The Soft-Top
When we hear the word “soft-top”, we automatically think “Beginner Alert!”
Although this is not completely wrong, and it is true to say it is far more beneficial to learn to surf on a soft top than a hard one.
This blog is about “shredding” on a soft top but more specifically speaking a Catch Surf!
The Aussie shredder, Dave Rastovich, (former World Junio
There is a “Rasta” quote, which is a perfect description and I need not say more… “Each board is like an instrument with its own unique sound. Some boards are like heavy metal guitars and others are like violins. Both with their own beauty.” How true is this and surfers (including myself) can be testament to this quotation!
But the real reason why you’re here reading… To chat about surfers who use ‘soft-tops’ as high performance boards and also the less skilled surfers too……
Why not start with Ricky “Bobby” Basnett
From being the first surfer in contest history to come stone last in every single event on the WSL, to now following his passion and being arguably the best free surfer in the world he decided, surfing weird and wonderful is the real freedom in surfing…
I was lucky enough to get this “freak-child” onto a Catch Surf a few weeks back and even luckier to have had him drop in on me on not one but every single wave at his favourite surf spot – Cave Rock. As much as the “dropping in” usually leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, I did have a Go Pro in my clutches, filming him rip the sh*t out of the fun little right-handers.
“The level of performance demanded from these soft-tops at any given moment is nothing short of spectacular.”
You be the judge of this comment!
When you think Catch Surf you think Jamie “JOB” O’Brien
We have all seen Jamie’s Youtube channel?
If not, I will put a link at the bottom of the blog and suggest you take a peep. (It is insanely ridiculous)
The guy is a nutter, from charging 10ft plus waves at the wedge in Cali on his catch surf, to sliding down sewage drains! He has no boundaries when it comes to standing on a board…. soft or hard!
I guess he really takes the word “Jol” to the next level!
“Hog on a Log”… Dylan Worman (He is a Bodyboarder)
Yip, you read it right!
He is a bodyboarder, used to the soft-top element, but definitely not used to the standing side of things!
He has been lying on bodyboards for the better part of 30 years and most recently made the transition from lying to standing…Thank goodness for that!
I do suspect though, when it gets over 8ft on the Bluff, his weapon of choice will still be his bodyboard! This being that the Log is the most cruizy-est of longboard soft-tops out there, unless you are Jamie, it is not the ideal board for big wave surfing!
The LOG is a legit longboard for the slowly moving folk or the landlubber that is looking to learn to surf. The buoyancy and stability, coupled with almost zero chance of the board hurting you, it definitely gives an element of confidence when taking on Poseidon waves for the first time in your life.
For more on these soft-tops exploding on the shores of South Africa click here:
Oh yes, as promised earlier… JOB’s Youtube channel.
(You’re welcome! Just finish your work before you click on that link, you’re going to get lost in his YT channel)
