DEEP Oceanboards 14'0"

DEEP Oceanboards 14'0"
10 September 2011

By: Andrew Cassidy
Location: Sydney Harbour

I had only gripped up one edge of this new rocket when the phone rang. It was Dan. He wanted to make the most of this blustery WSW'er and was talking about an inner harbour run that he reckoned would be pumping in these conditions. With a brand new 14 footer almost ready to go, I really couldn't say no. He wanted to leave in an hour and with breakfast not eaten and detailed grip design not completed - it was going to be tight.

One word: Bullet

The board is 14'0" x 27.75" x 5.something"

To be honest, I was a little skeptical about this board just from looking at it. I was thinking it was maybe a bit too wide, a fraction too flat in the rocker and possibly not enough rail to rail roll up the bow. Sure it was going to be nice and stable but I couldn't see it being the fastest ship in the fleet. We launched in the calm waters of Clontaf Beach and I jumped on it for the first time and took a few strokes. Well, I was half right. It was nice and stable but I was wrong about the speed. The DEEP 14 sliced through the smooth water like a hot knife through butter. So much acceleration and so little resistance - the glide was just amazing. I knew after my third stroke that I was going to love this board.

We paddled across to the opposite point and hugged the cliff, out of the wind, until we got to Balmoral. A 70 foot harbour cruise boat cut in behind us creating a nice little wake which was bearing our same direction. The lack of weight of the 14 allowed me hop onto the wake with ease and be agile enough to power up when I needed to so I could continue running with the short wave length, man-made swells.

We had reached the head of the downwind run. We turned. Bang - we were off.

From the time we cleared the leeward shadow of the cliff we were on runners for the four kilometres to the finish at Little Manly. Good runners too. Long runners. The ones that make you hoot out loud even if you know the others can't hear you.

The DEEP 14 rode the runners so well. A few short sharp stokes were all that was need to connect one with another. The glide was incredible, I was shooting down the guts of the harbour effortlessly on tiny bits of chop. I must have been a sight for the people on the Manly ferry that was heading in the opposite direction - in the middle of the channel, in surf stance, paddle dragging behind in one hand, hooting my head off.

As we crossed the heads the chop picked up and got an extra kick by the moderate swell that was running in the same direction. The DEEP 14 hit top gear. Careening down the faces at speed, turning off the bottom, paddling over the runners in front - so much fun. The short period wind waves caused the big girl to plough into the wave in front on a number of occasions. It was amazing how smooth and in control the board remained in these situations. The yacht like bow sliced into the back of the wave, buried itself momentarily then popped itself back out. If you had your eyes shut you wouldn't have noticed any difference - it was that smooth and put up so little resistance. A very well designed front end.

We arrived at Little Manly in about 20 minutes, walked up to the grass and put the boards down. I felt like I had expended zero energy and could have done the run another couple of times if time permitted. Dan and I were frothing on what had just occurred, an epic run and a great test for new bullet.

Highs:
- So fast.
- Super stable.
- Very agile when negotiating runners.
- Nice and light.
- Awesome finish.
- Carry handle is in the right spot.
- Australian made.

Lows:
- Now I have to get a 12'6" in this design.

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How bout you throw some more photos of this board casso, like to see it on the water as DJ said