So, how did it go...?

First session on this baby and I whacked in a set of YU FCS fins and paddled out in 4 foot clean, hollow surf in Durban, South Africa. Pulling in on those hollow faces beside the pier at the Bay of Plenty was a dream come true. The board generates incredible speed over short distances and was easy to stall and get slotted. As the day wore on the waves got fatter and I struggled to pull off any significant turns. The board felt extremely tight when cutting back or turning off the top. The G5's would be making an appearance next.

Now this is a bit off-the-track but I never actually got another surf in at Durban because I literally couldn't risk leaving the car keys anywhere on the vehicle (or hidden). They were electronic so stashing them in my legrope or pocket was also out of the question. A sad state of affairs (although car theft happens everywhere, I suppose).

Next stop, home at sunny Manly beach in Sydney, Australia. My first day back and I was lucky enough to score clean 3 foot peaky surf reeling off all the way along the beach from Queenscliff through to South Steyne. I picked a spot just left of the North Steyne Surf Lifesaving club and paddled into a reasonably heavy crowd. The first few waves closed out pretty fast but I liked the turn I was getting onto the whitewater (on closeout sections). When a clean set peaked up right in my line of fire I was into it like a bomb. The board holds a tight line and has plenty of drive. Despite its light weight it was quick and responsive in turns and I found floaters exceptionally easy to prolong.

So, keeping the G5's in there I proceeded to surf every day for the next 2 months to really get a feel for this board's performance. Highlights and lowlights next...

Some high and lowlights

In surf up to 4 foot (slightly overhead) I found this board to be fast, responsive and snappy. I especially liked the way my left re-entries felt. 

Tube riding is especially fun on this board as it holds a tight line, allows really quick hard bottom turns and has plenty of drive. 

I found that the lightness of the board made it difficult to land aerial tricks when the wind picked up. It's super-easy to launch it but I do like the feeling of fibreglass weight beneath my feet on the way back down. Put it this way - you'd better hold the rail tight or risk losing your board to even a light gust of wind. Guys looking to get up into the air will love the lift you get with the Ratboy. 

Face moves feel good on this board. Personally, I have pushed myself to a better level since surfing it and feel my frontside re-entries are progressively becoming more clean and powerful. 

Pushing the board to the limit I decided to get out there on a 7 - 8 foot day. There would have been a few 9 foot bombs (double overhead in my books) pushing through. The board was, as expected, horrible. No disrespect to the Surftech but I have been out in surf that size on my fibreglass boards (similar dimensions) and still felt relatively secure. This Ratboy was flitting around like a matchstick out there. What I would have given for the comfort of my red Spider Safari 6 footer (or something a few inches bigger). I eventually landed a clean 6 foot left and couldn't even drive the board up the face. I'll be the first to admit that a better surfer probably could have done it easily but this is my review, so I'll tell it like it was. Instead of carving the wave I was just holding on, being blown around like the little twig I realistically was. I proceeded to take a beating in the impact zone and eventually emerged to take several more on my bedraggled way back to shore. Not a fun day in what could have been an epic session.