On the cover: Tahurai Henry, velocity and shadows at Teahupoo. I wanted to convey the sense of speed and energy that goes along with the wave itself, says photographer Ben Thouard, but I also wanted to experiment with light and the silhouette of the rider. A lot of attempts went into capturing this photo. This one stood out from the others.

In this issue, we investigate the properties and mystique of magic surfboards, dig through a surf shooters 50-year-deep file, walk the beach with a trendsetting scavenger, and view prime selects by a South African photographer. We also head due north to cut first tracks at an Arctic slab, and session right points between blizzards.