A surfboard lost off Tasmania’s coast more than a year ago has washed up thousands of kilometres away on a beach in Raglan – remarkably intact after its epic journey across the Tasman.
Kite surfer Albarito Bueno spotted the board while out on the water near Raglan. Covered in mussels and half-buried in the sand dunes, it was clear to him it wasn’t owned by a local.
"The shape of the board is made for very big waves – it’s not the kind we use in Raglan every day," Bueno told 1News. "I removed a few mussels to check the size, and that’s when I saw it had been shaped for someone named Liam."
With a name and the board shaper's mark, Bueno posted photos of his find to several surfing groups on Facebook last week. When he checked his phone after surfing a couple of hours later, it had blown up.
"Everyone was going crazy," he said.
The surfboard was covered in mussels when it was found 2400km away from home. (Source: 1News)
Among the flood of messages were friends of the mysterious Liam, the board’s owner – who revealed it had gone missing in May 2024 from Tasmania, approximately 2400km away.
"Liam couldn’t believe it," Bueno said. "It was one of his favourite boards, so he was super stoked."
One expert said the surfboard may have drifted across the Tasman on one of two major currents: the East Australian Current, which runs down Australia’s east coast toward New Zealand, 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," Edward Doddridge, a physical oceanographer at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, told 1News.
"It would be quite the adventure, and we can’t know for sure."
Now, the board’s journey home will be much shorter – it’s heading back to Tasmania with Liam’s family, who are in New Zealand for a wedding.
As for Bueno, he's hoping he’s earned some good karma.
"That same day I lost my kite,” he said. “But I found Liam’s board. Maybe there’s a meaning behind it."
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