With a title about as direct as Snakes On A Plane comes a new South African documentary film Surfing And Sharks, “a film about close encounters in South Africa.”
The focus point of this film will portrait 3 local surfers that live and surf in Eastern Cape and KZN their history and involvement in the surfing industry and their ideas about shark attacks / encounters in their daily life, backed with a A-List panel of shark specialists, we aim to inform and educate the viewer to bridge the gap between myth and reality.
The film premieres December 15, 2011 at the Wavescape Film Festival in Cape Town, South Africa.
Sports Illustrated, the flagging old media mag known more for nearly naked high-priced models than insightful sports coverage, has apparently nominated 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater for the title of Sportsman of the Year.
Slater has long since established himself as not only the greatest professional surfer of all time but as simply, The Surfer. He’s the one guy your grandmother in landlocked Topeka has heard of, the guy who singularly transcends his discipline. Babe Ruth. Wayne Gretzky. Tony Hawk. Yo-Yo Ma. Kelly Slater.
Hey, you don’t have to convince us. Just put him in a bikini and give Kelly the award already.
After weeks of flat and mostly small surf for the first jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, surfers got a faste of North Shore juice as the $250,000 Vans World Cup of Surfing kicked off its first day of competition yesterday (November 27, 2011) at Sunset Beach in 10 to 12 foot surf. Pancho Sullivan explains:
“Every time you think you’ve got this wave figured out, it humbles you,” said Sullivan, 38. “It takes a lot of time and dedication to the break and your equipment, to surf well here. The adrenaline you get as you come towards the inside bowl, the wave is warbling and you just have no idea what it’s going to do. I think that’s why we all surf: that excitement of the unknown. Sunset delivers that on all levels. It is a tough wave.
Today, Sunny Garcia will face off against women’s ASP World Champion and Vans Triple Crown wildcard Carissa Moore. For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
After a terrible start the first jewel in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing the Reef Hawaiian Pro finished off on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 with some overhead waves and a win for Taj Burrow.
“I had a good run, it feels good scoring in the 9-point range and it’s hard to do,” said Taj, world #3. “I just really wanted to win an event here. I am really happy. . . It’s funny I have never really gotten a good shot (at the Vans Triple Crown). I was thinking, maybe I should really have a go at one of these things so I actually have it right in the front of my mind.
It would be great for Burrow to win something, right? He edged Adam Melling, Adriano De Souza, and Nat Young in the final. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Matt Wilkinson continues to shameless charge on into the surf media world with his rarely safe for work Tumblog Out 2 Brunch. This time it’s sex on the beach. And yes, the edit does feature some surfing. . .
For better or worse the 2011 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is kicking off today with the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa. Currently, the waves are rolling in at two feet, but the surf is set to build through the day and deliver enough waves to finish the contest in three days. Overall, however, it’s looking like one of the worst years ever.
“In the 29-year history of running the Vans Triple Crown, we’ve never gone this far without running one competitive day,” says Randy Rarick, Executive Director of the Series. “But we knew it was possible, given it’s a La Nina year. We saw a similar pattern last year, but this year La Nina is more strengthened. This is precisely why we have a 12-day window. Without it, the event would not have been able to start.”
Kelly Slater may be moving forward with his circular wave pool idea, but the Kelly Slater Wave Company has hit a flat spell when it comes to protecting its intellectual property thanks to an extremely similar patented registered by Greg Webber andWebber Wave Poosl, according to a Stu Nettle story on Swellnet.com.au.
Since applying for a patent in 2008 Kelly Slater and his business partner, Adam Fincham, have twice been rejected because their wave pool infringes upon Greg Webber’s design. In both of their attempts – first in 2008 then again this year – the response from examiners at the US Patent Office has been identical: the design submitted by the Kelly Slater Wave Company is “unpatentable over Webber.” It is too similar to Greg Webber’s design for a patent to be granted.
Click the link for all the shore breaking details.
Planning on taking 2012 off to jet set around the world with the Association of Surfing Professionals? Well, now you’ll know when and where to fly and what hotels to book. With no Rip Curl Pro Search event in 2012 there won’t even be any surprises.
Here’s how it goes:
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast – Australia (February 25 – March 7, 2012) Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – Australia (April 3 – 14, 2012) Billabong Rio Pro – Brazil (May 9 – 20, 2012) Volcom Pro Fiji – Fiji (June 3 – 16, 2012) Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay – South Africa (July 11 – 22, 2012) Billabong Pro Teahupoo – Tahiti (August 16 – 27, 2012) Quiksilver Pro New York – USA (September 2 – 14, 2012) Hurley Pro at Trestles – USA (September 15 – 23, 2012) Quiksilver Pro France – France (September 26 – October 6, 2012) Rip Curl Pro Portugal – Portugal (October 7 – 17, 2012) Billabong Pipe Masters – Hawaii (December 8 – 20, 2012)
For more details (including dates for the Women’s tour and ASP Prime events, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
On Saturday vandals “hose” painted “GO HOME” across the entire storefront, getting paint all over the newly conditioned brick, metal and glass.
The store had only been officially open for 24 hours. It would appear that some of the locals aren’t exactly down with the publicly traded surf clothing company putting a store in their neighborhood.
“When I heard Oakley was focused on launching more women’s active and swimwear products, I knew it was something I wanted to be apart of,” said Erica. “As a professional surfer I need to make sure I stay fit and train hard. I want to do this everyday in high performance, quality and stylish products. That’s why I chose Oakley.”
Sounds like a bit of a sponsor upgrade for the WQS surfer and Weekly Grind host. She will join snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick on the Oakley women’s squad. Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
