the blue room

For Immediate Release
 
April 5, 2010 – Surf Nano Products (SNP) announces winners of the 2010 Student Surfing Awards

SNP, proud National Sponsor of the ESA and the ESA All-Star Team, announces the winners of the 2010 Student Surfer Award for deserving student surfer athletes.

Surfers submitted an application, transcripts, and a 250 word essay addressing the applicant’s surfing ability, financial need, current sponsorships, and community service involvement. Each award consists of a free ESA membership or renewal, a $270 entry fee grant to be applied toward contest fees, and a free SNP Product Kit. Winners were announced at the ESA/TGSA Scholastic Surfing Championships, March 26-28, 2010 in New Smyrna Beach, FL by Tom Warnke, SNP Sales and Marketing Director.

“SNP has been a great supporter of ESA and the All-Star Team since they started business last year and I look forward to their continued support in 2010. When this Surfing Award was presented to me, I thought this is one of the most innovative community outreach programs I’ve seen, and an example of the way Andy, Howard, and Tom do business! With the addition of Darrick Doerner and Dean Randazzo, SNP is a welcome addition to the surfing community”
Debbie Hodges (ESA Executive Director)

Chandler Von Cannon age 16, from Kure Beach, NC represented the ESA Mid-Atlantic Division. Chandler carries a 4.5 GPA and is very active in community through Young Life, beach sweeps, and highway clean-ups. She also placed 2nd in Junior Women!  

Daniel Glenn, age 13, from New Smyrna Beach, FL represented the ESA Southeast Region. Daniel carries a 3.8 GPA, has been an ESA All-Star member since 2008, and is an active volunteer in the local surfing community. Daniel also placed 3rd in Boys Division!

“SNP is stoked to write these checks to ESA for Chandler and Daniel. They represent the best of the future both in school and in the ocean!” said Warnke.

SNP will continue its support of the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) and the ESA All-Star Team in 2010 by holding product beach demonstrations at the three ESA Regional Championships and the ESA Easterns. Drop by and visit us for a free SNP demo! 

 (W) 866-842-8530

Todd Holland wins 2010 Florida Shape Off

It came down to the finish, the sanding technique, as all the other criteria, all the shapers tied.  Todd Holland is the guardian of the Shape Off trophy for one year and the 3rd Florida Shape Off winner.

The judging for the blanks shaped will start at 3:30 pm today, with the announcement of the winner at 4:oo pm.

Our second shaper, Matt Kechele bowed out, leaving us with a blank space. And along comes Balsa Bill, who I have heard myself say he will not touch foam, to help us out and shape! What a guy! Thanks, Bill for saving the day!

George Miller,  who will be inducted into the East Cost Surfing Hall of Fame Friday night, will be the 6^th shaper for the 3^rd Florida Shape Off. Miller will be the last shaper on Saturday.

The final line up:

 Friday January 15th

10 a.m.         Dick Catri

12:15 p.m.    Matt Kechele

2:30 p.m.      Phil Salick

Saturday January 16th

10 a.m.         Todd Holland

12:15 p.m.    Claude Codgen

2:30 pm.        George Miller

Judging starts after the last board is finished, with the announcement of the winner and trophy presentation taking place at 5 pm.

1st place in Grand Legends division at the East Coast Surfing Association Contest in Cape Hatteras, NC.

You have been an inspiration for so many, not just in surfing, but in so many aspects of life. Thank you for all you have done.

Florida Today article: Crippling disease won’t slow surfer

Once again, the National Kidney Foundation Pro Am Surfing Contest has come and gone. This contest attarcts surfers as far away as Hawaii and has assisted in bringing back tandum events. This is the biggest non-profit contest held on the East Coast; CNN was there to capture the event.

I liked the Menehunes the best. These are the Kelly Slater’s of tomorow.

Bill Freeman, a local Cocoa Beach surfer, won 2 events yesterday; once against the young pro-wannabees and another against the old pro-wannabees. Thanks Bill for being the the person you are!

For the upcoming January Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida, we are stoked to present “The best of the best: East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame Legends”. In this exhibition of true talent, we’re bringing back names  like Dick Catri, Claudie Codgen, and Phil Salick.

As is every year, the winner will be handed the Shape Off trophy to keep until the following year’s event.  The winning board will be signed by all the participating shapers and donated to the Surfing Hall of Fame to exhibit.

Well, that time a year again, the half-way mark to the January show.  It was great seeing familiar faces and new ones.

This Expo brought with it the energy of surfing literaly; we had the finest waves we have not seen in two years: Friday morning it was glassy, overhead, with plenty of time to paddle out.  I resisted the temptation to look at the waves Saturday morning, and headed for the Surf Expo.

Back to the show.  Body Glove International has teamed up with American Wave Machines, Inc  to bring Body Glove Waves, surfing machines you can definetly surf on. Great for teaching beginners and bringing surf everywhere, which means inland. But what tickled me the most was seeing a picture of a friend of mine in the brochure, Lauren McLean. I’m going to have to ask her for an autograph next time I see her.

I also picked up a “Republica De Costa Rica” pasaporte to Witch’s Rock Surf Camp which has a beachfront hotel in Tamarindo, Costa Rica . They have a surf school, surf shop, restaurant, and bar at the hotel and provide complete services from boat rides to non-accessible-by-vehicle places to surf.

And for those of you people who cannot live without your cell phone and have to be attached to you 24 x7, they have a vaccum seal container…I got to see an Ipod getting dropped into and floating in a fish tank.

Hope to see you all at the January Expo. I’m getting very excited about seeing these legends shape!

See you in the water

US based Entropy Surfboards created a custom surfboard using a an epoxy system using a new chemical technology on the verge of expansion: Carbon nanotubes (CNT’s). They found using this additive makes the epoxy much stronger while still retaining flexibility and will be using carbon nanotubes in their products once they become available and affordable.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a new molecular arrangement for carbon, is being used as an additive, greatly improving a range of plastic products. Bayer has begun work to increase the production of it’s Baytubes, carbon nanotubes based epoxy, claiming the product is 30% lighter and 20-30% stronger than conventional epoxy systems.  

Up to now, CNT production has been at a pilot scale, but some large companies are on the verge of chaning that. The German chemical giant Bayer is increasing its production, as well as Chinese producer Sun Nanotech, and other US, India and Japan based companies. Hopefully, with more applications to different products, demand for CNT’s will increase, bringing the cost down.