Travels in the Philippines - Part 3 - The Shapers

 All credit goes to Scott Ruffenr for this Classic handcrafted piece of writing

The surfboard shapers have arrived today.

A large gray van is parked in the entrance to the driveway, and our landlord Bill is greeting the occupants.

“Hey Mate! How ya goin’? Are you ready for a beer?” chirps Bill.

“Bloody Oath” is the reply from the occupants.

Trevor, one of the shapers, exits the van first. A smallish man, the first impression one has is the contradictory features of his physical appearance. He has a ruddy complexion, cadaverous cheeks, a pointed nose, and smallish mouth. His skin is of the Irish- English type with lots of freckles, and the years he has spent in the sun have weathered his hands, arms, and particularly the back of his neck; which is deeply furrowed like a cracked old red leather catcher’s mitt. His fingers are of average length, but the ends of each appendage are bulbous and calloused. He looks as if he could crawl on ceilings just like geckos do. Doubtless this must be from all the years of shaping, grinding, and sanding the many surfboards he has made. He must be past 50 years of age, but despite all of these features, he looks like he just graduated from high school, with his slight build, and his short blonde hair parted school boy style.

I met Trevor last year, and he is what I would describe as “Old School Aussie”. He has that upbeat manner of conversation, which implies a zest for life in general, loves his beer and cigarettes, and is ready to “have a go” in the surf everyday. His view of events seems to be completely shaped on “old fashioned Aussie good sense” as he describes it. Trevor has been shaping surfboards for more than 20 years and is clearly an expert on all things pertaining to that industry. However, he is also an expert on almost anything else in the whole wide world. Just ask him.

His mouth will narrow and his brow will furrow, as he sagely dispenses advice on such wide ranging health issues as hemorrhoids, (piles) in his vernacular, the necessity of consuming Vegemite, that vile axle grease the Aussies slather on bread every morning, and how consuming 6 to 8 beers a day is “ good for yer gut!”

“A real doctor told me that mate!”

Conrad, the other shaper climbs down from the shotgun seat, dusting off the chips he had been snacking on during the trip, and greets the gathering neighbors warmly, exclaiming his great satisfaction of returning to La Union. Conrad was born in Germany, but raised in Australia and speaks with not a trace of Teutonic accent. He is also in his early fifties and from all accounts can drink and carouse with the energy of someone of much earlier years. He loves to surf, but he loves the girls even more. We won’t see much of him in the next week or so, as he will be busy with some lovely gal behind closed doors; squeals of laughter and delight the only evidence of his being in house.

By now all of the inhabitants of the apartment building have spilled out onto the driveway in expectation of the precious cargo the shapers have brought with them all the way from Australia.

New surfboards!

To the uninitiated, the sight of a new surfboard might not bring the brain to a blissful boil; but to a real surfer, there is nothing so pleasurable as squinting down the side rails of a perfectly fiberglassed new board. Idyllic visions erupt in the mind of feet planted firmly on the deck, a bend of the knees, a flick of the ankles, and a power turn off the bottom of the wave leaving a trail of white spray for all to envy in the crowd on the beach. Will this be the board that takes me to a new level of surfing skill? All of these thoughts crowd into the mind along with the scent of polyester resin, sweeter to the nose of a surfer than that of any flower.

A couple of the guys gingerly climb on top of the van to hand down the surfboard travel bags. Big logos plaster the sides of the cordura nylon bags. They are brand new just like the boards inside, further intensifying the anticipation of the bystanders. New boards are hard to come by in this tropical surfing outpost La Union, as none of any quality is manufactured in the entire country. As a result these boards will be sold quickly to those who see them first.

Trevor’s boards come out first. For some unknown reason he has brought five “shortboards”. This does not go down well with the assemblage of beefy middle-aged surfers encircling the merchandise on the ground being removed from the bubble wrap packaging. Surfboards fewer than 7 feet in length are generally considered “Shortboards”. He has produced what I call “Potato chips”. All of his boards are less than 6’6’ in length and are exceedingly thin, meant only for guys or girls in the range of 150lbs or lighter. All of the boards feature flamboyant and colorful graphic designs, some geometric, others free form. This will no doubt appeal to the younger surfers, especially the Filipinos. Trevor happens to be of the school of fiberglassing that does not utilize a finish or “gloss” coat of resin, thus giving the board the look of being unfinished.

“Have a look at the racing yachts mate. They don’t have gloss coats, and that is why they are faster, just like my boards”.

This sets off a round of debate and discussion amongst the guys that is really what every surfer enjoys. Chins are rubbed, ears are scratched, and beers are swigged as each onlooker weighs in on the holy subject of surfboard design and performance. A strange lingo emerges from the group, peppered with engineering terms and phrases like: weight to strength ratio, template, rocker, flex, hydrofoil performance and so on. Nary a one of the group, including the shapers, has any formal training in design engineering, but so what? We are all experts somehow.

“Remember those V-Bottom boards in the late 60’s?”

“Yeah! How about the first twin fins?”

The talk continues as Conrad reaches to unzip his larger bags containing what we call “Longboards”. The whirr of the nylon zippers on the board bags provides an introductory musical flourish to the unveiling of his new product. As the top flap of the bag is withdrawn the interior reveals 3 new gleaming boards, all of them greater than 8 feet in length. One of the surfboards is a 9’ pin tail, and this one draws everybody’s attention. Most longboard competitions worldwide require one to ride a board a minimum of 9’ long. So this is the classic among the three boards he has carried with him from the “land down under”.

Conrad knows his stuff. This board is flat out gorgeous. No flashy paint swirls or flames interrupt the flowing lines of the rails; the board is pure white with only an electric blue triple fin system. A full nose invites cat like feet to dangle their toes over the edge, slicing through a thin inside wave section. The center stringer giving strength to the whole structure is a lovely blonde spruce. The underside of the board features two barely perceptible concave seams running from just behind the nose section through the entire length of the board. All the guys agree this gives speed and lift in the fast sections of the wave.

More swigging of beer and scratching of testicles.

The sun is dipping into the horizon of the South China Sea, as the discussions continue. The afternoon wind has died down to a whisper, as small 3’ waves wash over the reef on the point. A solitary Wok Wok bird silently flies overhead gracefully flexing his broad wings on his way to the night time fishing grounds. Talk turns to possible surf conditions for the next few days. The resident meteorologists have their say.


“There’s a low pressure system near Japan and headed towards Taiwan. That should give us a good north swell. The beach break is working over a good sand bank section too.”

Conrad wants to know what’s happening in the girlie bars.

I’ll be needing money for the cuties!” he crows.

“Aw no worries mate! We won’t have any trouble selling these boards for ya!” says Bill in his reassuring tone.

He’s right. Some lucky surfer will push himself upright on that 9 footer, and slide down the face of a glassy evening wave; absolutely sure he has reached another level in his surfing universe.