My deep blue, three fin surfboard is on my desert island list of items. Inhabiting that foam plank covered in fiber glass, procured at legendary Cinnamon Rainbows, is a near-decade of memories: joys, dings, tears and rides with friends. I’ve ridden that board while my two babies were in my belly; my first baby would somersault (with joy, I imagined) at the end of every wave.

The love I have for that board sits in a designated pocket of my heart. I feel that love when I look at it, throw it on top of the car and most of all, when I ride a wave.

A casual conversation in the fall with my good friend and fellow surfer Becca about a board our friend Dale made her got me thinking about this series—a series exploring the love surfers feel for their boards, and all the stories that their boards hold. In this series of essays and interviews, my friends and more share with us the origin stories of their boards, the victories and the nosedives witnessed by said board and the magic a simple plank of wood, foam or otherwise reliably conjures.

Stay tuned for the first interview coming soon, with my good friend Steph Frigon.