What’s He On? Craig Anderson’s African Safari Sled

Craig's Hypto Krypto. Photo:Corey Wilson
 

They told me to book a flight to Skeleton Bay — swell of the season. To leave tomorrow and link up with Craig. I did not argue. I took two Ambien and woke up in Africa. It was foggy, six foot, below sea level and cranking. In the water the seals were owning it and on land the jackals were hungry. Everyone (Nathan Fletcher, Dane Gudauskas, Danny Fuller, Jeremy Flores) was on small boards. Craig, who got the biggest, best sets that day was on a 5’4’’ disc reminiscent of the hoverboard a la Back to the Future II. I couldn’t understand A) how he got into the big ones, and B) how he was weaving that thing through 30 second tubes.

“I’ve ridden that board in bigger surf, before,” says Craig. “At Ulus, G-land, Deserts. It’s all about the volume. It’s flatter, thicker and wider in the right places, hardly any rocker and a slight single concave. With that extra beef, it catches waves so easily — and then just takes off. It’s the fastest board you could have in this kind of surf.”

Clearly. While some guys, myself included, were pumping for dear life on a standard squash, Craig was stalling in the gaping sand-pits. Styling, even. Speed to burn. “That nice rounded pin probably helps, too,” says Craig. “So as long as you make the drop and set a line, the board does the rest for you. In bigger surf on that 5’4’’ — you’re guaranteed an amazing time.”

I wanted that time. I ordered one up from Hayden Cox, the young Aussie shaper/newly Venice resident and had it waiting for me when I got home. Hayden wanted to meet us and go for a surf and quickly came down to the SURFING office with his lovely woman Danielle to do both. Hayden rips, is genuinely amazing and talks about board design like an MIT rocket scientist — if an MIT rocket scientist ripped and looked vaguely like Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall. The board, by the way, goes mental, even when you’re not in Africa.

See Craig in Africa on the Hypto Krypto in the November issue’s “Abalone Romance.” —Beau Flemister
 

Hayden Cox on the Hypto Krypo model

Source: http://www.surfingmagazine.com/blogs/whats-he-on-craig-anderson%e2%80%99s-african-safari-sled/

Gert van Doorn Christian Beggi Heinz Kinigadner Fritz Betzlbacher