Hello Surf Montreal!

The water is warming up, good to go in a 4/3 and booties.  No more need for a hood, although some people may want gloves still.

At Habitat 67 the Main wave is great for newbies and right sides is pretty hard to catch right now by swimming, ok by rope.

At Epic we have started board rentals so if you have your wetsuit come on down!  Need a wetsuit?  Email info@epicsurfetskate.com and we’ll let you know when we get them in. Should be any day now.

This weekend is our mothers day sale! All women’s clothing is 60% off! Come on down and visit us!

It’s that time of year where everyone is getting ready to start their season, evaluating their gear and thinking about a new toy for the season.  Basically the only way the surfboards have changed over the years are going from HUGE wooden planks, to foam and fiberglass.  The invention of the shortboard revolutionized a new style of surfing and really blew everyone’s minds.

Aside from that… It comes down to personal preference.  Do you want to catch a lot of waves in the ocean everyday?  Go long.  Want to surf everyday in the river?  6’4″ fish.  Want a little performance? Practice… Then go shorter, narrower, and thinner.

Brands, fin set-ups, tail shapes, poly or epoxy…  The combinations can go on forever and really just boils down to personal preference.

Pro’s can surf an upside down table.  It’s true.

Want some help choosing a new board?  Surfline has been running two amazing features called Shapers Bay and Shapers Alley.  In Shapers Bay they focus on individual Shapers and Shapers Alley they focus on board building hubs of surfboard creations.

Take a look for your self at  http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/shapers-bay

If you have any questions, email or head into EPIC Surf et Skate and we’ll show you the different types of boards.

Well it’s official,  my season has started.  Surfed Monday for a couple hours.

Habitat update:  Right sides: a little soft, hard to catch swimming.  Main wave: A big white pile of foam.

The Main wave is super easy to catch,  so if you have a wetsuit and are just starting out, this is the wave you want to continue to learn on.   The current is fast and the swim back is a little tough but catching the wave is EASY!  I was out with my 4/3 full suit, booties and gloves Monday and it was fine.  Not cold at all.

Enjoy the waves and remember to stay safe!

I am very excited to announce that I have teamed up with Mike from Epic Surf et Skate in Verdun.  I will now be helping Mike run the shop.   Our goal at Epic Surf et Skate is to bring great surf gear (for beginners, and seasoned pros), Skate gear, fun and functional clothing, great prices for Surfboard and SUP rentals.

We are 10 minutes from Habitat 67 and about 15 minutes from La Vague a Guy which makes us the ideal spot for your board rental needs.

At Epic Surf et Skate, when we talk about surfing  we would rather not sell you a board then sell you the wrong board.  It’s so easy to sell the flashy short board model the pro’s are using  to someone who doesn’t really know surfing but they will hate that board.   Our goal is to recommend the right gear for your ability and goals.  We will even have short board rentals for people wanting to go shorter but aren’t sure if they are ready for it.  Going from a full 6’4 fish to a 5’10 squash tail, please do yourself a favor and try a 5’10 squash tail first.

I’m confident that working with Epic Surf et Skate will benefit our river surfing and ocean surfing community and look forward to seeing you all in the shop!

I’ve always loved the grace and beauty long boarding brings to the ocean. The Smooth curves, long rides, “hanging ten”… Love it! I also enjoy surf history, reading about vintage surfboards, old school surf travel, old school surfers. Enjoy this late 60′s film clip!



 

Check out this link to the International Surfing Associations World SUP contest Live Feed!

http://isawsuppc.com/live/

Enjoy!

I respect this.

Enjoy this link.  Basically backyard shaping San Diego style.  Article by Surfline.  Click Here.

Enjoy!

Regret to inform you, Cali May 2012 is cancelled. Due to rising airline costs, fuel costs and such, I can’t run the Cali 2012 trip. The goal of bringing you a fantastic surf trip at a fantastic cost is not feasible this year. Even just the break even point is too high.

I can’t sacrifice quality as I will never run a trip that I wouldn’t want to take myself. For a 1 week surf trip (although I can guarantee it would have been awesome) the minimum number of people and price I’d have to charge is not something I am comfortable with this year.

California is one of my favorite spots I have surfed at as of yet and the coast between San Diego and LA is a surfers dream. I will still look to offer this trip in the future should the numbers work out.

Cheers,

Chris

Merry Christmas to all, and all the best!

Still a few brave surfers out!  The waves are working OK but it’s cold!  Epic Boardshop has some 4/3  Excel wetsuits for sale and 2 really nice round tail boards by Aftanas and Garcia.  Both boards look great for any intermediate river surfer to have a great time on and the 6’4 Aftanas would make a fantastic ocean board that will work magic in a huge range of conditions making it a pretty good choice for your winter travel board.

Trips:  California 2012 is in the works.  We had thought about making California a once every two years type trip alternating with other fun East Coast destinations like Florida, North Carolina, and Glorious Long Island… Even somewhere more exotic like the Basque region of France and Spain (Look up Biarritz, hossegor, Mundaka and San Sebastian).   All places I loved, scored great surf and had some amazing surf trips… but… They aren’t California.

California is awesome and has very consistent surf.  This year we will do things a bit differently and stay in a Hotel in Oceanside instead of the hostel in San Diego. The hotel is a short walk to the beach, we are getting a good deal which makes it about as affordable as the hostel, and  Oceanside has about 10 of the best surf spots in California all  within an hours drive away.  Add Shawn from Real Surf to hook us up with Rentals and gear, it just makes sense to stay in O’side.  This year we plan to surf at 5 of my favorite surf breaks that are just stunning: The Oceanside Pier, Trestles, Brooks St (Laguna), Huntington beach, and the infamous Blacks.

Check back in a bit for more info about the 2nd Annual California trip and pricing info. Send me an Email at chris@surfmtl.com if you are interested in joining us!