Paddle Surfing Baja: Scorpion Bay Report

Check out these photos of Scorpion Bay- are you kidding me??? The place was made for stand up boards. Many thanks to Tom English of www.alohawealth.com for the pictures.

Tom and his friends just returned from a trip down to San Juanico- from the looks of it they pretty much scored. I think this is another validation of my belief that a stand up board can save any surf trip.

The stand up board takes the wave anxiety away- even if it's flat, you know you've got something fun to do. And if there's even a ripple in the water- you're on it!

I contacted Tom to ask him about airline travel with stand up boards. I've been a fan of his homegrown travel and SUP videos- the guy's been all over the place and he's always got a big old SUB with him. I figured if anybody knew the true scoop on flying with big boards it'd be him.

I needed to know if I could fly Alaska airlines with a 10' board. The airline's guidelines state that boards are restricted to lengths no longer than 9'6". In August, I'm heading to a spot in mainland Mexico that looks perfect for a stand up board- it's a left point that runs for a few hundred yards- the kind of spot that's just begging to be stand up paddled. It's an absolute necessity that my stand up board gets loaded onto that flight.

I was stoked to hear that Tom flew Alaska airlines with two stand up boards and that both violated the length restriction. That's the kind of real information I can use- believe me, I'm sleeping better at night knowing my board's coming along.

Top Three Photos: Scorpion Bay and riders with the English party doing their respective things down in Baja.

Photo Four: A couple of my buddies were down there at the same time as Tom English- here's Stukey cruising a six-incher on a twelve footer. The stand up board can save any surf trip.

Photo Five: Just how long do you think this waves is. Right. Now double that and you're just about there.

More Zapper Data: I've received some inquiries regarding the Zapper's dimensions. I'll give you the numbers that I know: 10' x 29.5" x 4.25" sorry but I don't know the tail and nose numbers. What I do know is that it looks SICK!!

The latest BeachSurf photos right here!

Thanksgiving Board Glut: 2 New Lairds

The board-fest continues: Two new Ron House shaped SurfTech Lairds.

Once again, it's all about increased surfability.
The blue striped board is an 11'0 x 27" x 4 1/4" version of the original Laird. The second board with red stripes is a 10'0 x 27" x 4 7/8" micro-Laird.

Compared to the original Laird (12'1" x 31" x 5") these boards are a big step down in size. The new boards feature really pulled and foiled tails and extremely surfy looking rails. Contrary to the opinion of many paddlers, I've always thought the big Laird was a great board. The board truly delivered a legitimate stand up paddle surf experience; it had the legs to cover miles and the neutral template to surf anything that got in its way. But at 220lbs, turning that big boy wasn't as much of challenge for me as it might be for a surfer in the 150 - 160lb range. The new Lairds may be perfect for lighter paddlers looking for a well-rounded, proven template. The small Laird looks particularly good- even to a big guy like me. I'd love to give that one a shot some time.





This photo: Check the rail line on that 11'0- and the board's relatively thin. Looks fun.

Below: A really pulled tail, much narrower then the original Laird. At 27" wide this board is a full 5" narrower then the first Laird.

Penultimate Photo: Steppin' it down another foot to 10'0. Again, at 27" wide this board was made for surfing. It's going to be interesting to check the stability on this one as I tend to like boards no less then 28.5" wide.

Last Photo: I really want to ride this one too!

See all these boards at Emerald City Surf Shop (1118 Orange Ave Coronado 619-435-6677)

All Photos: Igor Von Smiley