Quivers

Fred Caompagnon

Age: 32
Home: Capbreton, France
Weight: 72 kilos.
Years surfing: 29
“My thing with my quiver is to try and make boards with clean products, to pollute less. In terms of what I ride, I’d say ride whatever you feel like. I never get bored or stale with one type of craft, I try to explore all avenues, all possibilities and just keep an open mind.”

1. 5’10” x 16 1/8” x 1 7/8” TOY Tow
board by Didier Damestoy
Originally made for Jean Debaralle, the glasser at Toy. It’s got sliding strap boxes with wingnuts so you can adjust the stance from goofy to regular mid session. I rode it last winter with Hugues (Oyarzabal) at Outside Hendaye in 6-8m surf.

2. 9’11” SUP
Last winter La Piste was smoking 6ft barrels and I was about to go on my bodyboard when Didier Piter teased me, ‘Hey chicken, take the stand-up out!’ I paddled out easy during a big lull, swung for a set and got completely barrelled with only my ankles and feet wet.

3. 42” Bodyboard with 26cm homemade nose
The idea of the nose is to allow you to carve and accelerate on the bodyboard. Often in tubes the foamball lifts the tail of a bodyboard, and it nose dives. The extra nose allows me to get forward and accelerate.

4. 6’7” Alaia
I met Dave Rastovich surfing at Cul Nuls last year, he was riding his alaia and let me try it and I loved it. I couldn’t find the right wood to make one, but we ended up making one with some other materials. It goes super fast and is great fun.

5. 8’10” Phillipe Chevallier Gun
This was originally made for Matthieu Walbrou the Tahitian bodyboarder, and one of the first guys ever to charge Teahupoo. Tragically, he was killed in a car accident in Portugal a few years ago. The first time I rode it was in 3-4m waves at La Nord and I felt an amazing energy from this board, and I thank him for that.

6. 24.5cm Homemade Spaceship
‘La Navette’ spaceship is piloted by Fombol, and his two companions. Their last session was at a secret spot in Les Landes when she lost her windscreen during a heavy wipeout.

Hugo’s mission quiver

Age: 23
Lives: Reunion Island/Capbreton
Weight: 72kg
Height: 1.71m
New boards per year: 20-25
Boards broken per year: 15-20
Hugo Savalli is a smooth goofy foot from Reunion Island with a preference for hollow reef surf, recently invited to a groundbreaking freesurfing event held at some of the finest spots on the planet (The 2006 O’Neill Tahiti Mission, full story p.82). After the event we put down the Room Service Hinano’s for a few seconds, got Hugo to unzip his giant DaKine boardbag, chuck his quiver into the Sofitel pool in Papeete and talk us through the choice of raft he brought to get pitted on.

Accessories:
All my accessories – boardbags, leashes, tailpads are by DaKine. I’m sponsored by them which is great, because they make the best quality stuff around.

My smallest board is a
Semente 5’10” x 181/2” x 21/4”. It has soft, round rails and swallow tail. It’s good for when it’s small as it’s nice and thick so floats really well. It also has flat entry rocker and increased tail rocker, making it fast and responsive. My biggest is a Gunther Rohn 7’3” x 181/4” x 21/4” that I’ve only ever surfed at big Pipe.

6’1” x 181/8” x 21/4” DHD rounded pin
This is my best board for reefbreaks, and actually my favourite board from my whole quiver, I love this one. It’s got really nice rounded rails and really good rocker through it, it’s fast and loose, just goes so good in glassy reefs. It works best in hollow reefbreaks up to about 6ft.

I also brought three 6’0” x 181/4” x 21/4” with me. These are pretty versatile boards as long as the conditions aren’t too big. I don’t really specify the glass jobs  but they come pretty light, so pretty fragile too. This one actually has a roundtail, and goes good in weaker waves.

6’6” x 181/4” x 21/4” DHD pintail

This is the board I surfed on the biggest day, at Paparaa and at Teahupoo. I wouldn’t really want to surf a board any bigger than that at Chopes because it’s so steep and hollow, you want to fit inside. I really like them with medium rails – not too pinched, not too boxy.

This 6’0” is a squashtail, a great all round board that goes well in a variety of conditions. This is the board I’ll surf the most in competitions at all the beachbreaks in Europe.

6’4” x 181/4” x 21/4” JS pintail

It’s got really similar characteristics to the 6’6”, but for slightly smaller conditions. I surfed this one at all the other sessions at Teahupoo, it’s the one I surfed the most. It’s just like the 6’6”, but easier to turn.

The 6’0” I’m sitting on is thicker, with slightly more volume all the way through it than the others. I use this board more at deep-water spots, like Trois Bassins near my home in Reunion Island.

Ibon Amatriain

ZARAUTZ, BASQUE COUNTRY
AGE: 37
WEIGHT: 67KG
HEIGHT: 1M67
YEARS SURFING: 30+
SPONSORS: QUIKSILVER, PUKAS, REEF
BOARDS PER YEAR: AROUND 10
Few people in Europe sum up today’s ‘ride anything’ tag more than Ibon. Tackling all manner of reefs along the Biscay coast during the biggest swells of the winter getting XXL nominations, ruling grinding Mundaka or stand-up paddle boarding flat days, it really doesn’t matter. A thoroughly modern waterman, and on top of all that an extremely modest, quietly-spoken chap, Ibon talked us through his quiver at the Pukas factory.
From left to right:

9’6” x 2 27/ 8” RawsonGun
“This one’s for big Deba, Menakoz and maybe Avalanche (big left across from Guethary in France) like 15ft plus. I’ll use it when the swell’s not so clean, if it’s clean you can use something smaller. Rawson specifies which fins to put in all his guns, for this one GX sides, GAM centre.”

8’0” x 19” x 2 5/8” Johnny Cabianca
“I’ll surf this one in 10-12ft surf at spots like Roca Puta where there’s a lot of water moving, Deba too. Not in hollow waves, more for thicker waves with a lot of water.”

6”’x 18” x 2 ¼” Pete Daniels
“This is my Mundaka board for the really good days, when it’s 6-8ft and pumping. Before I used to always surf a 7’0” out there, but now I realize that to be in the best place, to move around in the barrel more it’s way better to have something shorter.”

5’11” x 18” x 2 ¼” Brian Bulkley
“This one’s really good to surf in beach breaks. Super light 4oz+2oz deck and 4oz bottom. Bulkley comes here to Pukas from the States each year and turns out some really sweet shortboards.”

5’10” x 161/2” x 1 3/4” Rawson swallowtail towboard
“I surfed this at Agiti, the huge right near San Sebastian. It’s so heavy (9.5kg) that we didn’t use it for a long time, but when we did it seemed like paper in all those big chops. It’s got lead shot poured into channels in the stringer and the rails, mostly along the stringer.”

5’8” x 16 1/8” x 1 5/8” Battail Rawson quad
“Not for huge days, maybe 10-15ft. This one is very, very fast and much looser than the others. I’ve surfed it at Playa Gris and also towed the beachie in Zarautz when it’s big on this one. It’s also pretty light too, around 4.5kg”

5’5” x 15 5/8” x1 5/8” Rawson round pin tow board.
“The only session I’ve had yet on this was at La Central in Bilbao, it’s designed for hollow waves. I’m not used to this one yet. It’s much lighter at 4Kg.”

Jeremy Flores

’ WQS winning 5’10”
Shaped by: Mark Phipps at Euroglass, Hossegor
DIMENSIONS: 5’10” x 17 7/8” x 2 1/8”
jeremy’s height & weight : 1.74m, 65kg

Surfers like Jeremy Flores who make rapid ascents to the top of the sport don’t do it alone of course. Like a head designer in an F1 team, the shaper must use the feedback of the rider and learn from competitive performances, tweak design to come up with the best possible equipment. Mark Phipps has been shaping for Jeremy since he was 10-years-old, and the result of countless design refinements, hours and hours of feedback, tens of thousands of rudely decimated waves and of course Phippsy’s own knowledge of high-performance surfing (he’s not exactly a slouch in the water himself), is Jeremy’s signature board, the JF model. Phippsy talks us through it:

On the surfer-shaper relationship:
“I’ve been shaping boards for Jeremy for 9 years. Over the years I would have made Jeremy between 250 to 300 boards. This year I’ll make Jeremy fifty or more.” “The unique thing about Jeremy is that he is the youngest ever surfer on the WCT so he is actually still growing which means we are constantly monitoring his size and making adjustments. Making the right size board for teenagers as they grow can be a difficult time for the surfer, the shaper and the parents all having different priorities.” The Jeremy Flores Model is available from Quiksilver Boardriders Clubs and selected surf shops. Email: info@euroglass90.com

Justin

AGE: 29
HOMETOWN: CARCAVELOS, PORTUGAL
HEIGHT: 1M82
WEIGHT: 76KG
ACCESSORIES: FCS FINS, GORILLA GRIP TRACTION

“For me surfing in Hawaii is a bit like your final high school exams, you’re working all year towards it and will only be as good as your preparation. It’s a real test of your fitness, your surfing and your equipment – the best you can do is get your boards made over there because those Hawaiian shapers know what works best.”

6’10” x 18 ½” x 2 ¼” Rawson/Pukas pintail 
6’8” x 18 ½” x 2 ¼” 
Rawson/Pukas pintail
These two are my mid-range boards for everyday free surfing in Hawaii. I always take them with me and try to surf with them in all conditions, it doesn’t matter even if it’s pretty small surf, like 4-6 feet I’ll surf with the bigger one to get used to riding bigger boards and to keep my legs strong for the bigger days. They’re big boards but in Hawaii they don’t feel like it, you can make big turns in solid waves and feel like you are riding a 6’3”. I really 
love that feeling.

7’ 0” x18 ½” x 2 ¼” 
John ‘JC’ Carper pintail 
7’ 0” x18 ¾” x 2 ¼” pintail 
Rawson/Pukas pintail
These two boards are the biggest ones I took this year to the North Shore, they’re basically the same sizes but they work well in different types of waves. I’ll surf the Rawson mainly at Sunset, like a thicker heavy wave, and the JC more at Laniakea, Haleiwa, or Pipe/Backdoor, more hollow spots.

6’ 9” x18 ½” x 2 ¼” 
JC/Pukas pintail
This is the magic one. It’s not too different size-wise from the other ones but it’s thinner and more manoeuvrable. I can surf any kind of conditions with this board from Sunset to Off The Wall, this was the board I rode the most over there this year. When you get one like this that goes so well, and you surf it a lot in a short space of time at different spots on the North Shore it really helps with getting your timing right, which is pretty crucial over there.

6’ 5” x18 ½” x 2 ¼” 
Matt Biolas/Pukas rounded pin 
6’4” x 18 ½” x 2 3/16” 
JC/Pukas round tail
These two are for small wave surfing, when it’s small at spots like Rocky Point, Backyards, Off the Wall etc. They’re my shortboards in Hawaii and it feels great to surf them from time to time coz you’re 
coming from surfing bigger boards and when you take one of these out you’ve got more power in your surfing than you ever had before in your life!

6’ 2” x 18 ½” x 2 ¼” 
Pete Daniels/Pukas squash tail
This board is for those conditions that you never expect to get over there in Hawaii. It’s like the emergency back-up one, you never know in competition how the waves can be so it really doesn’t matter where you are, you gotta bring a small board. Like this year for example, there were a lot of small days. I rode this one for my heat in Haleiwa when the waves were really crap.

Lacomere

AGE: 17
WEIGHT: 74 kg
HEIGHT: 1m77
SPONSORS: DC, Spy, Pukas, Kommunity, Bidonvilla (sushi Hossegor).

Marco has been blowing up lately all across Europe, from beating Jeremy in the Rip Curl Super Series last August, to winning Pro Juniors in Portugal at pumping Supertubos this April. Archibald caught up with the solidly-built Gallic goofyfoot in Hossegor recently to check out his favourite hunks of foam and fabric.

1. 6’1” x 18 1/4” x 2 5/16” Arakawa Pukas squash tail
“That’s the board I used at the Vendée Pro (4* WQS) where I made the quarters. It is a good board for manoeuvers but the waves need to be a bit powerful for it to really come alive”

2. 6’0” x18 3/8” x 2 5/16” Channel Island Pukas
“This is my small wave board, I don’t surf anything bigger than 1m on it. It’s another squash tail because that’s what works best for me. I surf this board all the time in summer.”

3. 6’1” x 18 5/16” x 2 5/16” Epoxy Arakawa Pukas
“I’ll surf any kind of waves with this board, the only thing is that it needs to be clean and glassy, it’s a super light board that’s ideal for tricks and airs.”

4. 5’11” x 18 1/2” x 2 1/2” Stretch Quad
“I got that board through Laurent Pujol, it’s an old board from Nathan Fletcher. From all the boards in this quiver, it’s the only one I don’t use in contests, just for fun and photos. The four fins give you a different feel and way more drive, and I just like to freesurf it to have fun out there.”

5. 6’2” x 18 5/16” x 2 5/16” Chilli Pukas
“Same kind of board as 3. with a single concave, ideal for manoeuvers but in larger waves, like 2m+. She goes well in point breaks but not so good in the hollow stuff.”
Photo: Kev

Laurent Pujol

Age: 35
CAPBRETON, FRANCE
WEIGHT: 75KG
HEIGHT: 1M78
YEARS SURFING: 23
BOARDS PER YEAR: 20-ISH

Pepe spends most autumns in SW France, winter/springs in Hawaii and wherever it’s big, burly and barrelling in between, and as a result is tooled-up to the eyeballs to deal with whatever Huey has in mind, from waist high to bloody huge. Not one of your standard pro quivers of dozens of identical 6’1” squashtails, Pepe unlocked his incredibly well-stocked shed in his back garden and hand picked a few select steeds to talk us through.

1. 5’8” x 1/1/4” Stretch Moon Tail Quad ‘Generation 7’ Tow Board.
“This one’s made from Stretch’s ‘sandwich’ construction of foam and carbon fibre, like a wake board. I’ve only surfed it once, in Hawaii this winter. We only towed once this past winter actually, it was all about paddling. I think this will go really well in huge barrels, but we’ll have to wait and see. These things are pricey, like $1600. The fins alone cost me $250.”

2. 6’8” x 181/2” x 23/8” Quad
“This is a crowd control board in case it’s big and really, really crowded at somewhere like Mundaka. I actually had the best barrel of my life on this at 8ft Backdoor two years ago. It says ‘Clark Foam’ on the stringer – I think it’s one of the last of the Clark blank stock.

3. 5’11”-ish moon/bat tail BOOGIE SNORKEL Quad shaped by Nathan Fletcher
“Nathan shaped me the Boogie Snorkel over here last autumn. I still haven’t surfed it yet actually.”

4. 9’4” Nathan Fletcher Model Quad by Stretch Riiidel EPOXY
“This is the design Tashnik won the Mavericks contest on, what guys like Jamie Sterling and Garrett McNamara are riding. The tail is really refined so you can actually surf it, doing good bottom turns. You need that at Mavericks, you have to crank a bottom turn out there, it’s not just a big fat drop. I’ve surfed it at Waimea, Phantoms, a secret spot near Mokuliea and Mav’s.”

5. 5’9” x 191/4” x 21/4” Twin shaped by Akila Aipa
“An MR-inspired twin with a new school twist. Really fast, I’ll surf it in small rights with a wall, up to overhead. Not in lefts though, I don’t like twinnies backside, you can’t crank off the bottom. I’ve had this one a little while, since 2002.”

6. 6’0” Round squash. Stretch Quad Epoxy.
“A small wave board that turns better, the wide round tail makes it really manoeuvrable, so it feels more like a thruster in that respect. Needs a steep-ish wave though, not too mushy. I would tell you how wide and thick it is too, only I can’t read Stretch’s handwriting…”

7. 6’5” x 181/2” x 25/16” Bat Tail Brett Moromoto.
“This is almost as big a board as I’d ride in Europe, in barrels anyway. I’ll surf it in good, big La Graviere and Mundaka, Like I said, I hardly ever surf the 6’8” here, unless it’s really packed.”

8. 6’3” x 181/2” x 23/8” Half Moon Tail Stretch epoxy Quad.
“I surf this in good waves, like 4-6ft La Graviere for example.”

9. 6’3” Double Wing Pl Tudor single-fin shaped by Chris Ebery
“I have a coupe of these single fins, they’re great. This one goes really good in the barrel, I have another one for manoeuvre-type waves.”

Miky

AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 1M72
WEIGHT: 73KG
HOMEBREAK: LA PISTE, CAPBRETON, FRANCE
YEARS SURFING: 23
GLASSING: LIGHT (4OZ & 4OZ) WITH TAIL PATCH. 
ACCESSORIES: QUIK TECHNICAL DIVISION. ‘I’VE GOT MY OWN MIKY 
TAILPAD, REALLY THIN FOR EXTRA FEEL.’

“I like all my boards to have a deep single concave – I’m a pretty front-footed surfer, and the single seems to suit me best, faster and more responsive. I get around fifty new boards per year, half shaped by Al Merrick in California, half by Christian at Euroglass in Hossegor. It takes me a couple of surfs to tell what I think of a board normally, particularly when surfing in a wetsuit. But in perfect waves, you can normally tell what a board’s like on your first wave. Whenever I get a magic one, like the 6’0” here, I just surf it to death. People tell me to save them for contests, but I can’t help it, I just love the feeling of a magic board…”

From left to right:
Tow Board: 5’9” x 
161/4” x 115/16” 
Mark Phipps.
‘This is my favourite tow-board. It’s not too heavy, not as many weights in it as some guys use at spots where there’re heaps of chop. It’s perfect for La Nord (Hossegor), for France. I always use this one, I’ve had it a while and it feels super reliable.’

5’10” x 181/2” x 21/4” squashtail. The Flyer model.
‘This is my small wave board that I only really use in Hossegor, it goes well in small but powerful beachbreak waves.’

5’11” x 181/2” x 21/4” swallowtail Flyer 2 model.
‘Another small wave design but I’ll use this in reefbreak surf, like in Portugal for example, or the Canaries. It has a bit more length and is a bit thinner.’

6’1” 181/4” x 25/16” roundpin MBM Bobby Martinez Pro model.
‘I’ll surf this board when there’s a bit more juice, bit more power. It’s got lower rails and a roundpin so I can surf it in up to 6ft waves. This is my step-up board, perfect for like solid 6ft Mundaka. I don’t like to surf a big board 
out there.’

6’0” x 181/4” x 25/16” squashtail AME model.
‘This is my pro model shaped by Christian at Euroglass. This is the magic board, my absolute favourite. I’ll surf this board in 2ft-6ft surf pretty much anywhere, but it goes particularly well in beachbreaks, it’s perfect for the WQS. It’s got a really deep single concave.’

(Kelly’s board) 
6’0” x 181/4” 23/16” baby rounded swallow K-Board
‘This 6’0” was a present from Kelly. He gave it to me at J-Bay last year before the contest; he’d had a few waves on it and reckoned it was too thick for him. I surfed it, loved it, and so I surfed it in the event. It goes really good.’

6’5” 181/4” x 25/16” roundpin MBM Bobby model.
‘I surf this board in bigger waves, like 8ft plus surf. It goes well in Indonesia, big Mentawais for example.’

Nathan Phillips

Age: 27
Lives: Llantwit Major, Wales
Weight: 83kg
Height: 1.84m
Boards per year: 25-30

When we called Welsh goofyfoot Nathan Phillips to ask him about his favourite rafts, the distinct ‘Baaaaaa’ of Welsh sheep was audible in the background. “Yeah I just got out of bed,” quipped The Weapon, “Can you hear the girls, can you…? Nah, only joking, I’m just working on a farm near Llantwit scraping wallpaper, there’s plenty of sheep around by ’ere.” On his favourite shaper Nath reckoned, “I’ve been riding John Purton’s boards since back when he was shaping in a shed in his garden. Now he’s got pretty big, he’s got a machine and a nice big factory in Swansea and is turning out some great boards. I think he’s making the best boards coming out of the UK right now, all the top guys over here are riding them.”

(From L-R)
1. 6’1” x 18 ½” x 2 ¼” swallow
“I surf this one in 2-4ft waves. It’s got a single to double concave, which I have in all my boards, and goes good in clean little waves.”

2. 6’2” x 18 ½” x 2 ¼”
“This is a great all-round board. I’ll surf it here at home in Llantwit, anywhere around Britain or elsewhere in pretty much any kind of surf from 2-6ft. If I was going away somewhere and could only take one board with me, this would be it.”

3. 6’4” x 18 ½” x 2 ½”
“I like to surf this board in thicker, more powerful waves. The last time I surfed it was in Hawaii, before that I surfed it at Bagpipes in Scotland. It gets you in to the wave real early and then turns like a shortboard, so long as the waves have enough power, coz it is pretty thick.”

4. 6’0” x 19” 2 ¼”
“This is my groveller, with a wide tail and flfl atter outline for really shitty waves. The last time I surfed it was over in Ireland last week, at the Quik King of the Groms comp over there. It’s basically a board for shite, so it’s the perfect board for Wales…”

5. 6’6” x 18 ¼” x 2 ¼” pintail
“I last surfed this one in Hawaii, at OTW and Pipe. It’s real good in the barrel plus it turns well too, which is a pretty good combo. I’d surf it here in Britain at spots like big Bagpipes and maybe at Y Bocs when it’s pretty big”.
(All boards shaped by JP)

Tim Boal

AGE: 24
HEIGHT: 6’0”
WEIGHT: 73 kg
HOME BREAK: Anglet

“Basically I like boards that are fast and have drive. I guess everyone likes fast boards but I really pay attention to that because I like to just let the board do the work more than some other guys who are more active. I like boards with drive, loose boards are defi nitely not for me. My boards are pretty basic, usually 6’2’’x 18 1/4” x 2 1/4” squash tail – that’s my normal shortboard. Then I’ll use 6’1”s for small waves because they fit in the pocket a bit easier.”

1. Chilli 6’2’’ 18 ¼” 2 ¼” squash.
I get a bunch of Chillis every time I go to Australia, they always go good and I just love the feel of his boards in the water.

2. Mark Phipps 6’1” 18 ¼” 2 ¼” squash.
I’ve been getting boards from Phippsy for years. He’s a really good shaper, his boards have a lot of drive. I got it at the end of 2006 and won the 4* WQS in France with it in 2007. It doesn’t really work anymore though, it’s all soft and done in but it’s one of the best boards I’ve ever had.

3. Tokoro 6’4” 18 ¼” 2 ¼” pintail
(shaped at Pukas).
I ride a 6’4” when it’s just a bit overhead or on pointbreaks where you’ve got room to move the board around. I got this board before going to Hawaii last year and I’ll probably take it to comps this year like Scotland and Margaret’s.

4. Tokoro 6’2” 18 ¼” 2 ¼” roundpin
(shaped at Pukas).
It’s out of the same bunch of boards I got before Hawaii. This one is really good, I hope I’ll be getting some good results on this one during the year… I’m keeping it locked in the garage until the comps start.

5. Pete Daniels 6’1” 18 ¼” 2 ¼” squash
He’s been making some sick boards for years for all the guys on tour. This one goes really good in smaller surf and I’ll also be surfi ng it in the comps this year.

Fergal Smith

HOME: Co Mayo, Ireland.
HEIGHT: 5’8½”
WEIGHT: 68kg
BOARDS PER YEAR: 30 ish.

1. 6’0” x 18 1/8” x 2 1/8” JP. I never have good short boards but this one is a little gem, a real nice all rounder, good beach break machine. I just won the Irish Nationals on it so have had good times with it already.

2. 6’2” x 17 3/4” x 2 1/8” by Tom Doidge-Harrison for slabs.
It’s shaped like my normal slab boards but using a tow board blank. So it feels like your normal board but handles the size/speed and power far better. I have used this board so much this winter it’s been through the wars! I have ridden some of my best waves on that board so it means a lot to me now. It was the first board Tom has shaped for me and he nailed it first go.

3. 5’10” x 17 x 2 1/8” JP.
Johnny Purton is a top man and my long time shaper and has being shaping me sick slab boards/normal boards for years now. We have been getting really into trying different things to suit the waves we are surfing atthe moment. This one is like the board Tom shaped me, but it’s obviously a lot smaller. It is quite heavy and has very straight rails so you get more rail in the wave.

4. 6’1” x 18” x 2 1/8” JP.
This is my classic board Johnny has being shaping me for years perfect normal board designed for slabs. He has shaped me loads of 6’2” and 6’3”s the same. They are the perfect boards for paddling slabs. This batch of boards he had the blanks blown a bit heavier so I can use them for towing in and they handle thespeed etc much better. Have tried them all out and they feel great.

5. 7’3” x 18 3/8” x 2 5/16” JP.
I love this board, JP makes sick pintails for someone from Wales! I have used this paddling in at Aileen’s loads and really enjoy riding it.

6. 5’9” x 16 3/8” x 1 7/8” quad tow board.
It was actually shaped for Mickey Smith (that’s why the Cornish flag is on it). Mickey has not had many chances to use it, but don’t worry I will make sure he gets a massive one some day, haha! I have used the board a few times as I did not have a tow board until recently. It’s the board I used out at Aileen’s that good day back in Feb. It felt a bit weird to me, a board that small on a wave that big and was not used to the quad setup. I managed to get used to it but I am looking forward to using my own tow boards from now on.

7. 6’0” x 16 1/2” x 2” JP.
This a full blown tow board, it’s so heavy. I am going to try it out tomorrow along with another full tow board Tom has shaped me.

8. ‘Rambo’
Myself, Mickey and Tom Lowe bought Rambo back in Sept and we have put a hundred hours up on it this winter. I could talk all day about all the crazy missions Rambo has got us through. It’s been smashed into the rocks (not by me) at the bottom of the Cliff of Mohar and survived (just), been through so many all day searching missions coming home with the fuel in the red and been flipped numerous times. Rambo is what has made this winter possible. He is in the repair shop at the moment getting some attention after a hard winter.