Short film documents Huntington Beach’s record surf ride

This past June, hundreds of people witnessed Huntington Beach set two world records: building the largest surfboard and having the most people ride a surfboard.

The large crowd had the chance to see the 42 1/4-foot long board majestically ride toward the coast for 10 seconds with 66 people on it, but on Thursday, people will get to see a 16-minute film documenting the months of preparation leading up to the big day.

Visit Huntington Beach, the city’s visitors bureau, is premiering “The Biggest Board: Surf City USA’s Epic Ride” at 5 p.m. at the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach. Tickets are available online for $50 or can be purchased at the door for $65.

In 2015, Visit Huntington Beach hired New York cinematographer Nick Bowser to direct the film and document the board being built. Bowser, a Costa Mesa native who grew up surfing, said it was refreshing to work on a project that he could relate to.

Early on in the board’s build, Bowser said he did not know what Visit Huntington Beach wanted him to do with the documentary. He thought the group just needed footage for a promotional video.

“But it turned into me becoming the director and filming the entire process,” Bowser said. “It was such a neat story, and there was such a great human element behind the story with everyone involved.”

Bowser was there when the foam was cut by Rhode Island-based engineering company MouldCAM and assembled at his father’s business, Westerly Marine in Santa Ana, and was in the water when it made its record-setting ride.

“It’s about doing fun and great stuff and having big dreams,” he said.

Kelly Miller, president and chief executive of Visit Huntington Beach, said he has seen the final cut of the film and had goose bumps and tears in his eyes as he relived the moment.

“You go from the idea of us talking about it to the world record being set,” he said. “It had the same excitement as the first space shuttle being launched or Evel Knievel jumping the Grand Canyon.”

At 10 a.m. Friday, Visit Huntington Beach will unveil the semi-permanent home of the surfboard in front of the International Surfing Museum, at 411 Olive Ave. The board was designed with holes strong enough to fit steel posts and to be towed by a personal watercraft should it be used in the water again, Miller said.

“We can take that board off the post in less than an hour to either set a new world record or take it on a global promotional tour.”