Miraculous board retrieval stories
This photo has a story.
It was taken 45 minutes after a leggy snap out the back of Butterbox, which consequently resulted in a long 5-10 minute swim back in and onto the reef platform.
In that time I was hoping the board had washed straight in, sitting untouched up on the reef, but at the same time I was trying to watch the channel in which all the water hitting Long Reef runs out into.
Alas, on reaching dry land, I did a quick run across the shelf to find no signs of the board at all.
My partner was perched slightly up the headland and had my long-lens camera with her. She had no idea I had lost the board (let alone was swimming in), but after a quick scan of the big playing field confirmed my worse fears.
In that 10 minutes or so, the board had gone out into the channel and with a sizey swell running, it was on a express trip to the bommie. I spotted it way out to sea and beyond the point of jumping back in and swimming to.
Ughhh.
With the bommie thundering in the 8ft range I had little precious time to make a decision.
I sprinted back the kilometre or so to the Long Reef club house, hoping I could spot someone to borrow their board to try and fetch it, run back and then paddle to the board before it got sucked into the bommie and then became near impossible to locate.
With unfamiliar faces all around I then went to the Manly Surf School van and quickly asked if I could borrow the board, giving a 10s version of why I needed it. They reluctantly let me take a foamy and then I sprinted back along the golf course track to keep an elevated view of the board.
At first I couldn't locate where I thought It'd be (out near the bommie), but then I saw that it had been washed inside slightly between a funky patch of dry reef and Sh*t Rock. This wasn't too bad at all and a much shorter paddle.
I ran to the beach north of Sh*t Rock and paddled out as quickly through the shorie as I could manage and on reaching calmer water I spotted the board just behind the take-off spot though still drifting.
As I got within one arms length of the board, a big set came in and sucked up on the shallow ledge immediately south of SR, with me nearly going with it.
I had to let the wave suck up and take the board, washing it in towards the inside.
Ughhh again.
I then raced to shore to try and find the board before it likely washed up on the one bit of craggy rock along the whole stretch. Luckily though the current pushed it south and down the beach, pointed out to me by a helpful bystander.
After all that effort and what felt like a triathlon the board made its own way to the safety of shore, unscathed. I was stoked but exhausted.
My partner made her way back down to me on the beach and on looking at semi-pumping inside bommie said "why don't you go out and get a couple?". At first I declined while catching my breath, but then thought, yeah why not!
This is where the story comes full circle and she along with Nick James got a couple of frames. I wasn't going to paddle back out but I'm glad I did (using the Manly Surf School leg-rope), as the surf was super fun and made up for all that effort.
Cool story Craig, well done on the recovery and subsequent sesh.
"........and took the foamy back to the surf school and thanked them again for their help"
ha, unreal! I'm exhausted.
When I was about 15 years old I put an ad in the readers mart news paper to sell a board I had made myself, my first attempt, a single fin fish about 4'' thick with rails so hard my mates said I hadn't finished shaping it. Anyway, a long-haired hippy came around in a beat up Kombi and happily gave me a cheque for $50 in exchange for the board. I thought he looked a bit dodgy, so I took down his rego number as he drove off.
Sure enough the cheque bounced and the bank teller said I had no chance.
Luckily my dad worked at the council and knew a bloke, who found out the pricks address from the rego number.
Dad drove me to the place, a run down old dump at Henly Beach with an old couch on the veranda and a wrecked car body out front full of beer bottles and rubbish with 6' weeds growing up through it.
I knocked on the door and the offending low life opened it and the shocked look on his face will stay with me forever. He was very apologetic and said he had no money to pay for it. I saw the board standing in the corner of his lounge room and marched in put it under my arm and walked out, the smell of incense, dope and sewerage wafting out with me. Dad never even left the car and we drove home.
Indeed H2O!
And wow old-dog, haha. Now that's a story! Great work and ballsy going to old mates house, confronting and then grabbing it (the board).
old-dog wrote:When I was about 15 years old I put an ad in the readers mart news paper to sell a board I had made myself, my first attempt, a single fin fish about 4'' thick with rails so hard my mates said I hadn't finished shaping it. Anyway, a long-haired hippy came around in a beat up Kombi and happily gave me a cheque for $50 in exchange for the board. I thought he looked a bit dodgy, so I took down his rego number as he drove off.
Sure enough the cheque bounced and the bank teller said I had no chance.
Luckily my dad worked at the council and knew a bloke, who found out the pricks address from the rego number.
Dad drove me to the place, a run down old dump at Henly Beach with an old couch on the veranda and a wrecked car body out front full of beer bottles and rubbish with 6' weeds growing up through it.
I knocked on the door and the offending low life opened it and the shocked look on his face will stay with me forever. He was very apologetic and said he had no money to pay for it. I saw the board standing in the corner of his lounge room and marched in put it under my arm and walked out, the smell of incense, dope and sewerage wafting out with me. Dad never even left the car and we drove home.
Haha I grew up in Henley, right on the esplanade. Wasn’t me I promise. The good old days, wouldn’t be anyone fitting that description in Henley these days.
Ripper of a story old-dog.
Bloody hippies.
When i was working at Maccas resort a guy from a surf travel company came out (a USA one), first surf he snapped his leggie and lost his board and it was in the last half hour of light.
Not sure how but he lost sight of the board, and crew went looking for his board but didn't find it, first light next morning, they had another look and nothing.
Was just an everyday 3ft or so day and winds not crazy, so i dont know where it went, maybe some local grabbed it and hide in the bushes quickly or something.
Those times when you lose your board and all looks doomed, until somehow, by divine intervention it is saved.. or otherwise.