Howzit all. Yes this is about that infamous Roy “TomBloke” Stewart wooden board that was sent to Hawaii. Here are my comments on riding the thing, as I posted on the Surfermag.com message board:
Kia ora! I was tired of all the trashtalking on the Surfermag.com message board. Just wanted to give the board a test drive and judge for myself. I have no hang-ups with my “fair at best†surfing skills and limited shaping knowledge, so I don’t care about any castigation. So here are my experiences and opinions on the infamous 13 footer Hawaii Challenge Board.
To recap: New Zealand renegade shaper Roy Stewart has boasted that his “Future Primitive 13†longboard design (http://www.olosurfer.com/Power-Quiver-Future-Primitive.html) would do exceptionally well at Pipeline.†Lots of animated discussion was thrown out first on the Swaylocks.com (surfboard design) message board, spilling over into the Surfermag.com (general surf babble) message board. Stewart did not endear himself with the online community (or for some of the offline community for that matter). However, he created a board he calls Olo Hikoi that is truly unique if nothing else. It has been making rounds throughout New Zealand, and now has been shipped to Hawaii to be surfed, possibly at the Pipeline. Where it will go after this is anybody’s guess.
Early on, I dismissed the board as hype. Stewart had disparaging remarks in many of his responses on the various message boards (he even called me a booger–the nerve!). Yeah, I took it a little personal, but the reality is I took the whole thing way too seriously (after all, it’s only the Internet for goodness sake). So I decided to just fuck it and see for myself.
The first order of the day was to locate the darned board. I flew back from San Diego on a Friday night and decided to just do something already and ride it the very next day (11/22/08). I knew “Hawaiian†(David Kalama) had it, so I had to go to the Haleiwa contest (Rip Curl Pro) to find him. Incessant rain, side-onshores, and overcast skies didn’t make it the prettiest of days, but at least there was a little bit of chaotic size in the water. Waves were overhead.
Hootski (aka Scott “Hooter†Hartvigson) told me that Hawaiian usually hangs around by the blue tent. I was like, “What blue tent?†Of course when I got there, there was a tent that was emblazoned in large letters “BLUE TENT CREW.†Lol! Hawaiian was actually working security at the contest at the time, and when I found him he didn’t have the board. But he generously let me go to his place to borrow it.
When I first saw the board bag, I had to chuckle to myself. Not so much the size of the bag that had to accommodate the 13 feet of wood, but the color was a blood red, just like some pictures of shaper Stewart’s wetsuit.
The bag had all kinds of messages scrawled over it, with board riders providing their experiences with the board. Truly, this board had some history. Also included were “Helpful Hints†for riding the board, even identifying the infamous sweet spot location.
I “borrowed†a leash from one of Hawaiian’s other boards, then somehow shoved the board in my little mini-SUV, with a third of the board sticking out the back. Headed off through the rain to Laniakea, hopefully for a bit of fun.
Pulling the board out of the bag was pretty exciting. It was so fricken long; it just kept coming and coming out. When the entire board was revealed, I gasped openly. The wood craftsmanship was amazing, with diagonal strips of wood making up the deck and bottom and incredible detail on the rails. Roy said he spent around 200 hours to create the board, using approximately 400 pieces of bandsawn wood.
As for the shape, well here are my honest opinions. The wide point seemed to be far back on the board, which I found surprising. The board tapered into a sharp tail that looked like it could skewer an unfortunate rider. The fin was like a full boat rudder, and the rocker was extreme to say the least. The rails were rounded all the way around the board–no down turned rails near the tail. Looked like turning the board was going to be a bitch.
Waxing the board was an endeavor in itself. I like lots of wax on my board, but 13 feet is “choke†surface area to cover. Left the last two feet unwaxed–figured I wouldn’t be doing any noseriding on it (Stewart said it wasn’t designed for noseriding).
As I was prepping to jump in, the board definitely drew some attention even in the sparsely populated parking lot and beach. One guy asked if it was a paddleboard. Others marveled at the wood detail. I just wanted to get it in the water and ride it.
But even walking it to the water took quite a physical effort. Think the board weighs around 40 pounds. I’m used to my light fish and bodyboard. Felt pretty wide too (maybe 24 inches?), so hefting it under one arm was difficult.
The board paddled surprisingly well. You could really feel the board flex as it negotiated the choppy conditions. Because of the extreme rocker, I think it paddled better sitting further back of center, letting that rocker bounce through the waves.
Finding that sweet spot to paddle was difficult. I’m just used to visualizing a certain amount of board real estate in front of me, and riding a board that was so extremely long took time to get used to.
Admittedly, I was very tentative in taking off on the board. The waves were sort of chaotic, so it was difficult lining up the waves. I didn’t want to get caught inside with so much wood, so I sat further out than I normally would, hoping to catch some peaks that swung wide.
One huge challenge for me was simply turning around to paddle for a wave. We do this without thinking even with a standard longboard. But with this behemoth, it took a lot of effort and technique. The wave period was relatively short at around 11 seconds, and I found that once going over one wave in the set, I didn’t have enough time to 180 the board towards shore and start paddling. By then the next wave was right under me.
Disappointingly, I only caught a handful of waves. Most were lucked into after missing one wave and having my board already in position. As for the rides, well, the board design style hearkens back to boards of the past. And to me, the board rode like a board from the 60’s. The really neat thing was that the momentum that the board built up could really be used advantageously. And once you set a line, the board truly flies; maybe not 37.5 mph, but fast nonetheless.
Agree with Roy’s suggested sweet spot for riding the board. It seemed to work better while standing towards the back of the board. I tried running to the nose once, and it felt like the board bogged down, possibly due to the extreme rocker (Stewart stated that the board wasn’t meant for noseriding).
The board actually turned better than I expected. It won’t turn on a dime like some of my old Aipa longboards, but I didn’t expect it to. I really didn’t put it through its paces when it comes to extreme bottom turns and carves. Someone with better surfing prowess can better check this out.
I had one “wipeout†that was pretty amusing. Took off on a jack-up that stood up on me (must’ve been a combo swell peak). I planted my feet pretty well on the deck, angling down the wave face. But as I headed down, I felt a little off kilter–must’ve hit some chop or something. I bailed earlier than I should have, then took the tumble. I totally relaxed, knowing that the leashed board would soon be pulling. Sure enough, I got dragged many yards underwater as the wave took the board towards shore. Lucky thing I didn’t break Hawaiian’s leash!
The current was pretty strong, so I found myself paddling back in and towards Kahuku all the time. There was one other guy riding at the main peak, while I sat at the second peak. A few others came and left, but for the most part it was a nice, lonely session. In the end, I caught way fewer waves than I wanted to, but still had fun. I admit that this was a novelty session.
Coming out of the water, someone actually honed in on me, driving straight at me in the parking lot, asking about the board and stating that he read the Surfermag BB. I later surmised he probably read Bud808’s post a couple hours prior (I told Buddy my intentions just before jumping in) and the guy may have stopped by Lani’s to observe the impending “train wreck.†Even Hootski stopped by (unbeknownst to me at the time) to watch a few of my rides. Ah, the power of the Coconut Wireless.
I have talked to a couple of others who have ridden the board, and suffice to say they had their own opinions on the board.
Would I ride it at Pipeline? Well, although I haven’t surfed the place too much, I’ve bodyboarded and taken water photography out there for many years. I know Pipeline very well. The board could probably manage out there, but I don’t think it would perform there in waves of consequence. I definitely wouldn’t do it at size. Just saying.
Does the board have any special mana (power)? Internet babble and personality clashes aside, the passing around of this surfboard is pretty cool. It would be very interesting to chronicle the board’s continued journey. I’ve laid down my little chapter here, and also left my own message on the board bag. Ride it and read it for yourself.
Aloha Roy for your generosity. In the same breath, chill out and let your work speak for itself. Thanks also to Hawaiian for your generosity in being the unintended caretaker of the board. Looking forward to hearing about more exploits of the Olo Hikoi from others.
Aloha!
Neal “sponge/neosponge/neo†Miyake
