‘Where elegance meets the glide’
Francis Brodie is unhappy, which is unusual.
Ordinarily she is a ray of sunshine. A happier camper you will struggle to meet.
She glides along effortlessly with style, poise and grace on her Antman longboard and she loves her time out surfing.
“I am a slow mover in general and did ballet for 13 years, so the longboard just works for me,” she says.
“And I like the flow of a single fin. You can turn more easily and play. It just feels right for my style.”
She is just one of those people who belongs in the ocean. A pretty mermaid in neoprene.
If you meet her you will like her, but she has just had her wisdom teeth out so her pained demeanour is understandable.
The moment she is feeling better you can be sure she is going to go catch a wave.
Francis is a creative artist by spirit and a computer software developer by trade who started surfing in her late twenties as an alternative to a corporate job “that didn’t align with my values”.
She said she didn’t want the unhappiness to take over her life and so looked to the ocean and the freedom surfing gave her.
“Not only the physical freedom of being free but also the mental relief.”
This apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Mom is also an artist and in construction, so perhaps this is where the idea of her career came from.
Francis decided to get involved and hands-on in building her own surfboard which she said had been an amazing experience
Along with resin, foam and fibreglass expert Antman, she got into the bay, the shaping bay that is, and, dust mask on, crafted the board she rides today.
“I loved it so much, learnt so much, grew so much. Extremely grateful.”
What a wonderful thing. Very few are the women in our waters who have stood next to the trestles with a planer in hand and mowed foam in the hallowed fluorescent lights and eyed the curves while running their hands up and down the rails.
Surfboard shaping and shapers are a unique experience.
Polyester foam blanks are blown to a degree of form, but need a lot of sculpture to be worth riding.
The planer used to shape the foam is a power door planer from the construction industry and it is a very male domain, bar a few special women who are happy to engage dust, light, curve, edge, machine, cross cut, rocker, resin and tucked under rail.
Shaping is part science, part art, part construction, a whole lot of fibreglass and itching and a truck load of spirit, passion and visualisation.
Surfboards are shaped in feet and inches, which aligns with history from the get go.
Only heathens and philistines use metric on a surfboard.
Francis spent a weekend with Ant shaping her 9’2” with tail block, 50/50 rails, vee into double concave and a single fin. She was excited, Ant said. “Francis is a vibrant, open, happy person. Keen on doing things and chatty. A cool girl.”
The board is a good combination of history and performance with glitter glassed into the resin to add a feminine touch. Sparkly, just like its owner.
Local longboard organiser Allen Harris speaks well of Francis: “I have felt her love for the ocean and surfing, especially longboarding.
“Francis is super compassionate and a genuinely fantastic person to be around.”
Similarly, local longboard wizard Jordan Dalbock is fond of Francis: “She is full of good vibes, energy and positivity. Should we surf? Yes! Why not!
“I bumped into Francis at Lavender’s the other day and I said wow, the water has been cold and she said: ‘No, it is going to be warm soon!’ That is her energy,” he said with affection.
The 2004 surfing documentary Sprout by Thomas Campbell is freely available on the internet for viewing.
A segment of this feature documents “Lady Slide — where elegance meets the glide: It is a rare occurrence when you see a woman riding a proper single-fin longboard, but when you do and it is done right it is one of the most beautiful forms of surfing there is.”
Perhaps you are unable to get to the beach and watch Francis surf, but if you view this clip, you will get to see some of what this writer gets to see.
Good friend Wendy Miller comments: “Francis is one of the most down-to-earth, soft and kind people I know.
“She is also my wingman in the sea. She surfs like she is dancing on the board — she has the most beautiful style and loving personality. She definitely inspires me to surf better,” she said.
Get well soon Francis. We are all missing you.