After having a rough time on London’s AIM the ill-named surf clothing brand Hot Tuna is reportedly being sold again, according to a story on Reuters.
“That (the sale) would leave the Plc (public limited company) as a cash shell unencumbered by the brand,” Executive Chairman Francis Ball told Reuters by telephone. . . Ball would leave the company along with Chief Executive Geoff O’Connell and Brand Director Oscar Verden, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The public company formed around the brand will of course continue on (under a different name) because that’s how shells work.. Isn’t it sad when brands continue to stumble on long after they’re dead, isn’t it?
The Association of Surfing Professionals will introduce drug testing at contests from next year, according to board member Randy Rarick. . . “It’s been a long time coming,” he told The Australian yesterday.
Hopefully, this means all remaining ASP officials, employees and judges will be tested as well, right? It would only be fair.
We were all pretty amused by the whole Kelly Slater 11th World Title double-up. And people did tend to pile on in making fun of Association of Surfing Professionals CEO Brodie Carr, however, we didn’t expect him to quit over it. That’s what he has done.
It is my duty to accept responsibility for the recent calculation error that resulted in the premature crowning of Kelly Slater’s 11th ASP World Title,” Brodie Carr said. “The determination of the ASP World Title is the most important moment in professional surfing. Ultimately, the responsibility for every activity within ASP lies with me. Therefore, I have elected to resign my position as CEO.”
Way to fall on your own sword, Brodie. We’re guessing Mr. Carr has something else up his sleeve as well. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP.
Garrett McNamara is being credited with what is reportedly “the biggest wave ever ridden” at allegedly 90 feet, according to a story on Drift Surfing.
The three were surfing in Praia do Norte off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal. McNamara has been spending quite some time here once he discovered the magic of the spot. The coast of Nazaré is home to one of the only deep water canyons that runs all the way to shore. He has been working with the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute to understand how the waves reach such an abnormal height.
While this is obviously a huge wave and McNamara is a charger of amazing prowess we do have one question: how much smaller are the rulers used to measure big wave surfing going to get?
Gabriel Medina, 17, kicked the canes out from under some of the oldest guys on the ASP tour on Monday, November 7, 2011 at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco. He took Kelly Slater in the Quarterfinals, knocked out Taylor Knox in the Semifinals, and dominated Joel Parkinson in the Finals in front of a beach filled with NorCal surf fans. When the youngest Brazilian was done there wasn’t a tour vet left standing.
“This has been incredible,” Medina said. “This is my second World Tour win and it has been great. I’m having fun on the Tour. I don’t know what I did out there, I just try to go big and it was great to have a final with Parko (Joel Parkinson). He is one of my favorite surfers.”
It’s been a crazy couple days for Kelly Slater. The elation of winning his 11th ASP World Title followed directly by the realization that he hadn’t clinched it just yet. Then on Sunday, November 6, 2011, knowing he had to win one more heat to officially own the trophy he had already been awarded, he faced off in Round 4, Heat 2 of the Rip Curl Pro Search SF against two of the rippingest new kids on tour.
The combined ages of Brazilians Miguel Pupo and Gabriel Madina may fall two years short of Slater’s 39 years, but that did not help them today as Slater surfed past the 17 and 19 year olds to advance to the quarterfinals and seal the 2011 ASP Title.
“It was a confirmed the other day, but we’re sure now,” Slater said. “I’m stoked. I was upset about it, but I also thought it was really funny. There are no hard feelings towards ASP and mistakes happen. It’s easy to point things out. It was a little tough to readjust and I was going against kids who could be my kids and they throw radical airs. I was hoping for big offshore barrels, not closeout onshore ramps. I just didn’t know what to expect out there. I didn’t know if we’d have air sections and it was kind of flat with a lot of power. The waves were closeouts and fast with a weird landing.”
Now that this is over Slater may just be relaxed enough to win the entire contest. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP. [click to continue…]
Surfers have never been that good at math and now thanks to a calculation error it appears that Kelly Slater has not in fact won his 11th world title (please ignore the previous post).
Sadly, that whole “winning his 11th title on the first anniversary of Andy Irons’ death” story line is for naught. The ASP explains:
“Our rankings’ system is designed to split tie-breaks based off of seed points,” Renato Hickel, ASP World Tour Manager, said. “Kelly (Slater) and Owen (Wright) tied at best nine of 11 results, so we went to best eight of 11 results and the system gave it to Kelly based off his higher seed position. We were operating under that assumption and created the ASP World Title scenarios based off of that. This was a mistake. In the end, we’re responsible for this and should be held accountable. We apologize to our fans, the surfers and to Owen and Kelly.”
Yes. It’s a pretty big blow it by the Association of Surfing Professionals. Now, according to the math wizards at the ASP, all Slater has to do is win one more heat and the title is official his.
So, if you missed seeing Kelly win his 11th world title on Wednesday, then you have another chance. For the official word on the point calculations, follow that jump. [click to continue…]
[Update November 2, 2011: The ASP admitted on Friday, November 4, 2011 that, due to a tabulating error, Kelly Slater had not actually won the 2011 title on November 2, 2011 and that he needed to win one more heat. Click here for that story.]
We figured there was nothing that would keep Kelly Slater from winning his 11th World ASP Title (aside from some wild life), but Australia’s Daniel Ross gave him a run for it. With less than three minutes to go and Ross in the lead Kelly Slater got the wave he needed to clinch the title at the Rip Curl Pro Search SF.
“This is pretty fabulous,” Slater said. “Two days ago in the afternoon it was chunky and small and didn’t look inviting at all. Yesterday was nice and today looks like a nice day in France. I don’t know, this hasn’t sunk in. I’ve been pretty stressed about it and I’m glad it’s over. It’s very fulfilling and there’s personal satisfaction. It feels real nice. I’ve dedicated my life to surfing and competing and to go a whole year and win a world title and have it pay off, it’s really fulfilling. To win on American soil is nice. Everyone’s been so cool and the locals have been so stoked. It’s been a special time. It’s been warm and offshore and a nice little swell. Someone’s looking over us and probably Andy (Irons).”
While NorCal’s Ocean Beach locals would probably prefer that everyone continue to believe that there is no surf in San Francisco, day one of the Rip Curl Pro Search SF (and Matty Wilko above) let the secret out that ignoring the cold (and the big fish) waves can be had in The City by the Bay.
“It’s hard because you can’t hear any scores out there,” Wilkinson said. “I got a fun left to start with and a fun right to back it up. I was feeling solid, but I knew Michel (Bourez) was going mad and I didn’t feel safe. It was a real fun heat. There’s a ton of paddling but it’s super fun out there and it’s worth it. There are some fun waves.”
Aside from Dusty Payne’s close call with a large ocean predator the rest of the day went pretty well. With a win in the first round Kelly Slater is only one heat away from number 11. And, as the event is running today, it just might happen today if the event can roll through round 3.
After having a rough time on London’s AIM the ill-named surf clothing brand Hot Tuna is reportedly being sold again, according to a story on Reuters.
