Got Wood?

This weekend marks the fourth annual Wooden Surfboard celebration in Australia. In honor of the occasion, we asked Grant Newby, the founder of the day who has a blog about wooden boards, a few questions about this passion:

HB: Could you explain why wood is good?

Newby: I believe people from all walks of life have an attraction to wood and things made from wood, as it has so many great properties. When it comes to surfboards, I would bet that the first guys to jump in the water and surf would have used some driftwood or found shape in wood to body board in on a wave and it has just grown from there. Or to where the ancient Hawaiians and their Alaias started standing up on wooden boards. I just finished building four wooden boards that will not be glassed as I will use lanolin or the natural grease from sheep’s wool to nourish the Paulownia timber I have used. Yes lanolin is waterproof and that helps but it also means I do not have to wax the board either.

HB: Why did you start wooden surfboard day?

Newby: The wooden board day came out of another event that I organise “The Alley Fish Fry.” Which is a gathering of like-minded people getting together at the beach for the day to surf and talk boards. I have had six of those in the first week of March each year. I then started building wooden boards and decided to apply the same concept to the wooden boards. Non-competitive and non commercial, which is pretty rare in any thing to do with surfing. It is really about the shapers and the boards they build for us and we take for granted.

HB: How would you recommend people join your celebration internationally (people who won’t be able to attend)?

Newby: If you have a wooden board, smile and enjoy the ride. If you have built it yourself you will already be smiling as there is no better feeling than catching a wave on a board you built yourself. If it is wood, you also know there is no quick way to build a wooden board. No matter the outcome, there will be a mutual respect from other wooden board builders as it is a test of many skills to pull it off.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2012 at 3:00 am. It is filed under Surfing, Sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.