MaxWax

The surf yesterday was messy and actually so was my board. I finally really questioned why I’d allowed 6 months of wax to become layered atop my surfboard. My McTavish Original is a state of the art epoxy tuff lite board. Underneath all that wax, it looked more like a vintage relic of the 60s that had been lying dormant in someone’s garage for decades.

First Alec showed up with his own McTavish, all newly stripped and freshly waxed. Later I watched Claude remove his Santa Cruz from its bag to reveal what looked to be a showroom sheen. That’s when I resolved that my own board was screaming for a makeover!

When I got home I laid my board in the backyard under the hot afternoon sun. A tedious task was made simple, as all the wax quickly melted to a molten mess, which I readily removed. The wax ball was nearly as big as a volleyball!

I pondered why I had allowed so much wax to accumulate and coagulate. I mean I get harassed about how spiffy I keep my bikes…not just dialed in but hyper-dialed. So why all that wax and sand patina on my board?

When I surfed in Costa Rica, the equatorial sun quickly melted my board’s wax away; so I just kept a bar at the ready in my board shorts. Traction with a minimal layer of wax was never an issue. Perhaps I’d adopted a more survivalist strategy in the chill waters of Northern CA, thinking that I’d have a better chance of making it back to shore if I maxed my wax.

Well, whatever. The transformation revealed a board that, aside from a few dings, appears brand new. I’m born again, squeaky clean and 2 pounds lighter.