Just as I thought Stand Up Paddle Boarding was the hottest new craze, and prior to that fishes and quads, I believe another has surfaced - the Alaia surfboard by Tom Wegener. Based off of the ancient Hawaiian surfboards more than 1,000 years ago, the Alaia is a finless piece of wood that is sealed with oil. What makes these boards work is the hard edge of the rail that acts as a fin and the gentle curves on the bottom hold the board into the face of the wave. Unbelievable speed is created by flexing the board to fit into the wave. Tom states in a recent Surfline article that “There are lots of combinations of Alaia design that haven’t been put together yet that are extremely promising in terms of design innovation”.

With test pilots like Rob Machado, Dan Malloy, Dave Rastovich and Tom Carroll, these surfboards are being taken to the next level in surfing which can bee seen in Thomas Campbell’s upcoming new movie The Present. Rumor also has it that Tom Curren is ripping on his as well. 

Just as my new issue of Surfing Magazine arrived in the mailbox, local HB shredda Sterling Foxcroft popped over with Matt “Drifty” Williams from Tom Wegener Surfboards in Australia. Matt is Toms apprentice and helps craft these Alaia surfboards. It was great to hang with him a bit and hopefully we will see him soon.