The phone connection is a bit fuzzy, but he sounds happy enough. Yes, the self-made board works well, and yes, it did carry him to victory at the Australian Waveski surfing titles two weeks ago.

But there's just a little adjustment he can make to it to make it work even better.

As organiser of this year's contest held over four days at Gunnamatta, Flinders and St Andrews, Best approached the event with some trepidation. Would there be enough entrants? Would they want to surf in cold Victorian waves? Would there be any waves?

The answer to all three was yes and, to top it off, he won the Australian open title virtually in his own backyard on a board he finished and rode just days before the contest began.

Best, 33, has been riding wave skis for 23 years, since he and his father borrowed a couple from an uncle. In 2003, tired of waiting for surf ski makers to deliver on time, he started shaping his own designs.

"I'd always had design ideas in the back of my mind and I always wanted to try. But it was also the expense as well as them taking too long."

As with most good designs, trial and error dictates the way forward. Best's decision to modify his latest contest-winning board followed careful scrutiny of a video made during the finals in the 1 to 1.5-metre beach breaks at St Andrews.

"Actually, it felt really good [in the surf] but I've seen brief glimpses on a video and it doesn't seem to ride as well as I thought it did, so I'm moving the belt position, which has a direct effect on what part of the rail is being raised.

"I'm fine-tuning it now. It's more balanced towards the tail and I can bring the weight forward."

But how does he feel about being the best wave ski rider in Australia? "Oh, it's good."

Best's previous win was two years ago at Batemans Bay in NSW.

He will be at the world titles at Coffs Harbour in September 2009.