SURFING ETIQUITE OUT THE WINDOW? : spinning boards any one?
This is purely the point of view of a fifty nine year old surfer that got smashed in the jaw by a Malibu Surfboard, way back when loose spinning boards were a real danger. When Soft-Surfboardssoft-surfboards were just plain Koolite chest boards that rubbed the skin off your stomach……remember?
Back then Leggies (leg rope, or leash) weren’t around, and we did our best to self preserve, but sadly today there seems to be a misplaced few, who are of the opinion that a Leggie is too restricting in todays surfing climate.
I am saddened to say that there is a culture of Malibu Surfers, who plainly aspire not to use a leg rope…This little snippet can be view in entirety by following one of the above links, and that will take you to all sorts of articles and Q and A on Soft-Surfboards. Soft-Surfboards can also be viewed on the Global Surf Industries article appearing in the GSI Surf Culture section of this site which also contains terrific information on the Surf Industry.Soft-Surfboards

Where Do You Get It?…Here!

They are all available online herehere for viewing and purchase, all you need to do is click on your favorite brand and it will link you to the Preview Site. Find your particular “Brand of Board”, then click “Find a Dealer” for the Sunshine Coast Area and select “Peregian Beach” as your preferred outlet and Start clicking:-

http://www.surfindustries.com/surfboards/type_beginner.php

SOFT-SURFBOARD ADVENTURE
REMEMBER WHEN?
I was nine years old when I “borrowed” my brother’s 9ft, Malibu Surfboard. I might add he didn’t know at the time. This event started me off on an extraordinary adventure that has kept me young, and as I write, I’m sixtiy one years,… young.

Leading up to this day of “borrowing,” I was a junior Life Saver at Newport Beach where Tom Carroll cut his teeth. At that time the Surf Club had the pump up Surfo’s lying around for us to use. These were constructed of four joined rubber ribbed panels that were inflated, and about 5ft. long with two fins glued on to what was the bottom side at the narrow end, and a couple of grip handles were stuck on the other side at the front. I’m sure you all know what I’m describing. They might as well have been a rectangular floating block on water. These Surfo’s in their day were the first “Soft” thing we could use in the water, and not get hurt if we got hit, and I’ve got to say they were the best fun we had all day, every day, and yes, we could all stand up on these floating blocks. We were kids after all, and that’s what kids did. .

Now I did some damage to my brothers Surfboard on that day of “borrowing”. A shore dump took care of me at the Pinnacle down at the pool end of Newport Beach. Now “it,” being constructed of polyurethane with fibreglass and resin that you could say was the best in it’s day, but fair to say still can be brittle too, especially when it gets smashed into a rock the size of a car nose first, at speed. The result was a “ding” that shattered the nose, and costa-plenty to fix.
I can tell you now, when I got it home that Surfboard was mine!
It took me two years of pocket money to pay it off into, “a don’t do that again account.”
The end result was that I was still nine years old, but I owned my first Surfboard, and I recall it was a Dale 9’6″, well anyway, lots of getting dings, water logging, repairs all the good stuff, saw its way through to my fifteenth birthday and I traded her for another. Where is that old board now Darryl?

Where does a Soft-Surfboard come in?, you might ask. Well I can tell you this whole story might not have happened if they had these, because a Soft-Surfboard would, by the nature of the materials used in their construction, might have saved my bacon, may be not have “dinged” so much.
Would I change a thing? Heck no , I had a Dale that was too big, but it was mine, and my brother gave up surfing,…one less in the water. The episode cost me a lot, and family agro would have been spared back then.

Where would all this be if my brother had a Soft-Surfboard!aaaarrgh!soft surfboard

Story by

Evert Harder

http://www.surf-shop.org