OK i gotta get this out of my head before i have an aneurysm... or i forget anything, anyway here are some first impressions:

I got an Aviso 5'5" "fish" as a demo board, thankfully i love weird boards so rather than complain I snatched it from the shop owners hands and ran out the door before they could catch me (really felt like i was getting away something... secret carbon fibre missile secrets?)

Anyway, the thing straight up changes the whole game. Really. Its like the difference between a sports car and a race car. I think for most it will respond TOO quickly, will feel "nervous" and in general will make people uncomfortable. However that's simply because its too good at what it does, there is little resistance, everything is effortless and the lower mass of the board makes it feel telepathic- and amplified.

Theres a strange but wonderful sensation of the board being the only constant. Let me try and explain... a traditional board feels like an organic, flexing, variable thing. A lot of how we surf is due to the limitations of the boards, they force us to be fluid and lengthen our turns, its these limitations that many times make us appear more graceful, our turns rounder and transitions smoother.

The Carbon fiber board feels like an otherworldly physics defying things that does not change, does not vary, and is so predictable that creates the perfect platform for us to do amazing things. This may seem like a contradiction but it provides tons of feedback, and has flex but the flex is very directional and predictable. It also laughs at gravity, mass, and all those silly things that smooth out our surfing... and limit us.

Let me put it this way, its like the difference between moving from a longboard to a shortboard multiplied by two. Then remove "normal" physics and there ya go, you're experiencing what its like.

Personally i was fearing the worst of modern board technology... that annoying buoyancy of epoxy that wont let the board "lock in" mixed with the slappy chatter of a kayak thanks to the hollow hull, and the lower melting point that carbon fiber surfboards have that was going to result in a $1200 ruptured black puddle if i left it in the car... Fortunately it was none of those things and gives me new hope for a whole new era of surfboard design that allows us to get even crazier with a lot less effort.

The boards do have more buoyancy than a traditional surfboard but its not that weird "on-the-surface-not-in-the-water" that I hate about epoxy boards. It bites the water but feels a little like the water's been lubricated so you get these bursts of speed BUT in between turns it feels like it loses momentum if your not driving it to the next steep pocket of the wave. You do however have to watch your big turns and sweeping carves because the board will want to turn a lot tighter than you are used to and big smooth graceful turns require a conscious effort.

My demo board looked like it had been through a few wars, thrown down the stars at the Empire State, and chewed on by bears... there was a paint job on the deck, very chipped around the edges, with scratches here and there but amazingly the board itself felt solid as a rock and light as a feather. In short it looked like ass but felt new and I think it will for many years to come. The scratches looked like they would buff out but were so shallow I cant imagine you'd ever need to.

Personally I love custom boards and I see an ideal future where you work with your shaper and get fiberglass board after fiberglass & foam board until that magic board surfaces then BAM send it off to be made in carbon fiber and if anything happens to it (not likely since its so damn durable) you can just order another one exactly like it.

A few other surprises:
Normally when you paddle it goes like this "stroke - glide - stroke - glide" on a carbon fibre board its more like "strokestop - strokestop". Its more like climbing a damn rope than paddling... your arms are going to get huge if you heart doesn't explode first.

It gets hot fast, probably due to the dark color, even just walking down to the beach in the afternoon it got noticeably warmer than usually - but the surprise was it also cooled off much faster than a normal board,; turn away from the sun and the board gets cold in a minute flat. No problems with the wax melting or anything like that.

Another strange experience was that when we put normal C5s stock fins in the board it felt like we doubled its weight! Dont forget to get some nice super light fins to go with these beauties!

One other thing... I think that its a mistake to make an EXACT duplicate of a traditional board in carbon fiber because the two boards wont sit in the water the same way, they have different buoyancy, different flex, and they drive in different places and gain and lose momentum differently. While these things don't ruin any of the boards currently available I get the feeling a lot of them are duplicates of existing boards. I'd like to see a new range of boards designed from the GROUND UP to be carbon fiber and carbon fiber only. Perhaps some of the shapers have done this but none have stated it explicitly, so guys if you read this let us know! I think it would help a lot of people make buying decisions.

I've noticed a certain calmness about myself after a good long session, and I've seen it in other surfers. Its almost a defining characteristic. Sometimes its caused by a haze of smoke but today as I looked around in lineup at, myself, my friend and those around me... I realized that in a single surf session you experience incredible highs and lows to extremes your not likely to encounter on land without winning the lottery then almost getting eaten by a bear. Perhaps even more amazing is this all usually happens in jsut a couple hours.

I'm talking crazy earth shattering highs as you pull off something you never have before, something you've been working on, pouring you heart and blood into for weeks if not months (YEARS sometimes ;-)). How about making it out of a slippery crystalline barrel, or send thick sheets of spray into the air and watch the golden sun refract through the thousands of droplets in the air. Surrounded by nature and it boundless beauty - no - literally IN nature as it swims all around you! Ever been sitting there and had the wave of the day, perfect and peeling head right to you, everyone else out of position or on the inside and you pull every single turn, trick, and barrel? Surreal connectedness, awareness, and peaking abilities all at once...

Then theres the agony of blowing that perfect wave of the day with a stupid mistake, or failing to catch it like some kind of human soggy cheerio. Things that we all do no matter how good we get or how long we've been surfing teeth grinding frustration is just around the corner, sometimes its the jackass that drop in on you, then falls in front of you and dings your board as his razor sharp fins nearly slice off your ankle off - or even better when your paddling out and someone gets sucked over right in front of you and the nose of their board rockets at your face... The blown out, mushy, small conditions, the agro flailing freaks, the bird crap, the pollution, the sunburn...

Anyway, I have a feeling everyone's had similar experiences both good and bad that they can add to this but point is after an emotional roller coaster like that I think the state of peaceful joyous emptiness that's simultaneously fulfilling and filling is a well earned side effect of one of the most wonderful things I've had the privilege of discovering, and rediscovering.
[p]

Its funny that there are times in life when you try so hard at something and it just doesnt work... heres a little surfing analogy:

You plan for weeks and spend thousands of dollars to travel part way around the world to get to that 100%-all-the-time-perfect spot and its tiny, you get cut on the reef/your fins/poked by a sea urchin, so you sit on the beach and get sunburned and food poisoning...

Then there are days when you had no intention of surfing, you were too busy, too tired, too sore, and the surf is too small, too cold, too crowded, and its too late... but you go anyway because someone who loves you knows its good for you or your friend talked you into it or whatever... so you go to your local typically boring spot... and life opens up and hands you a magical session that fills your heart, pumps your adrenalin, and you find yourself entranced by all the rippling gold and blue as the sun sets over perfect glassy lines that surge into long peeling waves, and everything else just gets washed away. Your soul cleansed, and your spirit lifted with all the power of the ocean you get a sneak peek at the meaning of life. Then the glory that is the true potential of life hits you like warm summer sunlight after a long winter and you realize that every day can be as good as this if you just let go and let it. Don't let anyone fool you, it takes effort, but focus on what you love in life, make THAT happen and let go of the rest. Every day is a gift, don't take it for granted because once lost it cannot be regained no matter how rich or powerful you become. Measure wealth by the richness of your experiences, the love of those you care about, and the positive change you can create in this world.

The morning and day was a bit tough today, but worth it when I arrived at the late afternoon/evening that was to bring July 6th, 2009 to it’s end and to never return. I am going to state now that I feel as though my gratitude focus should be minimized to 3, max of 4 things that I write down every day. Each thing deserves more attention instead of blanketed among a million others listed in a row. It will really prompt me to think long and hard about it. So, for today, Pete is one of the three. The forceful decision by Jana to send us on our way, I am so grateful for. I am grateful for Pete, because if he didn’t go, I would not have had one of THE best surf sessions of my life. There was divinity in the water, the sky, the people and within me this evening. It stretched down from the sky that looked as if it was a fresco painted on the ceiling of my own personal church, the ocean. It seeped into the glassy, picturesque water and floated it’s way through the rolling swell to my feet and legs, permeating every pore in my body until I was filled with light, strength, confidence, energy and love. With all three elements melded into one, I was able to be one with the wave, move with it, along it’s steep, fast surface, gliding weightlessly, finally able to feel light and free for just that short while in the water.

I had so many good waves I became utterly giddy (just ask Pete), turning into that one annoying chick in the water that wouldn’t shut up. So, the second thing I am grateful for is the universe for answering my prayers for help. I pleaded for help this morning and it came, moments of peace, of exhilaration, of hope, and of me. I am so grateful for the universe bringing mother nature to me and for her to take me in, embracing me and reminding me that there is still joy, beauty, happiness, and hope out there for me. I cannot imagine life without the ocean, the outdoors, the sunsets, the moonrise, the other people and creatures, or without me in it. The third thing I am so grateful for were the other people in the water tonight. I caught so many waves, which may mean that many of them did not. I am so grateful to them for allowing me to have my moments that brought me out of some very dark depths I have been lost in over the past few days. They may never know what that did for me, but I would like to take this opportunity to send love to them through the universal divine forces out there. Thank you.

Sharing an experience with a friend that loves life and those he cares about, cannot help but rub off on me, that undying optimism for these precious lives we have and the moments that can brighten even the darkest of places within our hearts while reminding us of the importance of living these moments without letting them pass us by when we cannot ever get them back. It was meant to be that the rights tonight were just as fast and fun as the lefts, I had a goofy foot on my left and I was right where I needed to be, sharing waves with such an amazing friend and surrounded by a group of smiling faces; a bowl of cheerios where I was not the soggy one, we were all fresh, all happy to cluster together, and someone up there, something out there, swirled a huge spoonful of honey in our bowl tonight and made it the sweetest surf session I have had in a very long time.

My gratitude is overwhelming and connected to something greater that answered my requests for help. Tonight I felt like the glassy water was full of celestial beings reflected just like the stars in the wide, expansive sky above. We were all one tonight, all dancing in the water as if we had roots that reached through the ocean floor into the very core of the earth while our spirits were swirling up and out of us into the sky above. There is no better way to close than to say a prayer by the Dalai Lama:
“May I become at all times, both now and forever, a protector for those without protection, a guide for those who have lost their way, a ship for those with oceans to cross, a bridge for those with rivers to cross, a sanctuary for those in danger, a lamp for those who need light, a place of refuge for those needing shelter, and a servant to all those in need.”

(...a light, contented, satisfied sigh>>)

Fortunate doesn't even begin to describe it. Surfing almost every day for the past two weeks has been the biggest blessing and greatest gift in my life lately. There have been so many super fun, sunny, surf sessions during the past two weeks. The world has opened up it's arms, embraced me tightly, squeezing me so hard all I can do is smile and giggle at everyone I cross paths with. It must be infectious or magnetic because so many people have approached me to chat with, say hello, to let me test out their CI POD that I so desparately WANT!!!! There have been super fast lefts, slower crumbly rights, super fast rights, fun drops and bottom turns, wipeouts, face plants, and just plain playful moments in the water for me. I've been girlie out in the water, finally warm enough to wear my O'Neill spring (yeah, I know, the hot pants....totally not a slut or looking for attention, I swear!!!). I love my little Bahia, it doesn't give me some super funky tan line that I will never get rid of, it kinda lets a little too much of my tush hang out, but hey, is anyone complaining out there?

Yesterday the surf finally picked up a bit and there were some shoulder high standout sets that were super fun, connecting from outside ALL the way in to the beach. I was in heaven on one left and one right. Just laughing as I was going down the line, turning and turning (well, attempting to at least), thinking "when the hell is this wave gonna end?!". The water was SOOOOOO warm too, it felt like tepid bathwater on a hot day, just cool enough to soothe, but warm enough to stay in for a while. It felt so freeing, liberating, that feeling of not knowing where your body ends and the ocean begins or vice versa. The ocean is within us, we are not within the ocean. The crowd out there was interesting...I was the only chick in the little pod of cheerios, one group...obviously the honey nuts without the honey, running into people, each other, dinging boards, it was a bit ugly, actually.

Then there was the cool crowd of super rippers, I kinda hung out in their side of the bowl, hoping their sick surfing abilities would just osmosisize (nice word, lol) into me and I think it worked on a couple of waves. I stayed out of their way, they were cool to me and they were saying a lot of funny shit, so that was rad and entertaining. I love that spot, it's alway refreshing, always unpredictable. So, now I want a super fun little tri-fin, fatty, short, thick (hmmmm.....) that just tears up the summer surf! New goal, new goal!!!! Donations will be accepted, just comment back and you too can be a part of my progression in the water, haha! Light and Love and awesome waves to all of you out there!!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxo~aud