Most commonly, a surfboard is understood to be a piece of equipment that lets people ride waves. For some folk, it’s a bit more, though; an item of great affection and pride, an instrument that can sing for its rider, a thing of beauty and pleasure, and whether handcrafted or mass-produced, it is treasured. For surfers, a surfboard brings gifts of its own, allowing for experiences of floating and flying on the sea.
A surfboard is a relationship, a set of memories, a tool of possibility. They are pieces of magic that glide and slide and allow us to play in the waves. Not for me, though. Not lately, anyway.
For me, a surfboard is an object in a corner of my bedroom in inner city Brisbane. It’s a piece…