Death of the “Wonder-Board” and the Quest for New Magic….

I was going to meet 3 Dog at burnout for a birthday surf photo session. I suited up, put money in the meter and my key lock box under my back bumper was sticking and wouldn’t stay shut. So I fiddled with that for an extra minute and then heard a terrible crunching sound- yes my favorite longboard just got ran over by the old guy that was parked next to me. Luckily he didn't run me over too- I’m very lucky. He didn't see my red and yellow longboard at all and definitely didn't see me in my black full suit all huddled up under my bumper messing with my lock. Lame way to start my birthday, but at least I didn’t get hurt or run over too (I’m trying to find that bright side of things).

He was an older guy and wasn’t a surfer and just didn’t understand the connection I had with the board on the ground. I saw that he had a small dog in his car and quickly came up with a scenario that I thought he would relate to. So I said “let me help you understand what it’s like for me. What if the roles were reversed and I just ran over your dog? How would you feel? What would you do?”

His eyes got wide and angry and he said that he’d call the sheriff’s department right away. I said that what I’m doing now. I called the Torrance, PD but they never really asked where I was parked and didn’t seem very helpful over the phone. So I called Redondo Beach PD and they came out within just a few minutes. We took pictures and shared info and we both got a copy of the police incident report.

I put my board and its leftover pieces back into my car and made the sad drive home. Later that afternoon my wife and I went window shopping for possible replacement. I found a handful of boards that were pretty cool, but it just wasn’t the same- I wanted my board to be in a store without the tire marks and all that damage from being run over.

We had already planned a surf camp trip for the upcoming weekend and that was going to be a longboarding trip. So my wife helped me find a used 9'2 Lance Hookano board that would at least get me thru the immediate near future (I love my wife- she really is wonderful!).

Test driving a 9'2" Tuflite Lance Hookano (Birthday gift)

The next day I contacted the “Wonder-board Murderer” with surfboard replacement estimates and shortly after his car insurance company got in contact with me. I already had pictures and estimates ready for them so that helped speed up the process. About a week later his car insurance cut me a check and I really started diving into possible replacements that would fit my style and build.

And my Quest for a new magic board began….

I bought my wonder board board new back in 2004 and it’s been my best friend in the water up until it got ran over on my birthday in the parking lot just before I was about to paddle out. I remember my Lifeguard friend telling me about the board and how its shape is just like my custom jobs I used to get. He was right- it was a perfect match that lasted for 15 years.

First I tried to find my make/model of longboard but that was a very short search as there is almost no information out there on the internet about it. That was really a shock for me. I feel like the Mandela effect is taking over in this area too. Then I really thought about it, in the last 15 years I’ve only ever seen 2 boards like mine. The first is obviously mine, the second is one that I bought in a Cocoa Beach surf shop while working on the east coast. I bought it, rode it and sold it back at the end of my trip. Now I’m kicking myself for not bringing it back with me (ugh!). I only found one picture online, it had different colors (not my yellow and red), but at least it had the dimensions about it.

I spent a day looking around my local surf shops for a longboard like my Surftech High-Performance Longboard (9’1” x 22” 1/2 x 2” 5/8 (Tuflite Epoxy) that got ran over at the beach parking lot. I was surprised to see that there just aren’t very many high-performance boards out there for skinny people like me. Most of the boards I saw were about 3” thick and had wide thick noses which I’m sure would work great for anyone that was 150+ pounds (but I don’t weigh that much).

Way back in high school when I used to compete I would get custom boards build like 9’0” x 22” 1/2 x 2” 5/8, thinner nose, tri-fin set up. I just don’t see those out there anymore. So I let my fingers do the searching on the Internet and started with some basic searches to find out what the pro longboarders ride these days. The rabbit hole was hard to find as most search results came back with longboard skateboards. Yes, longboard skateboards have taken over the internet and pretty much-replaced longboard surfboards all together. I should’ve figured that out sooner as I too have two longboard skateboards

I eventually found a list of the 2018 Men's Longboard Tour Rankings And WSL World Longboard Tour and WSL Women's World Longboard Tour from 1986 to 2018. From there I started searching each person to see what they rode. Then I also searched for high-performance longboard surfing and found a few other stand out surfers.

I continued my search and fell down the internet rabbit hole. I found the Takayama Beachbreak tuff lite, but they don’t make the 9’0 in yellow (just the 9’6” and I’m not ready for that). In early April I got in touch with Noah Shimabukuro the main guy at Noah Ka Oi Surf and he was all out of the new 9’0 Takayama Beachbreaks. He got in contact with the manufacturer and found out that they are making more and the new one should be available in Mid-May.

I really wanted to see the board and feel it before just pulling the trigger to get one. Plus I felt like I might be able to get a better deal thru some of my “well connected” friends. In the meantime, I continued looking for what could be my next magic board.

I would also search for info about my board but there really isn’t any. As a matter of fact, I think I’m the only one on the net that has pictures of that board. So if you see a picture of this board online somewhere then chances are I’m riding it. In fact, I have only ever seen 3 of these boards (and I bought each one):

#1: The brand new board that I bought in 2004 that got ran over by a car in March 2019.

#2: The used board I found in a surf shop in Florida in August 2013 that I bought while I was working there and sold it back to the shop when I left (damn I should’ve kept that one). 

#3 Well, that story starts here. I was on my lunch break I was searching for surftech boards trying to see if I could find a used Takayama beachbreak or an Al Merrick Performer 2. I looked on craigslist, ebay, letgo and offerup. 

On offer up I found a picture that I couldn’t believe at first, it was my board, same size, color, and everything and it was in excellent condition! I looked closer and saw that this posted item has been up for grabs for 7 months somewhere in Pasadena (that’s not close to the beach by the way).

So I was thinking well maybe it’s an old post that someone just forgot about  and the boards already sold, but then again… maybe it’s still available. I hit the message button and sent a friendly request to see if it was still available and a few minutes later I got a reply- yes, it is.

I wrote back and forth and arranged to meet up that day at a Trader Joes parking lot in her area that night. I handed off the cash and she handed off the board, with the bag, leash and a bag of wax. She said that it was her husbands' board and that he passed away. I told her about my board and my loss and what a miracle it is to find this one said that I would get another million waves on this board and that made her happy. She was really hoping that the board would go to the right person that would love it like her husband did and I know I’m already there.

The new board is super clean and I can't wait to get some waves on it! Plus now I'm going to also get the 6'10" Takayama Scorpion 2- just in time for my next trip to Costa Rica....I'll keep you posted!