Bondi surfer and his ancient board make history
A Bondi surfer has made history by becoming the first ever Australian to be crowned as Alaia surf champion.
Barney Quinlan competed at the Australian Surf Festival late last month to take out the speciality division.
The 30 year old said it was nice to be recognised for riding a difficult board; one he had been trying to master for two years now.
“It’s a little surreal for me,” Mr Quinlan said. “I hardly compete at all.”
Having surfed since the age of eight, Mr Quinlan has ridden every type of surfboard under the sun. He said it was the desire to try something new and the Alaia board’s history that intrigued him.
“The thought of being able to ride something that was that old fashioned appealed to me.”
Alaia boards were the first ever surf boards to be ridden by Hawaiians in the 19th Century. The ancient board is shaped entirely from wood and has no fins; features that make it a difficult ride.
“Barney’s an absolute freak,” said Surfing NSW CEO Mark Windon. “I’ve got no idea how he does it.”
Surfing NSW decided to include an Alaia division for the first time this year after noticing a renaissance of the board.
Mr Windon said it was important to embrace the traditional roots of surfing and acknowledged the level of skill required to ride an Alaia board.
“The guys who are riding them up and down the coast are your quintessential waterman,” he said. “[They’ve] mastered every discipline of surfing.”
Despite having surfed for over two decades Mr Quinlan said it was like “learning how to surf all over again” when he first hopped on an Alaia board.
“When I first surfed on it I couldn’t even paddle,” he said. “Having no fins means it lacks stability. . . and you have less control.”
But it also means “you’ve got no fins slowing you down and you go a lot faster. . . it’s very addictive the speed.
“It’s back to basics, stripping everything back to a piece of wood,” he said. “It’s a combination of everything: long board, body board and even skateboard.”
But to be a waterman Mr Quinlan said it was important to know how to swim in the surf.
“Complete surfing includes swimming,” said Mr Quinlan, who is also an ocean swim teacher at Icebergs.
“Learning how to do it the right way… and having knowledge about what the surf is doing – it’s the most important thing.”
For more information on ocean swimming contact Icebergs about their Surf Squad program.
