The Longboard / Shortboard Quandary...

It's quite a quandary - this quandary. The more surfing infiltrates every part of my physical and metaphysical life the more I mentally return to the divide in the path that leads to either shortboards or longboards. It holds more and more significance. (For some reason I have a feeling that I stand at this divide holding a Skip Frye longfish - but that's just a fancy.)

My natural urge when moving from my Mini Mal was to go shorter. This I have enjoyed tremendously so far, though I do miss being able to catch the waves quite as early as used to be possible on the 'mothership'. I watch Alex Knost, Joel Tudor, Tom Wegener. I long for The Glide... The charm, the play, as these tuned-in longboarders navigate themselves - not just along the waves - but about their craft as well. The appeal is absolute. I will be longboarding, one day soon.

But, before long...

... I'm watching Dane Reynolds, Dave Rastovich, Rob Machado swooping around on all sorts of waves like Abstract Expressionists. There's the taste in the mouth you get, like in a sweet-shop, when you see a lipsmackingly beautifully saturated, resin-tinted, Fish. The twin fins, quads, five, six, seven even!?! Bamboo fins, glass-ons. Wooden boards, carbon fibre, epoxy. And then there are 'performance fish'...

And so, a few little thoughts and I'm back at this tortuous bifurcation. As an intermediate (and a man of limited means) I cannot follow both paths at once. So, I'll stick with my natural urge: to try to improve down the shorter board route first (I'm not going to get any younger) and have a crack at that before seeking out The Glide.

So, even though I'll be constantly looking across at the longboarders and mentally returning to the decision, I guess I've chosen my path for now. Gone fishing...

Comments

  1. Ooh gotta love the glide!:-)

    Happy 2010 Tom, keep up the blog, i think it's great. Stoked you're progressing well in the water too. It gets into your soul doesn't it!

    Maybe we'll have to meet up when it's small 7 i'll lend you a log and convert you to the dark side:-)

    cp

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  2. That's a fine offer, thanks. Sound's like you have quite some quiver! I may well try and take you up on that in the not too distant future...

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  3. hey man,

    just some words of encouragement. i faced a similar predicament a couple of months back: had been riding a thruster for ages and wanted something different... to fish or to start logging?

    i opted for a semi-trad fish and am very glad i did. it is super fast, easy to ride and fun. and who is to say you can't 'glide' on the fish option?!

    happy surfing,
    jamie

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  4. Loving the blog Tom, took up surfing 3 months ago at the age of 45!!!! on a 8ft6 minimal and looking to get my first (probably only) board, short or long arrrghhh the dilema.

    Nice to see you progressing, gives me hope:)

    Simon

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  5. Thanks Simon. On the age front I hope you've checked out the footage, of Steve Walden and Bob McTavish surfing Putsborough, that is on the Wavedreamer website. We've got years of sliding ahead of us!

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