Can You Have Two Magic Boards?

I always thought the answer to that was "no". In my world—you know, the board-hiding, pseudo-environmentalist world—your quiver has one great board and then the rest of the boards are, oh, good enough. Well, my worldview is changing on a daily basis. I took the Slick out today. The waves looked pretty good yesterday. (I say "looked" because I was certain they'd be gutless and took a long bike ride to the beach and back. I was more than pissed when I got to the beach and saw my crew in the water catching decent waves.) Wetsand said Monday would be like Sunday. I decided it was time to christen a board. So, the Slick and I paddled out. I didn't catch anything for quite awhile. Between the cold water and being on an unfamiliar board, I was a little out of sorts. And the waves I did catch initially were so tame that I barely got a chance to feel how the board surfed. I could tell it was a board that wanted to noseride. The thing screams, "Please step up here to the tip!" I could also tell it was loose. Now, that surprised me. I hadn't expected to feel like I was on a 2+1 while riding a single fin. The board turns on a dime and is much faster than I'd expected. Still, I was sitting there shivering and not paddling for much. Finally, a bigger wave loomed and I went for it. And I got it. And I saw what this board could do. Hot damn! That's two magic boards in my quiver! I still have trouble getting to the top of a wave, on the Tyler, once I've gone to the bottom of the wave to turn. (It's not the board. It's that I'm still learning how to manhandle that board.) This Slick board turned and then ran back up to the top of the wave, where we perched and played, before flying down the face. It was beautiful. I can't believe the board is that good. I switched boards with arguably the best longboarder in our crew. He kept it for a good 15 minutes. Once we were in the parking lot, he was mad at me. We both knew why. I could see the gleam in his eye. He was giving thought to getting one. (He's already got 17 boards!) He said Chris Schlikenmeyer wanted to sponsor him years ago, but he was already committed to another shaper. I can't believe how great this board is. I did miss my log though. But I do realize that I will be a better surfer as a result of surfing boards of differing lengths. So, that's one board down, one yet to be christened. Perhaps I'll try the Channel Islands board later in the week if the conditions permit.