by The Editors on December 10, 2010
California State University-Long Beach master’s degree candidate Ryan Pittsinger says surfing elevates people’s mood, according to a story in US News & World Report.
Pittsinger, a lifetime surfer and native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., surveyed 107 surfers after a 30-minute session in the waves and found that positivity and tranquility increased significantly while negative mood and fatigue decreased.
Wonder how this same study would go after a 30 minute session on a good day at Pipe?
[Link: US News & World Report]
by The Editors on December 10, 2010
Slate.com’s Matt Feeney has written a surprisingly insightful round up of professional surfing circa December 2010 titled You Should Worship Kelly Slater.
Like almost no surf writer so far Feeney sums up Andy Irons’ death, Kelly Slater’s number 10, and what it means both in and out of the “insular” world of surfing. He also has some ideas as to why Kelly isn’t a bigger mainstream celebrity like, say, Shaun White. But it is Feeney’s final paragraph that especially hits home:
So maybe the final limit to Slater’s fame is that he’s the dashing and deific king of a sport that is, in the wider world of athletic pursuits, something of a rogue nation. Surfing may seek attention, on occasion, but mainly so that it can invite that wider world to kiss its ass.
Be sure to read the rest.
[Link: Slate.com]
by The Editors on December 10, 2010
Luke Kennedy, editor of Tracks Magazine is lucky to be alive today after getting speared with his board at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore at 11 AM on Thursday, December 9, 2010, according to a stories on Waves Mag.com.au and Hawaii News Now.
The nose of his board had pierced him in the the front of the neck, just above the collarbone. Ross Clarke-Jones stood beside the ambulance and looked almost white. “I didn’t even realise it was Luke. It’s looks really bad. I tried to stop the bleeding, but when I tried that he couldn’t breathe,” said Ross. From all reports Luke’s board had snapped while he was in the shorebreak. How he impaled himself is unknown.
Luckily, there were bystanders on the beach who were able to stabilize him before he was transported to Queen’s Medical Center where he was reportedly in critical condition, according to the Honolulu Star Adversier. We wish Luke the best and hope for a speedy recovery.
Click the Waves link for the rest of the story.
[Editors’ Note: This story was updated from its original (and erroneous form) at 2:25 PM after we got a link and the following kind note from a commenter: “WTF kind of reporting is this? Read the story, the surfer has been named.” It’s that kind of team work that we depend on.]
[Link: Waves.com.au, Hawaii News Now and Honolulu Star Advertiser]
by The Editors on December 8, 2010
How easy it is to sit back while watching the Billabong Pipeline Masters In Memory of Andy Irons and talk about it not being “classic Pipe” or how great it would be if it was, and then a backdoor barrel like Dusty Payne’s (above) comes slamming though and it’s obvious that it is a better wave than most people will ever surf. But that’s how Pipeline is. And that’s how it was today.
Following his emphatic Round 1 victory, including the day’s high heat total of a 15.10 out of a possible 20, Payne notched in some late heroics in Round 2, netting a rare barrel up the beach at Gums. . . “I nearly started the heat at Gums but decided not to and ended up at Backdoor,” Payne said. “Then I was watching these really good barrels come through up there and decided to head up there. There’s not any current at Gums so I was just sitting there by myself and Andy (Irons) sent me a good one. I didn’t think I was going to get barreled in that heat, but there it was.”
If he can make it to equal 9th the 21-year-old Hawaiian is on the tour. Tomorrow round three lights up with heats including Kelly Slater vs. John Florence in R3 H6.
For the rest of today’s action follow the jump.
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by The Editors on December 7, 2010
Surfline has upgraded their iPhone offering with an all-new Surfline app which gives users global access to the Surfline HD cam network as well as all their other surf forecasting goodness.
Surfline’s all-new iPhone® app is the only mobile surfing app available with surf cams at over 150 of the best surf breaks in the US and Hawaii and LIVE streaming HD cams available at over 90 breaks for premium members. Surfline’s app provides the great useful tools and data that have made Surfline a trusted forecaster for surfers around the world.
We let our account expire so we can’t test how good the HD cams look on the phone, but if you have a subscription (and an iPhone) download the free app and let us know how it works. Follow the jump for the official release.
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by The Editors on December 6, 2010
Last night the Surfer Poll Awards were held in Hawaii for the first time and aside from the hordes of OC civilians who didn’t get the chance to slink int on flesh and bright smiles, it seems everyone was happy with the new, more intimate Turtle Bay Resort venue.
Hosts Sal Masekela and Freddy P. kept the show rolling perfectly (as far as we could tell from a live webcast that cut out every 6- 8 minutes) and in the end, there were very few surprises (Kelly won his 16th title). Follow the jump for the full results.
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by The Editors on December 6, 2010
Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, Corky Carroll and Hobie Alter are oddly involved in a food-service competition for space in the recently expanded John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, according to a story in the OC Register.
In separate proposals, two companies bidding for the airport food service contract are proposing restaurants named after the surfing celebrities.
HMS Host International wants to build Hobie Hut, a surf-themed beach bar and grill. Delaware North Companies is proposing Corky Carroll’s Surf Bar. . . While Carroll is famous for his personal adventures and surfing titles, Alter is known as an industry innovator. He is considered a surfboard manufacturing pioneer – one of the first to mass produce foam and fiberglass boards.
Sorry, Hobie and Corky we like seeing you make some money, but if anyone deserves a spot at John Wayne it’s Wahoo’s.
[Link: OC Register]
by The Editors on December 6, 2010
In a month when the covers of both Transworld Surf and Surfer Magazine feature portraits of Andy Irons against a black background, Surfer’s office mates at Surfing Magazine have a completely different take, according to a post by Stuart Cornuelle titled In Defense of Cowardice.
They’ve chosen not to do any work at all toward understanding or reporting the Andy Irons story. Not that they don’t have the scoop. Cornuelle writes:
The things we can’t say in our magazine could fill a…magazine…and Surfer’s the same, as is Transworld, and Surfline (ask L. Samuels), and even the venerated Stab, which is practically owned by Billabong. Make what you will of the fact that Brad Melekian, a Surfer Magazine writer, penned his Andy opus for Outside instead.
No. Surfing Magazine is going to remember Andy doing a big freesurfing cutback because as they say:
We’re not journalists. We don’t really chase leads or hound sources. We don’t chain smoke and flask-nip into the wee hours for no pay, just the satisfaction of spitting on the graves of our heroes. Sorry. Bookmark TMZ for your gossip fix — “you and every housewife in America,” to paraphrase Melekian’s well-researched article.
Guess it’s better than “the dog ate my homework” and Cornuelle got to call out Transworld Surf, Surfer, Stab and Billabong for good measure, but is this really a story to be proud of ignoring?
[Link: Surfing Magazine]
by The Editors on December 3, 2010
When Laguna Beach, California’s Thalia Surf Shop owner Nick Cocores’ discovered that the art gallery next door was packing it in he realized it was the perfect opportunity to not only expand his retail footprint, but also to partner with a popular brands.
“We approached Vans with the space coming available and asked them if they wanted to work with us,” Cocores said (pictured right with Steve Van Doren). “They were totally supportive and wanted to get on board. And so here we are.”
Thalia has carried Vans since the shop opened in 2001 but because the the cozy size of the shop the shoes were limited to a small wall section where Cocores was able to display 25-30 pairs of shoes. But now with close to 900 feet devoted to the brand he can obviously show more. “We can probably have 100 shoes in here now,” he said looking over the new Vans Thalia Surf Shop space.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story
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by The Editors on December 3, 2010
