Well, it's been a lengthy stay in SD but what a stay it's been. Scott Reeder has sent over his last report as Phileas sets off to her next stop:

Phileas has been shipped off to Mattitude, and I already miss her.

I hauled our girl pretty much everywhere I went, including regular rounds through the medical machine. I’m dealing with a rare cancer, thymic carcinoid, triggered by a rare gene mutation, MEN1, and it’s a full-time battle. But what timing: Phileas arrived at the beginning of a three-week break from energy-sapping, nausea-inducing meds. And we sure did make the time count.

Her first couple weeks here, I had a blast documenting friends riding Phileas, each with his or her own flair. Then, more than halfway through her stay, I realized I hadn’t actually ridden her much aside from a few waves here and there. So we spent some quality time in the water.

I roamed the coast for more than a week straight, surfing Phileas every day in various conditions at various spots. Mostly reef breaks. San Diego County has loads of reefs, with some better suited to mats than boards, in my opinion. Of course she loved the good days, but I was really impressed with how well she glided through the smaller stuff and the slop. What a great all-around mat!

Though Mark [Miller] was able to make it for a couple of these surfs, I was usually alone. I tried to self-film, but the results are ridiculous. I’d aim the camera at the lineup as best I could, hit record, then rush out there. But our little Canon usually shuts off after 10 or 15 minutes. Much of that time is often used up doing the rock dance just to get to the lineup. There are entire clips where I never even make it into the viewfinder. Or if I do, it’s either as a speck off in the distance or as a quick streak in and out of the picture. Sometimes the camera quits mid-wave. My favorite is when the damn thing shits out eight seconds into my best session.

Nevertheless, it was always fun to plug in the disk at the end of the day and see what I got, if anything. And there were a couple nice surprises.

Scott Reeder Surfmat Phileas 343587458744

For me, the highlight of Phileas’ stay was the first of what ended up being four “Farewell” sessions, when I got my wife, Worm, and son, Maz, back in the water for the first time in months. It was 98 percent closeouts at SD’s most famous beach break, but we had so much fun screwing around, running into each other.

Sacred times, mate. Savoring it all. With some heavy treatments fast approaching, I’m so grateful to have got all this in the memory bank. Thanks again for including us, G. Can’t wait to see what she else Phileas gets up to along the West Coast …

Thanks again for being the perfect host Scott. It's been a joy to watch this adventure unfold. I'm stoked to see how Phileas' tats are coming along. Looking amazing!