Favourite boards, and the board you dearly miss...

Come on guys, let's "talk story"... Tell us some stories!



My grand old favourite is The Occasional Pin... 9'6.
Handles everything you can throw at it, and it's amazing...
Goes way better than you would expect in small stuff...
Excels in juicy waves around Head High and beyond...
Handles the big stuff with grace...
Fatter waves, no problem...
Hollower stuff, you can get in early and set a rail takeoff, and it never ceases to amaze, and surprise! :)

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Simondo said..
Come on guys, let's "talk story"... Tell us some stories!

In 1994 I had a 6'2 Dave Lewis that was an absolute magic board. I was sitting on the back bubble at South Point trading waves with Todd Holland. Was in my prime just before I tore ligaments in my right knee. Paddling into waves, cutting back as the wave was rearing up on the second suck in front of the rocks on the inner bubble & pulling into these super round cylindrical barrels getting pitted deep & then big off the tops & cut backs as the wave made its way down the point.

Was one of the best days I've ever had out there & although Simon Law & Vetea David were on the inner bubble I'd had wave after wave for a couple of hours without any problems. Even had a couple of waves shown on a 30 min made for tv vid called Shut Up & Surf on Channel 10 that was made while the circus was in town....was just having a great day & then.

I was looking back paddling for this wave, turned back & here's Kong with a big stupid grin on his face. Paddles off from the shoulder & swings around in front of me just as I'm about to get up. So I have to pull back not to hit him & the top curl of the wave snapped my board. I was absolutely spew'n & hated the guy for a long time. Always grudgingly thought, but your just not that good when he complained about "power" not being scored highly enough. But the guy was bloody good in big waves. I can't remember if it was the year before or after but I saw him catch a monster wave from way way inside Margs main on a dirty lumpy bumpy arvo during a comp & I will never forget that wave. He somehow made it round a huge curtain & did big off the tops all the way in. Conditions just looked ugly & you know its about 10 times bumpier than what it looks 1/2 a K safe & sound up on the hill. I just couldn't help but respect him for his big wave skills & do more so now I'm finally over it. Only held the grudge for about 20 years, that was a bloody good board

Simondo, great topic, but so subjective, if that's the correct term. To me it's the "the board" you have or had & how you were/are surfing at the time, or on "THAT" day/month or year etc.

I remember riding a Tom Hoye 5'6" twin fin in the & 70's, I'm 19 or 20 at the time, & this thing, I just loved it, coming off single fins. Two sessions still stand out to me Warriewood 3'-5' & M & M in Wollongong, I has that thing on all over that place, popping fins to slide slip, hard cut backs, cover ups, aahh!

The other big one was prior to that, absolutely distinctly remember that, was at the pub with mates watchin "the ballot" on Tv, your birthdate came out & you were going to Vietnam & yep my birthday came out, man what a night but that's another story for another time. Was at Lennox prob about 3-5', me the mate & 3-4 other guys out on a McTavish tri-fin diamond tail & being deep in the barrel & seeing the mate just paddle over the wave, ah man still fresh 40 + yrs later. Then same trip, same board, Broken Head 3-4' breaking from around the back all the way thru, sun out, off shore & yep 5 of us out & to cap it off chicks sunbaking nude on the beach, absolute heaven. That board just loved that wave. Same at various other places down the South coast of NSW but prob not so much in Sydney.

Other boards, sure the MR twinnies late 70's early 80's from the Pass (Byron)to Ulladulla (Sth coast NSW) golf course. Bennett double enders 5'5" all over Sydney & up & down the coast. Yeah had some dogs, popouts back then you couldn't turn 'em, soon learnt, custom boards only at the time. I mean, come on ,go down barry's (bennets) McCoy & the others you had "the" guys shaping. The boards all went well, because you had 1 board & were young you just rode them & loved it. With lot of other boards in between

Currently I've got 5 great boards & I still love surfing, however the absolute frothin' stoke of going ya hardest with ya mates on new equiptment while you race up & down the coast chasing waves & overseas does I believe impact on "my favourite board".

Lest we forget. UncleT.

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Cobra said..
was Simondo referring to longboards, I'm confused .

Must be or he would have posted in the other room

Way back in time I was a shortboarder by far the best board I owed was made at Tugun branded SURF More 5.11 I owned this board for a long long time until one winters morning as I was running back to the car at d-bah I dropped the board on its rail on the hard sand and cracked to rail about 18 inches it was getting old so I made the mistake of trading and not repairing,never got a board as good ever again.

Dam sorry this is the longboard room

Went on a SW surf trip in about 1991 & snapped a board on the first surf at Big Rock. We were staying at the Margaret River Lodge & the Margs Thriller or whatever they were calling it that year was on. A few pro's were staying at the lodge & I needed a board, so I stole one of theirs lol...no just kidding I hate thieves, expecially board thieves...but anyway.

I needed a board, none of us had quivers back then. So if I didn't get a board I was going to be watching my mates from the beach. I withdrew my rent money & bought a board off Flavio Padaratz's brother Niko for $160. He was asking $200, but he accepted the $160 without too much begging. Nice guy actually & the board was very nice too. 6'6 & sexy, albeit a little light.

Next day was SW with a big swell, so we found some waves round the Dunsborough side. Fun chest height left with just the three of us. Board turned great & with no swing weight it felt awesome compared to heavier glassed boards I was used too. I was stoked.

Later that arvo we had smiths beach to ourselves also. Two mates took the first reef & I paddled further down to the next super tubing one. Was having a ball even though conditions were a bit dodgy. I felt really confident on my new board, just seemed to click straight away. Then this set came through. I managed to race out & duck under the first one. Paddled hard & went to swing round & catch the second one. But the wave near on sucked dry & I could see the reef clearly below. I kicked the board to the side & threw myself back desperatly doing overarm to avoid going over the falls. The wave sucked me back, but I didn't freefall onto that dry reef thank fark. But my new board did & when I came up from the flogging it was snapped in three places. I was spewwwwing.

When I got home a mate sold me a board & let me pay him later for it. I snapped it within the week. Ended up having to borrow boards for a month before I could afford a cheapy that lasted about 6 months. I went through so many boards in those days that there aren't really many that I remember unless there was some other significance attached to them.

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Simondo said..
Great stories guys!
Keep 'em coming!

Which one do you miss the most Simondo?

I don't miss any old ones. I'm getting too old and creaky to surf the much loved shorties. Current fave is an 8' McTavish Carver
and I guess the good thing about liking the shapes and production standards of such an established brand, is that you can always get another one, or try some lovely variation. I also have a 9'6 Farrelly that hasn't had much of a run yet. It might be another favourite come those little offshore winter days. And at some stage then I reckon a 9'1-ish HP might just fill out the quiver nicely. (I also just grabbed a 7' version of my 8 footer, but i might have to shed a couple of kgs before i really know whether it's going to be yet another favourite!)

This is my current favourite board being used in some swimwear advert

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Cobra said..
I loved my bhane super flex skateboard it would be worth a pack now. My JP windsurfer was a sweet ride also my 9'6" Naish Nokua Sup with the quad setup was a nice board to throw around .

I had a Bahne superflex skateboard to:

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Macaha said..
This is my current favourite board being used in some swimwear advert

How can you miss something you have never had - thats a different thread

I don't miss any boards yet...

The thing I miss sometimes is the younger 20 year old version of myself... Energy to burn, time on my hands... :)

In the future, I think I will miss the 9'6 Occasional Pin... Even if I still have it in 25 years time, I will miss it in terms that it should be banged up a touch more by then, and yellowish, and I'll miss it's former visual perfection...
Sounds shallow, but a board can be like s piece of art!
They often don't age too gracefully, but sometimes they age nicely...

My 6'3 x 19 1/2 x 2 3/4 Gravelle what a smoking board...all white full deck grip Mr X style...four belly channels baby blue glass in fins..being a kid I surfed in everything including stuff that my mum would have killed me for going out in which is kind of ironic considering I nearly got killed riding it a few times...I remember jumping of the boat with dad and the deck crew one day out at a certain island chain and it was heaving top to bottom right hand freight trains...Dad was on his booger and the deck crew were all on 7'2 and 7'6 indo guns everyone had got waves and I was just floating around trying not to get anywhere near anything that would actually require me to go...anyway I see one coming and start to paddle in circles just trying to make it look like I wanted to go without really going...them from down the line line I hear the old man, "Just ****ing Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" so being the dutiful son I turned and put my head down and paddled like my life depended on it...dropping dropping down this big aqua blue wall and I can see it drawing of the reef for 50 yards ahead I extend out of my death crouch and get a nice line set as I stand up I realise how round this thing is I'm now standing bolt upright with ease...I can see the crew down the line so stick my hands above my head and still can't touch anything...still just flying through this thing...zing past the crew headed for the end section realise I need a bit more gas so go to pump...whats that legs are now going past head...head is going down...ba bam a quick trip to the bottom...flogged for 300m down the reef...ended up having to wait down the end of the Island for the old man to come collect me in the boat

Ended up snapping the nose off and the middle fin...thing still went like a rocket...I might try and get it out of my mates shed

My most favorite board was my first custom.

The good old emerald was a one board army...i even got a winged keel as a birthday present for the weapon.

I had tw for about three years. So from 12 till 15....the board was farked by the end....had a couple of others by then from friends and dumpers...

Im trying to remember the size. 5'8 x whatever. It had a sick spray and i loved the lizard emblem yeeeeew.

Great story Tux. Simondo - not sure what to read into that one just yet you never struck me as a bogger- not with that marvellous collection of short boards then longboards. Ahhh please say it ain't so great story though otherwise

Well, this is really great. I had a surf board but not like this. I really liked this. Keep posting pics. www.dollboxx.com.au/collections/halter-crop-bikini

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surfbroker said...
Ahh Ruth..I don't think I'll be opening that..

Dollbox..... I will open it

Plus I just read what I said was my favourite board. I must have been pissed and reminiscing or some sort of wot wot

Was a good board