Honu
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Say hello to Honu, a 200/70 RB-JMC built for Californian mat surfer, Mara Laws.
Mara got in on the current run, putting in deposits for herself and mutual friend, Henry Hester.
Mara told me she was really keen to get a G-Mat having tried Henry's ancient ride, Son of Stinkles. I'll talk more on that mat when I've built Henry's new ride, but it's an old retired design. Also, huge for Mara, so it will be good to get her on a smaller mat.
We discussed options and Mara was intrigued by the high flying properties of the RB-JMC, but coming from a canvas decked mat, we both felt a 210 denier deck made the most sense. Other than that, we went for a responsive fast set up with negative elastic rocker and free-breather venting internally. Mara also asked for a bungee to have the leash option for a certain spot where losing the mat involves a rocky swim.
You will notice the peace symbol turtle logo on the deck. Mara said:
“For starters here’s Henry & me at a La Jolla Shores mat meet years ago (shot . *Note the Surf-o-Plane —- Hub Alf & I had a Surf Shop “WaterWorks” in Channel Islands Harbor—-Home base for Alf’s Surf School & our curated space for arguably one of the first Surf Art Galleries anywhere. We carried all sorts of water craft including the Aussi classic Surf-o-Plane. (heavy as hell!) Henry opened my eyes to the reality of modern mat riding on the new-age ‘performance’ models. Water-girl by birth, Dad was an Ichthyologist—-I was raised between Point Loma & La Jolla beaches - plus 20 adultish years on the Southern tip of Baja, Mexico. Each locale gave me lots of water time on a variety of crafts & toys. Arriving now at the lucky spot of awaiting my new, (& first), ‘custom’ G-Mat “Honu”. I cant wait to see-hold & ride the Hot Rod Honu = The Sea Turtle is the perfect analogy for this phase of wave gliding in my life = the Honu represents resilience, navigating life’s challenges, and finding your way home ”
Honu is en route as I type and I'll be stoked to hear how Mara gets on! Next build for Henry as I said. It will be fun to build him a mat around 10 years after the last one! For now though, have fun Mara!
Cheers
G