I would like to share with you the adventure a customer had with one of his SelSurfboards.

«In the winter of 2020 my girlfriend Gabi, our little son Fitz and I stayed in Imsouane for almost three months. A lovely family surf trip.

We are 2 weeks away from our flight to go back to Austria and the Coronavirus crisis hits Morocco. The situation escalates quickly. The country closes its borders. The only chance for us to leave is to take a flight arranged by the Austrian government.

Everything is so hectic and goes so fast that, on the day of departure, we have little time to pack our stuff. We quickly load the van, swiftly set up the surfboards on the side of it, and head off to the airport in Marrakech.

While driving, we hear a loud snap on the side of the van, right where we attached our surfboards. We pull the car over and get out to see what happened. My Sel surfboard is gone. We packed in such a hurry, so stressed, that we didn’t secure the straps properly.

Another board (a custom Odi-Boards – Puerto Escondido) is damaged. The wind bent it in the tail. Only Gabi’s board is fine.

We start looking for my blue fish in the bushes near the road. But we don’t have much time left to catch the flight. We have to go to the airport in Marrakech and we have to leave my board behind.

We get to the airport and I receive a WhatsApp, «Hey David, did you lose something?»

I always write my phone number on my surf bags. A Polish guy – Artur – who was driving behind us, found my board on the side of the road and picked it up. I tell him, «Just keep it, take it to the ocean.» 

He answers, “No way, I’m keeping it until the day we meet again and I can give it back to you.»

Months and lockdowns go by, until October comes. It’s been 19 months since I lost my board on the road from Imsouane to Marrakech. 

I talk to Artur, and he tells me to drive to his family in Poland. My surfboard will be waiting for me there. I hop in the car and drive 6 hours from Vienna to a town in the south of Poland – luckily for me, Artur is not from the north of Poland.

I get there and meet his mother and grandmother, who have my board at their house. Unfortunately, Artur is not there, but on the coast of Portugal.

Artur’s family invites me for coffee. We chat for a couple of hours, until it’s time for me to go back to Vienna. This time, my Sel surfboard is safely packed in my trunk, and I am so happy.

Thank you,

David»