Riding along the shore

Andrew Edwards

Skimboarding isn’t surfing. Or is it?

“To me, we’re surfing. We’re riding waves,” Victoria Skimboards

owner Charles “Tex” Haines said.

Haines’ company started making skimboards in 1976 in Laguna Beach.

Unlike surfers, who paddle out to waves, skimboarders wait on the

beach for shore breaks. When a good-looking wave rolls in,

skimboarders run toward the water, board in hand. After hitting the

wet sand, they drop their board on the water, hop on and cruise along

the wave.

“It’s kind of like a special form of surfing. It’s really fast,

you get lots of waves,” 19-year-old skimboarder Ryon Graf said. Graf,

a student at UC Irvine, shoots photos for the Internet’s ForeverSkim

the Magazine.Ideal waves for skimboarding are “about head high, no

tourists, on shore,” Laguna Beach skimboarder Chris Walthall, 17,

said. “That’s a dream day. Barrels. Getting barrels.”

Besides being closer to shore, skimboarding is different from

traditional surfing since skimboards have no fins. Experienced

skimboarders can execute quick turns and aerial tricks, such as

kick-flips, that on the water look like a mix of skateboarding and

surfing.

Skimboarding lore holds that the sport got its start in Laguna

Beach, where every summer, skimboarders converge on Aliso Beach’s

waves to show off their moves at one of the sport’s premier events.

The Animal Watches World Championship of Skimboarding is set for July

22 to 24, and the 29-year-old event is scheduled to be preceded by

the first Skimboard Rider Poll Awards on July 20.

Votes from skimboarding fans will be tallied, and awards in

categories, such as like best skimboarder, male and female, and best

tube ride are set to be handed out.