The Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa- Book Signing at Deus/Boardcollector surf market



Reg Mombassa will be hosting an apre' Surf Market book signing of his new book of collected works called "The Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa" from 5pm on the 12th of December at Deus Ex Machina, 104 Parramatta rd Camperdown.

Christopher O'Doherty, aka Reg Mombassa, has infiltrated our culture for more than thirty years with a unique, laconic view of our world - and of his. His wit, sense of mischief and larrikin energy resonated in the songs and performances of one of Australia's most beloved bands, Mental As Anything, whose music became the soundtrack to a generation's misbegotten youth. His eye for the absurd and his unapologetic idealism captured another generation or three with his irreverent, frequently macabre and always distinctive designs for the original Mambo label. Yet, long before he became a Mental or transformed shirts into collector's items, Mombassa was first and foremost an artist. From his idiosyncratic pop art to the delicately realised fine art landscapes and images that celebrate and elevate the suburban, his artworks are sought by collectors around the world. But there is much more to Reg Mombassa, as fellow New Zealand-born writer and painter Murray Waldren shows in this illuminated journey. Illustrated with almost 300 original artworks and packed with photographs, posters and band memorabilia, this is a true collector's item.

Deus Surf Market and Swap meet.- Update.

This day is gonna be huge!
We are at maximum capacity with new stall holders for the Deus Surf Market on the 12th of December ringing everyday.
We have even confirmed a live band will be playing throughout the day.
Its not just surf boards there will be vintage skate boards and parts, bikes, cruisers, art works, books, photographs and posters.

Updated list of stall holders include-
Dave Wilson. Gordon & Smith surfboards. Restored and collectible boards and "40 years worth of surfing collectibles".
David Norms. Signed copies of Switch foot. Vintage surf photos from the south coast in the 60's.
Phil Jarratt Back Beach Noosa. Paper surf collectibles and surf art.
Aaron Curnow- Spunk records. Alt surf tunes and DVD's from Aaron and Andrew Kidman, Last Hope, Glass Love, Litmus etc.
Brent Wayling- Sea Surfboards Byron Bay. Fanzines, surfboards, vintage inspired beachwear.
Geoff- Hawaiiana, home wares, collectibles, vintage surfboards, 50's beach umbrellas and towels.
Pup- Vintage Californian beach cruisers and parts.
Uncle Keith- Boards, vintage skateboards, vintage Surfer and Surfing mags, posters.
Scott- Surf collectibles & BMX.
Shorty- Collector extraordinaire. Boards, skate boards, collectibles, www.vintagesurfandskateemporium.com.
Wayne Golding- The Mambo King. Posters, loud shirts, memorabilia.
South Coast Paddy- Vintage surf clothes, board shorts, tees etc.
Josh- Hookapu, Byron Bay. A grade vintage boards, prints, posters.
Campbell Milligan- Founder of Monster Children Magazine. Huge collection of original art. Thomas Campbell etc.
Pete- Driving the Woody down from Noosa Longboards. Long boards and a shipment of vintage Hawaiian shirts.
Seb- Soul Surf Connections. A huge trailer load of collectible vintage surfboards.
Mike- Sandy Feet. North coast collector
Scott- Vintage beach crusiers and parts.
Rod. Vintage boards and memorabilia

Stalls are FREE.
The event will be advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald, Tracks, Waves, Pacific Longboarder, Aquabumps.

These are more pics from meet in LA recently. But they sure get me excited!

If you want to get in on the last spots call Keith on 0417 217 530 or Damion on 0409460178.



G&S Highlight

I took this 6'0" G&S single fin triple fly channel bottom pin tail for a surf today. I love this board for a few reasons-
1) It was free. I found it in a council rubbish throw out.
2) Its width and thickness make it really easy to paddle and catch waves.
3) Its length and channel bottom make it really loose, fast and easy to turn.
4) Its big single fin and pin tail make for beautiful smooth turns with lots of speed and great hold with no side slipping.
5) It was shaped by the late Shark Island legend Greoff Solness.
If I ever shape my own boards, and I will, this will be the first board from my collection I'll try to reproduce.
The humble single fin pin tail is a sorely under rated surfboard design.


Greg Solness, shark Island photo by Darrel Jones.











There was a group of guys flying radio controlled gliders at the top of the cliff above the reef break I was surfing.
I couldn't help but compare the similarities between the two past times.
Surfing and gliding are both weather reliant and take you close to nature.
Every guy was trying out his own hand shaped glider design.
The paint jobs on the planes looked like surfboards sprays.
But mainly the trill is in the the turns, sweeping arcs and the joy of the ride.



New Zealuwatu


This blog is about innovation in surfing and one of the most influential innovations in surfing has been the use of satellite images and swell maps.
When leaving Auckland the other day I was given a realtime look at how a low in the Tasman generates swell for the west coast of NZ and the east coast of OZ at almost the same time.
The swell map was proved absolutely accurate by the photos.
3ft of swell on Sydney's south facing beaches.
8ft of swell hitting Manukau Heads on the outside of Auckland harbor.

I was amazed at this set up on the south side of the heads.
A huge, long, left hand set up that was breaking for miles, that I have named New Zealuwatu, in honor of Bali's long left to the north.
I have googled Manukau and cant find any images of people surfing there.
Either its highly protected (likely) or I've discovered a new classic left-hander (unlikely).





Deus Surf Market and Swap meet.- Confirmed!



Keith and I have been overwhelmed with responses to the Deus Surf Market on the 12th of December.

Confirmed stall holders include-
Dave Wilson. Gordon & Smith surfboards. Restored and collectable boards and "40 years worth of surfing collectables".
David Norms. Signed copies of Switch foot. Vintage surf photos from the south coast in the 60's.
Phil Jarratt Back Beach Noosa. Paper surf collectibles and surf art.
Aaron Curnow- Spunk records. Alt surf tunes and DVD's from Aaron and Andrew Kidman, Last Hope, Glass Love, Litmus etc.
Brent Wayling- Sea Surfboards Byron Bay. Fanzines, surfboards, vintage inspired beachwear.
Geoff- Hawaiiana, homewares, collectibles, vintage surfboards, 50's beach umbrellas and towels.
Pup- Vintage Californian beach cruisers and parts.
Uncle Keith- Boards, vintage skateboards, vintage Surfer and Surfing mags, posters.
Scott- Surf collectibles & BMX.
Shorty- Collector extraordinaire. Boards, skate boards, collectibles, www.vintagesurfandskateemporium.com.
Wayne Golding- The Mambo King. Posters, loud shirts, memorabilia.
South Coast Paddy- Vintage surf clothes, board shorts, tees etc.
Josh- Hookapu, Byron Bay. A grade vintage boards, prints, posters.
Campbell Milligan- Founder of Monster Children Magazine. Huge collection of original art. Thomas Campbell etc.
Pete- Driving the Woody down from Noosa Longboards. Long boards and a shipment of vintage Hawaiian shirts.
Seb- Soul Surf Connections. A huge trailer load of collectible vintage surfboards.
Mike- Sandy Feet. North coast collector
Scott- Vintage beach crusiers and parts.
Rod. Vintage boards and memoribilia

There are 2 stalls left.
Stalls are FREE.
The event will be advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald, Tracks, Waves, Pacific Longboarder, Aquabumps.

These pics by Mark are from a swap in LA recently. But they sure get me excited!

If you want to get in on the last spots call Keith on 0417 217 530 or Damion on 0409460178.








New Zealand 80's classic.



I had to go to beautiful Auckland for the day last week and following my own advice I tried to log on the ebay.co.nz before my trip to see what unique NZ surfcraft would be waiting for be there.
I was shocked to discover there is no such thing, instead they use a site called trademe.co.nz
Treademe claim to have 1 million members which is pretty impressive considering there is only 3 million people in New Zealand.
Sure enough I found this little beauty up for auction, made in Auckland and in fantastic condition, ending on the day of my arrival.
Sadly a heavy night of drinking and dancing on the bar in a Cowboy bar led to completely disabling hangover that left me unable to summon the energy to find 'New Market' and barley able to make it back to the airport, so the board was left behind in its natural habitat.