Agua Surfboards

I've had this AGUA twin fin collecting dust in the rafters of my garage for about ten years now, and I was really excited to pull it down and go for a surf on a fun and glassy 2ft day. As I initially hit the water and began to paddle out, it felt as though the old 6'2 AGUA was "chompin at the bit" to get out in the lineup. I was glowing inside. Here I was, back on the old horse, out in the water with one of my cherished vintage gems...and with some fun little peelers rolling through, man I was really tuned up.

I've been on a vintage surfboard kick since I started surfing, and I've always enjoyed riding a diverse quiver of boards. As silly as it may sound to most folks, finding a new surfboard is one of my favorite moments in life, and it really fires me up when I come across somebody's old board that they don't want anymore. I've always found it rewarding, and I've become somewhat of a surfboard nut...kinda like the crazy cat lady down the street, except my passion is for old sun faded boards. I just can't help it. I look at those old boards, and I can imagine the kid who was holding it under his arms on a fun early morning surf sesh 30 years ago and how stoked he was to have this brand new board to paddle out. Sure that same board is all beat up now, and it doesn't have the same shine that it once did, but I so enjoy being able to call it mine and having the opportunity to pull it out of the rafters and go for a surf.

I found this board by searching through a list of SOLD items on ebay. The policy has now changed, but you could once peel through all of the sales of any particular ebay seller and look up who they sold the item too and for how much. At the time I was really hungry to add more boards to my quiver, and I was feverishly searching high and low for any & all deals. When I came upon the SALE record for this board, and I saw how cheap the dude bought it for, I instantly contacted him and offered to pay double the price of what he had originally paid. It was definitely an unorthodox tactic, and it was sorta awkward showing up to this guy's house to buy a board that he had just picked up a few months back on ebay. But I quickly got over the awkwardness, gave the dude cash, and hustled off to the beach to test out my new sled.

Still Searchin'

I had a great surf on a dark and drizzly Thursday morning just a few days ago, and it really took me back to the "reason" why I still go surfing. The waves were only 2ft at best, but it was super glassy and the slow rollers were still breaking on the outside when I first gave it a check. As I shuffled back to the car for my 10ft log and 4/3 fullsuit I thought to myself, "I'm so glad I got up early this morning". There was some serious lulls between the sets, but there were also a few shapely little walls to be had when the sets did bounce through, and I was dialed in with the early entry longboard routine. I still get such a kick out of sliding into waves and I hope that feeling never goes away.

Keeping that stoke of surfing on the forefront of my mind is not a hard thing to do. As a collector of all things surf and water sports related, I am constantly reminded of why I like to surf and I've got that ever present inspiration in the form of sweet little vintage finds. I love riding old school boards, they're just cooler. In my search for those old boards I also come across other surf related items and I wanted to share some of those finds on Vintage-Surf-N-Stuff.

While I was out searchin' today, I happened to recognize this fella who was inspecting a small pile of older boards that I had just been looking at a few moments earlier. I did a few double takes, and then calmly gained the courage to ask the dude, "Has anybody ever told you that you look like Peter Townsend ?", and he says "Ya, that's because I am Peter Townsend". It was a really cool experience. Of course I know that the guy is an absolute surfing legend, and I wasn't going to ask him for a picture or any jive like that...but to have a friendly exchange with a World Champion Surfer, a guy who I've watched and listened to over and over again in classic surfing films and as a surfing commentator. Wow what a neat moment for me! I shook his hand, and laughed at his own stoke of searching and finding vintage boards. He mentioned finding a PLASTIC FANTASTIC for his son a while back and only paying $50 for it, and of course I could share in his joy. It was so cool to see him out there still searchin' for vintage boards, and I was so impressed with how down to earth and engaging he was...PT is the man!

Weekend in So Cal

I am so thankful to live and work in Southern California, where we are blessed with warm weather, consistently fun surf, and a mega load of old discarded vintage surfboards. Deciding if surfing on a Saturday morning is more important than "hunting" for an old board can be a very stressful process. If the swell is up and the tides are right, well it's off to the beach we go. But that doesn't mean that I can't let a few Garage Sale sign's send us on a little detour while in route to the surf and sand. The waves are still gonna be there.

I was so extremely STOKED to pull up on this board this weekend. Of course I had the beach and the waves on my mind, but the exhilaration of buying this board truly warmed my heart and spirit. The dude I bought it from said it had been hanging in the rafters for more that 25 years and it definitely had the dust to confirm his story. It's homemade for sure, 7'6" with these crazy knife sharp rails, a wave-set fin, and it's YELLOW! I can't wait to fill in a couple of the dings and paddle it straight out into some fun little Southern California surf!