In Southern California, 66 people on a 1,300-pound surfboard set a new world record
It was a regular surfin' safari on Saturday, when 66 brave souls in Huntington Beach, California, rode a 1,300-pound board for about 15 seconds, setting a world record for the most people to ride a surfboard.
Not only did they set that record, but Guinness is looking into whether this was the world's longest surfboard, too. The fiberglass behemoth — it's 42 and a half feet long, 11 feet, 1 inch wide, and 16 inches thick — was designed by Australian Nev Hyman, cut by Rhode Island-based MouldCAM, and assembled by the boat builder Westerly Marine out of Santa Ana, California. The team also had to ensure that the surfboard was safe, and strong enough to hold more than 10,000 pounds.
Kelly Miller, president and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, said it was supposed to cost more than $100,000, but the estimate now is around $70,000 to $90,000. "It's a labor of love by a variety of people from around the world who have really coalesced around this incredibly epic idea about the world's largest surfboard ridden by the most number of people ever," he told the Los Angeles Times. "As you look at the board, it truly is a piece of art as well as a very functioning, high-performance, record-breaking-worthy surfboard." The board will make an appearance in the city's Fourth of July parade, and will then be housed in the International Surfing Museum in downtown Huntington Beach.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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