Apr 22, 20213 min read

ABC's of Surfing: Boards

Updated: Jul 3, 2021

There are 9 major brands of Surf Boards in Second Life. Some brands make multiple boards and some only have one. We'll explore these brands in detail today.

Photo Taken at Maoli Waves & Ramps

Every board brand has its own unique way to surf it. Some boards focus on tricks and combos and some focus primarily on the smoothness of ride. If you talk to an SL surfer, they'll be quick to tell you their favorite and why. A lot of them love to focus on the realism of the board and some embrace that its a game and enjoy playing outside the confines of reality. Inside Second Life, most boards have "rezzers" on the beach so you can decide which is your favorite for yourself.

A "rezzer" is a surfboard display that rezzes a surfboard into the water when you touch it. Its simple to use. Just walk up to the surfboard display, click the board and wait for a surfboard to appear in the water. Click the surfboard that appears in the water then right click and select "sit", "surf", or "surfar" (there might be another variation but you get the idea). You'll want to turn off your AO [Animation Overrider] and begin paddling toward the wave. The majority of the surfboards will stand you as soon as you collide with the wave.

As we mentioned, each board has its own unique way to ride it with several different buttons. Most of the boards will either have instructions within the board (typically there will be instructions on how to open the menu in local chat once you sit). Sometimes the instructions are in the rezzer either with a sign leaning against it or a large question mark above like the HP5.

The Surf SL website also has detailed instructions on how to ride every board, from the board creators themselves. Find the brand then scroll down for the appropriate board when needed. There is also information on how to purchase the board within its section.

Sadly, not every board is for sale. But there are still a TON of rezzers around for each board. Check out the Surf SL "Best Beaches" list for all the rezzers at each beach. This does change from time to time but we try to keep up with it. Of course, I'm sure you remember Kantbe's Teleport Board with the notecard that will also list out what rezzer is at which beach.

Once you decide which board you love, check out the Surf SL "Surfboards & Waves" website section again for a detailed resource on where to buy each board. Some boards, like the C-3, CTOO, Sally, SSi, and X3 can be modified to make your very own custom skin. There are a ton of stores that make textures fitted to surfboards: C&C Surfboards, Jaco Jaco, Lucky7, and Wave Rider Designs to name a few.

Surf SL, Cohiba, and T'ai Surfing School are all amazing resources for personal lessons also. You might've noticed the Surfing Calendar displayed at most surf sims. There will always be a mention of surf lessons coming up that month. Cohiba offers two lessons per month, typically aligning with whatever surf competition is happening that month. They post signs at their multiple shores letting you know the next surf lesson. If the sign looks generic, then the two lessons that month have passed and they're in the process of calendaring the lessons for the following month. You can also contact some of the instructors listed on the Events page of the Surf SL website.