SB-issue59_digital

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1. Black Apache Mini Simmons
5’6” x 21 ¼” x 2 5/8”
Jesse Watson was the master of the mini
Simmons, and I just had to have one of his, plus
the resin and glass work were out of this world.
When the Sunny Coast delivers glassy little
gutless winter beach breaks, this is the board
I reach for. It’s a speed machine thanks to its
rocker profile (it is basically flat) and its pinched
rails, which mean you can whip it around and
are not just confined to big, wide, arcing turns.
2. Takayama Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
Fish
5’10” x 20 ¾” x 2 7/10”
The longest name for a surfboard model I
have ever come across. Despite the difficulty
in pronouncing its name, this board is very
user-friendly and so enjoyable to ride. One of
my best mates, Angus Brown, gave me this
board for my 40th. Flat as a dime with a very
thin blade-like tail and raked fins, it effortlessly
generates more speed than any fish I have ever
surfed. It can also handle overhead waves.
3. Bill Hamilton Missing Link Bonzer
7’6” x 20 ½” x 2 7/8”
When a decent swell arrives, this is the board I
reach for. Plenty of meat in the middle, but with
very refined rails and heaps of rocker for taking
a big drop. Any mates who jump on this board
immediately comment on how it paddles like a
longboard. I particularly love the rounded pin
and refined rails, as they allow you to literally
turn it on a dime. This board has the need
for speed. Bill shaped this board on a trip to
Australia some 20 years ago or thereabouts.
4. Rabbidge Five Finger Splade
8’6” x 22 ½” x 3 3/8”
(6’3” minus the fingers)
This one glides like a dream for those days
where there is nothing much doing. Get a little
runner and trim, and this thing takes off. People
immediately want to know what I am surfing
and how I can get so much speed on a 1ft wave
when everyone else is floundering. It’s so much
fun. Definitely keen to get another of these,
albeit a shorter version next time.
(Refer to image overleaf)
5. Gerry Lopez shortboard
6’0” x 18” x 2 ½”
This one is more of a wall hanger these days
— definitely way too small for me. This board
dates back to when a mate of mine had the
Gerry Lopez licence for Australia way back
around the year 2000.
6. Rabbidge Pacemaker
5’0” x 21 ½” x 3 3/8”
At a time on the road with the mag, I couldn’t
help myself when I saw this little baby in Mark’s
workshop. I just had to purchase. El Pinko, as
I call her, is so much fun on those glassy days
when the swell has a bit more punch. Given she
is so small, it needs some punch, and your foot
placement has to be pinpoint perfect from the
minute you get up. This board is always a good
measure of how I am surfing at the time. There
is no room for error. Get it right, however, and it
is incredible.
7. Sunnova Boss
6’4” x 21” x 2 5/8” (37.2l)
This is the board I regularly surfed in Bali. Nice,
light, fast, easy to turn with plenty of volume to
make the long paddles out not such a quest.
An absolutely magic board. My preference for
performance shortboards is most definitely
quads, as I am more of a front foot surfer and
need every bit of assistance I can get to shorten
the rail line for turns and to generate speed on
the wave face. This is further assisted by the
flatter rocker profile on this board.
8. Vampirate Gravedigger
5’2” x 20” x 2 5/8”
Don’t be fooled by its size or the fact that it is
a twin fin. This board can be surfed in small
through to decent-sized overhead surf. It
paddles easily onto most waves, given you
have so much volume under your chest. The
big glassed-on keel fins mean you have plenty
of purchase for bottom turns on big waves. It
is not skatey in the slightest. I am a huge fan of
the cutoff nose and hence replicated it on The
Flathead — a hollow wooden surfboard I built.
Basically, the board paddles longer and surfs
shorter if that makes sense.
9. 10’ Channel Islands SUP
Yes, I must confess, at times I am a street
sweeper of the sea. I do love getting out on the
paddleboard in winter when the Sunshine Coast
swell is near non-existent. When the waves start
to build, I am more inclined to go back to my
surfboards, but this is always fun, plus it is good
to acquire new skills and experience different
forms of surfing.
10. Bear Surfboards Fat Arse Wombat
6’4” x 21” x 2 ¾”
I have rekindled my love for this surfboard over
the last few weeks. Years ago, it was my go-to
board, and then I had a few surfs where it was
pitching, which it is not suited to because of
its flat profile, and I went off it for a while. In
the right conditions however, like the Sunshine
Coast right now where it is a little fullish, it is
a dream to surf, particularly when combined
with a Hanalei Thumb fin. It provides drive and
direction, thanks to its length, but the scooped
away base delivers a looseness whereby you
can really whip this board around. Best name
for a surfboard by far, and a fitting description
of its rider.
# 59 // smorgasboarder //
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