A while back I posted on an asymmetrical fin experiment I have been trying. (See Fin Swap Anyone) I have been using two very different fins on my fish. One was a LokBox Turbo fin and the other was a standard LokBox 7.25" keel fin. The set up surprisingly worked really well. It had a bit more speed due to the cant (angle) of the turbo fin as it opened up the space between the fins. This experiment has opened my mind to thinking outside the box when it comes to fins. It was amazing that an asymmetrical set up worked so well.Yesterday though I expanded my fin experiment. This time, however, not by choice. You see on my first wave my turbo fin snapped off. I noticed a few days ago that it had a stress crack but never thought it would snap. On that first wave I was going left and that fin was the fin in the face so I spun out. I was a bit upset at the idea of loosing my favorite fin but I decided to stay out and belly the board around as I had just gotten out.
I bellied on my first wave and then on my second wave, by instinct, I just stood up. Surprisingly I was able to ride it all the way in. That wave was a spark of inspiration and so I took wave after wave riding with one fin. After a few test waves I figured out that going right with a good fin in the face was about 75% capacity of how the board rode normally. Who would have thought? You couldn't do a big carve but you could do little slide out snaps, drive down the line and feel pretty confident. Going left was another story. Although I made my first wave I proceeded to spin out more often then not.
Although I'm bummed that I lost my favorite fin, that session was a gift. It opened my mind to the possibilities in something I had thought to be impossible. A good lesson in general and memorable session.
