WATCH: Fergal Smith Surf Riley’s On A Wooden Board

Anyone who’s kept abreast of the life of Irish charger Fergal Smith will know he lives about as an eco-friendly lifestyle as is possible.

He lives and works on a farm out in Ireland, growing his own food. He doesn’t fly and he drives a van which runs on chip fat.

One of the hardest things for a high performance surfer trying to live a truly harm free lifestyle though, is selecting what board to ride.

We’ve frequently written often about how terrible traditional sleds are for the environment and brought you stories of folk trying to solve the problems, however with every eco-construction, questions still remain as to whether the performance will match that of foam and resin boards.

Fergal has recently been experimenting with an innovative new board, crafted by Irish based  Tonn Surfboards. It’s made from a block of balsa wood, with a hollowed honey-comb core. The process is performed by a CNC machine, creating a lighter board, with computer aided precision. In this brand new edit, Fergal puts the board through it’s paces in the excellent waves along his native coastline: