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An Australian artist who has spent years collecting lost surfboard fins says nearly three-quarters of those he’s found are FCS.
Out of 250 fins collected from the reefs around Bells Beach and Winkipop, the artist reports that 73 percent were FCS systems. The findings were shared on the Instagram account Foundafin, publishing infographics breaking down the data: 47 percent were FCS, 26 percent FCS II, 7 percent Futures, and 7 percent glass-on.
The artist behind the project, Morgan Bridgeford, says he thought it would be “a bit of a laugh” to analyze the dataset. He began walking the reefs at low tide and searching for fins as a way to cope with a diagnosis of Ross River virus and the autoimmune conditions that followed.
Bridgeford also analyzed which fins in the set were being lost most often. He found that 40 percent were inside edge fins (when surfing right, given that Bells and Winkipop are right-handers), 31 percent were outside edge fins, and 28 percent were center fins.
While the sample size is far from statistically significant, the project quickly sparked debate in the comments. Some argued that it’s helpful that FCS fins release more easily on impact, potentially preventing serious injuries. Others said the data aligned with their own experiences and explained why they’d switched to Futures. A few commenters went further, calling for an end to what they see as an oligopoly, with two brands dominating the vast majority of fin sales.
The discussion is just the latest iteration of a long-running fin debate. Back in February, Filipe Toledo famously lost two of his four FCS fins at the Abu Dhabi Championship Tour event after colliding with a water photographer. Quiksilver’s social media account commented “classic FCS IIs” on the post, prompting Rio Waida, an FCS rider, to jump in and defend his sponsor.
Earlier that same season, Barron Mamiya lost two FCS fins at the Margaret River Pro while trying to ride out of a heavy inside section. Gabriela Bryan also broke an FCS fin during the final at the 2024 Supertubos CT event in Portugal, yet still managed to recover and win the contest.
Regardless, it’s an intriguing art project, and clearly data that surfers find interesting. Maybe Bridgeford should start fundraising to expand the research.
