9'11 Speeed

Currently camping in a national park (Ilaroo) - good waves and good fishing!

No way! Ha - what a classic. I reckon it's so sick to hear the back stories to the development of boards (and brands).

How long after surfing the Speeed, did you start thinking about designing the Creek? Was that a long process between you and Bert, or did it happen fairly quickly once you had the design kind've settled in your mind?

And was the Speeed the first Sunova board you rode? It's amazing to see where that journey has taken you up to today.


Thanks for sharing Creeky - that's a rad story.

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Gboots said..
Dingo ...I am certain Creek was the Speeeds first true lover on this forum. The rest of us have gone slops.
Seriously , Rick showed us a lot about this board . It's true that this board can make you perform better . If you can get your foot right back (which i often struggle to do on the bigger version ), the board goes next level.

Hahah! Good on you GBoots - cheers man. I'm definitely not known for being in front of the curve and my recent acquisition of a Speeed only shows how late to the party I am. Yeah for sure mate - definitely hear you on the back foot placement. Will be giving it plenty of curry over the coming weeks and months - can already feel how responsive the board is eh.

Another thing I've noticed is how quickly I can pull the board round from taking off. I can just jam the tail and lean the board into the face and it responds so quickly, and hits turbo. So you can start setting up the wave quicker and read where the sections are, where the face is and what it's doing, and there's more time to think about where to get a turn in (or not). It actually gives you more time to set the wave up. The wave is not wasted from trying to pump to generate speed, and therefore you're not trying to 'catch up' to the power source, or getting stuck behind sections. And because Speeeds are so quick off the tail, cutties are totally intuitive, you easily get back to the power source from the face or shoulder if you've gone wide. And it's just buttery smooth flow all the way.

Wild.

Cheers for posting up that OG clip mate.

So, at 163 lbs, 6'1", (75 kg, 185 cm), plus heavy wetsuit and boots, would a 9'11" Speed be an unwieldly tank, much like a beginner board?

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billekrub said..
So, at 163 lbs, 6'1", (75 kg, 185 cm), plus heavy wetsuit and boots, would a 9'11" Speed be an unwieldly tank, much like a beginner board?

Hey Billekrub, good to hear from you mate.
The 9'11 is definitely not an unwieldy tank, and definitely not a beginner board.
For me, the magic with the 9'11 is the shape. I reckon it's important not to be absolutely guided by numbers. Of course, numbers have a role to play but it's the shape and design of the Speeed is what allows it to surf so much shorter. It's responsive, fast, and easy rail to rail transition and just an absolute weapon on the wave. I don't think I've ever felt so connected to the wave face on a board before.

My local is typified by low power waves across the dry season with occasional really good days. Then we get high power waves in the wet season. Because of this, my previous boards have been a 10' Style, 10'8 Revolution, 14' Search (for flat and small days) and a 9'4 Creek. All longer boards with parallel outlines (except the Creek) and a bit of volume to maximise year-round conditions - these boards all go really well, where shorter boards seem to struggle. And there's a lot of us who have moved here from other parts of Oz where there's good waves, and many of us are life long surfers.

I had previously shied away from the Speeed as I thought it might be too performance oriented - a bit like the Flash or Acid - super rockered boards that will sit in the pocket and respond/perform better in fast, walling waves. But after some thought and looking at the design I decided to pull the trigger on it and I'm so rapt I did.

I went for the 9'11 to maintain a bit of length and a bit of float for my local conditions. I could definitely drop down and am already thinking about the next custom Speeed. But, that may not eventuate as this thing just ticks every box and really is that good.

I don't know what your local is like, nor what kind of level surfer you are, but my view is that the 9'11 Speeed is a weapon. Personally, I would have no worries on this at my old home breaks which can get pretty big and heavy and also smaller and fun too. So, long story short - the 9'11 Speeed is a weapon - it surfs fast, is responsive and has a real engaging feel on the wave. Turns are smooth and flowing and doesn't feel remotely like a 9'11 board. It seems to hit turbo as soon as you get onto the wave.

BigHugg's let me look after a set of his Quobbas too - so I'm gonna give it a run with those and see if she really lights up.

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Hoppo3228 said..
MD,

Stoked to hear the froth levels are turned up to 11!

A 9'11 is a pretty wide thing with the parallel rail... Perhaps another mrs on the side is in order. Slightly shorter and a much slimmer one, with all the curves still in the right places . A bit like Shakira haha

Maybe 9'5" but narrowed to 29-30". Tiny waists are always the best
Quiver of 2. Wide and big for soft days. Smaller for power waves.

Quobba's are made for a Speeed I reckon. Yew!

Hahaha!!! Hoppo old mate, you have made me laugh out loud - and nearly choked on my homemade Chinese chicken noodle soup with veggies and sweet chilli sauce (not that I'm reading the Breeze at the dinner table or anything. ).
But anyway , I digress!

Yes mate , I reckon you may well be spot on the money and if I were a betting man , I reckon I'm currently at about 10 to 1 odds on to throw down a handful of pineapples by year's end for a custom wet season shredder.
But, geez, I've gotta tell you, the 9'11 is just ticking all the boxes at the mo'.

Will report back from the land of Quobb' after I've given the funny looking little buggers a run.

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supthecreek said..

MangoDingo said..
No way! Ha - what a classic. I reckon it's so sick to hear the back stories to the development of boards (and brands).

How long after surfing the Speeed, did you start thinking about designing the Creek? Was that a long process between you and Bert, or did it happen fairly quickly once you had the design kind've settled in your mind?

And was the Speeed the first Sunova board you rode? It's amazing to see where that journey has taken you up to today.


Thanks for sharing Creeky - that's a rad story.

ha ha DingoMan, it has been a blast!

The 8'10 Speeed was the first Sunova I ever surfed.... and it was love at first ride.

The "Creek" came into my head after riding the Acid all summer and not having a performance board that I could ride with a full winter wetsuit. (In New England it can stay under -8 c for weeks, so THICK wetsuits are big factor)

I had different Sunova's that each gave me certain things, so I cobbled together my 9'2 Skate and 9'2 Speed on my computer stretched it out to 9'4 x 32 and 148 liters. (then sat on it for months)

I finally asked Tino what he thought. He said "run it by Bert and see what he says"

So I sent Bert this exact picture and asked if it made any sense to him
I left the bottom, rails and rocker up to Bert (with maximum performance as the goal)

Bert looked it over and said "I love it, I won't change a thing!
So I picked out 50's Hot Rod red to yellow flame blend and it was game on!

They liked the finished board so much that they named it the "Creek" and made it a model.
Funny, I had a 9'1 and never got on particularly well with it... but I still love my 9'4!

Hey Creeky , how are you mate?
That's a freakin classic yarn man. What a massive burst of inspiration it must have been for you to pull all the different elements together - it's the FrankenCreek!
It's great that Bert and Tino were so receptive to your idea and especially able to accomodate it and actually design a beast of a board that works (I know - I've got one ).

I had a 6'3 as a young fella that was shaped by Bert - and it was the best board I ever owned, the bloke's a full on legend.

What were you riding before your first Speeed, and what was it about Sunova that piqued your interest? Were you already aware of Bert as a shaper?

Hi Supmmm, that looks positively tropical mate, all the videos I have watched of surfing the Great Lakes has everyone in enough rubber to impress the Michelin man