Sunova Ghost 7'11" [ Review and Video ]

I thought I'd found my perfect board (the 7'11" Sunova Speeed) ... then I jumped on the latest offering from the Sunova crew - the Ghost.

One word: Radical

The board is 7'11" x 28.25" x 4" x 98L

I was a little disappointed when I read about about a new little concept Rick Weeks was working on with Sunova. Disappointed for two reasons: one, I didn't need another new board as I was completely happy with my current quiver and, two, the smallest volume it was planned to come in was a little higher than I generally ride in this type of board.

Buuuuuut - it did look really nice and I have put a few kilos on lately, so maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to pop an order in. Actually, when is it ever a bad idea to pop an order in for a new board???

I'd seen some photos of the first few, larger sized, Ghosts online but when I rocked up to WSS Boards and got my eyes on my 7'11", I was ecstatic. It looked even better in the flesh - such smooth lines, perfect foil, great volume distribution and awesome finish.

I took it out the next day, as a thruster, in some super fat little waves. It paddled fine and it was super stable for the size. I caught a couple and it felt fast but a bit skatey. I had a really sore neck, the waves were terrible and I just wasn't feeling it so I came in.

A few days later, I threw in a quad set of fins (with a stubby stabilizer) and took it for another spin.

The surf was a decent size with a stiff off-shore wind. I paddled out and was pleasantly surprised again by the stability of the Ghost and the big quads with a stabilizer made it yawl a fair bit less. I was lucky with my timing of the sets and got out the back with dry hair.

A few minutes passed and a smaller set which looked like it would hold up alright came through. I was waiting a bit away from the others so it was all mine for the taking. I paddled hard for it as the wind was pushing up the face and it was a bit smaller and fuller than some of the waves out there. I felt the lift of the wave behind me and was soon dropping down the face. A slight fade before pulling into a sharp bottom turn and then a series of fairly gentle top turns and a grinding cutback had me arriving at the shorebreak with a great first proper wave on Ghost.

The sets were a little inconsistent and I waited a good ten minutes for another wave. I could see some lines forming way out the back and the thought of getting caught inside one of those closeout, clean up sets I'd seen earlier, had me paddling towards the horizon. The first wave of that set was slightly smaller than the second one but it looked a better shape. I began the take-off arc to change direction and head for the right hander. I had complete confidence in the Ghost's ability to stay in control and get me straightened up and just in front of the feathering lip in time. A fall or even a little wobble at this stage would have definitely had me missing the best wave I'd seen all morning. I got it and it was a good one, a really good one. Using my first wave as a practice, I took the same line down the face - with a slight fade left and a little shuffle of my front foot towards the inside rail before getting down as low as I could to drive into a big, deep, smooth bottom turn. This wave was bigger and steeper than my first one so the elements were conducive to going big. The bottom turn lasted forever as I froze in that low crouch while the 7'11" drove around a full 180 degrees and started heading up the face again. By this time the wave was starting to pitch right above my head and I made the concerted effort to smack the crap out of it. The Ghost felt great under my feet and gave me the confidence to pivot tightly as the nose connected with the lip and spin it around so I was pointing back down the face again.

Tweaking the position of my front foot and keeping my weight forward had me hurtling towards my next bottom turn. This one was a bit quicker and less drawn out though, as I could see the wall starting to race away and I had to get moving. The little 7'11" was flung out of this bottom turn with incredible speed and I was heading for the lip again in no time flat. I approached the top of the wave less vertically than the last top turn so I stabbed the top of the wave deeply with my paddle and used that as my anchor point while pushing as hard as I could with my back foot to kick the tail through the crumbling crest of the wave. The small stabilizer in the rear got blasted out of the back of the wave and lost what little bit of traction it provides. The tail of the Ghost slid what seemed like two feet sideways but was probably only a couple of inches in reality. Woah. Hang on to it Casso - this is only the second turn and there is lots more epic wall to work with in this wave's future.

I focused on keeping my weight over the board and waited for the fins to bite again. Great, I soon had control and was beginning to plan my next attack on this innocent lump of ocean. The wall hadn't changed appearance much so I thought I'd do a carbon copy of that last whack. A similar bottom turn and face climb ensued. This time I was more prepared for the potential fin release at the lip so I pushed it a bit harder, this time waiting in anticipation for that cool but disconcerting drifting feeling. Wow, I made this one too and with a little more elegance I think. That's three great turns on this awesome wave and I might be able to get one more in. I redirected before I got back down to the bottom of the wave and started shooting along a high line. I quickly swapped my paddle to my heel side as the wave started to fill up slightly. I felt the kicker on my tail pad against my back foot, crouched down very low and applied pressure to both heels evenly as I twisted my torso and lent on the paddle behind me. Holding that position, I engaged the rail and glided around a super smooth arc until the foam ball in the pocket came into vision. This was my new target. I was going to belt that thing as if I was doing a massive backside re-entry. I straightened up, transitioned the board off the rail and swapped my paddle back to my toe side again. As I approached the white water, I applied pressure to my back foot, twisted my torso towards the sand and put my head down. I felt the board lift up onto the wall of foam and when I envisaged it was nearing the top, spun it around and used my paddle as a brace out in front of me. The diamond tail of the Ghost was flicked around through the aerated ocean and the board started to fill back in under my feet. I was jettisoned out of the white water with force and was presented with calm green water again.

Yes. That'll do. I'll quit while I'm ahead and soul arc off the back of the fading wave instead of trying to grovel to the shorebreak.

Wow, what a different a change of fins, a less sore neck and some decent waves could transform this puppy into something I was now frothing over.

I've since had a few more surfs on it in some different conditions and suffice to say - this is definitely now my every day, go to board.

Highs:
- Super fast
- Planes through dead sections beautifully
- Very forgiving and controllable in all parts of the wave
- Floats over turbulent foam nicely
- Pointed nose pushes through white water nicely
- So light and easy to throw around
- Super strong construction
- Super stable
- Amazing good looks with the dark Paulownia wood
- Works great in tiny or large waves
- Extra grip at the front means your front foot is never slipping off

Lows:
- Curvy rails and wider width means it yawls a bit when a paddling
- Wider width means you need to move your front foot a bit to engage the rail

Nice one Casso ,