Ohana Day In Seal Beach Saturday April 16th

There are few sports that connect its athletes directly with nature in the way surfing connects us with the ocean- as a result we as surfers have a greater responsibility to preserve the quality and well being of the beaches that have come to define the lifestyles we live and love.  That’s why this Saturday the 16th we will be down at the Seal Beach Pier to support the Surfrider Foundation in their 9^th annual Ohana Family Day in a day an effort to spread a little environmental awareness while enjoying a day of fun and music down on the sand. The Huntington Beach/Seal Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and Foam E-Z have a long history of involvement and mutual support, “since day one” as shop owner Brad Nadell puts it. Brad is a through and through Seal Beach native having grown up surfing the pier as a young grom, eventually working as an air-sprayer at Harbour Surfboards and then opening up Foam E-Z to serve the local shaping community. As a result of our shops history in the area, we were of course eager to jump on a chance to give back to the community that has allowed our shop to thrive and grow, as well as helping to spread awareness of environmental responsibility and education for the place we all consider to be a second home. In addition to the free surf lessons, beach clean up, and music stage Surfrider will be offering, we will have our own booth featuring some of our range of environmentally friendly products and knowledgeable staff, as well as some free swag and raffles you won’t want to miss out on. Be sure to stop by from 9-1 on Saturday, you’ll find us under the blue Foam E-Z tent!

Foam E-Z fuNky FieldTrip to Harbour Surfboards

This is the first installment in our Foam E-Z fuNky FieldTrips!  Last week we stopped in at Harbour Surfboards and visited with Rich Harbour, his shop has been in the same location since 1959!!!  This is an extremely unique surfshop by today’s standards in that there is a shaperoom on the premises that Rich doddles in on a daily basis.  

On this day we were lucky enough to stumble in on Rich putting on a nose block.  This is an arduous task to get it right but Rich has put a few on in his fifty some odd years of shaping.   Since he makes his noseblocks from scratch, he first has to acquire the nose block material (walnut, balsawood, red cedar).  The next step is to re-saw the wood to the appropriate thicknesses, then glue up the wood strips in the order desired, plane the block to square it up, miter cut the block at the appropriate angle and finally glue it together (ideally in a jig).  After all that work, the noseblock is finally ready to be installed on the board.  Now the trick is to cut the mostly shaped blank perfect so that the noseblock fits tight with no gaps.  He grabs some five-minute epoxy and glues the noseblock to the blank using tape to secure it.  He flips the board over a number of times making adjustments to be sure block is placed appropriately.  Once the glue dries Rich busts out one of his razor sharp hand planes and chips away at the nose block until it’s roughed to the final shape.  After sanding with a couple of grits of sandpaper the block is finished. 

It was great to catch up with this artisan craftsman in the midst of such a cool project.  I’ve seen him do this a number of times over the years but now that I’m older and more mature I just now realized the time and tlc Rich puts into each of these nice add-ons. Thanks Rich, it's always great to catch up with you.  I forgot to add that Rich is now taking up mixology on the side, creating his own Lemoncello drinks!!!

Stay tuned for our next Foam E-Z fuNky FieldTrip.

Sean Collins - Surfline Entrepreneur

By Brad Nadell:

I'm sure by now you're all aware of the untimely death of Surfline Entrepreneur Sean Collins. Growing up as a Harbour grom in the early eighties, I had the pleasure of getting to know Sean. He was one of my local idols as I loved his smooth style and the way he carried himself. I couldn't wait till he'd come back from his Mex trips so we could look at his pictures. Subsequently, some of the photos would make it to the wall of fame at Harbour Surfboards. Sean was usually at the Harbour functions getting bombarded with forecasting questions. If I didn't see him around the shop, I would run into him surfing at the Side. Sean usually didn't have too much to say, but was always super cool to be around and whenever he did say something it was complimentary or insightful.

I remember he used to bring the early Surfline Faxes to Harbour for Rich to feed to us frothing young surfers. It was truly groundbreaking as I couldn't wrap my head around those faxes. Later in life I was lucky enough to do business with Sean as we have run ads on Surfline since it's inception. Check out this cool video I found of Sean back in the Surfline Fax era (1991).



Our best wishes go out to Sean's family, friends, and his staff.

RIP Sean

Local Artist Shane-O featured at the La Jolla Art and Wine Festival

Harbour Surfboards employee and artist, Shane Bowman is one of the artists to be featured at the upcoming La Jolla Art and Wine Festival. Shane is a local kid who attends Long Beach State and is in the art program there.



A little about his artwork:

The influence of the ocean and its surroundings inspire me to create paintings and drawings with a little twist on nature. I realized art does not have to be a delicate oil painting stuck on a wall; it can be tangible and common without depreciating the value and beauty of the work. In the spirit of this idea some of my paintings have been done on surfboards, old fins, old cabinet doors, recycled plywood, and sheet metal so it can be displayed outside.
My artwork in this event will be featuring the exploration of this idea through the use of acrylic and oil mediums. There will also be one of a kind hand-painted trucker hats.



About the event:

Shane was lucky enough to be 1 of the 14 artists selected under the "Emerging Artist Scholarship" category for the 2010 La Jolla Art and Wine Festival.

The La Jolla Art & Wine Festival takes place on October 9 and 10 from 11:00am -6:00pm on Upper Girard Avenue between Pearl Ave. and Genter St. The event donates all proceeds to key programs at three area public schools: La Jolla, Torrey Pines, and Bird Rock Elementary. These commonly underfunded programs include art, music, science, physical education, technology, and on-site medical care by a school nurse. All three beneficiaries are part of the financially troubled San Diego Unified School District.


Besides supporting a good cause there are plenty other reasons to come down and check out the event:
- There is going to be over 100 artists- with just about anything you can think of: 2D, 3D, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, fibers, etc.
- Live music will be played by multiple artists throughout the event
- A beer and wine garden featuring wines and beers from the region
-local restaurant and farmer's market vendors

Tickets: $15 for 2-day pass, $10 for 1-day

For more info go to www.lajollaartandwinefestival.com
or visit his blog at www.designsbybowman.blogspot.com

"HARBOUR CHRONICLES, A Life in Surfboard Culture" Book Signing & Auction

Honolua Surf Co. Presents "Harbour Chronicles: A Life in Surfboard Culture" Book Signing & Auction, Thursday April 8th from 5-8pm.





Inspired by the life and work of master surfboard shaper, Rich Harbour, this 144 page, full color hard cover book includes essays by Mike Marshall (RIP), C.R. Stecyk III, Steve Pezman and Mitchell De Jarnett. Rich Harbour and many of the other contributors to the book will be here signing copies so don't miss this opportunity! A limited quantity of books will be available at this event for the retail price of $29.95. The publication includes many heretofore unpublished, historic photographs by Rich Harbour, Peter Brouillet, Leo Hetzel, Leroy Grannis, and Sean Collins. There will be a number of special guests present to sign books!

At this event, a silent auction will be held for the special quiver of 'Museum Edition' Surfboards designed by Rich Harbour especially for this show. In addition, a Limited Edition (#3 of an edition of a only five! ) 50th Anniversary Harbour Surfboard made of Curly Redwood / Balsa will be included in this charity auction. The Surfrider Foundation and OCC Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion will benefit from the proceeds of this auction so please come bid on a piece of surfing history, support responsible stewardship of our coastal resources, and the arts at OCC as well. Rich Harbour has been shaping since 1959 and has crafted more than 29,000 surfboards. Vintage Harbours are sought by collectors around the world who are eager to own a board handcrafted by one of surfing's greatest living board builders. Rich still works every day, sculpting these exquisitely crafted surfboards in the oldest continuously operating shape room at 329 Main St. in Seal Beach, CA. After 50 years of shaping, he remains a vital influence on the art and design of the modern surfboard.

I have briefly seen the book and it looks awesome. There are incredible pictures and stories throughout this hardbound book. I've heard quite a few of the classic stories over the years and were involved in a number of them when I was grom. Hope to see you there I know it will be a great event. Brad

BOARDROOM: LEGENDS OF SURFBOARD SHAPING

BOARDROOM: LEGENDS OF SURFBOARD SHAPING
Features the greatest legends of modern board shaping. We hear first hand on how they got started, who gave them a break and how they changed surfing history forever. We hear about the transition from balsa to foam , from long board to short board, from California to Hawaii. Get ready for a trip back in time to the beginning of modern day shaping.

Looks like it's gonna be a cool flick. Can't wait for it to come out!

Check out www.boardroomthemovie.com for more info.

Mike Marshall Long Time Harbour Shaper, RIP

We lost a a great member of the Harbour Surfboards extended family this past Saturday Feb 6th. I was lucky enough to meet Mike Marshall back in the early Eighties while I was starting my stint as an employee at the Harbour Shop. Mike would often stop in and heckle us guys in the back. He was one of Rich's original production shapers back in the sixties. One of my fondest memories of Mike was from the Harbour Surfboards 25th Anniversary party back in 1987. He was just the life of the party amongst the many surf characters from the Sixties and Seventies eras. It was always a pleasure to run into Mike and Sharon at various events and talk shop, I think he especially enjoyed talking education with my wife (she's a high school teacher) since he was a long time teacher himself.

It sounds like Mike's last days were as pleasant as can be expected. Here's what Rich Harbour emailed me:

As many already know Mike Marshall, my dear friend of more than four and half decades, had a stroke early Monday morning. After arriving at
emergency, they found he had a very aggressive form of leukemia.
Brain surgery was performed to relieve pressure and he remained in an unconscious state thereafter.
Later in the week the family was informed that he was not going to survive, so they decided to remove him from all life support and take him home to live his final days where he was most comfortable.
He was transported by ambulance Thursday, and on the way to his home they convinced the ambulance driver to take a lap around the parking lot at Blackies. With that done, they delivered him to his house where he rested in the "Museum Room" on a hospital bed, now in a Blackie's T-shirt in place of a hospital gown - much more appropriate. I visited Friday and Saturday. There were family and friends near him, all in a very positive mood, prepared for the final moments of his life that ended shortly after I left yesterday.
I wish his wife Sharon and family well. These are going to be tough times and my heart and thoughts are with them.
May he rest in peace.

I'm gonna miss bumping into Marshall at the various surf events.

Best wishes to Sharon and his family from the Harbour Surfboards extended family.