Rick Weeks and the new SUNOVA Ghost Surf SUP – performance surfing simplified

The best things come to those who wait and that is certainly the case with SUNOVA’s new Surf SUP, The Ghost. Development of this new, performance surf shape was started well over 12 months ago led by Rick Weeks, a veteran surfer we first featured on TotalSUP in February 2023. Now, The Ghost is ready and heading to a SUNOVA dealer near you and, finally, Rick can share the story of The Ghost…

Hi Rick, welcome back!!

Great to be here again, Chris. How shall we do this?

You are a master storyteller and as the man behind the SUNOVA Creek and now the SUNOVA Ghost I think it would be best to hand this article over to you. Take it away…

Right! Let’s start at the beginning.

I am a dedicated full-time, lifelong surfer and I came to SUP like many others…. after age-related injuries and weight gain. My “pop-up”,  got up and went.

I was 285 lbs (130 kg) and 62 years old when I discovered my love for SUP and I dove head-first into paddle surfing to find there was almost zero info for guys my size. In the early days of SUP, one thing stood out to me as I searched…. the little information that was out there was sketchy and incomplete. Almost all SUP industry promotion was focused on young, super-fit surf stars that had nothing in common with my needs.

Rick Weeks – the 70 Year Old Grom

Frustrated, I set out to educate myself on surf SUPs, and that’s when the fun began!

It turns out that I pretty much fit the description of every other SUP surfer. This inspired me to share any useful information I uncovered with other “Big Boy” SUPsters.

The need was real, so I quickly gained followers on SUP forums and my YouTube Channel

Hang in there… I’m going somewhere with this!

My info-sharing morphed into free, personalised consultations for anyone who would ask. I created my own spreadsheets to analyse the data I collected from every SUPster. I did deep dives so that I could know as much as possible about each person, that way I could make board suggestions based on very personalised details, beyond weight and skill level.

I developed a questionnaire that dug into the core of each person. Local conditions, comfort level in the surf, ocean experience, preferred surf style (long, short, ripper, cruiser…. ) along with their goals and capacity for a challenge. I want to know every board they like or dislike and why. Details matter!!!

Rick Weeks with one of his SUNOVA Ghosts

And that knowledge you acquired ultimately led to collaboration with SUNOVA which in turn gave us the ‘Creek’ and now the new ‘Ghost’.

That’s it!

Through this journey, I have acquired a uniquely intimate knowledge of who is surfing on SUPs, where they live and the conditions they surf. This has given me a look at a good cross-section of the entire SUP surf world, from a 1st time novice to a World Champion. This is where the inspiration for the Ghost was born.

That is just part of the Ghostly backstory. There are three important things when trying to understand a new Surf SUP shape: Who created it, What is the goal for it and, maybe the most important question…. Why should I be interested in it?

Right, before we get into the answers here’s a Ghost fact, a group of Ghosts is sometimes called a ‘chill’, appropriate for a SUP surfboard. If you have never seen a Ghost then here are a few in action with Rick! 

Good recap and a great-looking board. Here is an obvious question, how did we get from The Creek to The Ghost?

In the winter of 2022/2023 my buddy Martin Jandke from SUNOVA asked me to come up with a concept for a new board, working of course, with legendary shaper Bert Burger, creator of SUNOVA Surfboards. I pondered this request for months, I had every board I would ever need, what more could I ask for?

Then one day, as I was changing out fins, I realised I was “fixing” every board to suit my particular needs, by using very specific fins.

BOOM, I found my mission! 

I needed to design a board that didn’t need fixing! If I could do that, I knew it would suit a vast majority of SUP surfers everywhere!

That sounds like an impossible goal, one board for all? 

Yeah, it was ambitious but I think we got there. Bert understands but it took us many, many hours in online meetings, working with his shaping program. I would ask Bert why a certain favourite board turned so easily in low-powered waves, and he would explain with an outline or rocker line. After many comments and questions, the Ghost began to appear on the page.

The “Ah ha” moment came when I told Bert that many SUPsters I consult, ride boards over 9 ft and they tell me they never get back to the kick pad. I asked Bert if some design feature would enable the board to turn from further forward.

Bert lit up and reached into his “Way Back Machine”, an idea he first had in 2002 but the surfing world was not ready for that idea yet, so he packed it into the archives for a later day. And now that day has arrived.

Bert said he had wanted to move the entire fin cluster forward.

BAM! “Yes! Perfect, I LOVE it!!! Move the fin cluster forward to wherever you think is right!”

I knew right then, that we were creating something special, and the Ghost magic was born.

For us less experienced surfers explain why moving the fin cluster forward makes such a big difference, it only moved a few cm, right?

That’s right, about an inch and it sounds like a small change but when Bert first had this idea the surfing world… just wasn’t ready. But it isn’t just about moving the fins, the whole board needs to work with the surfer to make that difference.

The fin position works in combination with a subtle bump down in the rail, right at the front fins to make super snappy turns without losing any drive. The Ghost comes with a 5-fin setup, using Futures boxes.

Since most people tell me they surf small to medium-sized waves in poor wind conditions, we needed the Ghost to be stable and instantly fast in low-power surf.

The tail of the Ghost has very hard edges for fast release and just enough rocker for performance without slowing the board down. The bottom: flat, to single concave, to double, to a light V at the tail.

The outline is slightly fuller for stability, creating curvy hips for turning.

And from your video you get it to turn very nicely without any exaggerated body language going on, it looks like a laid-back, performance board

My favourite performance boards generally have very pointy noses or step rails. Both of these features require a bit of skill to manage effectively, so I was after a nose that would be easy for everyone, yet thin enough to reduce swing weight and encourage snappy turns.

The rails are medium-low, to mix stability with performance. By not utilising super thin rails, we were able to achieve a reasonably flat standing area for rider comfort.

A fuller outline up front blends with clean curves through the midsection into a hip that adds some special sauce to the mix.

Paired with that forward fin placement and a slightly flatter performance rocker, this board is super quick and agile no matter where you’re standing.

Sounds like you have made a board that might suit a lot of paddlers in different conditions. Briefly, how would you sum up the new SUNOVA Ghost?

If you are looking for a board that does the hard work for you, look no further!

Awesome! Thank you Rick, it’s great to see you on the water and sharing your passion with us. 

The SUNOVA Ghost is now available to order through the SUNOVA Website in a range of sizes from 7’11″and 98.8l to 9’6″ and 170.6l.

Rick Weeks is not available from the SUNOVA website, his stats are currently 75 years old and 107kg. His go-to SUNOVA Ghost is the 9’1″ x 32.5″ at 149 litres. According to Rick, and I believe him, this is as stable as a 9’5″ board but it surfs like an 8’8″ and is fast, snappy, easy to surf and comfortable in all conditions.

Rick also has a 9’6 x 34 at 171 liters for the nasty, or lazy days and an 8’10 x 31.6 at 137 liters for when he  wants “to get my groove on“.

And the last word here belongs to Rick

I can slip out the door and move to an island now… I have all the boards I will ever need!

SUNOVA are one of the leading surf and SUP brands in the world with a massive range of boards and equipment, you can find out more about them on their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter profiles and see where the magic happens in The Board Factory. Don’t forget to keep up with SUNOVA here on TotalSUP.