It all started with an email to my surf buddies announcing that I was going to buy a new board since I inflicted a career ending injury to my trusty Hank Warner that I bought in 2001.
Right away Jon emailed me to say that I needed to become familiar with some of the more classic board designs and features in order to understand how they have evolved. Jon has a collection of 67-68 era boards that represent the state of shaping knowledge and art at the cusp of the short board revolution. He insisted that I needed to experience first hand how these boards perform and to better understand what I would want in a new board. Having started surfing in 1963 I had an idea but that was a long time ago so on Sunday Jon and I hooked up and he introduced me to some of his boards.
He had about 10 boards to show me. Jon knows the pedigree and design features of each board in meticulous detail. Fascinating stuff and I appreciated the time he spent with me going through the features and shortcomings of each board.
I finally settled on a Hansen 50/50 model. It is a 9' 6" pintail. 50/50 rails from just behind the nose to just forward of the tail. The back rails are as sharp as a knife. The fin attaches through the top of the board with a single "wonder" bolt. Fortunately for me, Jon had a leash attachment point glassed onto the board. I was looking for a board that could handle a leash since, a. I didn't want to lose it and have it wash up on the rocks and, b. I wasn't real keen on swimming after it after each wipe out.
A nice south swell was working at 15th Street in Del Mar on Monday so I put the sacred craft in the water and paddled out to the line up. Easy paddling and fairly easy to punch through white water considering what it weighs. As I tried to turn the beast in the first wave I felt like I was surfing in jello. I was turning, but in sloooooooooooooooooow motion. Fell off as the wave caught up with me but the leash held; whew, that was different. Have to pivot turn this thing. Next wave (a right) was a little better and actually got into trim position and got a fairly long ride.
Next ride ended with me muffing the kick out and the board going with the white water. Felt the leash tug and then......arggggghhhhhhhhhh...nothing! Turns out that the leash didn't break, Jon apparently tied the leash rope with a slip knot. Fortunately Luke was on the inside and saw the board and captured it before it went on the rocks. Tied the leash rope in a square know (Jon will never be able to undo it), went back out, caught one more wave and came in.
Later that day Ian called me to let me know that I could try out his Murphy long board if I wanted. Since he offered to deliver it to me after work I said sure. This is a nice board and I've seen Ian catch some incredible waves with it. Maybe some of that skill would transfer to me through the board! Could this be the magic stick I was looking for? The swell on Tuesday was much the same as Monday; good stuff for trying out a new board.
Even though it is a little shorter, narrower, thinner, a 2 plus one fin set up, and much much lighter, it was a good paddler and eased into waves pretty nicely. First wave was a learning experience but I was surprised at it's speed and responsiveness. Next wave (a left) was really fun. This board has an amazing ability to squirt under and around sections and keeps getting you back to the pocket. And it's fast! Took some measurements when I got back home and was surprised that it was only 9'. Can't be more than 2 1/2" thick either. Yet it floated me and I felt that it paddled really well; not pushing any water in the front.
So, thanks Jon and Ian. I really appreciate your generosity and I learned a lot.
Next, Clay and I pay a visit to the South Coast Longboard shop in OB.
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