Ma’alaea: how many of you have shaped a board for that wave? Or surfed there?
Fastest surfable wave that I know of. I’ve surfed there lots… my favorite spot in Maui… one of my favorite spots in the world. You get barreled on every wave.
Thanks Kendall
Do you have a favorite board for Ma’alaea? Any photos?
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Fastest surfable wave that I know of.
Prove it please, measure it, or it’s all BS
I saw footage of that place and the parts of the wave which were being successfully ridden didn’t look that fast, but who knows until it has been measured ?
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Roy you are insufferable.
Come on man, what’s so strange about suggesting that when talking about the fastest rides, fastest surfboards, and fastest waves, that we measure the speed ?
It’s just common sense, without speed measurement it’s all just vibe and hype, and you know what THAT means. . . Hawaii wins every time !
Do you think NZ would have been allowed to win the America’s cup if it had been based on a vote as to whether Dennis was faster than Russell?. . . of course not, it would have stayed in the USA !
Now start realising that speed is not a position, or a vibe, or an amount of talent, or a place, or a wave shape, its distance divided by time !
Get a gps unit if you want to talk about speed, or get a speedmate unit, until then it;s all sh*te
If people don’t want to do that then they should stop making speed claims
You say that I’m insufferable, but what do you think all this illogical nonsense about speed is. . . bloody BS, that’s what it is, you guys have your vibe, your gouges, your style champions, your fans of spray, your big waves, your big industry names, have all that but shut the hell up about speed unless you are prepared to back it up.
Think world’s fastest Indian. . . . would he have gotten anywhere if his speed wasn’t measured?
i’m calling chicken on the surf industry for using speed in every second marketing claim, while being too scared to measure it in case they lose credibility.
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I have a pretty funny story about that wave. Actually not that wave but just inside, on a small day. I was on my honeymoon. Classic, yeah, honeymoon on Maui. Not all honeymooners, however, abandon their new bride on the beach. Oh well…
It was really small, maybe waist high, but it was howling offshore just like that and tubes. I kept going on one wave until it was knee high, I was speeding along Maalaea style and I was thinking, “Yeah! Hawaii! Even a knee high wave will zip you along at really high speed.” And right as I was thinking that there appeared a wide expanse of dry reef. No where to go. I tried to launch over the back and land flat but cut up my arm and leg anyways.
So I get back to the beach dripping blood everywhere and my new bride freaks out. “Nothing a little peroxide and a couple of butterfly bandages won’t fix.” So we go to a local drug store and I send my wife in because I’m dripping blood. Next thing, I see her waving to me from the store with a police officer. Seems she passed the cashier a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. She’s from Italy so she wouldn’t know any better. cool. So iget escorted into the store, escorted by a police officer, dripping blood, everyone staring at me. So as a reward for surfing the reef inside Maalaea my wife and I had an official honeymoon portrait taken, care of the Maui County Police. Classic. When I asked for a copy the officer just laughed at me.
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Quote:Fastest surfable wave that I know of.
Prove it please, measure it, or it’s all BS
I saw footage of that place and the parts of the wave which were being successfully ridden didn’t look that fast, but who knows until it has been measured ?
Notice I said “fastest surfable wave that I know of”. I can’t show you GPS readings, but I can point you to many (many) surfers who think the same thing. There may be faster waves, but I don’t know about them. Anything faster would just be a closeout. Watching “Freight Trains” fire from the beach is awe inspiring. Photos and video don’t do it justice. The waves are perfect right-hand zippers. This would be my choice for a speed test between boards… of course the locals will have something else to say about it… that place get packed when it’s working.
Bruce - I don’t currently have a Ma’alaea specific board. The Bonzers I was riding in the 70s worked really well… sorry I don’t have any photos, but the best one was probably 7’2"x18"x2-1/2" with a slightly rounded pintail and very little rocker front to back. I’m planning to get a 7’6" Brewer semi-gun that should go good there. I LOVE that wave.
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Notice I said “fastest surfable wave that I know of”. I can’t show you GPS readings, but I can point you to many (many) surfers who think the same thing.
Not good enough, consensus proves nothing
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There may be faster waves, but I don’t know about them. Anything faster would just be a closeout.
A classic case of a circular argument. . . . a closeout is simply a wave that you can’t make, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the wave is too fast to ride, it just means that it’s too fast for you on your equipment. Calling a wave a closeout because it’s too fast for you doesn’t mean that it can’t be made .
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I have a pretty funny story about that wave. Actually not that wave but just inside, on a small day. I was on my honeymoon. Classic, yeah, honeymoon on Maui. Not all honeymooners, however, abandon their new bride on the beach. Oh well...… And right as I was thinking that there appeared a wide expanse of dry reef. No where to go. I tried to launch over the back and land flat but cut up my arm and leg anyways.
Lots of dry reef there. At least you probably spent more time with your new bride after that;)
Not everybody cares about numbers roy. Fair enough you like to measure, but, is it really a crime for someone to say that this wave or that wave is the fastest??. This is swayocks, not scientistlocks.
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Quote:Notice I said “fastest surfable wave that I know of”. I can’t show you GPS readings, but I can point you to many (many) surfers who think the same thing.
Not good enough, consensus proves nothing I did have proof but the GPS unit kept falling out of my ass, and got smashed up on the rocks. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
Quote:There may be faster waves, but I don’t know about them. Anything faster would just be a closeout.
A classic case of a circular argument. . . . a closeout is simply a wave that you can’t make, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the wave is too fast to ride, it just means that it’s too fast for you on your equipment. Calling a wave a closeout because it’s too fast for you doesn’t mean that it can’t be made .
Funny about that having to “be there” to see the real power. I’ve sat on the beach at Pipeline a few time watching heavy, heavy waves. And yes, I’ll be the first to admit it’s way out of my league, my “Small American Penius” shriveled (according to Silly). I’ve also come home and told people that same story. They just laugh and call me a pussy. Then I take those same Pussy calling He-men to look at the mighty Pipe for the first time. They too are turned instantiously in to Pussys too…Even the goofy footers. You can look at all the photos, vids, posters etc and say…yeah, that looks like fun. But when you staring at the monster, it’s a whole different game.
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Not everybody cares about numbers roy. Fair enough you like to measure, but, is it really a crime for someone to say that this wave or that wave is the fastest??. .
No it’s not a crime, but it’s pretty stupid when people who say that they don’t care about speed and say that measuring speed isn’t necessary then show up and make claims about what’s the fastest.
As far as I can tell the surf industry doesn’t want a level playing field because a level playing field threatens the status quo.
That’s why when speed threads show up everyone tries to steer it around to Hawaii, California, Famous American legends etc
What i am saying is that certain people are going around saying that they don’t care about speed. . . . but they do care, they don’t want it measured as they currently use the IDEA of speed as a marketing tool or to prop up the hierarchy which they believe in. . . measuring speed threatens this whole house of cards, so they must discredit the idea, as uncool, unnecessary and impossible at every opportunity.
Those who say that they don’t care about speed do tend to spend a lot of time at speed threads and can get very emotional when their precious icons of speed are questioned… . . they want their heroes and marketed monkeys to win at everything, but underneath it all they feel threatened by the facts, if those facts even hint at undermining their precious muliti million dollar lifestyles. . . . and the brainwashed faithful ones follow their lead, just for the easy kudos as being one of the boys.
Speed capability as a measure of surfboard design success undermines the entire ASP judging criteria, make no mistake about that. . . . so the industry can’t let the cat out of the bag regarding speed measurement, it would fragment the industry and negate the sperhero status of the ASP gouge surfers. . . . they HAVE to discredit the idea. . . . and they have done so using the most underhand of tactics.
The closest the clones can bring themselves to a speed measurement is the number of 'o’s in Sooooooo fast. . . … peurile really.
Oh and not to forget the ‘metric’ measurement. . . . the number of a’s in waaaaay fast.
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I’ve resisted long enough. It’s time to put this to rest.
The time: June, 1979, 0700 hrs
The place: Maalaea, Maui
My wife, bless her heart, allowed me to bring a first generation Morey boogie board and a single swim fin on our honeymoon. After a two week, bliss-filled, surfless holiday I noticed a nice 4-5 foot (Mauiian Scale) south pushing through the keyhole at sunset. I told the wife to sleep in the next morning because I had an appointment with destiny.
I got down to the lot in time to catch Derek and the Boys nursing some really bad hangovahs. They offered me a bowl of Maui’s finest for breakfast and I made my way into an empty lineup.
I was early enough to beat the worst of the wind so my one legged handicap was somewhat lessened. It took a steady beat to keep in one place what with the current and wind but I managed to snag a nice one as soon as I got out the back.
Because of the booger’s almost mat-like flex and my recently toned abdominals, I was able to pull into a feet-out high line with just the barest minimum of bent rail holding me in. Well, we all know how time slows in the tube (or maybe it was breakfast…I forget), but I thought to myself, “I wonder how fast I’m going?” After finding a suitable benchmark in the reef as I flew by, I pressed the start button on my trusty Casio.
The rest of the ride was fairly unremarkable. I would fall way back onto the foam ball now and then but I would adjust my line a few millimeters and speed back near the front door. Finally, after what seemed to be hours, I saw the lip start to slow and the pocket pinch. I found another benchmark, clicked the watch and blasted over the back, gliding several 10’s of yards behind the wave.
“Wow, That was a top wave!” I could scarcely believe the numbers on my watch; 2.6 seconds!
After finding my benchmarks and triangulating their locations I paced off a conservative distance between the patch of 5 purple urchins and the broken Primo bottle that served as my markers. 76.3 yards. After thinking a bit I shook my head; 59.13 miles per hour!
I passed the Boys wobbleing toward the water,“Eh haole, you tink dat one good wave?” I beamed, ready to boast of my blazing speed when I followed their eyes back to the break. Owl was just popping through the end of a funnel twice as long and fast as my piddley pusher.
“How fast do you think he was going?” I asked.
“Who care. Brudda made da wave, eh”
hahaha… haha… uh… sorry.
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What i am saying is that certain people are going around saying that they don't care about speed. . . . but they do care, they don't want it measured as they currently use the IDEA of speed as a marketing tool or to prop up the hierarchy which they believe in. . . measuring speed threatens this whole house of cards, so they must discredit the idea, as uncool, unnecessary and impossible at every opportunity.
I care about speed a lot. I want to go fast… enough. I also want control.
What do you think is the fastest a surfer could possibly go? Do you think it’s to infinity and beyond?
Oh resinhead… if you think pipe looks scary from the beach, try it from the impact zone. Pipe’s reputaion isn’t just marketing hype. That is one damn serious place. While I can’t give you the exact number Roy, I can tell you that everyone who’s witnessed Pipe go off has come away thinking that was the most intense wave they’ve ever seen. I used to think I was hot s**t (even more than now)… but there were days I was there when I didn’t paddle out cause I was too scared - “you know… I bet Fujioka’s will be good, let’s try there”.
You may have more serious waves in NZ, but I don’t know about them. If you guys have been keeping them a secret, then you’ve done a good job. I can’t help but jump into these threads when I hear “scientific” speculation about tools that aren’t needed for waves that don’t exist.
If you’re talking about small and medium sized waves, you’ll never tap enough power to outrun closeouts. And even if you could, why would you want to surf those waves anyway? On the big, serious stuff they are proving equipment constantly.
You can’t talk seriously about measurable speed without including things like what type of waves your equipment is designed for. The fastest board on a 20’ wave isn’t going to be the fastest board on a 2’ wave. Can I prove that scientifically? No… but I bet I could convince a room full of scientists that it’s true. I’ve ridden everything from 6" to over 40’, and I base my opinion on my 43 years of experience. I also base it on my discussions with many many many shapers and surfers.
My dad was an aeronautical design engineer. He worked mostly out of our house. My drafting table was right next to his. We had a full woodworking and metalshop in our garage. We built and designed everything together (kinda like you and your kid). I was a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers, I studied industrial design, I had a business building big plastic thermoforming machines, I had a business assembling 4,000 skateboards a day, I was a Chief Modelmaker at Lucasfilm, I co-designed a permanent exibit at the Smithsonian, I was Director of Concept Development at Sega, I’ve designed and built a few houses, I’ve been swimming since I was five months old, I’ve been surfing since I was six, I stand up for slowboarders…
I get how numbers can work. What I don’t get is how you come to conclusions that don’t make any sense to me. House of cards?
Dam Lee,
I should have used your triangulation method, instead of the rectal GPS unit!?
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My dad was an aeronautical design engineer.
He worked mostly out of our house.
My drafting table was right next to his.
We had a full woodworking and metalshop in our garage.
We built and designed everything together
I was a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers,
I studied industrial design,
I had a business building big plastic thermoforming machines,
I had a business assembling 4,000 skateboards a day,
I was a Chief Modelmaker at Lucasfilm,
I co-designed a permanent exibit at the Smithsonian,
I was Director of Concept Development at Sega,
I’ve designed and built a few houses,
I’ve been swimming since I was five months old,
I’ve been surfing since I was six,
I stand up for slowboarders…
Congratulations !
standing up for slowboarders is a big accomplishment
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Why are you guys all using GPS? What does speed over the ground have to do with how fast you’re surfing?
The flow rider people aren’t moving any distance at all, but I would say they are moving pretty fast ( especially in the flowride that barrels) and I have caught some waves where the left more or less stays still as it goes toward the beach while the rights peel for a very long distance.
I really don’t think it is at all relevent to talk about the movement of a surfboard over land in regards to how fast the actual ride is. You guys should instead be attaching flow meters to the bottoms of your boards and leave GPSing to bombing hills on skateboards.
Werepat those who have used flowmeters alongside gps units report that the readings agree closely, as one would expect.
The subject has been covered in depth on this forum before. GPS works very well for measuring surfing speed
How do you feel about the method advocated by the majority, which is usually consists of saying that the most talented surfers in the best waves in the world are the fastest, or that such and such a board is soooo fast ?
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