Finally, the big? beautiful red Carver has arrived!..........

...........and of course, abiding by the rule that the first surf on a new board has to be when it's crap, I duly took it out in this afternoon's onshore and small ( where the waves were breaking with any ridable shape at all ) conditions.

Not expecting too much but wanting to get some sort of a feel for the board, the first thing I noticed was that it slipped through the water very easily, which was surprising as it felt so small and narrow in comparison to the 9' 6" Magic Model Walden I would normally take out in such conditions. So my interest and excitement about this new board's potential was somewhat elevated.

And....... blow me down with March fly's fart! I slipped into a small wave having barely put any paddling effort in at all. Shit, I thought to myself, that felt easier to do than if I had been on the Walden! By the end of the session that thought was still not able to be discarded completely and can you empathise with the degree to which I am now looking forward to trying the Carver on a bigger and better quality wave? Oh yeh, I thought so and I am looking forward to Michelle having a go on it and her reaction also. Oh, and it is probably bye bye to the Walden me thinks!