OK.  I have a slight confession to make.  When I first moved to Los Angeles, I fell victim to Laguna Beach.  No, not the city.  The TV show.  It was an … interesting … way to learn about my new city, but while I learned the ins and outs of ritzy, drama-filled OC, I also learned about a new kind of board sport - skimboarding.  So when I was introduced to Trigg at Victoria Skimboards, I figured I had to give this intriguing new board sport a try. (Not because of a lame reality show; mostly because it just looked super sick).   In case you’re not a Laguna Beach fanatic, skimboarding is similar to surfing, but done mostly on the shore.  You begin on the wet sand, throw your board down, and essentially hydroplane into the water.

After talking to Trigg a bit via e-mail, we made plans to meet up so he could give me a lesson!  I was super stoked to try it, mainly because it was something new and different.

I arrived to Laguna Beach - the central “hub” of skimboarding - on a late Sunday afternoon.  It was pouring rain in San Diego when I left to make the trek to Laguna, so I was pleased to see the sun shining through the clouds over OC when I arrived.  I pulled into the lot of Victoria Skimboards, grabbed my suit and towel, and braced myself for the fun adventure ahead.  But first, I got a quick tour of the shop and learned a bit about the boards and the history behind the sport.

Victoria Skimboards began in 1976 by Tex Haines and Peter Prietto, well before “skimming” was a sport.  Though skimboarding is rumored to date back to the 1920s, Victoria Skimboards was the first shop to manufacture the boards, instigating a wave of popularity and starting the era of a new sport.

The boards (left) are similar in shape and size to your typical surf board, however, they are quite a bit smaller and even a bit wider, and they don’t have the fins a surf board has.  You can sometimes find them with a swallow tail, but the majority of skimboards are shaped like a teardrop/oval on either end.  There are a couple different types of skimboards - boards made of wood, typically used only on the shore, and boards crafted from fiberglass or carbon fiber and foam, used for riding the waves.  When choosing a skimboard to try before you buy, you first want to decide how advanced you’re looking to go - if you know right away you’re serious about skimming and you want to quickly take it up to the next level, then a fiberglass/carbon fiber board is the way to go.  However, if you want to take it slow and spend some time learning on the shore (or even your living room carpet), while not making too big a dent in your pocketbook, a wooden board should be just fine.

After I learned about the awesome sport of skimming, how the boards are made and how to find the best board fit, I was ready to start skimming.  So we packed up the car and headed to the shore - a little “locals” beach closeby.  When we arrived, Trigg gave me the low down on how to skim (and do it right) and I was off to my first attempt. Thump!  Right on the bum. OK, attempt number two.  Run, Throw, Jump… Thump!  Fall on the back this time. Hmm..  Don’t let the pros who make it look like effortless art fool you, skimming is a lot tougher than it looks!  It’s not about how fast you run or how hard you throw, its all about timing and how you throw your board (you want it to land flat, and you want your weight to be centered once you hop on).  After a few falls (well, quite a few falls), I looked out yonder to a skimmer in the distance who rode into the wave, did a trick or two, then rode the wave out.  If he could do it, then so could I!  I was determined to get this whole skimming thing down.

We spent the next couple of hours skimming amongst a beach full of other skimmers, and it was fabulous.  One try by one, I felt a little closer to getting the hang of it, and by the end of the lesson I was nearly pro (and by pro I mean I wasn’t falling until after my board hit the water! )  Trigg even sent me home with my very own skimboard, so once my broken hand is healed I’ll be right back out there for more!

All in all, skimming was tough, and I definitely came out of the lesson with a bruise and sand burn or five, but it was a great experience and I’d definitely recommend giving it a try!  And like I said before, its not as easy as it looks and it can actually be quite dangerous if you don’t do it right, so it would be well worth your dollar to invest in a lesson, or find a friend who can teach you the basics.  Definitely wear a rash guard and shorts, because you will fall, and don’t let your initial frustrations get the best of you - it does take a couple tries to get it down.  For additional tips, Victoria Skimboards put together a great beginner tip sheet, and Skim Online, the largest online source for skimboarding, has anexcellent resource as well.  And if you want to see how its really done, pick up a pro video or watch a couple on YouTube; and if you live in LA there’s several events that let you watch the pros live, such as Victoria’s recent annual WCS Comp.

Now that you’ve heard my story, give it a try yourself!  And check out our video on YouTube - Trigg shows us how its done.

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