Using knowledge handed down from “shapers” and surfers over hundreds of years, the craftsman sands here and there along the blank until, eventually, it takes shape as a one-of-a-kind product.

Each surfboard takes about 16 days to go from blank to finished product, including shaping, fiberglassing, sanding and painting. The eventual cost at a surf shop for all that craftsmanship is $400 to $600, on average, depending on the type of board.

On the other side of the globe, dozens of workers, many of whom were raised on farms and may have never even seen the sea, are engaged in the same activity – almost.

Trained by shapers from Australia and the United States, these Asian workers produce dozens of boards a day for $2.50 an hour plus lodging in a crowded dormitory.

Many of them have no idea what a surfboard is used for; it’s just another toy bound for Western markets and for people who have the time and standard of living to afford a hobby. Time spent on each board: several hours. Eventual cost at a surf shop or major retailer: $300.

And there’s the rub.

The beach and the ocean are often the setting for Australian stories of teenage romance, reflection and sexuality. And understandably so! For many young Australians the coast is a place that is a central part of our world, our lives, our friendships, and can’t really be separated from the ways we have grown up. My own teenage world was defined by the beach – I would walk home from school along its length, I would meet girlfriends for weekend sun-tanning sessions, I would retreat there when I was sad or confused, I would take afternoon walks to the headland with my mum, I would avoid the town beaches patrolled by the clubbies and their binoculars, I would go there for parties at night to play and explore and make mistakes (and jump in the salt water the next morning to clear my head of the hangover). I mapped my life by the sections along which my friends and I all lived – my beach, Kelly’s beach, Lyn’s beach, Joel’s beach, the caravan park, Ren’s beach, the creek, Jonah’s beach – and over time I discovered my own boundaries of behaviour, risk and possibilities. My teenage years were spent in the sand and the water, and were a place and time of experience, emotion and discovery.

But surfing was never a part of this. I mean, it went on in the water as I lay on the sand and lots of my friends did it and my mum worked for the local surf company and I would read all the magazines and knew all the famous names and had access to boards and so on, but I never got around to actually going surfing. There’s a whole host of reasons for this, including being a self-conscious teenage girl and not having anyone close to me who was willing to help me, but the main reason I suppose I didn’t ever learn was because, at that time, girls just didn’t really surf. There were the odd local (and highly successful) exceptions to this rule, but they were exceptions. These girls were friends of mine and we hung out and socialised, but they just never really spoke about surfing with me and it remained something that they did with the boys. So it wasn’t that I couldn’t have surfed, it’s just that I never would have.

And my experiences have been largely reflected in fictional literature and film about the coast and surfing in Australia in the 70s, 80s and 90s with books and films like Puberty Blues and Breath (and even last year’s Newcastle) clearly maintaining the line that boys surfed and girls didn’t, but with this situation obviously changing, so must the stories. And so they are.

The newly released Surf Ache by Gerry Bobsien is a stellar example of how things have changed, and continue to change, as more women and girls are surfing both in the water and in the corresponding literature. One of a growing number of teenage surf fictions aimed at young women, Bobsien’s book is set in contemporary Newcastle, where the 14 year old heroine, Ella, has just relocated with her family from their home in Melbourne. Ella leaves behind a boyfriend, a life of ballet and a host of school friends to find herself in the middle of a very different cultural world that centres around the beach and waves. To sum it up, Ella starts surfing and through this learns a lot about her new home, her family and herself, and makes new friends along the way. The book has it all – romance, triumph-over-adversity, friendship, family reconnections and choices – and once I reminded myself that Surf Ache is a fictional book for teenagers, not for overly critical 30-something women, I really enjoyed it.

Ultimately though, what is great about this book (and what brings me back to my original point!) is that this book doesn’t speak about Ella’s surfing experiences as if they were separate from surfing experiences more broadly. In other words, Ella is simply a surfer, not a girl-who-surfs. She is included unproblematically in the water and Bobsien never writes any kind of negative event based around Ella feeling excluded or badly treated just because she’s a chick. Ella certainly gets teased and embarrassed as she learns, but it’s because she’s inexperienced, not because she’s a chick. Ella and her friends admire Layne Beachley and Steph Gilmore and Occy and Mark Richards and don’t demarcate between their styles (although the obvious generational differences are interesting anyway!). There is no boys’ club that she is trying to access and in fact, her biggest competition as far as surfing goes is other women – they are her harshest critics and her greatest inspiration. But that doesn’t mean it’s a story of ‘girl power’ or sisterhood either. It’s just a story about young people surfing together, and the network of relationships that circulate around that. Ella is surfing for herself – not to make a statement, not to say anything, not to rebel.

And I am not saying that what Surf Ache presents is representative of everyone’s surfing stories, but I am saying that it is a changing approach to how we write about surfing in Australia – as an inclusive practice. Whether this resonates with wider surfing experiences of teenage girls in Australia, I don’t know! But imagining and writing that change is a creative step to unleashing a new set of expectations and ideas. And publishing them!

In the end, that’s why I liked Surf Ache. Bobsien doesn’t need to make an overarching critique or statement with this novel, because she writes the kind of contemporary surfing world and experiences that are in fact to be found in many surf breaks around Australia – urban, busy, complex and potential. Ella and her friends never question their participation as surfers, because they have no reason to. They are not confused about their access to the lineup.

Matt Mattoon of Matunas Co. Inc. is looking to place surf wax in the forefront of everyone’s minds with ecologically friendly watersports/surf wax. It is a product line aimed not at surfers alone, but everyone who realizes that the oceans are in dire need of help from the very people who play within its waters. With millions of people entering the oceans on a daily basis, it is quite easy to understand the tipping point at hand. The oceans are quickly being polluted by non-biodegradable wax as it rubs off typical watermen sports and activities such as surfing and body boarding.

The Product: Matunas wax is the only non-toxic, biodegradable, petroleum-free, eco-friendly surf wax. Made from local California-based ingredients without any synthetic chemicals, this increasingly popular surf wax boasts itself as farm-produced - a majority of Matunas products come from their California farm, in Santa Cruz. Believe it or not, beeswax, jasmine, clay, and tree sap are the main ingredients used in the surf wax that is derived from their farm. In addition, organic produce not used for consumption through local markets, like raspberries and strawberries, are used for the scents of the surf wax.

To top off the eco-friendly twist, Matunas does not use chemicals or additives in their wax. As it rubs off your surfboard, it returns to its natural state without harming the oceans and the creatures who call it home! Additionally, their surf wax labels are printed from 100% recycled paper, using soy ink for colors and print.

The Test: We at iJs have a long history with Matunas surf wax, since it was one of our first forays into reviewing a surf product. Matt Mattoon, founder and environmental chemist was very helpful in helping us understand some of the internet hoopla about his surf wax. He was quite informative at dispelling myths and rumors about Matunas surf wax, and even provided us with some serious phone time to interview him.

However, as nice as Matt was, we still  placed some serious research on this product – how could we resist the challenge? We even went as far as allowing the staffers to run the gamut of tests from longboard and shortboard use, warm water and cold water use, straight applications to base coat+top coat application … even newbie surfers and pro surfers got into the mix.

We tested Matunas wax in three places: (1) Bondi and Bronte Beaches, in Australia, (2) Honolulu Beaches in Hawaii, and just recently (3) San Juan del Sur beaches, in Nicaragua. We had some staffers doing surf travel, and we couldn’t resist! Armed with regular wax and Matunas eco wax, our staffers waxed one side of their boards with each product (regular on one side, and Matunas eco wax on the other) and went surfing in their respective areas.

Although we tested smell (the wahines love the fruity smell, not so much the guys!), the ease of application (just like any other way in consistency), and the cost (a few cents more than regular surf wax) … the main issue we wanted to test was the durability of the wax in actual surf use … primarily because much of the internet myth was that this wax rubs off easily during actual water use.

From our temperature durability tests, we found very quickly that using Matunas basecoat severely prolongs the life of each wax application! While cold water wax stayed on the board much like regular wax, we found that warm water wax benefited greatly from the use of basecoat.

As a secondary test at Lighthouse break, at the base of Diamond Head Honolulu, we waxed one side of a 6’6″ twin fin with Matunas basecoat+Matunas Tropical and the other side with straight Tropical application. Although the wax held up fairly well through the 2 hour surf session, the side without the basecoat seemed all but gone by the end. The “basecoat plus tropical” side stayed true to the standards we were familiar with surf wax.

To place this issue to further tests, we took Matunas tropical+basecoat to Colorados and Panga Drops, popular surf breaks near San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, where water temperatures average at 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). Sorry to say, but even with the basecoat and tropical wax application, we found ourselves having to re-wax almost after every session … at times durinf mid-session on warmer days!

The Verdict: The bottom line is this product is out to ease the strain on mother nature and our oceans … so even in the painfully warm waters of Nicaragua, we didn’t mind reapplying another coat of wax. How could we even allow ourselves to use any other wax product that is NOT biodegradable at this point??? As environmentally concerned surfers, the slight inconvenience of having to wax a bit more often definitely outweighed the environmental impact of using any other surf wax that serves to pollute our waters! Surf on brothers and sisters!

A big Mahalo to Matt Mattoon at Matunas Co Inc. , and huge props for helping us surf smarter!

[article previously posted as "‘12 Days of Xmas’ #8: Matunas Eco Surf Wax"]

THE SALES TAG: At Dripping Wet we have over 75 years of surfing experience with all shapes and sizes of surfboards.  With one of the largest ranges of Longboards and Mini Mals on the Northern Beaches you will easily be able to find the best board for you.  Dripping Wet hires everything you need for fun in the waves. From your avid learner to experienced surfer, we rent equipment for you and your friends. All we need is a credit card or card imprint, or passport for a deposit and you’re on your way.  We stock legropes, deck grips, boardcovers, fins, clothing, wetsuits, body boards, sunnies, watches, boardshorts, girls cossies, foamies, wax, stickers… you name it we have it.  Also with a huge range of old and new school videos and DVDs its the perfect place to pick up a pressie or cruise through if the surf is flat.

THE REVIEW: Okay, first things first … this surf store is located in Australia. We have visited the store more than several dozen times at different times of the year, and have some good insight on what the store is like from an international traveller’s perspective. Keep this in mind: There is no great shortage of surf shops in Oz … this much we know now. At almost every street corner, you will find a surf shop that caters to watermen of all kinds … ranging from full-fledged retail store outlets, to mom-and-pop shops that showcase local shapers and designers.

Unlike what we have seen in other cities and other countries, Australia seems to have many thriving local surf shops that manage to co-exist and profit alongside each other. Dripping wet has 2 shops: one in Bondi Beach (towards North Bondi) and one in Manly Beach. The Manly store is located towards the north end of Manly beach, directly across from the Surf Club building.

Very easy to find once you get off the ferry or once you hit the main road of North Steyne.  Definitely a plus for would-be-surfers who want to rent a surfboard and lug it across the street for a quick session. The store is jam-packed with a wide variety of surfboards, bogeyboards, skateboards, clothing, accessories, and of course, rental boards.

They have a LOT of stuff in the store, so peruse to your heart’s content … just remember the Australian dollar exchange rate versus your own currency! We found great deals on surfboard day bags and wetties (wetsuits, or rashguards) at the giant sale bin/section directly outside the store on the sidewalk. After the currency exchange, a steal of a deal FCS day bag with full padding turned out to be $30 us dollars. Normally, $80 dollars at surf shops in the US. If you’re willing to lug it around town like we did … buy two!

The staff at Dripping Wet are always busy! Although there were a lot of them on hand in the store, they seemed to be always busy helping a customer at all times — a good sign!

The staff was even willing to hold the day bags for us (without a deposit) until we returned later in the day after a long walk down the “cabbage tree reserve” path. One thing that is truly impressive about the Dripping Wet staff that we encountered the last time we visited: they were always very polite, very helpful, and managed to exude the laid back surfer spirit while ensuring that people were serviced appropriately.

The best part? FREE STICKERS at the front counter … don’t forget yours!

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Perhaps the almighty sun will come out and bless you with warmth and good cheer, and then again maybe your hands will freeze the first paddle you take in the water. This may not be so bad if you are a seasoned Oz surfer, accustomed to the ravages of cold water surfing, armed with a full wettie (that’s a wet suit Yank!), or an Aussie polar bear extremely immune to the effects of cold water hypothermia.

But being a spoiled warm water surfer from Hawaii, where the air and water temperature is barely ever 5 degrees apart and often at 76 degrees Farenheit, these conditions are just that much on the side of “cold”, and truly a test of one’s will and stamina.

And there was the ice water-like rain … always making a point to drizzle off your face and hands as a reminder that the wind will quickly make your goose bumps rise to unbelievable levels.

That was 2 days ago.

And so you can imagine the great joy I was experiencing while walking down the familiar path at Diamond Head, surfboard in hand, in great anticipation of the warm waters and familiar surf break in Hawaii. Sun, surf, and good weather … quite a difference from the wintery chills in Oz just amere 48 hours ago! I love visiting Australia and all the people, plus the food is incredibly tasty! BUT, as much as I would call Sydney my second home on any given day, we are truly ever-so-lucky to live in Hawaii!

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