Last week we teased the release of the new Channel Islands G Skate surfboard model, a 2 plus 1 (twin plus trailer) design, with a light single to double concave, low entry rocker, wide point forward, and contemporary shortboard rails. While the 30-second teaser was intriguing, it left us wondering about the model’s overall performance.
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Wonder no more.
In this 13 minute clip — The G Skate Demo Tapes — we see the Gudauskas Brothers, as well as Michael February, Imaikalani DeVault and Reef Heazlewood, riding the new CI model in a variety of conditions on Oahu and Maui, including at waves you’d never expect a 2 + 1 model to work, like solid Pipeline, Off The Wall, and Honolulu Bay. Surprisingly, it looks incredible in those heavy water waves.
Click play above, and continue reading below for more on the G Skate from the Channel Islands crew, including Dane, Pat and Tanner.
“The G Skate Demo Tapes’ Hawaii edition follows the Gudauskas Brothers during their month long stay on the North Shore of Oahu. While there, the three brothers (Dane, Pat & Tanner) tested out a new design they dubbed the G Skate which was the result of a collaboration with Britt Merrick. During their month long stay, it was pumping nearly the entire time—allowing them to feel out a feel range of possibilities with this shorter railed design. As you’ll see, this skatey style board allowed them to draw some very creative lines.
Dane Gudauskas: “The G Skate was originally inspired by skateboard outlines from the 1970s and the surf skate approach of guys like Tony Alva and Jay Adams blasting out of pools and driving through turns. There was something stylistically with the boards they were riding that just seemed to fit the surface of the curves they were riding, and we wanted to feel what an outline like that on an open wall of water—hoping that it translated into the same flow and approach they carried. Through working with Britt, and the feedback from my brothers, we continued to refine our original skateboard-like outline by integrating a wing off the back and pulling in the tail for more control through turns and tight transitions. For fin set-up, we landed on the 2 plus 1 (twin + trailer) combo. It was an ideal blend between the speed and freedom of riding a twin fin and the reliable control of a thruster. The 2 plus 1 proved to be an even greater asset in marginal surf where generating speed from the board came easy, allowing us to fly over flat spots and accelerate through turns in gutless parts of the wave.”
Tanner Gudauskas: “It was incredible to see some of the CI team riding the G Skate in Hawaii, adapting their own styles into the design. The G Skate always looked attached, no matter they were wanting to go on the wave. I think with Pat, Dane and myself, we all surf so differently that the board was always going to have to be a design that could be adapted to easily. And that’s pretty much what we witnessed in Hawaii when the other CI guys got on it. So, it would seem to me that the board turned out to be a very relatable design to wide group of people with varying styles and approaches.”
Pat Gudauskas: “Skate is a reflection of our work together trying to create a single design that would suit all of our individual styles and needs. Not an easy thing to do for how different we all surf, but Britt and the CI family did an incredible job of taking our ideas and refining them into this super rad design. Alex Kilauano was the main filmer and did the edit, but Tanner shot most of the water footage which was pretty rad to have his contribution both on the board and behind the lens. The purpose of the film from our eyes was to bring everyone into our family’s culture, which includes: surf hard; stay creative; and enjoy your time in the water to the max.”
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