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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 1:10 p.m., Thursday, August 23, 2007

New book spotlights surfboards

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

British-born surfer and surfboard shaper Rod Sumpter emblazoned one of his first boards with a Union Jack across the bottom, because he wanted to hold the attention of judges at the 1966 world championships. None of them missed a ride.

Sumpter's passion for surfboards, from their shape to the artwork they display, is at the heart of his new book "Today's Top Surfboards" (Shiffer Publishing, $29.95).

Each of its 159 pages bears one or more photos of beautiful boards — enough to make any surfer swoon.

On a really good day in the surf, you have to thank the board. "It shares the wave with you," the 60-year-old Sumpter writes, "and that gift you've found is priceless."