TRAVEL
HOW TO PACK YOUR SURFBOARDS
By Sandy Forsyth, Owner Aqua East
Don't ruin your surf trip by leaving your board's safety
to the Airlines. Pack it well and remember most Airlines
will not reimburse you for damage to your surfboard.
What a bummer it can be to get to your destination just
to find your board is unridable until you fix it. Write
in big letters "Top Load Only" on both sides
of the travel bag. "Top Load Only" means that
the Airlines are supposed to put your bag on top in
the luggage compartment with nothing else on it. The
new travel bags are well padded and some have wheels
on one end to easily get around the airport and customs.
Most airlines charge $75 to $100 per way for each board
with a couple airlines not charging - Quantis and (Costa
Rican Airline). To get around this unreasonable charge
most surfer's use a multi-board bag and only get charged
for one board. The problem is that if it's lost the
Airlines will probably reimburse for one board only.
Airlines do not charge for golf bags and fishing equipment
so send a letter to the Airlines asking them to give
surfer's the same respect.
Take your leash and fins out of your board. Screw the
screws and fin plates back into your board tight enough
where they will not get loose and fall out. Your leash
can leave it's imprint on your board if they put freight
on top of your bag. Put extra padding around the nose
and tail of your board. Then wrap your rails with extra
foam. Here at Aqua East we sell a Nose and Tail block
kit and a separate Rail Bones that are both made of
dense foam that is made for this and offers great protection.
If your day bag/sock is snug enough to hold this extra
padding on great - if not you will need to tape it on
using painters tape that will not leave residue on your
board. The day bag/sock will also come in handy once
you get there to keep your board out of the sun, keeping
wax off boards when you stack them on your car to go
to different breaks and protection from road gravel
hitting your board. Flexible laminate/fomica cut to
slide inside the top and bottom of the travel bag sandwiching
the board(s) inside to help stop pressure dents and
dings to the board(s). When you get to your destination
you can then roll the laminate up until needed. Then
put your board in the heavy-duty travel bag/case. You
do not want a tight fit where your board is compressing
the foam padding down nor do you want it to be so loose
that your board slides around in it. Pack other soft
material (towels, rash guards, wetsuits, baggies, etc)
around the board in the bag to snug the fit, if needed.
When traveling be nice to the locals, give them their
share of the waves - especially in the beginning and
you will be amazed how they will reciprocate back to
you. If someone does you a favor tip them or give them
a t-shirt, and give out candy or coloring books with
crayons to the children. Always leave the beach cleaner
than when you found it. Give Surfers and Americans a
Positive Image.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use these checklists for your next trip!
They are in PDF format so that you can easily print
them out and check them off.
|
