WET AND WILD WITH ROCKIN’ FIG -- RICK FIGNETTI

Summer’s rolling along, and we went right through June with hardly any

June gloom. We had a few overcast days, but it was mostly sunny compared

to previous years that I remember. And what a great start too, with the

water being as warm as it ever has. Surf City has been in full swing with

crowds on Main Street and on the beaches too, although you can still find

a little solitude during the weekdays.

This week, the National Scholastic Surfing Assn.’s National

Championships will be going on through Saturday at Lower Trestles, one of

the premiere southwest point breaks on the California coastline. Lots of

Huntington Beach talent will be on hand, but we won’t know what happened

till the national banquet on Sunday.

***

Lots of people have been asking when the biggie, the U.S. Open of

Surfing, is happening. It’s not too far off -- July 28 through Aug. 5 --

that’s nine days of fun in the sun. So the world qualifying event for

men, women, juniors and long boarding is set for the south side of the

Huntington Beach Pier. Plus added extra events, like B.M.X.,

skateboarding, the surf expo with tons of booths and free giveaways, the

groms delight and the music festival too. Only one contest this year, no

World Championship Tour event, but some of the top 44 will show. So, some

of the world’s best, nation’s finest and the local contingency of

shredders should make it a happening. Mark it down on the calendar

because the big shindig is coming to town.

***

Surfboard research and development.

Well I didn’t have to go to far for this one, because right here in

Huntington Beach, I checked out this new fin design. Now most shapers

feel that we have done just about what we can do with surfboard shapes,

but the fin designs are far from being pushed to the limit and are the

key to the future.

Bob Bolen, also known as “The Greek,” has been building and shaping

boards since 1959 -- wow, that’s 42 years. He’s seen the eras of

longboard, shortboard, single fin, twins and tri-fins and has been doing

a lot of mind work with fins in general. The Greek even had a couple of

his own designs -- the Eliminator, the Maui model and Pickle, which sold

big time. He thought that something more could be obtained in performance

than just your regular raked dolphin fin, so he tried a variety of

styles, including the wishbone, but that one slid out to easily. He then

went to work in the garage laboratory, cutting up and piecing together

different formats and templates, until he got the brainstormer of the

turbo-fin.

After making a few prototypes and testing them, he came up with the

final product. This is a fin with pretty much the normal rake but with a

hollow round center, cutting through the middle, looking something like a

jet-turbo-engine housing. So after fine-tuning the patent-pending

turbo-fin has come to fruition. With claims of longer nose rides,

smoother turns, more acceleration off the bottom, more speed down the

line and greater holding power in bigger waves it sounds like it could be

worth a check.

A few notables have tried it and liked it, such as Tom Morey, Paul

Strauch Jr., Rabbit Kekai and Bruce Gabrielson -- the first surfing coach

at Huntington Beach High School.

Well this puts out the challenge for others to break the standard

three fin norm to progress and see what’s out there in the years to come.

Invention is another form of expression. The Greek is just another one

of our legends in Huntington Beach that usually surfs the Pier every

morning on the dawn patrol.

That’s it for now. See ya in the barrel. Fig in and out.

* RICK FIGNETTI is a six-time West Coast champion, has announced the

U.S. Open of Surfing the last seven years and has been the KROQ-FM

surfologist for the last 15 years where he’s done morning surf reports.

He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.