surfresearch.com.au  farrelly : pintails 1968

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Midget Farrelly : The Art of the Pintail, 1967. 

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Midget Farrelly : The Art of the Pintail.
Surf International
Vol. 1. No. 5  April 1968, pages 12 to 15.

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Page 12 The Art of the Pintail Midget Farrelly DID you ever see a gull coasting over the surface of the ocean, then accelerating swiftly over a swell? It would seem the gull maintains an exact height from the water, varying its speed to rise and fall in unison with the heaving ocean. This is how I think of a pintail. More in tune with the waves, the pin seems fixed to the heart of the wave, the low eye of the curl. Acceleration comes easily as if from some sudden source, just like the gulls. The first time you see a pin being ridden in fast water, the rider seems responsible for the perfect position this board enjoys. However, riding in the shadow of the curl is just one of the characteristics of the pin. It's not a new design- its origins ...

Page 13  Peter Drouyn on his pintail. Ric Chan Photo.

... can be traced back to Makaha point surf days, several decades past.

The form it exists in today is quite revolutionary.
A good pin is rather pointed at either end, reminiscent of a big wave board.
The fine extremities will shake up a few old principles, like nose- riding and tail stalls, which are generally associated with a full wide nose and tail.
A better surfer feels at home on a pin, working from the centre out to the ends, this being governed by the rise and fall of wave speed and vertical face.
A more challenging wave is the supreme test for a pin, as gentle tiny beach breaks don't bring the best qualities out.
Angourie seems made for bold, precise surfing, allowing for few mistakes if the curl is to be ridden.

Here the pin will hide deep behind the white water, or high in the thick revolving tube.
The speed leaves you breathless and wondering what took place between the time you dropped in and finally kicked out.

Speed seems the real asset of the pin, but it is the sustained flow between manoeuvres that blends them together as one, a thing so simple that is constantly sought after by surfers at their best.
This flow can be had on a pin with bump-free outline.
To turn on a wide tail short board, the board must be coaxed off its tail block, up, over and on to the rail, which appears as a short jerky turn often resulting in the whole rail being buried up to the nose, and followed by a loss of speed.
The pin is all rail, having no block, so when the surfer puts his weight back, and then on to the rail, the two appear as one, and have instant effect on the board's direction.
Shorter, more critical turns can be had by moving on to the tail and dominating the fin.
The pin does not stall easily, so a re-entry often turns into a roller-coaster unless checked.

Noseriding is performed in the wave, not on the shoulder.
The nose outline fits the face or wall without throwing the tail free.
Noseriding is not a separate manoeuvre but merely the most forward trim position.
In general trim the surfer's feet are one behind the other, so you can imagine the difficulties a beginner would experience.
The ...

Page 15

Joey Cabell is surfing better than he ever has before. In Hawaii this past Christmas, he put into motion what many surfers, including myself, have wished they might one day. He demonstrated a kind of surfing so fast, bordering (or whatever) can be called ideal (I won't use perfect, for fear of criticism). I felt I was facing the greatest challenge to improve my own surfing, to the point that I shall now completely overhaul any rigid ideas I had previously. Hawaiian surfers have definitely not fallen behind in design and riding approach. Sutherland, Strauch, Aipa and many others are proud of this. I feel if Australians can accept the pintail and modify it to suit, they will ride an exciting board and increase their versatility both in small waves and perhaps on those big days at the Bower or maybe Bells at Easter. The pin may sound like the perfect board- it isn't. It doesn't like flat waves, or short walls, or any other wave that lacks the characteristics of the idealist's perfect wave. It will never replace the wide square tail in Australia. In Hawaii the situation is the reverse, because there are real waves in Hawaii. Real standup, suck out, throw over and drag you down waves.

Drouyn pushes his Pintail nearly vertically up his wave and prepares for a re-entry.

Midget Wins Again Kevin Parkinson FOR only about the second or third time in years, a sizable number of big-time Northside surfers met Southside surfers in a give-no-quarter contest of major proportions. Surfers such as Midget Farrelly, Ted Spencer, Keith Paull and David Treloar matched their ability against surfers like Ken Middleton, Frank Latta, Bob Conneeley and Chris Brock. The place for the Bobby Brown Memorial was Cronulla. By far the most well organised and competitive contest to hit the Southside, it was definitely a perfect tribute to a great surfer and a great friend of mine, Bobby Brown. The surf for the contest on the whole was pretty bad, but then again it always is for a contest. The waves on Sunday really gave the competitors a hard lime, with a very srong N.E. wind blowing across the face of occasional 4ft to 5ft waves, making it very difficult to ride. But that was not the only worry heal winners had to face- their main one was the barrage of invited and seeded surfers in Sunday's quarter-finals. These quarter-finals were held four to a heat with one to qualify for the semis. ... This is were the competition really started because when you draw a  semi-final with top surfers, you just naturally compete to your utmost; maybe you realise how close you are to the final and  and how much of a waste of lime it would be if you did not try.

Page 39

Page 44 Wayne Lynch I have a collection of surfing books. They date back to 1963. ...

Surf International Vol. 1. No. 5  March 1968.   Cover: Buddy Boy, Honolua Bay.

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surfresearch.com.au

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Take What We Have & You'll Have What It Takes
The Midget V Pintail, our new variation of the popular Midget V. along with the Frye V, the Fry Baby Gun and t.he Hot Curl represent the Iatest designs.
Each design is different.
Something for everyone.
Uncomplicated lines for versatility.
Fast lines for mInimum drag and speed.

The basic formula used for all of our boards includes lightness and shortness.
The short, light board is the prImary influence into days surfing.
Our boards weigh 14-18 Ibs.
Anything over 20 Ibs. is consldered too heavy.
We have geared all of our models to be ridden at the following sizes or shorter depending upon personal taste:
 

105-115 Ibs 115-125 Ibs  125-135 Ibs  135-145 Ibs

.......... .......... .......... ..........

7'6" 7'8" 7'10" 8'

145-155 Ibs  155-165 Ibs 165-175 Ibs 175-185 Ibs

.......... .......... .......... ..........

8'2" 8'4'' 8'6" 8'8''

NOTE: Some are riding our models up to 8" shorter than this chart.

OUR DESIGNERS KNOW WHAT'S BEST
Skip Frye, a top competitor in the United States is also tops in surfboard design.
He is in the water six days a week from 4 to 6 hours a day testing, trying and modifying.
He has put a lot of knowledge into his models.
Skip's work on fin design over the last two years is unparalleled  ... the results have opened up new experiences for everyone.
The high performance fin and the new 6" free foil fin are Skip's contributions.

Midget Farrelly runs his own surfboard factory in Australia.
He is on top of everything happening down under.
Midget is one of Australia's top competitors and leading surfboard designer - his ideas come to us from 9000 miles away by mail, phone and an occasional visit.
Midget foresaw the short light board over two years ago when we started with his stringerless model.
He predicted surfboards weighing ten pounds at a time when everyone had 28 lb. boards.
In May 1967, Midget wrote to us about a completely new thing that he was working with.
It was the V Bottom.
This was our first introduction to this radical design.
We delayed work on it because at first it sounded impractical, and we questioned its acceptance.
Finally in the fall of '67 we were convinced that Midget's new Model for '68 would be a V Bottom.
We are now offering this same model with a pintail.
The pintail is not necessarlly better.
It merely lends variety to a popular thing.
Some will like it better, but many will prefer the square tail.

It's your choice.
PIease try them ... and remember, take what we have and you'll have what it takes.

G &S Surfboards
5465 Gaines, San Diego, Calif. 92110
We use Clark Foam & W.A.V.E. Set Fin System