Breaking Ice

My computer is covered in orange post-its, dosed in black permanent sharpie. My sink is full of dishes and my apartment is in a hurricane of confusion and filth. In a strange and unexplainable way I’m now in my happy place. It’s the final turn in my final edit for Breaking Ice, the long cut.

I’ve veered from the blog for almost a week. A week that included a stint of 30 hours without sleep, being lost in the woods in Tantallon and watching over sized muscle-heads beat each other senseless. I even got paid for it. An interesting career I’ve chosen indeed. And after finishing these unorthodox assignments it’s been back to my layer of creative confusion I call home to go to war with surf on film. That being said I am happy to announce that within two weeks Breaking Ice will be heading to a post house for final color correction, final audio mix and then hopefully I can put this beast to rest. Never question my commitment to the cause, the culture that some of us are trying to preserve. The east coast surf culture that I was welcomed into almost three years ago. This is my gift back to you, so enjoy. I’ll see you in the water.

A quick update from our good friends Andrew Hunter & The Gatherers. Face from the bands debut album Victory at Sea has been added to the East Coast Countdown. That means that with your help AH&G could crack the top ten. If you haven’t heard the track visit myspace.com/andrewhuntermusic.

Go to eastcoastcountdown.com and vote for Face before Sunday. Vote as many times as you can before your fingers become blistered and bloody from pecking away at your keyboard. Listen in on Sunday to see if they make it and if you hear Face contact the band, and let them know it was your vote that put them over the top. Demand a t-shirt for your troubles and tell them you read this here. Grab me a t-shirt while you’re at it!

Cheers

Mike

I checked the clock again and I was right. 12:32 in the am, Thursday morning and that was two hours ago already. I’ve just begun…

…I ventured from home around 11:00 in the morning to catch up with an old friend, Andrew Hunter. Singer, songwriter and surfer. I caught his performance at the Seahorse the week earlier and wanted to say hello…

…Andrew leaned in to refill my tea. “I wrote that one a while ago, but we just got it to where it needed to be.”

[Story and Gallery continues...]

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I’m back behind the steering wheel with my foot on the gas. Those responsible for my iMAC debauckle have been sought out and persecuted. Justice served… they won’t be causing us any more trouble.

I must admit I’ve been slow on the rebound. It’s been tough getting back to writing. Luckily I came across a great website www.seaschool.org. And as it turns out, Gorillas In The Fog Director, Breaking Ice Cameraman, Pat Bannister is giving seminars on surfboard shaping. Is there anything this guy can’t do? Here’s the ad:

Build Your Own Surfboard in a WEEK!

Come and learn the art of shaping a surfboard with us and have it ready for summer waves! Taught by Patrick Bannister, this course will take you through the steps of the process to create your own professional-quality surfboard.
Introduction session at Sea School office, 2057 Gottingen Street, Halifax, Thursday June 5th, 6-8:30pm
All other sessions at Bloomfield Center, 2786 Agricola Street, Halifax
June 14th & 15th, 9am-5pm
June 16th-20th, 5:30-9pm
June 21st & 22nd, 9am-5pm
$700

I’ll be back in fine form tomorrow with my interview with Andrew Hunter of Andrew Hunter & the Gatherers.

Mike

photo courtesy SBC Surf magazine

I was out early the other morning, hunting around Halifax for a video camera. After losing faith in all appliances electronic I found myself wandering onto Blowers Street and into Dacane’s Surf Shop. Owner/operator and surf local Lance Moore was inside. I yelled as I made my way forward. I interrupted his reading but he seemed happy enough to see me. I had some questions about a used board I found for sale and he assured me the price was right.

I asked what he was reading and he passed me the new edition of SBC Surf, Canada’s surfing magazine. It just hit the stands. I started scanning through, and Lance grabbed it from my hands. He flipped it two thirds of the way through and there it was. Malcolm Johnson, SBC Surf Editor had caught the premiere of Breaking Ice: The Birth of a Canadian Surf Culture, and found fit to find a place in his magazine for his thoughts on my documentary.

 

When the lights went down for Breaking Ice, more than a few squares in the audience must’ve wondered what had hit them-their festival screen had suddenly been given over to wipeouts and cutbacks and noserides and freezing arse winter waves, all of it narrated by middle-aged men who, though seemingly normal, had built their lives around the outwardly insane pursuit of surfing in conditions cold enough to glaze inches of ice onto the rocks. Breaking Ice ended to a thunderous round of applause…”

Call it an ego boost, excitement or even a bit of vanity, but it’s always good to know others appreciate your work. I haven’t wiped the grin from my face yet.

The magazine is gorgeous. Great photography, well thought out articles, including pieces from local surfers Nico Manos and Neal Durling and an article on Maine transplant Dean Petty. To say the east coast of Canada is represented in this magazine is an under statement. Keep it up Malcolm, and hopefully instead of twice a year you can do this thing once a month.

Hey everyone,

I need to let you in on a trailer for a new surf film I came across at Apple’s Movie Trailer Page called Surf Wise directed by Doug Pray. I love a good highlight reel but I love a great story even more. I think it may very well be the best surf film of the year. Here’s a little bit about it. Check out the trailer when you have a moment.

Like many American outsider-adventurers, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz set out to realize a utopian dream. Abandoning a successful medical practice, he sought self-fulfillment by taking up the nomadic life of a surfer. But unlike other American searchers like Thoreau or Kerouac, Paskowitz took his wife and nine children along for the ride, all eleven of them living in a 24 foot camper. Together, they lived a life that would be unfathomable to most, but enviable to anyone who ever relinquished their dreams to a straight job. The Paskowitz Family proved that America may be running out of frontiers, but it hasn’t run out of frontiersman.

Cheers

Mike

[source: apple.com/trailers]

I was surfing the internet this morning and came across an article on surfersvillage about a new small wave hybrid board coming out of Australia called the Mini-Mini…

At first glance the Mini looks simple enough but move closer and you will soon discover the science of the cathedral hull which gives the board paddle way beyond its length and would also encourage anyone still alive from that era to pull a Paul Strauch cheater five when no one is looking. Rockers, widths, thicknesses and plan shape are all designed to give the best paddle performance (for a short board) without once interfering with any facet of performance.

Bourton Shapes designer, and partner in Australia’s BASE Surfboards, Murray Bourton has been creating specialty boards for some 38 years. Sniffing around his site, I think he may have just designed a board that could make those tiny spring sets that plague our waters on the east coast of Canada a bit more fun.

[via Surfers Village via Bourton Shapes ]

[source: Footprint Books]

In case any of you are prepping a surf trip to Europe in the next little while here’s something that you may find extremely helpful.

Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor are releasing their second edition surf travel guide Footprint Surfing Europe.
It’s completely overhauled for 2008 and packed with accurate surf information and mapping.

The continent’s wave-rich coastline comes to life with stunning photography from some of the world’s most creative cameramen. And it’s chalked full of surfer’s tales of adventure and discovery.

Surfing Europe is a comprehensive guide that combines detailed surf and travel essentials with recommendations on the best places to eat, sleep, drink and even get your board fixed, ensuring maximum water time. Covering England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco plus new regions Northern Ireland and Italy, it’s an essential companion for anyone serious about surfing in Europe.

Best of all it will fit in your glove box. Available from all good surf shops and book stores £24.99.

It’s 2:30 on Sunday afternoon and I’ve just pulled up to a wood and brick building, address 121 Portland St. The sign reads Oceanic Art, a tattoo parlour owned and operated by Scott Forbes, a surfer from the east coast of Canada. I walk in and Scott is finishing his lunch, Chinese food. He asks me to hold off on the photographs. I oblige and we catch up.

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