RIP Ben Aipa

I know this should and will go into the in memoriam box but just for this moment it would be nice for those of us who knew Ben to say something , he was a contemporary of many of us both young and old , a hard charger in the water right up until he could no longer paddle out , a short board innovator with his sting tailed boards , a star , RIP Ben .

I’m glad I was fortunate enough to meet and talk story with him a couple of times in California.  He used to come to Ventura every year and shape a bunch of boards.  His Fiberglass Hawaii shaping video is one of the best you can watch.  Back in the day Mr. Senate used to do his Mainland boards, Stingers etc.  Lowel

Hi Lowel - Do you remember the winter he was riding a different, almost G&S Waterskate-like, board with a single keel fin at Rincon?  Nothing timid about the way he surfed!  

I watched Ben from the water starting around 1972. He was a force to be reckoned with back then, and quite intimidating. I’ve seen him in agro mode, and later in life I got to see a mellow Ben. He was always nice to me and really enjoyed talking about surfboards. He was a very good friend of several guys I surf with and they were devoted Aipa riders. I would place him at the top of the Hawaiian surfer/shaper/teachers. He helped so many young surfers grow into champions.