bild
Photograph made available 11 July 2007 shows international big wave champion and winner of the 2006 XXL Big Wave award, Greg Long from the USA riding a South African hand made board made by shaper Dave Van Ginkel in Cape Town, South Africa 19 June 2007. South Africa is one of the few places in the world where surfboards are still made by hand. Surfboard designs vary according to the power and size of waves to be ridden and the riders style and weight. The custom shaper takes all this into consideration before shaving down the core of the board know as a 'blank' which is constructed of polyurethane foam. After the shape is established it is moved onto a 'glasser' who then applies layers of resin and fiberglass over the blank according to the strength and weight required. EPA/NIC BOTHMA SURFBOARD PICTURE PACKAGE 4 OF 18