“One day on the drive home after another session at the Pipeline resulted in the usual broken board, I had an inspiration. In talking about design theory with other surfers, one of the ideas that seemed to hold merit was the concept of the ‘nine-inch tail.’ Nine inches, measured twelve inches up from the tail, was a very narrow tail. The few occasions it had been tried before were with experimental Waimea big-wave guns that were ten feet of more in length. ⁠ ⁠ A tail that narrow would be difficult, if not impossible to turn, but the waves of Waimea had not required much maneuvering. As I drove, I thought that a narrow tail might actually be an advantage at the Pipeline, where the wave was so steep, hollow, and fast...” - an excerpt from “The Coral Cruiser” chapter of Surf Is Where You Find It by @gerrylopezsurfboards.⁠ ⁠ The Coral Cruiser is the name of a magical board that proved to be a huge leap forward in riding the Pipeline during the evolution of surfboard design in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Find the book through the link in bio and keep an eye out for the digital release of his film with @peraltastacy coming later this summer. Photo: @artbrewer @patagoniabooks