First, as a pioneer, he has spread and united the fragmented communities in the early development of river surfing. Second, he has thought out the ultimate of effective technologies in developing the”Perfect Wave” form within moving water.

Through the history of surfing, there have been key impacts on the progress of surfing made by genius pioneers: those who originally brought surfing from Hawaii and spread it across the world, and those who have developed the new technologies that have exponentially raised the quality of the surfing experience. Elijah has stepped forth as a most recent of these genius pioneers who has done BOTH!

He thought out how the vectors could shape water into that “Perfect Wave”.

When I look back on my own life as a surfer, which spans over 60 years, I remember had the fortune of witnessing some of these impacts. We all know that surfing originated in Hawaii and how Duke Kahanamoku and George Freeth brought it to California where it expanded in popularity along the coast and later worldwide via Australia, France, South Africa, and beyond. However, to experience surfing, one had to go to the coastline, where the ocean provided the crucial element: the waves!

In my youth, the popularity of surfing had become a high-powered culture on the coast. It even had established its own music genre, which influenced the way I play my electric guitar. Then, in about 1967, a neighbor called me and my surfing friends over to his back yard. Strewn on the lawn were these strange “space machine” surf vehicles that were half the length of a regular surfboard of the time (now called “longboard”) and sported huge foiled, flexible fins and v-bottom hull designs. There, I met George Greenough, the pioneer genius who had invented these designs through the Physics concepts behind the vectors of velocity, acceleration, and force. And there, I also met Bob McTavish, an Australian “test pilot” who had incorporated these revolutionary concepts into the “space machine” surfboards I saw. That evening, I got to see the result at Rincon Point, as both of these pioneers tore across the huge walls of water at unseen velocity, accelerating into 180 degree turns and flying within and over liquid barrels with never-before-seen power!

Elijah extensively explored and worked to bring these emerging communities together into a new worldwide culture.

From that moment, I understood what was happening, and within a week, had built a surfboard of my own, which changed the way I surfed forever! From those days in the 60′s, surfing has expanded exponentially along the coasts of all the continents of the Earth. But, hidden elsewhere, far from the oceans and coastlines, were places where phenomena of moving water in rivers produced surfable waves of their own.

And like the Duke and George Freeth, I witnessed another such pioneer, Elijah Mack, who travelled to these hidden places to discover these inland waves, and connected with the emerging surfing communities that had begun the spread of surfing inland … Places like Munich, Switzerland, the Pacific Northwest, and the Canadian Rockies. Like his predecessors, Elijah extensively explored and worked to bring these emerging communities together into a new worldwide culture. Thus, River Surfing was born!

But that was not all. Elijah had that rare inner mind that could envision the Physics vectors behind the all that made river surfing possible. While Greenough and McTavish had developed the watercraft designs that harnessed the vectors of velocity, acceleration, and force, Elijah Mack’s mind delved into the vectors that created the surfing waves themselves from that unique chemical that covers our planet: WATER!

Elijah’s words are complex, but read them carefully.

He thought out how the vectors could shape water into that “Perfect Wave”! Now, through his designs, it has become possible to create a perfect surfing wave anywhere. So, in his articles that follow this introduction of mine, Elijah releases to all, the “secrets” of his inventive technology, so that it will be possible for surfing to spread to ANYONE, ANYWHERE!

Elijah’s words are complex, but read them carefully. For within his article is the incredibly simple and fundamental “magic formula” for anyone with the inspiration to bring it all to reality, just like I witnessed in ocean surfing 50 years ago.

The post David Allan about Elijah Mack: The man behind the Perfect Wave appeared first on Riverbreak.

The surfers present were to not only be taking part in exhibiting their surfing, but also in working as a team of surf brothers in fellowship in electing the prize winning performances of the day. The first priority for being here was to surf together in brotherhood and appreciate what each of us could contribute, proudly showing practice of the Aloha Spirit. That was, by far, the most valuable concept for us as river surfers. The chance that some of us will be awarded cash prizes was to be “the icing on the cake”.

The loudest and most jubilant cheer went to Derek Rabelo, who is blind.

As we waited for the go-ahead to commence surfing, the contestants met with me and we agreed on the details of our peer-judging system. Five of the contestants, following the Aloha Spirit, offered to abstain from the competition to form a judging panel. The other contestants showed their agreement and appreciation as they lined up to take their turns on the wave. Time was very limited, because the SUP event required extra final tie-breaking rounds, so, sensing the mandate for efficiency, the contestants jumped into wave-after-wave, at rapid intervals. The event looked like a well-oiled surfing machine. By making good use of the limited time, each of the contestants managed to surf four rounds on the wave (more than we expected). The judges rated each wave for best carving turn, best reversal/360, best aerial, and best overall. As it turned out, the contest appeared to be more of a stoked “jam session”, rather than a serious competitive. Fellow surfers hooted and cheered each other (even the wildest wipeouts!).

No Worries About Prizes, Just Aloha!

The loudest and most jubilant cheer went to Derek Rabelo, who is blind, but still surfs through his amazing combination of determination, courage, faith, and sharpness of his other senses. Derek has certainly become a true inspiration to all the rest of us. When both the Men’s and Women’s Divisions were culminated, the judges marked their highest scores, and compared their individual votes to arrive at a consensus. Agreement on the winners seemed to be universal, as the judges announced their selections to the crowd of contestants, who responded with smiles. It was obvious to all that the winning performances were well deserved. For the Men, Chris Martindale of Idaho “cleaned house” with the Best Overall, including carving turns and some airs. Cam Fuller, who hails from Montana, won his prize for a breathtaking reversal/sideslip, ending in a near-360. For the Women, the star was Anna Fischer, of Colorado, who garnered Best Overall, including some impressive carves. It is of note that the prizes to be awarded in equality between the men and women.

Surfers got to surf for the sheer enjoyment of it all … no worries about prizes … just aloha.

Following the Elite Division of the surfing event, described above, in which performance was judged and the prizes were awarded, there was the Open “Fun” Division, which was an expression-session, in which surfers got to surf for the sheer enjoyment of it all … no worries about prizes … just aloha! In this division, we each took a couple of waves to enjoy and entertain the crowd of thousands, who lined the riverbanks.

Finally, it all ended with smiles and “high-fives”, and some words of thanks. As the “Captain” of this undertaking in the Payette River Games, I was pleasantly surprised at how many of the contestants approached me to express their appreciation. Every one of them exclaimed at how much fun they had. To them, the event was really a delightful “sesh” of “bro’s” surfing together. As we all dispersed, and a dark mountain thunderstorm rumbled over the summits of West Mountain, it became clear that the Aloha Spirit was indeed shining, even above the impending clouds!

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