Are you in the market for a new board?  How about being able to test out one of the best shapers in the business?  It’s that time of year again when Channel Islands by Al Merrick will kick off its 2009 board demo tour.

If you haven’t checked out one of these events before, it’s insane!  A crew of  CI employees rolls up to the beach in a big van that is packed with all the latest Channel Islands models and often times a few team rider boards.

All you have to do is show up at the surf spot and test out any of the equipment for FREE. Just recently Al Merrick unveiled the new Dane Reynolds signature model, “The Proton” which is now available at your local CI dealer.

And then of course there’s Kelly Slater’s new “Deep Six” which drew a lot of hype when he won the 2008 Pipeline Masters. Slater has even been carving some of his own boards lately.  (Maybe one of those will be available for a test drive?)

Channel Islands team riders are made up of some of the best surfers in the world, including 9-time World Champion Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Timmy Curran, Tom Curran and Lisa Anderson.

The 2009 Channel Islands surfboard demo tour has thirteen stops along the California coast.  The first takes place at C Street in Ventura on Saturday, May 16, from 7 to 11 a.m.