MyPaipoBoards Forums

Hi there, I just spent a few days in Galicia, Spain.
We had small waves, not hollow, but that was fun to surf there, plus the region is beautiful.
Since the house was in front of the beach, I managed to film a couple of waves riden by me on the paipo:
https://youtu.be/LskIlVWE8PQ
I had a bodyboard, a surfmat, a 8' foamie, and a plywood bellyboard with me.
In that kind of surf, the bodyboard and the surfmat were not great. The paipo was the best to me.
Sometimes waves were so small but in the same time so clean that my sons surfed their longboard prone, they really liked it.

Despite the conditions it looked like your board was getting some speed up.

Whereabouts in Galicia was this?

It was at Pantin beach, a famous beach break of the region.
Regarding the speed, the long / narrow / flat combo seems to work fine in that kind of conditions, although at times I had to "pump" and paddle in flat sections.
On the first wave I performed a funny "bottom turn" (to avoid a collision), this is something I plan to work on in the future since the board seems to like quick turns despite its length.

"long/narrow/flat" = Alaia! This video (one of my most favorite surf vids) is standup but really a master class in how that sort of board works, what kind of lines it likes to draw. Some variations will undoubtedly show up for prone riding but still....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvYqok4jrW0
Rob Machado surfeando en un palito de helado

Been sayin' it for years. In small waves there's no match for speed and fun.

GeoffreyLevens wrote:"long/narrow/flat" = Alaia! This video (one of my most favorite surf vids) is standup but really a master class in how that sort of board works, what kind of lines it likes to draw. Some variations will undoubtedly show up for prone riding but still....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvYqok4jrW0
Rob Machado surfeando en un palito de helado

Nice video indeed. I like the way alaias draw clean lines by fully using their rail.

I rode my HPD board this afternoon.
That board is definitly more complicated to turn than my plywood board, I have been using this board occasionally for 2 years and every time I am still struggling to make a turn and avoid side slipping. I feel like I need to lift the outside rail, like on a bodyboard, but way more, otherwise it just side slips. Flat sections are easy though. But I really wonder how they manage to ride pipeline on that kind of board, I'm sure I'm missing something.

I have heard others with the same complaint. Not a problem for me (ride just about nothing but the HPD) but use makes master I suppose. Could it be that the HPD needs to be ridden farther up than most paipo riders are used to?

kage wrote:Could it be that the HPD needs to be ridden farther up than most paipo riders are used to?

It could be that, sometimes I ride it farther up like "superman style", but when it gets too hollow I instinctively position myself backward, like regular bodyboard stance, so that I can use the leverage effect on the tail. But then I start to fight against side slipping, it kinda ruins the fun. Practice will help for sure.
I wish I could watch a photo or a video of this board correctly ridden.

When I first started riding the alaia style boards it took me about six months of regular use before I felt like I had it figured out.
Completely different from other craft.

Uncle Grumpy wrote:When I first started riding the alaia style boards it took me about six months of regular use before I felt like I had it figured out.
Completely different from other craft.

I was thinking of making a new plywood board with that kind of dimensions (150cm x 40cm), my current is only 120cm long.
How would you describe the difference of riding between alaia boards and others ? I would say they need to be turned more from the nose, and the back just follows ?

Faster for sure.They glide right over flat spots. Also more comfortable paddling for me with my bad neck.
I'm not so sure about the turning from the nose.
I feel it's more from the middle like right where your navel would be when you are riding.
I use my body as much as my legs for maneuvering the board.
FWIW I have a couple boards that are mostly plywood but they don't get ridden as often as my all wood boards.

Hi there
Yesterday I had a fun paipo session, early morning, empty peak (very rare!), nice waves by my standards.
A lot of closeouts but nice long lines.
I took the gopro on a stick to film some videos:
https://youtu.be/8DMDxrTcXbI
The stick is a pain in the ass to surf with, I might use a classic "mouth mount" or an helmet cam next time
I was alone for 45mn, then the crowd arrived, the tide changed, and the surf started to be weaker. Limited amount of good waves for a lot of surfers.
Knowing that the good part of the session was behind me, I took the surf mat so I could arm paddle a little bit, kind of a workout, and why not catch a few waves.
Beside the usual questions I get every time I use it (I have to explain the whole surf mat thing to doubtfully surfers), it was still fun, I had a few epic ones.
Next time I'll go even sooner, I think being alone in the water worth it

I have started to get the hang of using a GoPro. Most of my efforts have been unsuccessful - including upside down footage. I think the helmet has the most potential to generate better quality footage and be less intrusive to the surfing experience.

They can be fun to capture the feel of a surf experience - you see a lot of things you don't notice when surfing and see what your board is doing (water off the rail etc). Unless a wave has size or is pretty hollow, a lot of footage can be pretty ordinary.

I find the camera detracts/distracts generally from the surfing experience. Having said all this, I'll dig mine out when the circumstances seem right.

Adam does a lot of Gopro - https://www.facebook.com/kingwakaskorner/

Just a single wave shot during the last weekend, in an estuary in France:
https://youtu.be/Dn5ZKcb-CtU
I like this place, waves are smaller, but when it gets a little bigger it produces dirty, choppy, yet fun waves, in brown water.

Another couple of small waves from my last summer trip in Galicia
Still the same finless plywood board
https://youtu.be/7xY8HL6MfTI

Nice ride on the wave that never really broke!

rodndtube wrote:Nice ride on the wave that never really broke!

Thanks, I love these "no breaking" waves

Hello there, I have time to kill in front of my computer Today, so I will tell you the story of my yesterday's session.
A Sunday morning in France, in an estuary spot.
It is a 2h drive trip, not sure it is worth it, as always. But, as always when it is wintertime, I've been stuck home by the bad weather for too long, so I'm hungry and I'll take a chance. The tide has the right timing (the spot needs high tide to work, plus I don't like surfing the afternoon), it should be ok.
8:20AM: dawn patrol style, I'm there, ready to go, the winter sun is slowly rising.
Nobody in the water, I will be surfing alone for 40 minutes. The water temperature is 48 °F.
The surf forecast predicted 5 feets waves for this spot. Much less than on exposed spots this day. This spot is in an estuary, so I know the waves are not "mean", kind of filtered, although they tend to be choppy and unpredictable. A lot of closeouts Today, unfortunately.
Although the waves are not big, passing the bar is a pain in the ass Today. The waves being a little dirty, they tend to double, I hate to face an unexpected second wave right after a duck dive.
The surf is not great. The waves size is ok, but they close out too much. The biggest ones close out almost every time, although some little unexpected peaks pop up at times.
Still, I'm having a great time, as always.
After 1h30 of fun, I'm freezing and I exit the water with a big smile on my face.

Of course, I took a gopro attached to a mouth mount, to film it
https://youtu.be/oAUzCS4OiTc

Nice! Plenty there for a good time. And then of course, you get to warm up with "2nd breakfast".