Hawaii surfer's lost board floats 5,200 miles to the Philippines

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A Hawaii man who lost his surfboard in the water more than two years ago said the lost item has now been found 5,200 miles away in the Philippines.

Doug Falter, 35, said he was surfing in February 2018 when the leash tethering the surfboard to him came loose and the board was carried away by the waves.

"I swam as hard as I could to try and get to it. I ran from one end of Waimea Bay across to the other side and scaled the rocks trying to get a visual until it was completely dark," Falter wrote in a Facebook post.

The surfer said he eventually gave up hope of ever locating his lost board, but Lyle Carlson, the man who designed the board, recently received a message from a man named Giovanne in the Philippines.

Giovanne said he had purchased the board for $40 from a fisherman who found it floating in the water. He used the board's markings to identify its maker and decided to try to determine how it ended up floating loose in the ocean.

Carlson recognized the item as Falter's long-lost board.

Giovanne, a school teacher, told Falter he plans to use the board to learn to surf, but there are no local stores that sell surfing supplies.

Falter said he is now raising money to send surfing wax and other supplies to Giovanne so he and his students can learn to surf.

"As bummed as I was when I lost it, now I am happy to know my board fell into the hands of someone wanting to learn the sport," Falter wrote.

Falter said he is hoping to eventually travel to the Philippines to offer in-person lessons to the teacher and his students.