Nothing motivates you for surfing like a new board, so when my new two-board quiver arrived this past Friday all I could think about was riding waves. The arrival of a new south swell ended all hopes of getting anything else achieved. For the past few years my efforts have been put into capturing all the action rather than getting amongst it on my boards, so I'd fallen a bit behind in terms of board technology. So two 33L sleds – one a 5'10" and one a 6'3" are a radical departure from my standard quiver, but they're designed with one thing in mind: to boost the fun factor in my surfing. And that they certainly do – even if it is finding that elusive sweet spot on a board that is half a foot shorter than I'm used to.
But there is another purpose to my new quiver – to remain fresh in photography I need to surf and reconnect to that feeling, that emotion and the ocean. To feel those late drops and flush the sinuses with a mixture of half sand and half water is the stuff that reconnects us all to our place in the lineup. It brings balance to life and from that place of balance anything can happen. For me I see a new angle on a wave, an old favourite, that has returned thanks to new sand banks. I feel the weightlessness of a late drop and an idea springs to capture it. That's money well invested.
It surprised me when we held a series of focus groups with our subscribers to learn how regularly our surfing readers bought new boards. Many are buying 4-6 a year – some to replace ones that don't quite suit anymore and others to target particular conditions. There's a slight attrition rate in the process, but ultimately the latest technology is rising to the surface and its tailored perfectly to the waves and each individual surfer. With the rate our best shapers are able to tweak and refine board design I think that's going to become the norm. I'm certainly benefitting from that insight and have never been so excited as we roll into winter. Go on, order a new board and welcome winter with an open mind.
More swell arriving Thursday in Dunedin and a promising groundy wrapping into the points at Raglan over the weekend. That's where I'll be ...
See you at the beach ... Derek
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