Ding Doctor

In every sport, there is the "go to".  The go to ball, the go to shoes, the go to glove, the go to ritual, the go to bat, the go to player and so on.  When the score is tight, and there all but a few seconds left on the clock, the ball is always in the "go to" players hands (or feet), whether that be Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, or Abby Wambach. As long as the "go to" is involved, there is always hope that something good is going to happen.

M10, 6'4,  Geoff "Rashe"

In surfing our "go to" is our board.  This is the board that we trust when we are confused about the surf, when we can only fit one board in our car or when the drops are steep and waves are big.  It is the board that has our back, and we in turn.  Some refer it to being their "all-round" or their "baby", which is all good.  But I refer to mine as my one and only "go-to".  "She" makes me (think I) look good on small mushy waves.  She glides me down big drops when I'm in fear and my eyes are closed.  She tucks me into nice little green rooms sometimes when the swell is just right.  And she smells so damn minty (you know I'm a sex wax guy).

I found her on Craigslist in May of this year.  I paid a inexpensive $160.  She was perfect, no dings, or pressure dings, nothing.  Best $160 I ever spent. (This whole thing doesn't sound right with the Craigslist reference. Just to clarify, I'm talking about my favorite surfboard...)

While surfing at Trestles in June with the Kiwi Hippies, I dinged her while duck diving during low tide.  My right fin hit a shallow rock and dug into the back end of the board causing a pretty deep gash in addition to a lost fin.  Manav gave me some good advice to stick some wax on the gash as a temporary solution.  A few days later, Manav, "Ms. Go To" and I ripped Lowers together.  What a morning.

I fixed her up a week later, and continued to surf her even though I had a pretty bad feeling that I did a shitty patch job. A week ago, during that last big swell, I noticed this:

Not good.  The surf was really good that day.  And I knew I wouldn't be complete without her.  So I did the Manav/wax advice.  She surfed well, but I could feel all that water weight on the tail.  All bad.

I dried her out for a week.  She cried and cried.  And cried and cried.  So much tears.  For five straight days.  I felt so bad.  But she kept smiling and telling me that she would be alright as long as I stopped playing doctor and took her to a real ding specialist.  I caved.  In my guilt, I knew what I had to do.

The very next week, I took her to the land of professional ding doctors, Santa Cruz.  I usually take my boards to Freeline on 41st, and they send their boards to Sand Dollar Ding Repair.  But as I was walking over with Furry and Viv (our very first female Kiwi), we stopped in at the Rip Curl Store and one of the kids that worked there showed me some work that had been done to his board.  I was astonished at how awesome of a repair it was.  And he said that his board was done in 4 days!  4 days, are you kidding me!  Ding Doctors usually take a month if your lucky.  And I don't have a month.  November is right around the corner, and you know I have to have Ms. Go To when the waves are like glass and the curtains are peeling.

He gave me his ding doctor's number, and I called him up right away.  I talked to Dr. Brian.  I told him the situation and Dr. Brian told me not to panic because he was going to have Ms. Go To ready within a week.

Dr. Brian and his office.

Dr. Brian's notes.  I like him already.

Furry in Dr. Brian's office.  He's so stoked that he has to tag his whereabouts on Facebook.

Dr. Brian called me a week later and told me that he would have Ms. Go To done by noon.  I sped over to his office and watched him as he did his final touches.

Dr. Brian in his medical room, taking care of Ms. Go To.

Dr. Brian changed Ms. Go To's plug and fixed her gnarly gash.  He also fixed some minor dings on her bottom and on her deck.  She is now water tight, and winter ready.

New plug.  Water tight.

My beauty.

As I was about to leave I met Dr. Brian's brother, Sterling Ebert.  Sterling is a pretty wanted shaper around Santa Cruz.  He currently lives in Kauai, and we "talked story" being that we are some Hawaiian brotha's lost on the mainland (but in a good way).  Our conversation shifted towards boards and he had a great idea for my next board.  I was sold.  Too bad my beautiful wife wasn't .  Bummer.  But there is still hope, and I still got his number. The board we talked about was so sick.  A board focused on Santa Cruz waves...  The dream is still alive!

Sterling Ebert of Ebert Boards, taking notes around our thoughts for my next board. 

Dr. Brian expressed that Ms. Go To continued to cry for a week.  He said that she even cried all over some of his other patients.  I again felt bad.  But she told me as long as we could jump in some salty water and catch some waves that she would forgive me.  We headed out with Panama Red to my 3rd favorite spot.  Being that it is a pretty fickle spot, we didn't expect anything and we had already planned to head out to Florida Mile.  But there were some waves.  Panama and I caught a handful each and even shared one all the way down to the other cove.

She rode so much better then she had in a while.  She had slightly more float, she was a lot lighter, tucked easier into pockets and made some fast sections.  Ms. Go To is back and she is stoked.  And so Am I.  And a little less guilty.

Just a friendly suggestion from a satisfied customer (no, he didn't give a discount or anything for that matter), if your in need of a professional ding Doctor, give him a hollar.  Check him out here @ http://www.besanding.com/.  Good people and a local business.  Always good to support that type of thing.

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