Some smooth carving moves by Xavier Leroy, a very talented French surfer/super.
On a shortboard, then a Gong 9'2" Freak performance LongSUP (black) and a Gong 6'10" Fatal ShortSUP (back & white) (both 100% carbon, no glass)
love the longboard vid but i think helicopters are about the stupidest move ever devised by surf-n-sup-kind. far as i can tell, there's nothing functional about them and they always look awkward and, well, they're just stupid. and irritating. i can barely stand to watch the vid knowing that any second he might squat down and drop that turd of a maneuver -- -- and stink up his performance to high heaven. in any event, that's my opinion. who's with me?
...yea but what about Derek Hynd doing it finless at Jeffery's Bay? That was really beautiful and flowed.
I'm jealous I can't do them(helicopters) but I hate them anyways. They look awful. Colas, love your work mate. The Gong boards always look to perform really well to me. Is there an Au distributor???
Some early videos of Xavier:
In 2008, (i dont remember the shaper whose boards - maybe his own? - he was riding, but as soon as 2009 he was already experimenting with 7'2" SUPs)
Xavier Leroy after some epic belharra tow-in sessions, at 31s here:
Xavier on his 6'10", view from the beach, from the paddle, and from a cool head-mounted swivelling bar on the helmet:
Note that these boards are definitely not "world cup boards". It shows that you can enjoy short lengths & high performance while keeping a manageable width & volume.
supthecreek, yes, he surf in the french surf mecca (Biarritz / Hossegor) which tend to be very conservative, so surfers are not used to see progressive SUP surfing.
Cool vids colas . i really like how he utilises his paddle.
Question, how long do you think his paddle is relative to his height? Below head height maybe
cheers
Tell u boys dont ride all boards and cant do helicopters as they are a fun manouvre an variations can be added
Not sure that I saw one turn on the small SUP that wasn't a bog rail or a dish - fat board problems....
On the opposite, this is a board designed for powerful conditions, this is why he doesn't have enough speed to complete turns in these weak waves due to the rocker. I would not have used my Fatal in these conditions, but faster ones (same length or shorter) designed for slow waves... But I guess Xavier took only one board for his Calfornian trip.