New Zealand-based French surfer Alvaro Bon was kite surfing in Raglan on the North Island’s west coast on 15 October when his kite caught in the water, pulling him out to sea. As he drifted in the currents, he noticed something shining in the dunes at the northern end of the beach.

A surfboard lost off Australia’s coast nearly 18 months ago has made an extraordinary journey across the Tasman Sea, washing up on one of New Zealand’s most famed surf beaches.

New Zealand-based French surfer Alvaro Bon was kite surfing in Raglan on the North Island’s west coast on 15 October when his kite caught in the water, pulling him out to sea. As he drifted in the currents, he noticed something shining in the dunes at the northern end of the beach.

“I let go of my kite and started paddling towards the [beach] … and that’s where I found the board,” Bon recalled.

At first glance, the board looked slightly yellowed but had a fresh wax job and was in surprisingly good condition. Bon could tell it was handmade and shaped for larger waves, though he didn’t recognise its make.

“Then I flipped it around and it was covered in barnacles and mussels,” he said. That’s when he realised the board might have travelled an incredible distance. “I knew the currents and it was definitely possible. When I brought it back, all my surf mates were so stoked, everybody was so excited.”

Tracking Down the Owner

The board sat in Bon’s garden for several days until the smell of the rotting barnacles and mussels forced him to clean it. “I really started paying attention to it and realised there was going to be a story behind it and should look for the owner,” he said.

Bon posted photos and a message seeking help to identify the owner in Australian and South African surfing groups on Facebook. When he checked his phone two hours later, the post had gone viral. Surfers from around the world were speculating about the board’s origin and ownership.

Among the thousands of responses was a message identifying the owner as Liam, who had lost the surfboard during a boat trip off the coast of Tasmania on 10 May 2024, nearly 2,400km away from Raglan.

“Liam couldn’t believe it,” Bon said. “He told me that was one of his favourite boards … and he was really missing it.”

According to Bon, the surfboard had gone overboard with its bag and rope still attached. “I think that’s why the surfboard is so intact, because the board bag must have only come off a few months ago,” he added.

An Incredible Ocean Journey

Experts say the surfboard may have drifted across the Tasman on either the East Australian Current or the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which circles the globe.

“There’s this tiny, infinitesimal possibility that the surfboard went south, hitched a ride on a really fast part of that current, and went all the way round the world before washing up in New Zealand,” said Edward Doddridge, a physical oceanographer at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. “It would be quite the adventure, and we can’t know for sure.”

Now, after its long voyage, the surfboard is finally heading home - this time by air, after Bon returned it to Liam’s family in Auckland on Tuesday morning.

“The day I lost my kite, I found Liam’s board,” Bon said. “Maybe there was a reason.”