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

Tom with Italian visitor from Alaia Religion

This was the brilliant new fund raising event dreamed up as a part of the Golden Days Festival at Coolum beach.  The Surfrider Foundation, Coolum Surfing School and Tom Wegener Surfboards teamed up to put on this unique event which brought lots of attention and donations to the local Surfrider Foundation and delivered a one-time, wood alaia experience to the public.

In the morning several top local rippers took out the alaia shapes that have been made famous by Rob Machado and David Rastovich.  They said they have been curious about the boards and this was the first time they could try one and it was great to see the local rippers step out of their comfort zone and face the challenge of something new.

Experienced surfers, new surfers and even very young surfers!

This was a special day; Pico and the Golden Days Festival crew promoted the event, Coolum Surf School helped with safety and insurance, the Surfrider Foundation facilitated the event and Tom Wegener Surfboards provided surfboards and instruction.  For the public, they got the chance to ride the little wood alaia and find out what the ancient surf stoke was all about!

Aisha, with her new Tom Wegener alaia bellyboard, and family.

We are now taking custom orders for alaia surfboards that can be made in time for a Christmas delivery. Australian orders shouldn’t be a problem; we can ship Australia wide. Outside Australia, contact us quickly and we will see what we can do. This week I have had a great time making and shaping an alaia that is destined to be a wedding gift. I have made many gifts before however this very special surfboard is a gift from the bride to the groom (no wonder he is marrying her!)

Alaia Surfboard blank

1951 to 1971 vs. 1991 to 2011- Thoughts from the Byron Bay Surf Festival

I recently spent the weekend at the Byron Bay Surf Festival with my son Finley and good friend Sandy Haynes. We piled up the van with a load of new wooden surfboards and alaias and hit the road south. The festival theme, “Surf Culture Now!” is a great concept and one that struck a chord with me. The list of scheduled events was long, varied and full of free, low key happenings. There was an innovative art competition aimed at kids. There were various exhibits, live music and talks. Talk topics ranged from Breathing for Free Diving, to Pilates for Surfing and guest author Tim Baker on his new book. Saturday was a chill out day for us, checking out the program and catching up with friends. On Sunday there was a very large surfboards display and expression session on the beach at Wategos. I brought my wooden surfboards down and with Fin and Sandy’s help; we set up a bamboo shack on the sand. There were hundreds of surfboards on display from top Australian shapers and one thing was very clear – from the very wide range of boards displayed – surfboard design is alive again!

Environmental Impact - Nil

Imagine all the phases surfing went through from 1951 to 1971. It started with redwood planks with some small fins. For the lifeguards it was all about the toothpicks (plywood hollow surfboards). At this time the surf community was small with just a few surf clubs. Then balsa became more user friendly with polyester resin and Dale Velzy’s glasser put the fin on the wrong end of the board and sparked the hot dogging era. Gidget became a top 10 best-selling book and movies ran with the surfing theme. The Beach Boys were arguably the most popular rock band in the world and surfing exploded in popularity. Bruce Brown cast the new mould for the surfer with Endless Summer, and surfing headed main stream with the development of easily produced foam surfboards. The noseriding era lasted for quite a few years where style was supreme.

Soon, George Greenough, Bob McTavish, Brewer and many other shapers wanted more control in bigger waves and the shortboard revolution was on. Grubby Clark opened the doors to selling foam surfboard blanks direct to the public for cheap and the backyard shaping world blew up overnight. It seems there was a complete ideological about face about every five years. The board shapes changed, the music, the materials, the styles changed…

Now compare that twenty years – that generation of surfers, surfboard shapes, styles and culture – to the surfing time-line from 1991 to 2011.
In 1991 Kelly Slater had arrived on the scene and after tearing Tressles like nobody before him, made it clear that he was slated as a world champion. Quicksilver, Billabong and Ripcurl controlled the press and competitive surfing. The longboard surfers had their own little world with a small contest series and a magazine soon to come. A divide between progressive and traditional longboards emerged and the contests followed the modern style while the movies showed the traditional style.

By 2009 almost nothing in surfing had changed for well over 15 years! Then there was a pulse of change with the re-introduction of wooden surfboards, craftsmanship, surfing for fun and the re-ignition of experimental shaping. Finally the emergence of the alaia, the interest in finless surfing and the rise in popularity of retro-themed surf contests had surfers scratching their heads and opening their eyes. A finless division at the 2011 Noosa Surfing Festival was a crowd pleaser and the Burleigh Heads single fin competition, so hotly contested, has become a regular event. Slowly there is a change of consciousness.

Yuki with new custom alaia

Danny Will's First ride on a Seaglass Tuna

Alternate craft and open minds for the Expression Session

This first video is simple with just me talking in the shed, but it has very profound ideas about surfboard design. The world of surfboard shapes is exciting and vast. It just keeps getting bigger and better. If you are interested in this video, please email me. I may try to get these videos strait to the little community that likes this stuff.

This is the Channel 10 Australia story on the Seaglass Project. As it turns out the link I had posted did not play outside of Australia.

Cheers,

Tom