I ride a 5'8" Wegener alaia and love it. It goes like a rocket down the line and is a blast.
If you slide out it's not like a mat - it's more unpredictable when you lose your inside rail and the tail starts to go on you although I've been playing with the fin-dipping technique that PG mentioned here and that's useful.
I think it's easier to get going on for a novice rider than a mat, being rigid and all.
Also really easy to duck dive 'cause of the neutral buoyancy.
I pretty much alternate 50-50 between the alaia and the mat.
check out pronetobelly blog,he is the voice of what we call bellyboarding in the UK,essentially alaia.World championships were a blast!I learnt to ride waves on these boards,still love them and often see 80 year old ladies out on them in the whitewater.Fun.You can get them all over Cornwall,too!
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There's an awesome portion of Tom W. in the movie "Sprout", and "Seaworthy", as well.
wow,going to have to dig the old balsa bellyboard out when I gets back home to Cornwall...
I ride a 5'8" Wegener alaia and love it. It goes like a rocket down the line and is a blast.
If you slide out it's not like a mat - it's more unpredictable when you lose your inside rail and the tail starts to go on you although I've been playing with the fin-dipping technique that PG mentioned here and that's useful.
I think it's easier to get going on for a novice rider than a mat, being rigid and all.
Also really easy to duck dive 'cause of the neutral buoyancy.
I pretty much alternate 50-50 between the alaia and the mat.
I should add that Tom's got an interesting DVD himself devoted to alaia riding and a significant amount of footage devoted to prone alaia.
Musica Surfica is just coming out and has some footage of stand-up alaia riding as well. Trailer is here.
I love Tom's quote about if he had his surfing life all over again, it would be sufficient to have a 6' alaia and a pair of swim fins...
check out pronetobelly blog,he is the voice of what we call bellyboarding in the UK,essentially alaia.World championships were a blast!I learnt to ride waves on these boards,still love them and often see 80 year old ladies out on them in the whitewater.Fun.You can get them all over Cornwall,too!
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