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Date: January 5, 2007 Words: Small, rainy day on the North Shore. After talking story with visiting SD friend Ben DeCamp (at Ted's), I went to Ehukai and tried out the Noll board. I've had the board in my possession for well over a year. Borrowed it from a friend and had it waterproofed. Randy Rarick thinks it was shaped by Ben Aipa, maybe around 1967 or 1968. No leash, so I had to warily paddle out on the beast and launch into some shoulders. It was actually really easy to take off with, as long as it didn't jack too much. Caught some really long, fun rides, one all the way to the inside of OTW. However, my skills aren't great and I ended up losing the board three times. No fun, swimming to shore, bobbing around. It's fun to try out period equipment. Makes you really appreciate how far board design and material/construction has come. Still, nice to experience some pre-nostalgia.
Aloha from Paradise,
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