On summer spells back in Australia I like to practice the wonderful art of bod-surfing, sometimes augmented by a handboard. I own a beautiful hand-crafted wooden handboard called a Pod, that I bought in Sydney many moons ago (at either Gowings or the Remo General Store, I forget).

Anyway, we just got back from a very relaxing week in Southern California, staying with friends in Venice. I had two awesome days of body-surfing and boogie-boarding, and got inspired to go chasing a new Pod.

To my delight, you can still get them, over the web. The maker, Shane Vassallo, even emailed me after I placed my order:

Thanks Simon,

Yes I only handcraft what I have time over winter, however this is the first batch I have made in over 5-6 years, I have selected a nice board for you good weight around 420 grams and nice grain, board number 519

Best regards

These things are wicked when you pick up the right kind of wave. Here is some YouTube video (not featuring a Pod), with some nice waves off La Jolla (very body-surf friendly breaks there).