Please don't hate me

[benjl]

Alright, so I'll cut to the chase.. I'm still supping.
But! In my defence I'm still not allowed to surf yet. I can finally however sup-surf with no moonboot on!

So in the last couple of months I've been supping a lot, and the last 4 sessions have been the only supper out there amount some days with only shortboarders.
I've been on our east coast in small stuff and also on our west coast in overhead surfboard territory.
Coming from the surfing Background I try to stay away from srfbiarders and find my own peaks unless it's only breaking in one place. It's fantastic- I can catch the bigger waves further out and also catch the smaller waves that some long boarders even let go.
Some things are identical however- big waves = faster moving and more water movement regardless of whether it's a sup or a surfboard.
One board does not do it all= progression, wave type etc. it's just as bad as surfboards!

I was out on Friday during a cyclone swell here and unfortunately during low tide, my board got smashed on to the reef and cracked the rail. The only up side was finding out the board was made of carbon innegra beneath the blue paint! It was a heavy board and I found it hard to turn in bigger stuff so I began looking at other options.
By chance a shop was cleaning out the 2017 starboard 8'5 x 29 x 112l pro model.
Every review said this years model was far more 'shortboard' inspired and more unstable than previous years. The shop was also in a different city and had to pay before even trying.. this board has 8l less volume than my first 7'6 sup which I couldn't even stand on.

I tried it this evening in 1-2.5ft peaky waves and it was incredible! I adapted to the stability almost immediately and caught heaps of waves. The board was intuitive and turned like a surfboard would, held the rail and made nice
Bottom turns. Immediately my supping improved. It crazy thinking that only a few months ago I struggled to even stand and was looking at boards with 25% more volume and nearly a foot longer.
I'm excited about surfing again soon- I wonder if supping will make me better or worse

[dtc]

We can excuse just this once for extenuating circumstances

But in reality

[oldmansurfer]

People often look for a board that will make them surf better and obviously there are some boards out there that will make you look better than you are or that agrees with your personal style of surfing. Sounds like you have your magic board. Congats just don't tell the newbies because they won't ever learn to surf and instead will occupy their time looking for that board that makes them surf better rather than learning to use the one they have.

[waikikikichan]

Hate the sin, Love the sinner. Speaking of the last SUPer.

[benjl]

Haha agreed- there is NO WAY I could've even ridden this board several months back. It also takes a little while to figure out what to do wth the paddle and how to try and use it as a pivot point. I was getting vertical on my front side yesterday but trying to turn back down and rotate the paddleover to my other side is a new trick.

I also decided to take The gamble with the starboard as it's a well known and industry leader / proven design. My last few sups have all been customs and I think some of them work fine but just don't work quite for me. I think starboard is on to a good thing with the full length single with slight vee in the tail. The board feels faster and has more glide but also feels nature to turn off the rail instead of having to stand right on the tail.
I'm excited to try it out in bigger surf! It's got a heap of nose rocker!

[BoMan]

DuxburyReef.JPG (47.26 KiB) Viewed 809 times

In several posts I've whined about SUP riders taking too many waves and losing control when the chop wipes them out. Yesterday, I found a reason to change my mind.

While waiting at my beloved Patch, I watched excellent waves breaking where I've never seen them before...way out near Duxbury Reef. A lone SUP saw them too and made the long paddle. He caught wave after wave that carried him at least 400 yards into shore. It was a beautiful sight.

I'm inspired to give it a try when the lineup's crowded, but I'll have to seriously upgrade my training and prepare to have far fewer rides. Quality over quantity.

[Big H]

That is a nice looking board.....nice lines. Better to be surfing an SUP than nothing I suppose. I have two days at two separate resorts, both times on a flat days - the sum of my SUP experience....I still fell of several times both times I tried.....it definitely looks easier than it is. Not something that I am considering right now, but I'll not say never, especially if they have shapes like yours.

[benjl]

@boman- yessss!! Finally you see the light. Not all sup's are assholes who take all the waves. But they are amazing water craft and can often be capable of taking waves both bigger and smaller than a single surfboard could. I used this one in 1ft the other day that longboarders were struggling with and it will also be right at home in double / triple overhead. Due to the volume they are also capable of really long rides quite effortlessly. Definitely give it a try, and at worst, you can paddle them in the flat for exercise.

@big h- supping will get more and more progressive with shapes. It's crazy what some of the brands are doing now. There are full on Tomo- inspired designs that mean the sups are only 7'0 to float an 85kg dude. But definitely harder than it looks! Haha, now imagine me standing in the line up on a 4ft solid day in my wedged-up moonboot!
I would never have tried it if my archillies didn't snap but it makes surfing so much more enjoyable. Wave count increases and that's across both big and small waves.

[benjl]

The other cool thing about starboard is this little thing. Custom starboard fin key! To match their bio-resin fins that came with the board.
For nz $1400 inc fins, full length deck / tail pad and fin key etc it was a pretty good deal. Considering my custom 5'9 was $1000 with no fins or deck pad.

[billie_morini]

benji,
billie no hate U.