The Seaglass Project Albacore is nearly here!!!

The Albacore is such a terrific surfboard. I can’t believe they are on the way to public now. It has been nearly five years since I felt the board while surfing in my mind. I really hope many people enjoy them as much as my family, friends and I do. The feeling of just trimming across a wave is really good. It is like hanging ten all the time. They feel just like an alaia but a lot easier to paddle. The soft rails and deck are very comfortable in the water and the flat rocker paddles and catches waves easily. I never think about waxing the board, fins, dings, or maintenance with them. They are a totally different surf craft from anything that I have experienced and I like it.
Finley and I have been busy filming and editing to help people see how fun the board is and how it works. This first video was shot at the Wreck at Byron Bay. Finley shot Harrison Muscat and I playing around in some small clean surf. I love the underwater surfing shots where you can see the convex curves of the bottom holding the board in trim.
The second is a mix of good rides on the Albacore from Noosa Heads and New Zealand. It shows the versatility of the board as well as the speed when sliding across a fast wave.
If you are interested in trying one, I strongly suggest you order one. There is a limited amount of them being made and they probably will sell out. It will be a while until the next batch is available. Contact your local surf shop, GSI, me, or hit the SEAGLASS button on my home page to order one and guarantee delivery.
Thank you very much,

Tom Wegener

This is my latest masterpiece, a look at how the albacores work, from underwater. Harrison and I tagged along with Tom on his latest trip down to Byron Bay.

We met up with Nathan oldfield, who, at the time, was shooting Chris Del Moro. Chris tried the Albacore and got STOKED.

The next day we found the Wreck was overhead, with howling offshore winds creating barrels you could yodel in. Only two people were out. We filmed this video on our second session at the Wreck, the size had died off, but it was still fun. The clear water in Byron allowed for the incredible angles you see in this video.

Recently I’ve been riding a lot with our new team rider, Harrison Muscat, on the albacores. School is over for the teram, so we’ve been shredding non stop.

We’ve been progressing an amazing amount, getting 360′s and cutbacks on some real awesome tea-tree sliders. These are some shots from our new secret little spot, too fast for anything with fins, Little-little cove.

Check this out!  This is love!!! For Sarah and Scott’s wedding they had a custom Plankton Noserider made for the day.   What a great wedding present – raising the bar for all those newly engaged out there!  After a beautiful wedding ceremony they were off to beach to continue the happiest day.

Each day brings a new challenge to the Creation Plantation.  This week a good customer and alaia enthusiast ordered a super short stand up alaia for beach breaks in WA.  He has a regular peanut but wants something that will fit better into the tight shore break tubes.  We talked and I made a 4’ peanut that is a squashed down Machado style peanut.  The tail is an inch wider than the nose and the board is an inch wider than the standard peanut.  I can’t wait to hear how it goes.

custom 4' stand up alaia for top surfer in WA

This is my favorite day; branding and signing the boards and triple checking them before they go out.

Second, I am furthering the progress into the little belly board blank.  I had been making them with the same width of wood that I use for the alaias.  But, being much thinner, around 10mm, the wood cups and twists far more than the alaia blanks.  This has to do with  the cuts of the wood and the way one side will dry out faster than the other side.  Also, for some reason a shaped alaia with thin rails and a thicker middle will not cup like a body board that is the same thickness across the board.  It is puzzling.  I am now gluing together more strips of wood and being careful to alternate the rings so that the board will stay flatter.  I have a lot of hope for these little boards that were enormously popular 60 years ago all around the world.  I hope to see lots of people who may not want to ride a stand up board surfing close to shore on the wood belly boards.  They are fun!

Matt picks up his new Plankton noserider

Happy Birthday tom

Planktons are on the move!  Matt  Foy picked up his new Plankton noserider on my birthday and he gave me a carton as a present.  The good karma from such a generous act immediately kicked in as he went to the Noosa Points and got the first three hours of a perfect, unpredicted swell.  I went down later for my birthday surf and found him with a perma-smile and eyes glazed over from the fantasy session.

Body boarding or riding Prone

Prone often leads to more time in the green room Photo Ryan Heywood

Finley was 5 years old when I was pushing him into tiny reforms on little alaia.  I would watch him from behind and I could see his head going towards shore.  One whitewash reformed into a wave with shape and I hoped he may angle across it.  But, I just about had a heart attack as I saw the shadow of his head through the wave go so fast that I thought he would for sure get hurt.  I wasn’t expecting that at all!  Such is the speed of the prone alaia.

Once I found how much fun the short (at the time) 7’ alaia was to ride prone I was hooked.  I could make impossibly long sections at the points and I spent more time than ever in the tube. As the board evolved they became shorter.  Surfing with my wife and kids, we found the little alaia was super fun in small surf as well.

Read more on he Prone Alaias here.

Check out this Article from a while ago published in the Pacific Longboarder Magazine on the evolution of the Seaglass Project.

You can find it here.

The Albacore is almost released. The above shots are from a GREAT day at First Point on the Albacores with Harrison Biden, me (Tom) and Finley.
The page on GSI is up, check out all the info on the Albacores here.

Seems like the whole world is in trouble and the doom and gloom about the economy continues. The only things that make me feel good are, in no order; surfing (naturally), a hard days work, beer (still), my family and my garden. That’s all the important things I need. Margie has come up with some deals for this time of the year to help you enjoy your surfing, which is – hopefully – something that still makes you feel good!
We have some great new tee shirts. These shirts were designed by Daryn McBride in New Zealand. Daryn is a very stylish surfer, a great artist and a very close friend. We went to his wedding in September 2011, on the North Island of NZ and hung out with his wife Angela and their triplets; Harper, Willow and Lennox.
The tee shirts are 100% cotton, pre-shrunk, regular fit, in sizes S-XL. There are two designs to choose from.
Ordering is simple. Email Margie with your order and she will send you a PayPal invoice which you can follow to payment. Contact; margie@tomwegenersurfboards.com
All prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. All orders will get a free TWS postcard “How to care for your alaia”. Postage within Australia is FREE for up to two tee shirts. For three or more tee shirts, add $15.
Postage overseas will be quoted but expect between $8 and $15 for up to two tee shirts depending on where you live.
So here are the deals… Margie can tell you all about them.

Tee Shirts
Wood Tee – a funny take on the iconic I (heart) NY tees. Daryn has used the shape of our logo in place of the heart symbol. This shape, which became our logo, began as the wood inlay that Tom uses to sign his name on wood boards. I really liked the simplicity of the shape and made it our logo years ago. The shirt is a bit silly and mysterious. It doesn’t even bear our Wegener name, but anyone who really knows wood surfboards, will know it. I guess you gotta love wood!
This design is in white only. Sizes S, M, L, XL. XXL or larger please ask. Cost $40
Timber Axe Tee – this is a drawing of Daryn’s that appears in be in a sketch pad. A timber board has been stuck in a tree trunk, fin first. The caption reads; The key to great log riding? A Tom Wegener timber axe! This design is in Marle Grey, Navy Blue and Olive Green. Sizes S, M, L, XL. Cost $40

Custom Surfboards
Order a custom alaia or bodyboard in February and get your tee shirt for free! Alaia surfboards have a round bottom and deck. My bodyboards have a flat bottom and deck.
Alaia 5’6 – 6’6 $600 plus free tee of your choice
Alaia 4’0 – 5’5 $400 plus free tee of your choice
Bodyboard up to 4’0 – $220 plus free tee of your choice
Extra – Custom artwork on request from $30. Freight charges will vary depending on location. We can quote freight.

For more details on custom surfboards click here

Check out this new video starring some local shredders, as well as the Wegener family-

The Albacore is the bubbliest, most fun, simplest finless board in the world. It makes the thrill of finless surfing easy and user friendly. The flex of the EPS core gives absolutely surprising grab off the bottom and holds a line even in a tube yet it still does the controlled side slip with ease. The board bounces from turn to turn and feels light underfoot. It surfs much like a thin wood alaia because of the flex yet it is soft and paddles very well. It takes the joy of finless surfing out of the advanced surfer’s world and into the realm of the beginner to intermediate. After riding two waves and doing a 360 spin in the pocket my friend said, “You have created the Volkswegener” the finless surfboard for the people.
Aside from surfing really well, there are other huge advantages to the soft board. You just throw it in the car (literally) and not worry about fins, wax or dings. If the surf is small or too shallow to surf, the board rides prone like a high end body board. If the beaches are flagged off to surfers, you can still surf the 4’11. If there is no surf the board doubles as a skim board or even a sand board. If you are spending the day at the beach or camping, the board works as a good bench seat. If you happen to be on the ski slopes the board is a great sled and even snow board in powder conditions.
I have been riding the prototype for a year now and cannot fault the board. It brings the best elements together from several distinct surfboards. It has the flex and feel of the alaia, it has the paddling and floatation of the EPS fun board, the holding edge of a boogie board, the comfort of the soft board, and the maintenance is next to zero from the latest soft board construction materials. With the Albacore I am ready for anything from small slop to powerful double over head tubes. But, my favourite surf is head high peaky beach breaks. It brings a new spark to this common surf.
There is one more thing to the Albacore, it is safe. The soft round nose and finless tail is infinitely safer than a normal surfboard. In crowds with lots of swimmers I know I am doing the right thing. When there are lots of surfers I like to ride over the top of my friends. In big hollow closeouts I love enjoying the moment in the tube without the danger of sharp fins or a hard board. In 2009 when I started on the tuna project, safety was actually the primary objective.

The Albacore is not for sale yet. It will be out in April, but I suspect that they will sell out soon. I already have lots of orders. To be sure to get one, please email me and I will put you on my personal list or go to the GSI website.

Cheers,

tom