“This acquisition represents a significant step for both Kooey and West in our strategy designed to accelerate growth in both businesses,” said Nikki Silverthorne, Director and Designer of Kooey. “We are now focused on seizing the opportunities in both local and international markets that this transaction has created for us. We are looking forward to delivering on the promise of this acquisition to build both brands exponentially and with speed.”
Kind of cool that the brand will remain a Western Australian company. Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
A 21-year-old bodyboarder was killed by what was believed to be a white pointer shark today (Sunday, September 4, 2011) while riding waves with a friend in The Boneyards near Bunker Bay in Naturaliste, Western Australia, according to a story in WA Today.
Sergeant Anderson described those who pulled the victim from the water as courageous. “You’ve got to take your hat off to the young fellow who was surfing with him and his mate for bringing [the victim] ashore, the nature of his injuries was significant, it’s not something that even volunteer rescuers or emergency services like to see,” he said.
According to witnesses quoted in the story the bodyboarder was bitten in half at the waist. “”They were saying they were just two metres away from him. “From the waist down, it was just all gone.” Our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends.
Daniel True, 19, went out for a surf Friday (September 2, 2011) at Florida’s Shark Bite Bay Ponce de Leon Inlet and was in four feet of water when felt something hit his let.
Officials say True made it back to shore and received medical attention. He then drove himself to the hospital where he got 34 stitches.
Hurricanes really seem to bring out the sharks. . . or is it the surfers?
Florida, Florida, Florida. Add Shane Lancaster, 19, of Keystone Heights to the list of surfers bitten by a shark while surfing Florida’s sunny beaches.
“The water was probably up to my belly button and I slid off my board. And as soon as my foot hit the sand, (the shark) grabbed ahold real quick and it was gone,” Lancaster said. . . “It wasn’t like I was screaming,” he said of the pain. “It was scary and shocking, that’s all.”
After a trip to the hospital and some stitches Lancaster was back home and feeling okay.
Lifeguards closed two miles of San Diego, California beach today (August 31, 2011) after a shark was reported sighted just south of Children’s Pool in La Jolla, according to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
About 2 p.m. Wednesday, three men in their 20s who were on boogie boards reported seeing a 12-inch tall dorsal fin at the beach off Casa Reef, just south of Children’s Pool in La Jolla, San Diego lifeguards said. . . The animal was swimming just past the surf break, said lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma.
San Diego’s Mission Beach has reportedly been closed twice in the last week after sharks where reportedly spotted in the water there.
We have to agree with one of the quoted surfers who said: “It’s the ocean. There are sharks in there, whether we see them or not.”
Regardless of all the miss-information swirling the Internet last night (you know who you are) the Quiksilver Pro New York is still going to happen. Some of the ancillary events have been cancelled, but the surf show will go on beginning Monday, September 5, 2011.
For the official word from the ASP follow the jump.
Kelly Slater tip-toed through a minefield in the Billabong Pro Tahiti this week while top seeds blew out all around him: Joel Parkinson went down, Jordy Smith got crushed in a barrel, and Taj Burrow got beat. Meanwhile, Kelly kept finding high-point barrels where others weren’t looking and doing exactly what it took to slip into the final with Owen Wright, steal it from him on the inside, and jump right back to the top of the ASP World Tour ranking list.
“It’s one of those weird events where you have to scramble through the early rounds,” Slater said. “Every year at this event, there are few of the top guys that lose in the early rounds and you have to scramble if you want a result here. You have to be in tune with the tides, swell direction and everything to make sure you get those waves that get you the score.”
And, few are ever as “in tune” as Kelly. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP and a video recap of the entire event. [click to continue…]
On a day filled with crazy drops, re-do heats, and hard-charging ASP pros in waves bigger than anything they’ve ever surfed in a contest, it took until Round 5 of the Billabong Pro Tahiti before someone (Jeremy Flores) surfed to a perfect 20 points.
That was just one part of one of the craziest days of ASP surfing yet. Today, however, with the quarterfinalist decided and a champion to be crowned it may get even wilder. Follow the jump for all the details from the ASP.
Teahupoo on August 27, 2011 is being called ‘the “the heaviest day in modern surfing history” and Bruce Irons got this little taste for all of us. “Oh, whoa. I’m deep.”
Surfer and New Smyrna High School math teach Frederick Fernandez, 55, died on Saturday while surfing Hurricane Irene’s 5- to 7-foot waves at New Smyrna Beach, Florida, according to a story on WFTV.com.
Fernandez when he was tossed off his surfboard by a massive wave. Beach Patrol tried to resuscitate him and medics transported him to Bert Fish Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. . . “He had a huge laceration on his head. We believe it to be trauma related at this time,” Marris said.
Our thoughts are with Fernandez’s family, friends, and students.
In April 2011 Western Australia’s West Surfing Product announced they were looking for buyer and now, it appears they have found one in the Silverthorne family, owners of the Perth swimwear label Kooey Australia. Some American’s (not likely readers of Boardistan) may know the company as the official swimwear provider for the Miss Teen USA pageant.
