Righting wrongs.
While our surfing is reportedly growing in participation to soccer-level heights, the core community, those who surf non-padded boards, watch surf clips, consume surf media, is still very small. And, thus, we are presented with a unique opportunity today.
Finding and returning the art belonging to Bob McTavish.
As a core surfer, you know that McTavish, now in his 80s, is credited as one of the inventors the modern day shortboard and I must direct you to the Encyclopedia of Surfing if you need more details, for we are on a mission and don’t have time to linger.
Now, Sam McIntosh, co-founder of Stab Magazine, apparently writes a weekly letter to his subscribers and this week begins by explaining how much content he and team create every week and how often there is a chance to make a mistake before pivoting to whiners who complain about aforementioned mistakes before introducing a particular incident wherein he was informed that McTavish, himself, might be bummed about a mistake though doubted because McTavish was old and probably fuzzy…
And let’s let McIntosh, himself, pick it up from here:
But it was true.
“Stab” had ordered five boards from McTavish for a previous (unreleased) EAST and had them shipped internationally for the project. Longboards, gliders, high-priced weaponry, all supposedly for Kelly Slater. In the lead-up to Christmas,
Bob’s team worked night and day to make the deadline.
Using Kelly Slater and the EAST project as cloud cover, our board orderer had juiced the wish list for the classics. The primary board for Kelly was the Son of Plastic — Bob’s contemporary nod to the iconic Plastic Machine vee-bottom. But along with it came four more designs, all resplendent in custom sprays and polish finishes:
– 11’ glider (Sugar)
– 9’9” Noosa 66
– 6’6” asym (Poach by Ben McTavish)
– Beatnik Vee bottom
Unbeknownst to us, the boards were shipped internationally and never landed in any of our offices. The Son of Plastic never appeared under Kelly Slater’s feet. And we had failed to communicate with Bob at all. The Ghost Quiver was built, shipped, and disappeared.
We followed the crumbs, uncovered the narrative footwork, and realised we’d been utterly disrespectful to one of surfing’s greats. We cut ties with the person responsible, reset the break, and after four years were able to move on.
McIntosh continued that Stab has since worked with McTavish again but didn’t detail what happened with the boards.
So what happened?
Who stole and where did they go?
Again, small core community so if the surfboard thief dare rode, they would be spotted, if he/she dared tried to sell, it would be noted. The aforementioned surfboards are around, therefore, somewhere in hiding just waiting to be found.
What we know:
1) McTavish shipped his boards from Australia to the United States for a Stab thing.
2) The person responsible got ties cut.
Let’s get out there, find those boards and right this wrong.
