I lost count of how many of my surfboards snapped or got otherwise destroyed. It's not so much the expense that is the problem. I saved a lot of money by building them myself. Still, every loss is a tragedy.
One day I did a bottom turn at Sandon Point and my best ever kneeboard went to pieces. I was surprised that the front half barely missed my face as it went its own way. No other board inflicted more bloody noses and black eyes than this one. You'd think that it would insist on at least tearing a gash in me as it finally expired. The end of this one was particularly traumatic because while the board was evil, it also was the best handling board I ever had. The situation was made even worse by the fact that I had not brought any spares with me and Sandon Point is about 60 kilometres away from where I lived. A lot of that is city traffic too.