Welcome Roxanne! I added a new, wonderful and beautiful 9' Walden surfboard to my quiver and decided she should definitely be named Roxanne (Roxy for short). How did it happen that I bought a new board? Well, for the past six or so weeks, B has been talking about Walden boards. At about the same time, he's also been telling me that I really need a new board to advance my skills to the next level. My surfing pal R also bought a Walden a couple of months ago and says she felt a real difference in her surfing. Her board is a Wahine Walden with lots of flowers and pink trim. It is beautiful! Between seeing and hearing about R's board and listening to B, who also bought Walden about six or so months ago, I decided that the next board I would buy would probably be a Walden. After some research, I found that one of the major selling points of the Walden is the thickness and something I call, for lack of a better description, a double concave. Actually, B might have called it a double concave. I don't remember for sure. But, because of the thickness and these "double concaves" the Walden boards seem more responsive to the small, rough waves in Galveston. (At least, that's what the surf dude told me. We'll see.)
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| Meet Roxanne! |
Since about the third week of this discussion about the Walden boards, I started researching them. I looked for a Walden on Craigslist and, occasionally, I would find one. However, either it is was the wrong size (I'm trying to stick with a 9'), or it was sold by the time I sat down to send an inquiry about it. I started looking at area surf stores and I found at least two of them that carried the Walden Magic model. One of the stores that carried the 9' Walden Magic was a small store on the Strand and the other was Soundwaves on Montrose. I'm sure there are others, but I couldn't find them at the surf stores I regularly visit. Soundwaves had several 9' including the Magic model 1, 2 & 3 I believe. I'm not to sure about the differences between them except for price. The Magic model 3 was more expensive. One of the models they had was the Wahine, which is similar to R's except that instead of flowers, this one had a painting of a mermaid on it. I thought about it for a few weeks and priced them online. I eventually decided that I would get the mermaid Walden, despite the fact that I didn't want to spend that much. Even during the past week when I had pretty much decided that the was the board I would buy, I would call a different store and ask about their boards and almost be lured into buying a different one. One of the boards I found was a fiberglass Doyle. It was less expensive than the Walden, but I couldn't get the Walden out of my head. By looking at the dimensions, I could definitely understand why it would catch the smallest of waves. It was a little thicker then some of the other boards including the Doyle. It was also epoxy, which is the new material used in boards. I had been thinking that epoxy replaced fiberglass...I guess I just hadn't thought it through. But, I eventually realized that epoxy is actually the core of the board...a much lighter foam for the core.
On Friday, instead of surfing, I asked my surfing buddy R to go with me to the Soundwaves on Montrose and buy the board I appropriately named Roxanne. She's beautiful and incredibly light to carry. I couldn't wait to try it. Saturday was rainy, but Sunday seemed hopeful. At least until I heard from Surf Dude B who said that the surf was incredibly rough and sloppy as well as filled with seaweed. I decided that I had to try Roxanne anyway. So I loaded up and went down. I made up my mind that I would probably only stay out for a half hour or so, and that seemed to be all I needed. The current was AWFUL and the waves were rough and unstructured. Several male short boarders were out having fun, but I had a tough time just getting to the outside. Once I made it out in the rip current, I was automatically pushed back in. I was able to pop up and ride safely to shore on the first wave I decided to take and I caught several more in the whitewater after that. It wasn't the nicest of days, but I got to ride my new board, which made it all worthwhile. I didn't turn that much better than my other boards, but I think that will only be a matter of time, and that after practice, I will. I do think the board took off faster in the waves, which will help me develop a faster pop-up and I think, eventually, help me turn. I can't wait to surf again. I sure hope there are nice waves one night this week or, at least, by next weekend so I can attempt to "hang ten!"
