Innholdsfortegnelse for #365 Boards i Surfing Life

THE DROP What came first, Chicken Joe or the egghead? You know what I mean: board or rider, shaped or shaper? Since surfing’s beginning, have we been stuck in a time loop? Boards. We shape them. They shape us. We shape them. They shape us. We shape them—this could lead to boardom. Even when surfboards are retired, and their famous (or infamous) riders have returned to the ground, their sleds continue to influence us. Is it the boards themselves? In the Gold Coast’s Surf World museum, we can touch MP’s “Fangtail” or a hand-carved, balsa and redwood board that Duke Kahanamoku rode in the 1920s. Why do some surfboards hold significance while others get trashed? Imagine stumbling into a dusty antique store, buying an old tarnished lamp engraved with tidal…

“Each generation imagines itself more intelligent than the one that came before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” 1 Though George Orwell’s statement is true, does this mainstream notion trickle into surf mentality? Groms are renowned for their technological superiority, but do they lack the skills of their predecessors? Skills developed from a life driven by prudent necessity. As chasms widen between age brackets, the generation gap has never seemed so daunting. Those born after the new millennium are frequently labelled as spoiled, self-centred snowflakes who lack gumption. The “back-in-my-day” attitude may be a well-worn cliché,but it has been hard-earned by those that didn’t have the convenience nor the resources to stock their dream quiver. Yesterday’s dings didn’t serve the death knell for…

It is 2022, seven years past the date Marty McFly and Doc time-travelled to in Back to the Future II. Although flying cars and hoverboards today are not at the stage the film dreamed they’d be, other technology far surpassed anything imaginable back in 1989—artificial intelligence, smartphones and, in the world of surfing, jetboards. The future is here. As a species, our fascination with advancing technology is unrivalled. Brilliant minds across the globe constantly brew up incredible ideas to make life easier, better, or purely fun. As a result, technology is advancing at an exponential rate. Innovative developments have infiltrated the surf industry with lighter boards, new fin set-ups, jet-skis, and motorised surfboards. As futuristic as they sound, motorised surfboards are not new. First created in the 1930s, the “Surf…

Commentators, pundits, announcers, and surf fans, in general, love to throw the word “legend” around. “GOAT” seems to be another descriptor many of us in the surf world use, especially regarding Kelly Slater. Who we choose to root for is subjective, and unlike other mainstream sports, surf fans don’t always blindly follow surfers based on where they’re from or who they ride for. Yet, Stephanie Gilmore is the type of athlete we rally behind, because everything she does is with grace, style, and skill. Before we talk 2022, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane. Steph started surfing at home on the Gold Coast, Australia, at age 10. Seven years later, she received wildcard invites to Championship Tour events. In 2005, she won the Roxy Pro Gold Coast; two…

PHOTOS BY TRAVIS JOHNSON Bali is the island of the gods. Blessings poured into the temple of the open sky with a bountiful supply of perfect left and right setups. This unique segment of the Indonesian archipelago was ideal for the 2022 Surfing Life Board Bible. Nine shapers from across the globe delivered virgin sleds, suited to coconut-groved sapphire seas with unforgiving reef sentinels and their unsheathed coral swords. The brief was simple: your best travel board. Whether thruster, twin or quad, because let’s be honest, we all like to travel with different crafts. And both makers and riders were more amped than Parkway Drive on tour. When taking such sacred objects to the island of gods, we needed expert help. Using World Surfaris’ team for this year’s Board Bible…

Congratulations This is your wave You launch over the ledge And you’re up and away You have wax on the deck And fins down below You can steer yourself Wherever you want to go Turn your surfboard over. Oh, it was already fins-up? Then turn it over again, Einstein. Check out those slender, curved foils of fibreglass on the bottom. Where did they come from? What’s that? They came with the board? No, I mean, where did they really come from? How did they come to be? From whence did they originate? Fins are so integral to modern surfing you might not give their origins a lot of thought. But fins have as fascinating, twisted and meandering a history as surfboard design itself. Think of them as your board’s steering…

Ask a non-surfer, what are the parts that make up a surfboard? and you’re likely to get a similar answer from most subjects. “Nose, tail, fins, top, bottom.” Some subjects mention “rails”, and when asking someone with a bit more knowledge on the topic, you may even get a few additional answers, including “rocker, curve, bottom contour”, etc. For 75 per cent of those who identify as surfers, this is as far as their understanding and knowledge of the anatomy of a surfboard goes, and that’s totally fine. Most people who casually surf a few times a month or even weekly probably don’t know or don’t care what complex bottom contours do or which entry rocker will help or hinder. Surfers want a board that works for them, and when…