Bellyboard Season is Here!

Bellyboarding gives the rider the option to stay in the shallows and jump into waves that surfers have no interest in, or paddle out back and sit inside looking to luck into waves that are breaking quickly or that have peeled through the line-up unridden.

We here at Otter Surfboards try to get in the sea whatever the conditions, having a bellyboard and fins in the back of the car means that it can be easy to jump in and appreciate the waves, even if it’s mushy and onshore. Our Monday Morning Surf Club often involves us ditching surfboards in favour of our prone wavecraft, because it makes poor conditions a lot of fun. It’s always overhead when you’re on your belly!

This most traditional form of wave riding goes back to ancient Polynesia and it was first experienced in the UK by beachgoers in the early 1900’s. The development of foam in the 70’s meant that the number of wooden bellyboards on beaches decreased, but now with more awareness of sustainable products, bellyboards are once more becoming the wave riders choice.

At the Otter Surfboards workshop we are proud to have been a driving force in this resurgence for the past 10 years, providing workshop experiences for people to come and make their own sustainable wooden wave craft and also making custom boards to meet the needs of surfers.

Stand up surfing can feel quite serious, especially in a crowd when competing for waves and it’s often easy to forget you have paddled out to enjoy leisure time. This is the appeal of riding a wave on a plank of wood; it’s very difficult to skid down a peak and not grin from ear to ear, with the bellyboard keeping you close to the pulsing energy of the water as you cling on, hurtling towards the beach.