Retro

Here's a link with a (fictional) story that's been lighting up the web world lately.

http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/article_bamp_400_v03.cfm?id=17437

I thought I'd put my two cents in at an out of the way place where it wont bother anyone else, here!

Most, if not all of the boards in my quiver would most likely be considered retro by the author of the story. That being said, the GeeBee is a new idea based on an old board. The Bonzer has been continually refined since it's invention. The Junod Daisy is basically a fat tri-fin that I think works better with large outside fins. The Wheelwright (is that one up yet?) is truly retro because my dad and I are guessing it was made in the mid-70s. I also have a board at my dad's house that is modern built but truly retro because we had Junod shape it to exactly match a board from the 60s that I liked. He told my dad all the ways he could make the board ride better but we were determined to remake the old board. Anyway, they're nearly all "retro."

So why do I ride retro boards?

1) Wave quality. The majority of the waves I ride are soft and small. I'm not happy about it but that's the reality. Retro boards typically have more floatation and work better in small, weak waves. This fact was conceded in the story. But there are exceptions to this rule in my quiver. The Bonzer is for good waves. Narrow tail, design that works better in good waves. The Wheelwright is somewhat of a Cali gun, so I expect it to handle size alright. The Strech flexspoon kneeboard has almost no floatation and needs a powerful wave to work at all. Still, the Haut Quad, the GeeBee, the Junod Daisy all work better than a modern tri would when the waves are small and week.

2) Style. I spent 10+ years on very large longboards. That approach lead me to a down the line style with few turns. I didn't do a square off the bottom hit the lip combo for the first 8 or so years of my surfing. To this day I am front foot heavy more concerned with staying ahead of the lip than bashing it. Not that this is the way I want to surf. I'd love to be able to surf like the pro's when I wanted to. Anyway, the front footed, rounded turns style doesn't work well on modern tri-fined boards.

3) Wave count. Retro = more float = more waves. Not always true, such as a sudden barrel over a shelf reef, but see point 1) for why this is normally true.

4) Education. I like trying as many different styles of boards as I can and try to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each shape. Understanding the progress that has been made, why certain shapes have been at the forefront, where different styles of surfing came from and where they're going. These are all things I value. "North Shore" was a silly movie, but I always thought it was interesting when the Arizona kid was forced to ride all the old boards as part of his surfing education. I'm trying to do that on my own.

5) Mistake? What if there is a shape or style that was actually a good idea but was dropped because everyone wanted something else? What if a shape will only really work with modern materials? Or materials yet to be used?

All that being said, I've felt a hole in my quiver lately. I'm strapped for cash so I won't be able to fill that hole anytime soon. That hole is a modern tri, somewhere around 6'4" with a touch more tail width, but far from fish dimensions. I rode my friends Merrick this spring for only a few waves but was amazed at my ability to make late drops and hit the lip on the thing. Maybe it was a fluke, but I'll never know until I get another board and give it a go.