Alaia Surf Contest?

Someone should organize an alaia surf contest.  Or, in keeping with the natural flavor of alaias, an expression session.  The prizes could be sytlish sculptures carved from wood.  You could also set up a nearby "green" fair and marketplace.  I'd do it myself if I had some free time, but as you can see it is difficult enough for me to try and update this blog once a week or so.

If you are in the San Diego area, I bet Patagonia-Cardiff would sponsor such an event since that shop is the source for all things alaia in San Diego.

The hardest part would probably be coming up with the judging rules and finding judges.  What is a 10-point ride?  Repeated la-la slides down the face of a wave?  Five 360s in rapid succession?  A one-second barrel?  And then, where do you find judges who understand the difficulty of certain maneuvers?  Since this style of surfing is in a renewed infancy right now, people who surf an alaia that well should be in the event, not judging it.

Anyhow, if you organize one, let me know.  I'll give you free advertising space.

Alaias and the fairer sex

I have not seen in person any women riding alaias.  Is the alaia trend a boy thing?  I don't see why it would be.  I know Kassia Meador rides one (see the picture above that I grabbed from her blog).  In one of KM's blog posts, she mentions a French ROXY slider named PANDORA, so I assume PANDORA is a woman.

There is also a video that has a part in it where Carissa Moore tries an alaia:





But, aside from these pros, I have note seen any women riding these things where I live in San Diego. Am I not looking hard enough? Are any women riding these things?  Are any women out there shaping their own alaias?

What is evolution, really?

A question to contemplate as we begin 2010: what is evolution as applied to surfboard design?


Does your opinion of the value of Progress depend on your state of mind?

Fantastic Alaia Shaping Instructions

I just came across the best site I have ever seen that explains how to shape an alaia. I wish I had put this together.

See for yourself; CLICK HERE.

A gente brasileira tambem usa alaias

My Portuguese is a bit rusty, but I hope the headline conveys that the Brazilians are also getting into alaias. I came across a story on a Brazilian website that talks about the eco-friendliness of alaias and has some great pictures too.

Check it out.

Alaias in the New York Times!

Holy crap. When an east coast establishment newspaper runs a detailed story about alaias (with props to Cyrus Sutton with a pic of him in my home town of Encinitas), you know the trend is in full effect.  CLICK HERE for the story.

Little Black Wheels Trailer

All at once . . . ahhhh.

Surf movie trailers are the best pornography ever invented.

Pollination

Not exactly alaia surfing, but some great trim.

Help Rebuild Samoa

[Thought I'd pass along this message from Mercy Corps...]

Dear Reader,

Three decades ago, I had the honor of living among the people of Samoa as a young missionary. Last month, I returned as an aid worker lending a hand in the aftermath of a tragedy.

A Sept. 29 earthquake under the South Pacific Ocean spawned a tsunami that washed away entire villages and killed 138 people in independent Samoa. I met families living under tarpaulins. I passed bunches of flowers left where loved ones were last seen. And everywhere I saw debris: bedding, clothing, toys, building parts and more.

Thanks to support from Mercy Corps' generous donors, we've put hundreds of affected Samoans back to work, rebuilding some of what they lost. And in Indonesia, we've supplied survivors of the massive earthquake that hit September 30 with shelter materials, drinking water and tools to help them clean up and rebuild.

Please help us respond quickly to the next disaster with a gift to our Emergency Response Fund.

On Samoa's tiny Manona, an island without cars where villages nestle right up to the water's edge, I watched more than four dozen men restore damaged seawalls and repair building foundations eroded by the surging waves. Cash-for-work programs like these are how we help communities ravaged by disaster lead their own recovery.

This particular work not only resulted in repairs to important infrastructure, but also injected desperately needed cash into the local economy. For a week's work each person earned 100 Samoa Tala, or about $40 — a significant sum in a country where the average annual income is less than $1,000.

My colleagues and I had the privilege of accepting the heartfelt thanks — or "fa'afetai lava" — of the village workers and chiefs. They were truly amazed at the response of Mercy Corps and our local partner, South Pacific Business Development, to help their tiny island rebound from this tragedy.

Our quick response to the disasters in Samoa and Indonesia was made possible by supporters like you. Please help families when they need it most by making a donation to our Emergency Response Fund. Thank you for your support.

Steve Mitchell
Chief Financial Officer

Donate Now ›

Alaias in Japan

Well, the surfing is not particularly awe-inspiring, but the alaia stoke is spreading around the world. Here, we see a booty-glove wetsuit man putting an alaia through its paces: