Alaia Surfing

Leah Dawson "Slow Down"‬

2012-02-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

Leah Dawson rides an alaia, plays a guitar, and invites us to slow down. (Oh, and maybe hopes we'll buy a Go Pro.)

Alaia Wine

2012-01-25T12:05:00.000-08:00

I was looking around for pictures of alaias, and I came across a Spanish wine called "Alaia." I have never had it, so don't know what it tastes like, but it's fairly inexpensive, so I imagine it is one of those earthy red table wines for which the Iberian peninsula is famous.

Anyhow, check out the label below. Obviously a slider doing the la-la. And, if you drink enough of this stuff, I am sure you can la-la without a board.

[Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryansnyder/2507934278/]

Alaia Surfing at Malibu

2012-01-21T16:30:00.000-08:00

OMG! Is Malibu the ultimate "party wave" or what? Not that minimum 3 guys per wave is my idea of a party...

Alaia vs. SUP

2012-01-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

I don't condone violence, but do hate it when SUP people take over a peak. Here is a pretty damn good alaia surfer taking matters into his own hands to help a bro who got snaked by a SUP at Rincon.

Rincon Ain't No Place For SUKs. from Michael Kew on Vimeo.

Peanut Alaia in Small Waves

2011-10-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Nice video of two guys having fun on a small day on an alaia. Look at how much speed they can generate with almost no effort. A lot different than riding a typical shortboard!

Alaia River Surfing

2011-08-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a really well made video showing some German guys shaping a short alaia and then surfing it on a river wave. It would be pretty awesome to live near a river wave. Of course, here in the USA, if the river was in a populated area, it would probably be illegal to surf it.

More Surfing Videos

Alaia Humor

2011-05-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Pick your favorite punchline and wow all of your friends! Buddha's laughing, so it must be funny.

Q: When is an alaia not an alaia?
A: When it's a liar.

Q: When is an alaia not an alaia?
A: When it's a lyre.

Q: When is an alaia not an alaia?
A: When it's a lion.

[Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramdac/372913001/]

Machado alaia video resurrected!

2011-05-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

That video of Machado that I posted on January 27, 2011, and that was converted into a private video is back. This time it is available freely on DailyMotion rather than Vimeo. Who knows why these things happen? Anyway, enjoy the show!

Alaia Rob Machado by Riders-Match

Dave Rastovich Barreled on an alaia

2011-04-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Pretty incredible wave on an alaia. Very inspiring. Might make me ride mine in more gnarly surf than I usually do. Any time it gets over about 2 or 3 foot, I reach for my 6'1" thruster.

Private video?!?!

2011-03-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that the video that I embedded in my prior post of Rob Machado riding a peanut alaia has been converted to a private video. It seems strange that someone would post a video for all the world to see, and then after several weeks (months?) take it away from everyone.

Maybe it is going to be included in a for profit DVD...?

Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it. Sorry all.

Rob Machado

2011-01-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a great video of Rob Machado surfing a "peanut" alaia:

Alaia's in Cornwall

2010-12-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

There is a great story (with amazing pics) at Drift UK about alaias. Check it out by clicking here.

View Larger Map

The Case Against Retro Boards

2010-10-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Just stumbled upon this three-part classic that was on Surfline a couple of years ago. All about how retro boards keep surfers out of the tube.

Part I (Chuck Norris humor)

Part II (Great comment from CJ about Encinitas)

Part III (Thruster redemption)

[Photo: surfcrs]

Beginner Alaia Video

2010-09-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

This video could use some editing, a sound track, and some better dialogue, but looks like these guys were having fun, even though the legth of ride on the homemade alaia was suffering.

Random Alaia Pictures

2010-09-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Back from the dead with some pictures found on the Internet. In an amazing turn of events, they all relate to alaias!

Yoda would be a sick alaia slider!

Since when does the Home Depot sell wood for 50% off? Or paulownia blanks, for that matter?

Tom Blake and Some Old Boards

2010-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Great picture:

Found it HERE.

Caballito de totora

2010-06-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you think alaias are old school, check out the Peruvian caballito de totora. The debate is on as to whether these things were ever used as surfboards, but they are being used that way now. Check out the pictures below and the ESPN article from which I borrowed them. (CLICK HERE for the article explaining what the hell these things are.)

[PS -- any clever captions for the bottom picture are welcome in the comments.]

Breaking SUP Stereotypes

2010-05-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

I guess not all SUP-ers are fat old guys who never learned to surf when they were young and who dominate the peaks because they have no idea what the surfing Rules are. Here is proof (photo credit):

How to Shape an Alaia, part ??

2010-05-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

In the never-ending quest to find instructions on how to shape an alaia board, check out this post from the Surfboard Man.

If you aren't into that, check out the final day of the Nike Pro at Lower's. The live stream yesterday was killer and made it exceptionally difficult to get any work done.

Unconventional Alaia

2010-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Aren't all alaias unconventional from the perspective of the modern thruster-loving ripper? Well, check this thing out . . .

CLICK HERE for the complete photo series.

Catherine Clark with Alaia

2010-04-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to The Cornbread.

F*ckyeah Meme on Tumblr.com

2010-04-14T04:25:00.000-07:00

I have recently become acquainted with the fu*kyeah______ meme over at tumblr.com. I don't know how this started, but there are some good sites related to surfing. Here are a few links:

Fu*ckyeahsurf

F*ckyeahboardgirls

Fuc*yeahtheocean

And some non-fu*ckyeah that is pretty good:

Evaheinig

Welovesurfing

Rasta Surfing an Alaia at Noosa Heads

2010-04-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to Wooden Surfboards for finding this video:

Who would have thought Rasta would be the alaia god when he was being filmed for Momentum? Life is strange; and its turns, stranger.

Foam Core Alaias?

2010-04-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

I found a post on another blog about one shaper who is making alaia boards out of thin pieces of wood and foam. This "sandwich" construction is described on the blog as follows: "The Alaia-Lite has a foam core, wood sandwich construction, made of locally harvested and reclaimed wood from Hawaii." Bravo for the use of reclaimed wood, but this seems to defeat the entire purpose of the alaia movement, which is to return surfing to its historical roots and to be able to make a board from a single, sustainable material.

The maker of these alaias says that the use of foam enables the boards to float better and permits people to more easily catch waves, since an all-wood alaia does not float very well. This, I can see, is a benefit of the use of a foam core.

Nevertheless, for now, I'm sticking with wood.

More Alaia "Tow-In" Madness

2010-03-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

I don't recommend using a SUP to "tow-in" to waves on an alaia. If for no other reason, every person in the line-up will beat the crap out of you. However, the results are impressive. Check out the sick barrel toward the end. If you want more, I posted some other videos of this tow-in guy right here.

Thanks to Waverider for the find.