If riding a normal board is running down a boulder strewn path in hiking boots,
13/12/2011
For three years I’ve been riding an Alaia now. It all started when I watched a movie called ‘The Present’ which has a whole chapter dedicated to the modern rebirth of the Alaia courtesy of Tom Wegner being inspired by what he saw in the Bishop museum in Honolulu. As an alternative surfboard builder he recognised a consistent design principle in these ancient Hawaiian boards and with the help of guys like Dave Rastovich and Chris Delmorro (amongst others) he breathed new life into these beautiful and simple craft.
Kyle Jacobs imported some Alaia blanks from Tom in Australia and with Clayton’s help we set about shaping our own here in SA. Soon Johnno Hutchison and his mate Conrad up the North Coast dialled into the craftsmanship and suddenly there were a couple in the water dotted all over SA.
By this point I’d become addicted to mine. The start was hard, really hard but the rewards were so worth it. It was like walking through a door. Wherever Iain and I travelled in the early days of theBOMBsurf we took our Alaias along refining and learning all the time. Now I don’t go anywhere without mine.
I never met him, but word of a mysterious Hawaiian who travelled the entire coast and really surfed well on his Alaia met us at every beach we got to. He preceded us by a few months but it was clear that his skill was dramatically advanced from our own. I often wonder who that mysterious Hawaiian was and if I’ll ever meet him.
I remember wondering if it would be possible to surf Supers on one and going down there to try. I’d been riding the Alaia for about 18 months when I surfed Supers for the first time. I got a few waves but found the speed almost overwhelming and I could hardly control the board. Another year went by with more practice and I gave it another shot. This time I could dial into it – what an amazing sensation! While there I discovered that The Point may in fact be the ultimate hot dog Alaia wave. It is just so much fun to ride on an Alaia.
It was around then that we discovered Andrew and Cobus from WAWA wooden boards who were focusing all their board making skills on these type of boards. They’re based in Muizenberg. Walking into their shop was like walking into Aladdin’s cave for me there were so many beautiful boards I wanted to ride. They generously allowed us to ‘test’ a whole bunch of their prized creations at Long Beach and I can honestly say I’ve never had so much fun riding Long Beach!
The Alaia offers four gifts. Firstly a way of riding normal waves you never could on a regular board. Secondly it opens up a whole bunch of waves you wouldn’t normally ride because they are too small or too flat or too kelpy. Thirdly it opens an opportunity to be creative in your surfing. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to ride these things. We’re figuring it out as we go along which is really cool. Finally it gives you a great workout. A one-hour surf on an Alaia will burn as much energy as a three-hour surf on a regular board.
If you are still wondering what to put in your Christmas stocking, I’d say get an Alaia.
Where you can get them:
KZN: Johnno Hutchison 083 7841394
Eastern Cape: Country Feeling 042 293 1679
Cape Town: WAWA/Cobus & Andrew 082 3723142
Got something to say? Then leave a comment!
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Posted by Pat Flan on the 17/12/2011 18:41
A different dance - one the requires much skill. John has all the moves.
Posted by Mark on the 19/12/2011 09:54
It's all style - what hope for us lesser mortals?
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Siek
Posted by WantHD on the 19/12/2011 18:24
Have you guys got a phobia against any kind of video content that even vaguely approaches HD?
Its 2011 chaps HD content and camera has been out for years , are you guys still using your Sony DV tape camcorder you bought in 2001 in Indo's for R5k?
Just a heads up - it was a bargain back then but its a piece of junk now...
Or maybe you guys are so tight fisted you can't bring yourselves to pay for the extra bandwidth HD will use - I honestly can say that not having HD content will hurt your bottom line as users go else where to view content that is a little crisper!
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Posted by John McCarthy on the 19/12/2011 22:51
@WantHD, couldn't agree with you more. Time to retire the old sony camcorder. She's served us well but time to go. Watch this space in 2012 after we've treated ourselves for Christmas.
Posted by Warwick Heny on the 21/12/2011 10:17
awesome clip of you at jbay John ! that thing you ride looks soo much fun ! Have a great Christmas !
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Thanks re the cover, Barbara and Lauren.Yeah, edge is a fvtroiae word and concept of mine (I really need to blog about the amazing new film, The Edge of Heaven, even if it's a lousy translation of the more accurate title On the Other Side.)Hi Tracy I'll be checking your blog very soon.
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NaTyRaL, Прокомментировал:
Дата комментария: 27.06.2011
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Posted by реклама в интернете on the 04/05/2012 20:19
www.thebombsurf.com достоен быть в закладках. увлекся чтением ваших опусов.
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