surfboard

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Watch Out for This Surfboard-Swiping Sea Otter
Surfing Otter Eludes
Capture Again
updated

Surfing Otter Eludes Capture Again

Officials say 'Otter 841' has been aggressively going after surfers off of Santa Cruz, California

(Newser) - A sea otter that has drawn national attention for its unique ability to steal surfboards from surfers and then hop aboard them continues to elude capture, reports the Los Angeles Times . This week, for example, California wildlife officials went out to the otter's known area by boat and put...

He Thought He'd Lost His Board Forever. Then, an Instagram Tag

Doug Falter's surfboard, lost in wipeout in Hawaii in 2018, turns up 5K miles away

(Newser) - Filipino Giovanne Branzuela was pretty stoked over the summer to buy a weathered-looking surfboard for $40 from a neighbor, who'd purchased it from local fishermen who'd found it floating off the island of Sarangani. They'd figured it had fallen from a yacht cruising in the area. Branzuela...

Bizarre Collection Headed to Bush Library

From cowboy hats to swords to classified files

(Newser) - George W. Bush’s $300 million presidential library will be filled with documents, including many classified files. In all, it’ll boast roughly 68 million pages of documents, 175 million e-mails, 3,845,912 photos, and more videos than any previous president's library. But it’ll also have a wide...

Dude Busted for Smuggling Pot on Surfboard

(Newser) - A Mexican surfer off a California beach was busted for trying to smuggle 24 pounds of pot on his board, reports the Los Angeles Times. When suspicious cops on the beach close to the Mexican border ordered the surfer to come ashore, he heaved a duffel bag into the water....

Dude, Bummer: Discontent Swells Over Big Boards

Longboarders call paddle-boarding 'surfing with training wheels'

(Newser) - As if surfers don't already have enough problems, novices are swarming their beaches to bogart the waves. Or that's what they'll tell you if you ask about the growing trend of stand-up paddle-boarding, or SUP. Quicker—and much bigger—than a longboard, the paddle board is like "a Mack...

Airline Fees Wiping Out Surfers
 Airline Fees Wiping Out Surfers

Airline Fees Wiping Out Surfers

(Newser) - Surfers may be a laid-back lot, but they're riding a wave of anger at airlines that have begun charging upwards of $150 to check their boards, the LA Times reports. It's a gnarlier price hike than those levied on any other kind of sporting equipment, surfers note, calling for boycotts...

Travel's a Drag for Pro-Tour Surfers

You've got to hang loose, advise veteran dudes

(Newser) - Traveling the world as a pro surfer may sound sweet, but surfers say there can be plenty of bummers too, the Los Angeles Times reports. The marathon flights are a drag, and on arrival the many hazards include malaria, stinging sea creatures, food poisoning—and, worst of all, lost surfboards....

Surf Champ Saves Partner
 Surf Champ Saves Partner

Surf Champ Saves Partner

Laird Hamilton uses improvised tourniquet to stop partner from bleeding to death

(Newser) - Surf champ Laird Hamilton, known for his big-wave talents that have been documented in films, can add lifesaver to his resume. The star wave rider stripped off his shorts to create a makeshift tourniquet that prevented his surf partner from bleeding to death after a wipeout this week opened a...

Surfers See Red Over Brit Airways Board Ban

Petitioning to change gnarly new rule

(Newser) - Furious surfers hope to sink a gnarly new British Airways rule banning surfboards from the airline. Wave riders are petitioning the company to reverse its decision, which went into effect yesterday because the airline determined the boards are "simply not suitable for airport baggage systems," according to a...

Homegrown Surfboards Fade Away
Homegrown Surfboards Fade Away

Homegrown Surfboards Fade Away

Outsourcing, technology wash over a time-honored handcraft

(Newser) - The era of hand-carved surfboards is ending, even in its birthplace of Southern California, as machines and cheap foreign labor take control of was once a thriving craft. Ten years ago, human hands shaped rigid foam to create 80% of American surfboards, but today that number is less than 20%....

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