Mountain & Prairie

Conversations & Contemplations from the New American West

Christian Beamish – West Coast Craftsman

Christian Beamish

Christian Beamish is a writer, craftsman, surfboard shaper, and all-around adventurer who lives and works between Ventura and Carpinteria, California. He’s the author of one of my favorite books– The Voyage of the Cormorant– which tells his deeply personal story of building an open-hulled boat by hand and then sailing it down the Baja Peninsula alone, surfing and camping along the way. He’s also the owner of Surfboards California, where he hand-shapes a wide variety of custom boards for surfers of all skill levels.

Christian grew up in California, and for as long as he can remember, he’s been connected to the ocean and committed to building things. He’s lived an adventurous life that included a stint in the military, surf trips to the far reaches of the globe, and sailing trips up and down the Pacific Coast. And in addition to his work shaping surfboards and writing, he’s also a committed husband, father, and community member. I greatly admire how Christian manages to balance all of these sometimes-competing roles, and I gained a lot of valuable perspective from this conversation.

I met up with Christian in Carpinteria, just a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, in a building that is home to several surfboard shapers and various creative folks. I’ve admired Christian’s writing for over a decade, so it was a dream come true to have the opportunity to spend the morning with him. We covered a ton in this hour-long conversation– his lifelong connection to the ocean and craftsmanship, lessons learned from the military, how he developed his skill for writing, his amazing book The Voyage of the Cormorant, fatherhood, dealing with intense emotions, the craft of shaping surfboards, favorite books and authors, and much more. You can check out the episode notes for a list of all the topics we discussed and links to everything.

A huge thanks to Christian for welcoming me into his shop, and thanks to all of you for listening. Hope you enjoy.

Photos courtesy of Christian Beamish

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Topics Discussed:

  • 4:00 – Christian talks about where he grew up
  • 9:15 – What influenced his desire to build things
  • 10:15 – Christian’s relationship with work
  • 12:30 – His writing practice and talks about when writing came into his life 
  • 16:00 – Christian tangles with how his literary interests and writing reconcile with his service in the US Navy
  • 17:15 – Overview of his book, The Voyage of the Cormorant
  • 24:45 – Christian reflects on the person he was when he started the voyage that inspired his book
  • 27:30 – The inner challenges he experienced during his voyage
  • 31:30 – His strategies for dealing with emotional challenges
  • 33:00 – How having kids has affected his life
  • 38:45 – Christian describes the surfboards he designs
  • 43:00 – His transition from more standard surfing to big wave surfing
  • 50:45 – Christian and Ed briefly discuss skiing
  • 54:30 – Book recommendations, and a discussion of his family’s history
  • 1:01:00 – Parting words of advice for budding crafters and creators

Information Referenced:

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