the site coming out…it’s not live yet, but you can check out a teaser video on Surfline.com. These little creatures are actually surfing real waves…well I think they are boat wakes or something, but they are actually pretty nice if you were, well…a rodent. The kind of waves you would mind surf on a flat day. The second or third wave into the video there is a rodent…perhaps a rat, on what would be like a double overhead wave if it were standing up. The cinematography angles are pretty cool…what a bizarre concept! It is classic and a must see!

Solitude

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

I was down at the ASR in San Diego last week and had the pleasure of meeting Shaun Tomson and getting a signed copy of his book Surfers Code for my two boys. They will appreciate it when they get older is what I told them when they looked confused at my choice of gifts to bring back for them.

If you don’t know much about this man I would highly suggest checking out the link at the bottom of the post, or even better, picking up a copy of his book. He is an exceptionally warm hearted and articulate ambassador for the artform and expression better known as ‘The Sport of Kings and Queens’. I wanted to share his Code of Ethics with everyone that is plugged into Bluebird Surf. They go as follows.


I will never turn my back on the ocean
I will always paddle back out
I will take the drop with commitment
I will know that there will always be another wave
I will realize that all surfers are joined by one ocean
I will paddle around the impact zone
I will never fight a riptide
I will watch out for other surfers after a big set
I will pass on my stoke to a non-surfer
I will ride and not paddle in to shore
I will a catch a wave every day, even in my mind
I will honor the sport of kings

-Shaun Tomson

At the show, all proceeds from the sales of his book went to the SurfRider Foundation. He also was involved with raising funds for SurfAidInternational.org which auctioned off a beautiful board signed by all the legends at the show, from Greg Noll to Al Merrick. So check it out on that next flat day.

You can buy it here…. Shaun Tompson – Surfer’s Code

Mavericks Contest 2007

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

Well we have official word from Mark Sponsler, the famed surf forecaster behind Stormsurf.com, that the swell we thought might have the potential to deliver contest worthy surf has fizzled. The other storm behind it may produce some 40 ft seas for the weekend, which as he says is ‘not great’ and so we can be on the watch for that one. Luckily we have some time in the waiting period for the N. Pacific to deliver..

This years contest has some new sponsors that are setting the standard for environmentally conscious sporting events. The contest will be powered by an on-site generator running on bio-diesel fuel, and the contest site will be equipped with solar powered showers, Green Teams and Eco-Stations with recycling and composting containers.

Additionally, Mavericks Surf Ventures in partnership with CBS Sports Line is offering a live webcast at AT&T park in San Francisco to lessen the impact of the hundreds of fans on the cliffs. Check out MavSurfer.com and MavericksSurf.com for more details.

Bluebird Surf New and Improved

Posted on by Bluebird Surf

I started this site back in 2001 when my wife was pregnant with my first son. It started as a way to ‘talk story’ virtually, through imagery and the occasional posts. Over the years it has morphed into the pages you see before you. During the early days my friends and I would travel the coasts of Taiwan by scooter, motorcycle, and even the beloved Cadillac De Ville aka ‘Caddy’. We lived for the weekends and would travel at insane hours of the morning for insane lengths of time to score pristine surf with only our friends in the water. We would surf for eight hours each day often camping out and having barbeques only feet from the waves breaking on the shore. We discovered all types of waves from rivermouths, to beachbreaks, and reef breaks to outer bombies. We even dragged our poor wives and girlfriends along for the fun. We created our own community of friends that all shared a common pursuit of freedom and expression. From the young Kyle Z to the legendary Rene, the group spanned across generations and always made for a rich experience both in and out of the water.

Bluebird Boarding Creations has evolved as a way to maintain this sense of community as we continue on in this journey called life. Some of us have stayed in Taiwan, others are off creating new experiences for themselves. This site is a way for us all to share where we’ve come from, where we are going, and branch out to include everyone that is excited by the contributions you will find here.

We have refined our Gallery and Video pages and will be adding more and more content as we grow, not only from Taiwan but also California, Hawaii, Indonesia, France, and anywhere else our message has traveled. We have re-introduced our forum and hope that you will all take the time to get involved by sharing your own stories and ideas, opinions whatever. Also, we have added this blog which I will be updating on a weekly basis to bring you the latest news from the greater surf community and beyond. We have recruited the talents of Anthony ‘Red’ Roberts of Taiwan MILK, who will be covering the music scene in Taiwan on his SurfROC page. He has plans to showcase bands and offer downloads, event schedules and more. We have also been lucky enough to attract Terry ‘Tha Meystro’ Meysen who will be contributing to the site with his own Environmentally focused page. He is currently researching how he can make a solid impact and raise awareness in saving what is left of Taiwan’s most precious resource…it’s natural environment. We have also enabled users to upload their own photo galleries and are moving towards creating that same functionality for the video page. We have added a Free Classified Section, aptly named Gazza’s List and we are hoping that everyone will get involved to sell boards, vacation rentals, cars, or whatever. We have a new weather page which will also be improving in the coming weeks and months and much more on its way.

So have a look around, explore, get involved, share ideas and help us grow this community of surfers, travelers, artists, and all around lovers of life. We are all one!