Welcome to New Smyrna Beach!

A few weeks ago Jenny and I ran the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. A few days after that we returned to Florida and immediately began a moving process. A process that brought Jenny to my hometown of New Smyrna Beach. She was previously a 2-hour drive away. Between the marathon recovery, the move and her starting a new job this week there has been little time to blog or keep up with the blogger so that my friends explains my absence from the blog-sphere!

I've got some big news to report! Well, maybe not that big, but it's exciting for me as a surfer. Yup, this is a rare surfing post (sorry runners). Since New Smyrna Beach is a "surf town" it's only proper that if you are an athlete and plan to live here that you learn to surf, or at least try. And to do that my friends, you'll need a shred stick! After much thought it was decided that a performance shape longboard would be best all around board for Jenny to learn with given our beach breaks. A few months ago a non-surfer friend of mine got hooked on surfing. One ride and he was stoked beyond believe. He researched and hunted for an inexpensive board with some quality that will last and hold up to some abuse while he learns to surf. What he found was Triple X Surfboards or XXX Surfboards, which I was highly skeptical of at first.

The website claims: "Triple X Surf and Skim was founded in 2004 with the goal in mind of producing top quality surfboards, skimboards and wakesurfers that rival any custom or production board available..."

I rode along with my friend when he purchased the XXX board he scoped out online. At first, I was skeptical because my first guess what this company is probably keeping price low by having their epoxy boards mass produced and "popped out" in China. Upon looking at the 9'0" performance longboard he was buying I was satisfied that the shape and specs were decent. Upon riding it in some waist high surf a few weeks back I was satisfied that for the price of these boards a beginner can't go wrong. The board is not heavy and paddles fast. It's easy to maneuver and turn rail-to-rail with the squash tail and hard rails. It's single to double concaves and sidebites give it drive and speed to make some of the sloppy sections we get here in Florida. I was even able to walk up on the nose (something I can't do on my Walden Magic 9'0") and hold for a few seconds. The board is super flexible, probably because it's got less layers of glass, which is probably why its weight is low. Less flex is super fun, but probably not great for a more advanced surfer that is going to charge more powerful swell. In other words I could see it breaking on me in hurricane swell. Nevertheless, what a great deal for the price!

That's why I decided to surprise Jenny and get her one! I chose the 8'2" mini longboard that is 22 3/4" wide and 3" thick. For Jenny's size it is perfect for her to learn on and if she advances and decides she wants a high quality surfboard we could always sell it and buy a better one or she could keep it and start a quiver. I conspired with the new landlord to let me put the surfboard in her apartment the day before she moved in so it would be a surprise. Everything went perfectly! Jenny was stoked!


We've gone surfing half a dozen times and she's learning very quickly! And we're continuing our running adventures, but that my friends is another story!