Cecil and I met at the Carving On The Edge Festival in 2016. He liked my paddles and admired the craftmanship in my ridable hollow cedar surfboards on display at the Festival and offered his artwork as a collaboration.   Our friendship was born.  Cecil and I both come from seafaring ancestry.  Cecil from a Westcoast Home Territory and myself Viking Norwegian heritage.  I am not a fisherman like Cecil or a village raider like my ancestors but did row for the UVic Vikings Crew go figure how that happened.  I am a surfer from a first ride in 1968 on Wreck Bay when a young man from Oregon saw me out riding the waves on an air mattress and offered me his board.  Our first conversation shared our common knowledge of the ocean we both understood wave size, period, swell direction, tides, wind the importance of watching the weather myself to find ridable waves and Cecil to survive at sea and catch some fish.  We have been working together since and our friendship has grown.  When it comes to Reconciliation it can be just another word coming down from our government or it can be something real Cecil and I walk the walk we don't just talk the talk.  It was not the original intention Cecil wasn't thinking oh I need to find a Honky to hang out with but we found each other and it has turned out that way and we are very happy with how it has progressed. And that's our story in a nutshell. 

 

Hawaiian Alaia circa 1800's

 

In Hawaii only those belonging to the Royal Family Line were allowed to stand up on a surfboard and ride a wave to the beach. Their boards were called Olo's thick hardwood and could be up to 16 feet long and weigh well over a hundred pounds.  A religious ceremony was held before the tree was cut and shaped into a surfboard.  Those that were not members of the Royal Bloodline could kneel or belly ride the waves on a thin board called an Alaia.  Of course like most societies young people challenge the norms so a few took their Alaia's to secluded beaches and learned how to stand up ride on them.  Over the years they refined the shapes bevelled the noses and edges added a sharp line from nose to tail concaved the bottom to grip the wave face and mastered trimming the board after the drop to ride the wave parallel to the wave face ahead of the curl.  The boards were flexible because they were thin so would actually springboard off the bottom of the wave and add speed they were maneuverable being so light that turns could be made during the ride and have way more fun than the King striking a pose and riding straight to the beach on a long heavy thick plank.  Now if these young entrepreneurs were caught standing up on a board they would certainly be killed so the danger I guess added to the thrill of the ride.  The technology built into these boards was not rediscovered until the seventies and the modern shortboard was born.  Short flexible thin sharp edged bevelled concave bottoms maneuverable hmmmmm another example of advanced technology coming from an ancient culture we can learn so much by looking at the past.  

 

Looking forward to meeting face to face I would prefer a Tues. Wed. or Thurs. meet to avoid the Vancouverites NASCAR race home or to the west coast sometimes that road is not very safe to drive on but if those days work better for you I will brave the Tofino Highway.  Keep in touch.