Surfboards in the 21st Century come in all shapes and sizes, the different types of surf craft we see in the water seem to be endless. Short boards, mini mals, longboards, bodyboards, kayaks, wave skis, wooden belly boards, kneeboards, the list goes on.

The traditional longboard is 9-10 feet in length, has a rounded nose and a squared off tail. They are about 3 inches thick and have a single fin. In the 60's longboarding was at its pinnacle, short boards had not been quite been invented and surfers like Mike Doyle, Midget Farrelly and David Nuuhiwa were defining the sport. Manoeuvres like Hang Five and Hang ten were the goals of the surfers of the time. If you could stand right up the front of the board with all ten toes hanging over the nose whilst cruising along the face of the wave, you had proved your surfing prowess. The cross over step and drop knee turn all formed the distinctive style that has become classic longboarding. Surfers today like Joel Tudor have inspired an almost cult like revival of longboarding and retro boards and this new explosion has given the surfboard shaper a lease of life.

It is easy to chart the origins of bodyboarding. Although people have been riding waves on their bellies for as long as people have been standing on waves, the bodyboard as it is known today was invented by one man. Tom Morey from California created the first Boogie Board in 1971, July 7 to be exact. Made from polyethylene foam the Boogie Board is soft, extremely hardwearing and much smaller than a conventional surfboard. They are cheap and easy to transport. Morey's invention was an immediate success, especially with kids. The Boogie Board provided a simple introduction to surfing. Now in the 21st Century bodyboarding is as popular as ever. Riders such as Mike Stewart have taken bodyboarding to its most extreme. The design of the board has enabled riders to surf extremely dangerous waves with less fear of injury, like the Waimaia Bay shore break for example. Enormous dumping waves crash on almost dry sand are sensibly avoided by sane stand up surfers but bodyboarders like Stewart relish the challenge.

The period between 1960 and 1970 saw an explosion in the design of the modern foam and fibreglass board. Surfers and shapers began a frenzied period of experimentation during this time. Boards in 1960 were almost all the same, ten feet long, 22 inches wide, they had a round nose a squared off tail and a single fin. By the end of the decade pro surfers were riding all kinds of strange boards that varied in length from 5'8" to 9 foot. Surfers wanted to determine the path their board took on a wave and not let the design of the board limit where they went. A desire to surfer deeper in the pocket of the wave in a more aggressive manner was born by surfers like Nat Young of Australia. Shaper Bob McTavish looked towards kneeboarders like George Greenough for inspiration. They were able to draw different, more radical lines in waves, and the surfers wanted to do this standing up.

Boards began to drop in length quickly. Many fin variations were tried and bottom contours were experimented with. In Hawaii shapers like Dick Brewer were making boards to ride in big waves, they were shorter than the conventional longboard, narrower and more pointed. The boards were designed for speed and hold in the most challenging surf. The Aussies like McTavish were making even shorter boards, with no volume in the nose, but wide near the tail. They were designed to race all over the wave, to be nimble and responsive, primarily for use on smaller waves than that of Brewer's.

In 1980 pro surfer and board shaper Simon Anderson came up with a design that combined the two different styles of board, the thruster. By giving the board three fins, one centrally at the rear of the board and two either side just forward if the central fin the modern short board era was born. The design meant the boards could hold in big waves and remain quick and responsive in smaller ones. Small changes and experiments since have seen the modern thrusters shortboard being the most widely used design by surfers worldwide.

Throughout surfing history some surfers have aspired to ride bigger and bigger waves. Without the help of modern technology surfers have been limited to the waves that they could physically paddle in too. When waves reach a certain size it becomes physically impossible for a surfer to paddle fast enough to catch them.

Big wave specialists, like Laird Hamilton, have got over the problem of slow paddle speed by introducing 'tow in' surfing. A surfer is towed on the end of a water ski line behind a jet ski into the wave, when the surfer reaches the right speed he can let go of the line and surf the wave. If he falls then the jet skis go in to find him and drag him out before the following wave hits him. The inherent dangers are enormous. Falling off and surviving a 25+ foot wave in the middle of the ocean seems to be a spiritually defining experience. From Edmond Hillary climbing Everest in the 50's to Laird Hamilton riding 40-foot wave faces at 'Jaws' in Hawaii, man is drawn to ultimate challenges.

Beginner boards are designed to make learning safe, fun and as fast as possible. They are covered in a soft material, to make them less dangerous if you were to say, bang your head on the board. They are generally thicker than conventional surfboards. This makes them more buoyant which aids the learning process. They are long and wide, which makes them stable. It is a good idea to use beginner boards (soft boards) whilst you are learning. They maximise safety and speed the learning process. Do not rush into surfing on a hardboard until you are competent handling a soft board. Remember that when surfing, your board can be as much of a hazard to you as an aid.

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