The Albatross

The Albatross is a noserider of the supreme variety. A classic singlefin, this board features a tear-drop concave, subtle "v" through the tail, and a slight kick of rocker coming off the tail. This particular board will be available at Third Coast Surf Shop.

Albatross are phenomenally large seabirds w/ 21 species worldwide. The Wandering Albatross boasts the longest wingspan of any living bird species, coming in at between 11 and 12 ft. long. Because of their remarkably long wingspan, they can often glide for hours without flapping their wings. Albatross spend a vast majority of their life a sea, while often coming to breed on islands. The Laysan Albatross, which breed on the Hawaiian Islands, have been known to fly all the way to the Aleutian Islands off of Alaska to find nutrient rich food for their young. Sometimes they leave their newborn chick alone for up to 3 weeks while foraging!

Because of their large size, Albatross will sometimes waddle to a cliff edge and jump off into a glide to take flight. I recommend you ride this board the same way... Walk up to the edge and glide! Just don't forget to practice your soul arc!

Quad Fish for Third Coast

Shaped up this 6'4" x 21 3/4" x 3" quad fish for Third Coast Surf Shop. I'm very excited how this board came together. The color work is a freehand resin foam stain, just to add a little life to an otherwise clear board. More to come soon!

Migration Surfboards at Third Coast Surf Shop

We are pleased to announce that Third Coast Surf Shop in New Buffalo, MI will now be carrying Migration Surfboards! Third Coast Surf Shop is a full service surf shop serving the Great Lakes surfing community. Our first shipment of boards are currently being shaped. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress. Available will be a 6'4" double winged quad fish, a 7'4" quad egg, a 9'3" high performance longboard, and a 9'8" noserider. This is particularly exciting for me since I consider Holland, MI (about an 1.5 hrs. north of New Buffalo) my hometown. The Great Lakes surfing community is a tight knit group of dedicated surfers. They may not always get the best waves or the most consistent surf, but when the Lakes turn on, it can be as good as anywhere.

The Tern

Something not many people know about me is that besides being a surfer and surfboard shaper, I'm also an avid birder. This interest began in my college days as a biology major. Since the name of my label is 'Migration Surfboards', it's only fitting that I'll be naming all my models after different migratory birds.

So in that light, I'd like to introduce you to the Tern. The Tern is a winged swallowtail fish/shortboard hybrid. This board features a low entry rocker and a subtle single to double concave. Although designed to be ridden as a twin fin w/a baby trailer fin, it performs equally well as a thruster, or even a quad if you desire. The wide point is slightly forward of center for easier paddling. Designed more for smaller surf, this board is at home in waves up to about 7 ft.

Roughly the size of a Gull, Terns are graceful water birds with pointed wings and forked tails. They are remarkable to watch while fishing when they make sharp swooping dives upon spotting a fish. The Arctic Tern is the world champion migrator in the animal kingdom, migrating from the Artic Circle, all the way to southern South America and Antarctica. They are also very long lived, sometimes reaching 30+ years!

First NW Swell, Plover Ride Report, and Other Stuff to Stoke You Out

And here we go! The first solid NW swell of the season is showing up as I write this and things are shaping up for a really fun day tomorrow. The waves should be in the head high+ range and the weather is supposed to be sunny and in the 90's. I love fall!!! This is a great time of year to get a new custom board. Winter and the ensuing good waves are right around the corner. Is your quiver ready? Contact me if interested.

In other news, my buddy Paul is really enjoying enjoying the tri-colored 5'5" mini-Simmons-esque board I posted a few weeks ago. We are now calling this design the Plover. Plovers are small, plump shorebirds that migrate great distances. The Golden Plover breeds in the Artic Tundra, then flies south to the grasslands of central and southern South America. The endangered Piping Plover breeds in regions of the East Coast and Great Lakes and winters on the Gulf of Mexico.

I surfed with Paul at Waddell Creek last weekend when he finally got the Plover out in some good surf. I watched him pull into his first wave, fly across the face, and beat the closeout all the way to the beach. As he paddled back out, he was kind of wide eyed and had a silly grin on his face. I stated "Dude, you were flying on that wave!" He responded "Holy crap! I've never gone so fast on a surfboard... Dude, I have goosebumps right now!"

Although the speed was impressive, we were both more impressed with how the board turned. He was actually throwing really fast and crisp turns that we didn't think were possible on this type of design. Bottom line... This board works! So here's a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure. We're working on getting some video, so hopefully we'll be able to post that sometime soon. I'm so stoked on this board right now, I'm hoping to make one for myself very soon.

Templates

Making surfboard templates is kind of like playing the harmonica. It's easy to do, but difficult to master. Creating a smooth and continuous curve takes a trained eye. Any bumps or flat spots along the template translates into a bump or flat spot on a surfboard. I've been designing and building my template quiver for the last several years and have a pretty good repertoire to pick from. From super short funky boards to classic longboards and everything in between. We can create whatever you need for your next shape!

Double Nickels

Funky... Just the way we like it! Inspired by the recent trend of mini-Simmons boards that have been finding their way into lineups along the coastal areas, my buddy and I decided to experiment with our own "flavors" if you will. We ended up with an orange creamcicle with a lemon and mint center! Technically only a mini-Simmons in template design, our version hosts a slightly rolled belly entry, going to flat, and finishing out with a subtle vee through the tail. The quad fins sit way back on the tail and our rocker is more continuous (a traditional mini-Simmons hosts a very rolled belly going into a single concave with twin keel fins way back on the tail). This board is going to generate a lot of speed down the line. When this thing was sitting on the racks, it looked like it was going to fly away! Dimensions are 5'5" x 19 1/2" x 22 1/2" x 19 1/2" x 2 3/4". For the fun of it, I polished the tail and left the nose as a sanded gloss just because it looks cool. You saw it here first! Although the board is his, he promised to let me try it out sometime. We're both really stoked! Enjoy!