Pete Copp - a how to guide on braking stuff

You chat to one of the local surfboard companies you are mates with (Tri Ocean) who imports Hooded Villain boards from South Africa. Order one of Kola Le Roux's Waveski's. Wait for ages for it to arrive in the UK. The very day it arrives, you call up two mates, Jonny 'Militia' and James 'Brains' Hawker, and head for a semi secret reef called terraces. Now, at this point it's like Pete is on speed! He is jumping and itching to get in the surf. Up on the cliff, the tide is still too low, and the reef is sucking dry, us there early before the crowds.

Pete: "I'm going in"
Jonny "??... it is way too low, wait for the push"
Pete "No - I'm going, it's hollow out there"
Jonny "Pete - there is no water on the reef - wait an hour"
Pete - "Naaaaaa I'm going in"

With that, he climbs down the cliff, sprints across the beach, jumps in and paddles out too the reef.
Me and James just lean against Pete's van, and wait for disaster. A set comes, it's about head high, Pete paddles and drops in so late, winds it off the bottom and gets covered up in a shack.
What happens next, can only be described as a kind of explosion of water, as Pete and ski suddenly halt as he hit's the reef!!!
Pete - still strapped to his ski, is upside down, dry, on the reef, like an up turned turtle - you cold see a glint of white through the yellow ski of newly exposed foam. Us on the hill are laughing so hard, I couldn't stand up. Seconds later - Pete arrives. also laughing!! Hands it to James "Fix it"

Forward a few months. Jonny James and Pete again. Off for an early surf before work. There is a heavy wave, with an evil left hand shore break. Epic. Then we hear "Oh, ahhhh CRAP" James and I look at Pete. "I've forgotten my paddle" and is looking at a brand new Ainsworth Carbon RTM, short shaft prototype" OK I say - use it. "Cheers" says Pete. opens the boot of my car, grabs the paddle and shuts the boot - thud. It didn't shut, THUD, it didn't shut then so he slams it even harder THUDD - it closed. I open the boot to get my wetsuit and he has slammed the boot latch through the leg of it, punching a big hole right through!
Couple of hours later, while surfing a Future Random, he takes off so late, on a massive close out, cranks it around and airs off the close out - into a foot of water. He gets blasted up the beach... like an up turned turtle again. However he doesn't get back in. Because he has snapped my NEW blades.

Forward a year to today. James has a development prototype for an even better version of his ASCC (Advanced Structural Core Construction). It is not finished, it is, literally just a prototype. Meant to be super strong James says. We both look at each other - "Pete Copp"

That afternoon, we are back at Terraces reef. It is shallow, with the odd occasional tube. "Don't break it". Now it is a prototype, with temporary fin boxes as we are testing new fin displacements too, it has never been used before. Pete paddles out. and snags some epic waves. But the tide is dropping and the reef is getting too shallow. James and I are on the cliff getting changed, and have a da ja vue moment.

Pete takes off on a sweet looking wave, gets shacked. But instead of being happy with the tube and kicking off, he guns it, trying to get tubed again. James now has his hands on his head "No, no, no, no, no, no" But its inevitable, its Pete. - Again, there is like an explosion as Pete hits the dry reef on the prototype. Again he is like an up turned turtle, strapped to the ski. You don't see James angry very often. Today he chased Pete with a paddle.

 Still, the good news was the improved Advanced Structural Core Construction is super tough. Even though the fins got ripped out, there was no damage to the construction other than right at the fins. The rest of the ski was fine, even after rolling about on a reef. Does the future hold a Pete proof waveski?