I became interested in alternative wave-riding vehicles and wanted a surfing tool with low environmental impact and simple design. You’ve probably already read how, several years ago, Tom Wegener visited the Bishop Museum in Hawaii and researched their collection of ancient Hawaiian wooden surfboards.

Through his experimentation he found Paulownia wood, native to Asia, to work best for the Alaia boards. The Paulownia wood and it’s relative water resistance as compared to other woods is very good.

Tom’s brother, Jon began shaping Alaia’s in California importing the Paulownia wood making it more readily available to the US market. I began communicating with Jon and eventually met him in person at the 2009 Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida. I purchased an Alaia blank which provided a template for a 7’ board.

The shaping took approximately 12 hours. The boards Jon had on display had either a concave or vee bottom. He explained that the vee bottom tends to want to angle towards the beach while the concave bottom is more suited for down the line speed and maneuverability. I chose to put in a concave bottom.

The Alaia was my first attempt at shaping a surfboard and I’m stoked as to how it came out. To help preserve the board after shaping, it should be completely rubbed down with boiled linseed oil combined with bees wax and applied with a cotton cloth. The linseed oil and bees wax coat sits for about a day and then the process is repeated 2 to 3 times. After the third time the oil gave the board a beautiful luster.

Tom Wegener’s Website provides various ways in which the Alaia’s can be ridden – prone, knee and standing. I found the board to be very challenging to paddle, which I was expecting, and rode the board prone. The Alaia provided one of the best surfs on knee high waves! I took in many inside-the-barrel views with lots of happiness and smiling at the weird side affects. I’m excited about taking it out again and possibly standing up! I enjoyed the shaping process with the Alaia and plan on producing more.

Thanks to my buddy, Nick Schwarzkopf, for shooting the surf photos of the Alaia’s maiden voyage!

During past summers driving over to our Atlantic side to score ridable waves during the summer flat spells was the best solution leaving the local breaks unchecked until the better and more consistent winter months. With a tight budget and a will to surf we survive. And I don’t know if it’s been a summer with better surf here back home or simply the local spots haven’t been checked but I’ve been able to surf almost every week since I made the choice to keep it close to home. The fix isn’t like that of riding something with a bit more power but a fix it is and when there’s several days of it in a row, who can complain?

Just recently we had several days of fun surf from either a westerly wind which persisted for two weeks eventually producing perfect glassy knee to waist high waves or Tropical Storm then Hurricane Dolly serving up more of the same. The local spot which produces mediocre surf at best has been doing a bit better. The local sandbars now seem to line up the waves more consistently than past years possibly due to the multi-million dollar beach re-nourishment which washed away and filled in the bars or maybe the man upstairs seeing our crisis and providing respite from all things man created and tearing it down for us to keep sanity or lack there of in check. What ever is happening I couldn’t help but fall back in love with the local breaks even it they aren’t more than weak dribble when they’re on.

Sure you may live at or close to a great spot but even then the hunt and desire for bigger, better and longer persists no matter who you are.
Save your money, maybe get a new board, take your kids shopping for some news clothes, take the wife or girlfriend out to eat and take a look at your local break again. Even if you’ve got a better local spot than others, think of us who surf the small stuff and get stoked for what you have and pray we get something better than flat. Fall in or back in love with your local break as it will make your daily routine so much better.

Stay stoked!

Arsen

Mickey spoke of his larger Surftech longboards as being one of the first designs utilized for modern stand up paddle. Our conversations specific to SUP ran the gamut from boards to paddles. The paddle conversation touched upon the possibility of utilizing them for not only SUPs but also for smaller boards. The shorter board paddles we brainstormed could be made into tools which fit around ones hands to be used as foils to allow for radical direction change, increasing speed, stability and also exploring ways of using parts of the wave (such as the ceiling of a barrel) as never before. Imagine hanging from the ceiling of a barrel on specialized hand paddles/foils with a shortboard strapped to your feet dangling below – literally, hang body. The hang body thing might take a bit of developing but the catalyst of the SUP conversation takes surfing into unimagined directions. Through my upcoming film about ancient Peru’s surfing I’ve become interested in the possibility of the ancients and SUP. Mickey believes most coastal or water related ancient people have done a form of stand up paddle. During my visit with Glenn Hening we watched his video from Peru where a clip showed a Caballito de Totora fisherman standing on his craft utilizing the paddle for maneuvering in the waves upon approach to shore. If the standing position on a surf craft is natural today it is quite possible it was relevant during ancient times.

The perfect waves and set ups of California provides a great place for SUP to thrive. A certain San Diego reef has become a center of stand up paddle in the area. The overall group, consisting of all boarders, make it work. The SUP guys, from what I witnessed, were considerate of the other surfers and the vibe was mellow. With the cold water of California’s Pacific Coast, SUP provides a prefect fit with less contact of the cold water adding more time staying happy riding waves.

As this film production continues so do the advancements and future developments of SUP. Many manufacturers now offer new and diverse models of SUPs, where not too long ago only one general design was available.

With the numerous ideas currently in SUP the future looks fun and full of possibility for all of surfing.

Stay tuned for future entries related to this production – SUP: The Next Step

Stay stoked!

Arsen

Going With The Flow: Surfing Costa Rica’s Jungle Breaks has announced a theatre tour, with premieres in California and Florida.

Florida Locations:

US Tour Launches at the Beach Theatre, St. Petersburg Beach, 727.360.6697 Thursday, February 21st at 7:30pm See Locolism play some funky Ska and surf punk!

View the FL event poster

More FL locations will be listed after the California leg of the tour is complete.

California Locations:

Museum of Art San Diego, La Jolla, 858.454.3541 on Tuesday, February 26th at 7pm & 8:30pm.

Come early to see Marklyn Retzer play some soulful acoustic guitar!

Please note: It’s been brought to my attention that when calling the Museum for film information they’ve been uniformed internally about the film event and therefore confusing those interested in attending the screening. Please be assured I have called the museum and communicated this issue and they will rectify it immediately. All future inquires about the show past this email communication should reflect accurate information and awareness about the film at the museum’s La Jolla location by their staff. The museum has two locations, one downtown and the one where the film will be screening in La Jolla. There is a possibility that when calling the downtown location they may not be aware of the show happening in La Jolla. I hope to see all those stoked about the film and rest assured the screening is on and is sure to be a blast!!!

La Paloma Theatre, Encinitas, 760.402.9329 on Thursday, February 28th at 8pm.

Come early to see Marklyn Retzer play some soulful acoustic guitar!

View the CA events poster

Film synopsis:

Kevin Connelly and Jesse Timm bring their classic California soul surfing to the exotic shores of Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast as they stumble into ex-pot smuggler, surf cult hero, writer and surfer Allan Weisbecker (screenwriter for Miami Vice, author of Cosmic Banditos, In Search of Captain Zero & Can’t You Get Along With Anyone) who embraces their vibe and joins them on an adventure filled with fun waves, stories, opinions, and danger.

Going with the flow where ever you are and in every moment allows for magic to happen taking Kevin, Jesse and Allan in and out of trouble leaving them smelling like roses, well almost.

With no place to stay, vehicle break downs, hungrey giant crocodiles, bad karaoke, howling monkeys, frequent police altercations, wild bus filled Ticos, a funeral, rum, and perfect longboard waves you never know what will happen until you go with the flow.

Stay stoked!

Arsen

Terry spoke of how stand up brought back the feeling he had when first getting to his feet as a kid. The newness of it all is what ignites his creativity which will no doubt yield unimaginable results within stand up paddle as well as the surfing world.

One of the most well recognized names in surfing, Al Merrick, draws an instant mental image of cutting edge surfboard design. Al’s designs, as we all know, are ridden by the best. Recently Al like Terry has found a fresh stoke through stand up paddle. He’s already developed several different shapes for his SUPs and tests them regularly. As Terry is a master of his craft in the islands experimenting and refining in big surf, Al works with classic California perfection. Al will be sharing his stoke of stand up paddle in the film through his opinions, knowledge, insight and action. I’ll be traveling to California at the end of February 2008 to promote my latest film and spend time talking and filming with Al about SUP.

I too have now experienced a bit more with SUP. I had an opportunity to ride an 11’6″ C4 Waterman and compare it to the other boards mentioned in my earlier entries. The board worked great, maneuvered well, had good stability and turned without much effort. I did find the fin a bit large and the old turn and burn didn’t quite happen. Although at the end of the session I had it down enough to get my waves and conclude a smaller center fin would’ve worked better or maybe even a shorter center with side bites. SUP is changing rapidly. Boards which came out several months ago costing an arm, leg and then some are now competing with boards of similar dimensions and quality at less than half the cost.

Check back for “SUP: The Next Step” production updates and as news happens.

Stay stoked!

Arsen

He wants his SUPs to work like a shorter more manueverable board but still allow for the advantages an SUP offers, which are numerous. The most critical advantage he says is not missing waves since the sets can been seen coming much sooner than in the prone position. Once he’s set himself up for the choice wave he can than intimately observe the face as well as the water in front of it to better prepare for what will be happening down the line. Once he’s up and riding his smooth railed, quad fin, rounded pin 9’6″ allows for radical turns while maintaining speed and providing confidence. The blanks he uses are lighter EPS foam.

He says due to Clark Foam’s closing SUPs have been refined at a rapid rate due to everyone looking for other alternatives or blowing blanks themselves as Terry does his own. He believes the shorter boards have come about due to the fast and powerful waves found on Hawai’i. Shorter boards in the Islands are necessary to make the waves and not get hurt or killed in the process. He understands different SUP boards need to be applied when surfing various waves and regions throughout the world just as you would when picking the right board for your own local breaks. When going stand up on a smaller, mushier wave a longer board which will efficiently utilize it’s own inertia is required.

Taking from his foil board riding experience he uses quad fins which forces the water to speed off the board while helping in lighting fast turns. He believes the carbon fiber blades are the way to go as they’re lighter than the wood versions which helps with fatigue, banging your board when switching paddling sides as well as with the forward flex it provides during wave catching. Terry shared more with me about SUP which will be presented in the film so stay tuned to the on going production blog as more will be learned in the Islands as well as from other regions throughout the States, such as California and Florida.

Stay stoked!

Arsen

Before the weather got to nuts I had a chance to ride an SOS 12 footer SUP, affectionately known as “Big Red”. The board provides good stability and catches waves with ease. Control of the board once in the act of sliding down the line is excellent and instills confidence with every move. I don’t see myself taking an SUP board out into macking surf but the people who do approach it with style. There were several people out going stand up on the bigger waves. Their boards again varied in size and shape chosen by the available tools or knowledge derived from experienced shapers and/or riders. As I meet with the individuals who’ll be featured in the film their opinions will be provided to allow for cross referencing facts to help make your mind up if you should go to this next step.

The question of etiquette is strong when going SUP. To wave hog or not to wave hog. The people surfing already who have the tendency to be wave hogs they’ll more than likely do the same on SUP. A recent story I heard was of Big Wave Surfer and SUP proponent, Dave Kalama, who surfs his home breaks with not only style but most importantly,class when going stand up. After every ride he’ll paddle back out and let enough waves go by to make sure all of the other surfers get their share before he goes again. This makes total sense and ensures a positive vibe out in the water. Sure the SUP boards have the ability to catch every wave but it doesn’t mean it should be done. Stop and think then do the right thing. Not only will it help the vibe in the water but will get more people out there on SUPs helping our tribe evolve.

Stay tuned for the next installment as the project goes with the flow.

Arsen

There were a handful of people riding SUPs and some showing good style and technique. Only a few of the SUP surfers took on the bigger waves while the others opted for the average size waves not wanting to loose their paddles as tends to be the norm when wiping out or bailing on the bigger ones. From the previous evenings brief encounter with Hawaiian Waterman, Kalani Vierra, I managed to film but a few of his masterful SUP rides. Within the next several days I’m hoping to talk with and interview several individuals who are making a difference in SUP technique as well as board design. The trade winds this morning are wasting no time in making their presence felt and should provide good offshore conditions. The cloud cover seems to be less intrusive and hopefully will allow for better filming.

Stay tuned from my next installment from blue Hawaii.

Arsen.

With a five hour time difference from my beloved Florida I was anxiously up and ready to go at 5:00am as it would’ve been 10:00am back home. A quick check of the buoys showed a big swell was not smacking itself onto the shore so I did what any surfer would do – I went surfing. My friend in Hawaii’s neighbor who is also another sponsor which provided his van for the production joined us for the dawn patrol. The morning was surprisingly chilly, the scenery breath taking and the waves were looking small but fun at shoulder to head high with a light off shore wind. Since I wanted to get the place wired I stuck with a familiar wave riding vehicle, a 9’10” Hansen log. My friend on the other hand brought a quiver for us both and chose his 10’ SUP as his tool of choice.

For several hours the three of us surfed, hooted and chatted it up. My friend looked solid on his board and got some long rides showing good style wearing a big grin from ear to ear as he made his way down each line. Several other SUP guys came out to the reef we were sitting on and got some decent rides. As I looked around you could see stand up surfers at the different spots waiting on or catching waves. SUP is strong here. The different shapes and sizes of the boards clearly shows the rapid progression in this new extension of surfing. As the wind picked up we headed in to scout filming angles then watch several surf films at my friend’s neighbors house.

After several hours of eye ball stoke I couldn’t wait to get back in the water. This time I grabbed a 12’ Softop SUP along with a Laird Carbon Fiber paddle and made my way to the break we surfed earlier in the morning. The small swell dropped to the occasional chest high set and provided me with a good starting point to give SUP in the islands a go. As the days light made it’s way behind the mountains I scored several fun rides with no one out. As the light switch was finally flicked off I quickly made my way towards the beach to call it a day. The ride back to my friends allowed time to get in touch with Kalani Vierra and set up a rough schedule to film his SUP mastery when the swell hopefully hits sometime this week around Tuesday and Wednesday.

Arsen

I’ve been drawn to producing films which are cut slightly from a different cloth then most surf films. The films ‘Single Fin Yellow’ and ‘Far Shore’ pop into my mind when thinking about where I draw my inspiration from rather than those of fast cuts of surfing action with not much substance. As the year wore on my finances dwindled but the passion for surfing and documenting it kept a blaze. I’d tell my friends, I’ve never been so broke and traveled so much in a year. All the travel has been due to the many hook ups I’ve received from people who are stoked over my work. Mainly private individuals willing to provide me a house to stay in for free, dinner, crazy discounted flights, vehicles to use both terrestrially and aquatically for the sole purpose of producing a film which will benefit our tribe through sharing of the stoke.

Throughout the year my friend in Hawaii has been asking if and when I’ll be flying to Hawaii to film big wave SUP. I kept hoping for a change in the financial weather but nothing seemed to happen no matter how much I let go of it. In one of his latest emails he asks what the deal is of me coming to Hawaii? After months of putting it off I tell him I won’t be able to make it, due to cash flow. It seems every time I let go of wanting something so badly it comes back many fold…

Two days later my friend in Hawaii responds with news his neighbor friend who happens to be a retired United Airlines pilot is willing to put me onto his buddy list to fly from Florida over to Hawaii round trip for next to nothing! I know, I couldn’t believe it either. Well it gets better. The LA to Hawaii legs of the trip are first class. And it keeps getting better. Another one of my friends friends is providing his van for me to use during the two weeks I’ll be producing the project. Soon after, he informs me Felipe Pomar will provide one of his guns, a Brewer 10’8”, to use while there. Needing a place to rest and call home while out there my Hawaiian friend offered up to share his home with me. There it is, a film with so much good karma already will no doubt flow and be reflected within the project itself.

Just this morning I received word from C4 Waterman’s, Todd Bradley, that one of their team riders Kalani Vierra will be interested in being involved. Of course my friends at Surfers Path are involved by providing a vehicle to tell the story behind the story through this blog and then later through a feature article on recycled pulp splashed with a bit of natural ink. I don’t know what to expect while out in Hawaii other than I’ll be going down a path with plenty of surprises, adventure, good people, good times, surf (hopefully epic) and get to bring all of the goodness back for everyone within our tribe to enjoy. I rarely plan an exact shooting schedule as I feel it hinders the natural progression of life so check back for more updates during the production phase out in Hawaii as I never know what will happen next.

Stay stoked till next time and support our efforts by sending a good word or two for everyone involved.

Remember, spread the love and when you’re not expecting it hopefully it will come back to you,

Arsen