Noa Ginella wouldn’t call himself a “waterman.” He’s a surfer, a fisherman and a paddler. And pretty awesome at all of them. It’s just that the term waterman is so loaded nowadays, he cringes at the thought. “You look at a man who grew up in the mountains that’s just what it is,” he said. ““I doubt he would call himself a mountain man. He’s just living the life he loves and knows best. I grew up on the North Shore of Oahu. All of those things are part of my lifestyle I’m fortunate enough to live. I enjoy most of em’, and I make sure I’m doing them all.”
Ginella, 22, has dabbled in the competitive life as a standup racer, but he prefers just doing, not competing. Living adventure, and living a life that inspires others. So that’s what he does as a sponsored ocean athlete. Pretty simple. Like hunting in the mountains near his home. Surfing Pipeline when it’s in, surfing other craft when it’s not. Spear fishing and living the good life. He likes to experiment. And that’s how he found the alaia, perhaps surfing’s most impractical craft: no fins, low volume, made from the wood of a paulownia or mango tree. The things take mad skills to surf.
Ginella can’t remember who he first saw ride one as there’s a handful of guys on the North Shore who experiment with them, like Kamaki Worthington and Kona Johnson. But Brian Keaulana hooked him up with a blank when the celebrated Makaha local, who’s family organizes the Buffalo Big Board Surfing Classic, hosted Australian Tom Wagner, an alaia enthusiast. “Tom was making the best alaia,” Ginella said. “Shaping his own style that were pretty much the most progressive. He gave Brian a bunch of blanks and I ended up with one.”
So Ginella and his brother John shaped there’s (with guidance from Leleo Kinimaka) , and have been experimenting with them since. They don’t surf them all the time because they don’t work all the time. “The cool thing is, it’s a challenge,” he says. “The alaia prefers less of a powerful wave, the more power, the less control. The waves aren’t doing same thing every day. If you choose to go shortboarding and it’s too small, you have expectations that aren’t going to be met. That’s where the challenge and excitement is. “
He usually lines his boardbag with an alaia on trips, so he literally always has it in his quiver. And his style is pretty fun to watch, as you can see from this short he edited (one of his other talents), Moonlight Alaia, filmed during two sessions in the Maldives. Because for Ginella, surfing an alaia is just surfing. And part of being in the water. On whatever craft that may be. So instead of a waterman, just call him a dude that grew up on the North Shore. Who’s very appreciative of that fact.
