Simon Anderson seeks the Holy Grail...
Simon Anderson is one of the original surfboard innovators, and
can lay claim to being at the forefront of the 3-fin Thruster system that
revolutionised surfing in the 1960s. He has continued to innovate since
this time and his surfboards are still amongst the favourites of
recreational surfers across the globe, as well as several pro
surfers on the ASP World Tour. So it's great news for SUP fans that he's
been focussing his wealth of board design knowledge on SUPs.
Not one to do things by half - Simon Anderson has set his sights
on the Holy Grail of the SUP world: the true flat water and wave
board. Simon recognises that most SUPs can't afford to spend
$2000+ on boards for all occasions - plus the hassle of storing and
transporting two or three boards. He's realistic about the potential
though: "I wanted to produce a board with better paddling glide but still
able to handle the surf, not necessarily all conditions, but your average
fullish small type surf." Which realistically is what most SUPers
head to the beach for.
Simon believes that the secret to the true one board quiver
lies in the the planshape - which is quite 'piny' at both ends, but with a low
nose entry and vee at the front for decent glide, and a pronounced tail rocker
and more vee through the back to assist rail-to-rail wave riding.
Simon has been impressed with how the design performs,
saying that "The surprising thing about surfing this board is the performance -
which is beautiful on the wave." And
from a shaper with Simon's experience you can expect that to be a fair
assessment.
