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Michelle Chan

Surfers disappointed by the lack of waves in Hong Kong are turning to skimboarding, or skimming, for their kicks.

Last Sunday, visitors to Pui O Beach, Lantau Island, had an opportunity to see a skimming demonstration.

The event was a promotion for the upcoming animated movie, Surf's Up.

Skimming is surfing with a difference. In both sports you ride waves, but in skimming you keep close to the beach.

The skimboard resembles a surfboard without fins. The boards come in three  categories - plywood, fibreglass and carbonated.

Prices range from a few hundred dollars for plywood to HK$1,000 and over HK$3,000 for the fibreglass and carbonated versions.

Michael Kwan Sai-keung and fellow skimmer Codie Tse Kwok-ming showed off their skills at Pui O on Sunday.

Both  entered the international skimboarding competition in Penang, Malaysia, last month.

They  explained some of the finer points of the sport.

'Plywood boards are suitable for beginners, and don't cost too much,' said Kwan.

'Go for a carbonated board only when you are sure you really like the sport.'

Kwan and Tse started skimming three years ago. They discovered  the sport on an ESPN television programme.

Captivated, they started reading up on skimming in magazines and on websites.

Having done their research, they  bought their first board, a fibreglass version.

With a little practice on weekends, they were soon skimming  confidently on Hong Kong beaches.

Unlike surfing, in which you swim out to sea with your board to catch the waves, skimboarding starts on the beach.

You can sum up the action in three words:  'Run, drop, slide'.

You wait for a suitable wave. When one approaches, you run towards it, dropping the board on the thin layer of water from the previous wave.

Once you are on the board, you steer  it towards the incoming wave.

If you are successful, you will ride that wave back to shore. You balance by placing one leg as far back as you can.

'Usually we run two steps and drop the skimboard on the third step,' said Tse.

'The board floats on the film of water and moves on its own. You then jump on to the board and head out.

'Depending on whether you are right- or left-handed, you place your right or left leg at the back. If you have your right leg at the back, then you're a regular. Otherwise, you're a goofy!' laughed Tse.

Skimboards can slide on very thin layers of water.

There are many ways to skim or ride waves, and the skimmer can get creative.

You can also go 'sand skimming' - gliding on layers of water so thin that it's almost like skimming on wet sand.

And you don't always need the sea to skim; you can do 'flatland skimming' in shallow rivers.

Another mode of skimming is done with rails. Built in the water, the rails provide a long, narrow surface for you to skim along, somewhat like skateboarding.

Used this way, the skimboard becomes like a water skateboard, Kwan said.

Although Hong Kong has no skimming rails as yet, there are plans to build rails in the waters around Shek O.



Let's go skimming