I get to the beach and take out the first board I had ever made, I was my first ride on it. I jump out of the truck and wax it up so amped to get out and ride it. I put on my new leash and started running towards the beach and jump in the freezing water not letting my numb feet bother me. I stopped a minute before paddling out just to gaze at this wonderful thing I had just created. I started paddling out and that’s when I saw the biggest wave of the day about 5’… I could tell that it was going to be close getting over it and decided not to duck dive. I was rushed to the top and right as I was going over the top of the crest the wave broke. As I was dropped down the back of the wave with spray hitting me in the face and glancing at the sunset I realized why surfing was so spiritual and finally realized why nothing else in the world can compare with it.
amen!
I thought you were going to say the wave broke your new board !
i second that mxracer i remember when i finnaly got to ride the first board i made, it was an amazing experience. before that day surfing was something fun to do but after that first wave it really changed me too. and since then every time i shape a board i get the same felling but i havent made that many. how do all you veterans feel when you make a new board do you still get that this is the greatest experience ever or does that wear out after a while.
Well said, I’m not an organized religion man myself, but the fact we have this privilege to commune with the most powerful force on this rock, certainly lends credence to something a whole lot greater. I for one have to thank “it” daily for that opportunity.
i also thought the story ended with a broken board,my felling of making or riding a board i made still has a very good effect…after a thousand a year …just kidding…yes i think riding your board will always be great.
I dont have that many boards under my belt, my last one was #42, but I always get butterflies up until I catch that first wave. Not all have been keepers, but I’ve had a lot more lemon custom and off the rack boards than the ones I’ve shaped myself. Getting a good ride is one thing, but getting one on something you’ve created is the greatest. Hopefully the feeling won’t ever wear off, or it won’t be fun anymore. I’m still kind of in shock that I’m riding something I’ve shaped, I had been surfing some 20 years before picking up a planer.
even if they’re pieces of crap [I think you saw my first attempt ?] I kid myself “I can make this work”…
My ‘prawn’ I’m STOKED I’ve had 2 1/2 years use out of , and still ENJOY it ! [be a sad day , but back into the bay , if I snap it]
chip
this year i took my first “every-single-board-shaped-by-me” quiver up to g-land. epic. the feeling of taking on speedies reef at 8-10 ft and knowing that you, alone, are responsible for every last second of time spent in those barrels. from the shape, to the fins, to riding the bloody thing!!
thanks for evoking that feeling again for me tonight!
Ha ha, the addiction begins! Your life as a surfer has now changed forever!
the feeling is amazing about riding your new board. I still take out my first one every now and then. The board has been dubbed the “Child Killer”. A 9’6" beast.
Why might you ask, well…what happened was this, way back when I shaped It all i had to go on was that book titled “Surfboard”. Japanese book with decent english translation, or is it the other way around, anyway…long an short of it was that I glassed using Home Depot MEKP which is crap and does not get hot enough to get a real cure. So needless to say that after every sesison i wold have several rail cracks.
A year goes by and the board is now half brown from all the damage attributed to the rail cracks. So I reglass the entire board and at the same time decide to make the raails a little beefier. So now the board is more or less indestructable with 5-10 layers of glass on the rails. Also heavy. damn heavy.
So a few years ago, I take out the soon to be named “Child Killer” on a small summer day. The lineup was littered with small kids from a surfing class, so unwillingly I leashed it up and paddled out to the lineup. I am not a great surfer yet, so I figured that to be safe I’d wear the leash. So after a few nice rides I drop into one of teh larger waves of the day…about stomach high. Dop in and proceed to take a few steps to the nose when I look up and there is a kid just sitting there on the inside and not seeming to notice me coming down on him. I take a ste back and turn toward shore to avoid him and what the hell do you think the kid does? Panics and turns his board toward the same spot where I will be. Small colission. i fall off my board and land on my ass and feel a tight pulling at my ankle.
As my legs extends I then feel an instant release. Shit I knew what tha meant. broken leash. At this poitn I am now looking on in fear as the beast known asmy first board barrles through in the whitewater headed out of control for a small kid on a softie. Sure enough WHAM the ral nails the kid right in the back and totaly runs plows him over. Nervous as to the extent of the damage to the id I swim over as fast as possible and check him out. The poor kid is scared out of his mind he is lying on his board crying and clutching at his back. Fearing the worst I try to ccalm the kid downa and tell him not to ove…but the kid keeps squirming and clutching at his back. at this poitn I am beginning to feel better because if he was really urt, he would not be moving.
After a few minutes I calm the kid down and helpk him paddle to the beach and I look at his back and he had a welt the size of Texas on it. I felt really bad, but what could I do at this point. the kid was fine, justshaken up so I collect my beast of a board and decide to head home and not risk hurting anyne else that day.
Thus the name “Child Killer” was born.
morl of this story is NEVER, EVER, EVER use Home Depot catalysy for laminating. If I can find them perhaps I’ll post some pics of the board.
Drew
I would drive that board to the dump!!! Why did you ever repair it in the first place ??
I too thought you were going to say the lip broke it. Everytime I have to race to the outside and question if I’m going to make it I fear my board will brake. On the up side my board paddles fast and so far I have always made it over/through.
I’ll second (or 50th) your thoughts. Everytime I paddle out on my homemade board I get that feeling. It just makes every wave that much more enjoyable. Today (at least the first 45mins before the wind chop came through) was the best waves I’ve had since building ST-1 (super tanker #1). Even the bad wave days are fun, but it was a real treat to ride a board I built in some nicer surf. I can’t wait to build another (I have plans for 2-3 boards as gifts before Christams) and then I get to build my next board. Can’t wait to paddle out on it too.
Thanks for bringing those feeling back to the surface. The whole session today I kept thinking about this thread and became extra thankfull for the blessing of riding my creation (board) on God’s creation (the wave).