Since picking it up last weekend, I have ridden it at head high Trestles, head high Swami’s and 10-12 foot closed out Mission Beach
Hey Todd,
I hope all is going well and you guys are getting tons of waves from this swell!!
I wanted to give you some feedback on the Blackbird, the best board I have EVER ridden. This board is everything you said it would be and more. Since picking it up last weekend, I have ridden it at head high Trestles, head high Swami’s and 10-12 foot closed out Mission Beach (for a contest - not by choice). First off, this board is so fast right from the take off, I find myself confidently freefalling into waves five feet behind the peak and zipping right into position. When coming off the top, it releases like no other, actually pushing your lips higher and projecting you through the turns down the line. The tail will bust out insanely at times, especially on the backside, totally breaking free and reengaging for some pretty solid comments from people watching. I found moving the back foot up off the fins helps it go through the high tide mushy spots with no loss of speed and keeps it really manueverable. This may be the board of all boards, if you can think it, you can do it! It truly goes where you want it to. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to take their surfing to the next level! I’ll give you some feedback on the Greased Pig soon, but fortunately the waves haven’t been small enough for it yet! HA!
We had the fourth contest at solid 10 - 12′ Mission Beach yesterday and I had a near drowning incident involving EMT, lifeguards etc. It wasn’t the board, but instead the little string on the leash broke leaving me in a rip tide with no board, a filled wetsuit and a 6 wave set on the head. Despite my near tragedy, the Blackbird made it out of the carnage fine and I still made it to the finals even with the one wave I had in the semis. I can’t believe the Blackbird sustained no damage - that foam must be kriptonite, because I took the one that broke my brand new leash right on the back. The whole contest crew was on their feet watching and just in awe that the board didn’t break (not a scratch!). It was one of those scenes where everyone went, ‘Ohhhhhhh!’.
I am thinking of backing it up with an SR71 and maybe an Ante Up / SR71. Here are some thoughts / questions:
1) Would you recommend making any adjustments from the Blackbird to SR71 (length, width, etc) based on the differences between the two boards?
2) Would you recommend decreasing the widepoint of 18.5 if I went up by an inch to 6.1 for the SR71 or can I leave it alone?
3) On the Ante Up, if I get into a Big Rock / Point Mugu situation w/ a lot of water moving and offshores, do I want a PU w/ heavier glass or a Proxy?
Thanks Todd and Charissa for all the support! Check the shots of Braeden practicing his pig dog on the Greased Pig!
God Bless,
Paul
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