Hi Rick , love the eye patch photo , could have used some of that padding and tape to fill in those Creek channels experiment i talked about , trying to fill in those channels ... oh well , i now know why and how they work , they work great , as they are desgined for . , Will put a post up here once my 8/10 turns up and give my thoughts on it but that wont be untill next year , Cool parrot , mind you i guess in the cape area , there where heaps of crooks in sailing ships , awhile ago ! .

The Eye Surgeon cleared me to resume normal activities, but need to wait a week more to surf.
Vision is perfect and all went extremely well.... extremely grateful for the quality of the care that was available to me!

So... today I went paddling on my 9'6 Ghost to get my legs back into action.
At 75, sitting around not doing anything physical for 6 weeks can really set you back, so I paddled a surf SUP instead of a 14'er.

It felt good to be back in my element

Some Halloween Ghost stories

Back in the water with vision fully restored!
BUT.... 6 weeks of not lifting over 5 lbs, bending or ANY strenuous activity, I was off my game.
At 75, you just can't go idle for that long without losing some strength and agility.

Wind was howling and takeoffs were ALL super late drops, so a lot of close calls on sets.... I love that stuff!

The best wave I had a shot at was outside me, so I paddled out and to my right... the board was pointing into the barrel.
I had to spin hard, to angle toward the shoulder as I took off and that, plus a strong gust which got under my rail, turned my nose too sideways and the wave slid under me.

I couldn't believe that I didn't catch a wave that was fully pitching as I paddled into it

My 9'1 Ghost did awesome in those conditions, considering me being quite lackluster.

DavidJohn said..
Great shots there Rick..

I love the headless body surfer..

for Halloween!

We finally had some waves today, but it went from Summer 2 weeks ago (I was surfing in trunks) to mid-winter today!
Surfing in a full 5mm suit, boots, gloves is not my strong point anymore.... so I did not set up SoloShot

But... my buddy Dave is out on injured reserve, so he took some pics.
I was riding my BIG Ghost 9'6 x 34" at 171 liters, so I was mostly interested in how the Big Boy Ghost handled these conditions...... stoked it was totally up to the task
That was very cool to see!

Unfortunately there are no pics while I was mid turn or mid wall.... but I got something to post, so I am happy about that!
Only my 2nd day in the water since Mid September, so happy I could surf at all!
Every wave ended with getting caught inside for 20 minutes.... so I got a workout














Threw in some pics of Cape Cod awesomeness as well




Last 2 pics were taken at the same time.... I was paddling over the shoulder and caught my buddy Tommy on my Kook Hat Cam while Dave shot his pic from the stairs.
My GoPro shot really looks so much smaller than Daves beach shot !



Tommy got the class waves today!!!!

Saya suka SUP said..
Jeez you scored Rick. V jelly. Seen a few of your vids but no idea where Cape Cod is so I googled. Now I have a reason for a North Atlantic trip if mrs wants to big apple. Too many places, too little time and money..

Thanks Saya, I appreciate the feedback on my videos!
there are hundreds on my channel
youtube@rickweeks

Cape Cod is a hard place to guess on waves.... best bet is Summer when the wind is offshore much of te time.
The biggest and best surf is Fall, winter, but the wind is often much better in Rhode Island that time of year.
If you are willing to drive a few hours, you can usually find something in New England.... but it isn't like going to the Maldives

Tomorrow at dawn the forecast is for 6' at 12 seconds... which means it will be 3X OH and I don't surf here when it's that big anymore.
I am driving off Cape to some pointbreaks south of Boston that can handle bigger surf with easy channels and they break in deeper water, so it's pretty chill.

Hate to break it to you but pacific west coast water isn't going to deter surfers with current wetsuits especially with moderate air temps. Start getting below 8c maybe. Off times long paddles, bad shortboard waves, are more reliable deterrents. Peru is nice but a lot of surfers go there brazillians especially, nothing against them just it is close and hoards of surfers from there, so don't expect to have it to yourself. Chicama and environs would be great for sup (I surfed it), also heard good things about coast near Lima. Chile is colder and more expensive so a little less people but still crowded at top spots many of which are close to the big cities. The better the waves the more people, pretty much everywhere now.

Nice one Rick!

Beyond the ghosts size limit ?,as they are pretty solid waves,not a criticism,just a thought process

I was so fortunate to receive my new Ghost last week, 9 foot 1 inch. This has to be the 8th board I have had over the past 5 years including almost every type of board reviewed here ,all around 8 10 , 142 liters. . I have finally found the board I have been looking for .To me this board is perfect. A little bigger and more stable then my previous boards, but turns and handles better than any of them . It immediately ,from the first wave , proved to be the perfect board for me. I highly recommend this SUP.

After emailing Rick and getting some great advice about the Ghost. Thanks Rick.
I contacted Dylan Burger at Sunova about purchasing a Ghost here in Melbourne. No one had stock at the time.
Talk about excellent timing, Dylan advised me Surf FX just received a shipment that included some Ghosts.
Long story short, on Tuesday I ordered an 8'10" Ghost and it arrived today.
Checkout the colour. I think it's great. I'm moving from a Trigger Brother's 9'x33" and 161 litres. Great board but I believe it's time to progress.
Unfortunately I have to wait to Tuesday before I can try it out.

looking sweet guys!

FRP said..
Supchick and Board1. Those look like beautiful boards!! I have been wondering if the futures fin boxes are now standard on Sunova boards? All of my fins, and I have quite a quiver, are FCS that have been the boxes on all my Sunova boards. Creek could you comment? Can we get FCS boxes with a Ghost? Cheers Bob

I know you can spec FCS2 if you like (which can still run FCS1) - for about $50 extra... Futures boxes are now standard across the range.

Hey Rick,

On the Ghost, as the fins are moved forward... does this translate to any performance change when you do/can surf from right on the tail kick?

Ghostly white 8.10 Ghost ready to ride: