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That refreshing cool breeze we’ve been waking up to the past couple of mornings can only mean one thing: I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not that the fair has rolled into town. Nope! It’s that the Coastline Fall Fest is right around the corner!

Every year, Coastline Calvary Chapel hosts a family-friendly fall festival at Shoreline Park. It’s packed with fun activities, delicious food, raffles, and the much-anticipated annual skate contest put on by Coastline Skate. If you want to participate in the contest it starts at 1PM and it is a free entry with sign ups taking place at the Gulf Breeze park day of. There will be multiple divisions for varying skill levels and everyone is welcome to join!

With the new Blake Doyle Skatepark downtown, the skate scene has really been blowing up.. finally right!? Finally, there is a place that seems right and does the local skate scene justice, but as time goes on, it may become easy to forget that it hasn't always been this way.

Sometime around 2014, Coastline Skate started a weekly skate night in their parking lot to give local skaters in the community a fun and safe place to skate. At no cost and with a welcoming atmosphere, it became a huge hit. Week after week all of the local heroes of the day shredded the home made ramps and helped inspire and guide the upcoming generation of young skaters who frequented the skate nights. The countless late night sessions filled with fun times, mentoring, getting clips and making memories still echoes today.

Its no easy task to accomplish what they have done and continue to do and now is our chance as a community to give back and show our support. Let’s do our part by showing up for the Coastline Skate crew, who have given so much to the skate community over the years.

The Coastline Skate contest is Saturday, October 26th at the Gulf Breeze park and we are excited to see everyone there!

One may think that with the Gulf having such a healthy surf community that it would be fairly easy to find a shaper locally that is up to par to hold such a position, but its actually quite the opposite. Don't get me wrong, there are a handful of very talented shapers in our area, but for the most part they either fly under the radar or they are already established elsewhere. 

So this brings us back around to our original question, " Why doesn't Innerlight have an in-house shaper now?" Well on top of it just being plain hard to find someone, we actually have the next best thing already.

Sometime around 2013ish the stars aligned for us to partner with East Coast shaper Craig Cronin. Even though he is technically not our in-house shaper or even a Gulf coaster, he is about as good and as qualified as it gets when it comes to hand shaping surfboards that fit in perfectly with the waves we have here in the gulf. If you surf, it is almost guaranteed that you have either been on one or seen people ripping his boards out in the line up. 

        Photo - @Sumlinvisuals

Craig has been shaping for over 20 years and is currently based out of New Smyrna, FL. He has handled a lot of our custom shop orders through the years and stays consistent with his tried and true line of hand shaped and very popular Cronin surfboards. You don't have to venture too far to find someone who has something good to say, including myself.

Whether you are looking for a high performance shortboard, nose riding longboard or anything in between, Craig is the man. He is always open for custom orders and will knock almost any color requests out of the park. If you are ever interested in working up a custom Innerlight or Cronin order or if you just want to see some of his boards in person, you can head over to our Gulf Breeze or Destin location and they will take care of you.

- Trust Your Shaper/ Trust Craig

Ahh, to be a goofy footer on the Gulf Coast! We are coming up on that time of year where the predictable east winds will open up a playground for those who enjoy going left.. On the other hand, if you are a regular footer and happen to be a little bit timid on going backside(left), there are two ways of looking at it: either with dread or optimism. Of course, for most regular footers going frontside(right) is where we feel more comfortable, but is staying in your comfort zone going to make you a more well rounded surfer? This fall/ winter might be the perfect time to open up your arms and welcome in those drifty sessions and view them more as opportunities to improve your surfing rather than it being a thorn in your side. I know, it can be a little daunting, but the more time you put in the water challenging yourself, the higher the chances are that it'll get better and feel more natural. 

See ya down the beach!

Here is one of our resident goofy-footers, Henry Bonar, enjoying a typical easterly wind swell with more days just like this on the horizon.

Photos - @shellfilm

When the surf is pumping there are more options than just jumping straight to a shortboard. Sure, shortboards are typically the most "rippable" way to go, but what about when the surf lacks the power needed for them? We've all been there—looking out from the beach it seems like it's going to be the most epic session, but hours later you might only have a handful of waves under your belt, if that... The Gulf can be a tricky place and if you are looking to increase your wave count mid-lengths might be the answer. Mid-lengths are typically in the 6'8 -8' range and come in a variety of shapes and can be surfed in a wide range of conditions. One quality these boards typically share is greater paddle power compared to a standard shortboard, thanks to their length and volume. This means you'll catch more waves, and yes, you can still rip on them! At the end of the day, the name of the game is having fun, and increasing your wave count through out your sessions will surely lead to that. Check out this video from Katin where Devon Howard demonstrates how rippable mid-lengths can be.

Check out one of the most popular styles of Firewire's that we carry, The Mashup.

Two minds combined.

Rob Machado and Dan Mann have created the Mashup: A melding of each of their most popular designs; the Seaside and the Spitfire.

Both board designers have spent time mixing and matching their favorite elements of each shape, and they’ve landed at something that goes fast in weak waves as well as a Seaside, and also drives vertically in good waves as well as the Spitfire.

The Mashup is the ultimate groveler. And the ultimate everyday board as well.

Call the shop for current stock or to special order yours today: 850-932-5134