by The Editors on July 3, 2009
Kelly Slater beats Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and wins the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Imbituba.
“There were much better waves in the Final than there were for my Semifinal,” Slater said. “Adriano (de Souza) found a pretty good rhythm early on and posted some pretty good scores, but I felt comfortable out there and felt that the waves would come to me if I were patient. Both of my scoring rides allowed me to a bunch of maneuvers and I felt that the scores were maybe a little high, but I haven’t had many good scores this year, so it was bound to go my way at some point.”
Can’t say we’re not stoked. Follow the jump for the entire ASP press release the is posted all over the net.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on July 2, 2009
Kelly Slater actually made it out of a round 3 heat against Ben Dunn on one of his own boards in the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro (stop number four on the 2009 ASP WCT). According to the ASP press release it was a “self-shaped, asymmetrical quad-fin.”.
“I seem to be riding a new board every time I go for a surf,” Slater said. “This one I just rode was an epoxy swallow-tail and seemed to go really well in these conditions. I’ve spent the lay days hanging with some friends here in Brazil and having a few fun surfs around town. I’ve pretty much just been cruising and testing out some equipment.”
Reminds us of the old “million monkeys typing” bit. Eventually, something has to work, right?
[Link: Australian Surfing Life]
by The Editors on June 26, 2009
While the Mavericks CEO Keir J. Beadling may have made everything at Mavericks Surf Ventures sound all cool, a post on June 26, 2009 by former Mavericks contest director Jeff Clark paints a little different picture.
The press release issued by Mavericks Surf Ventures this week stating that I ‘stepped down’ and I am ‘passing the torch to the next generation’ is wrong. The reality is that I was ousted as Contest Director by the current CEO. . . .I must also note that, while the company’s news release states that this year’s contest will be held to celebrate ‘the 35th anniversary of Jeff Clark’s first session at the now world-famous break,’ the 35th anniversary is actually next season, in 2010-11. I will not allow the company to use my accomplishment as a marketing tactic. . . .Effective today, I have resigned from the Board of Directors of Mavericks Surf Ventures.
So that, apparently, is the other side of the story.
[Link: Jeff Clark My Word]
by The Editors on June 26, 2009
Florida surfers have to put up with a lot. No waves, hurricanes, and sharks, but this week they had even more weirdness lurking in the lineup.
A rare American crocodile was captured at the Cocoa Beach Pier last Friday and there have been at least two separate alligator sightings in the ocean this week. One of the reptiles left its tracks in the sands of Satellite Beach. . . On Saturday, Jeff Scabarozi, the Brevard lifeguard chief, went to the Third Street North beach in Cocoa Beach. Aboard a personal watercraft, he rode within two feet of a swimming gator.
What next? Cougars in the parking lot?
[Link: Orlando Sentinel]
by The Editors on June 24, 2009
According to a story on Surfermag.com one of the passengers of Air France Flight 477 which crashed into the Atlantic ocean on June 1, 2009 was a Brazilian orthodontist who was an avid surfer. His name was Jose “Rommel” Souza.
Souza was accomplished both in and out of the water, as he spoke four languages and had studied in both Brazil and Paris. But his surfing may be remembered most. “Perhaps one of his most memorable rides was at Uluwatu on a huge day,” said Gaunt. The wave quadruple overhead, he caught it right at the peak and rode it for a kilometer and a half. “He rode the wave so far he had to get a motorbike back from Padang beach,” said Gaunt.
[Link: Surfermag.com]
by The Editors on June 24, 2009
After a year of no Marvericks contest it seems everyone is doing everything they can to make sure the event goes off this year. Yesterday, organizers announced that the contest window would now open on November 1, 2009.
Mavericks CEO Keir J. Beadling summed up the excitement, saying, “We’re thrilled to announce that this year’s big-wave contest season will begin earlier than ever before. We have long understood the importance of increasing the size of the contest window, but haven’t been able to do so. Last season’s events further highlighted how valuable a November opening date can be. Now, thanks to the support of everyone involved with the contest, we will make the November opening a reality.”
[Link: MavericksSurf.com via InsideBayArea]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
Sports Illustrated’s Arash Markazi gives Kolohe Andino, Connor Coffin and Evan Geiselman a nice boost in his column and they seem pretty chill about it.
Like many 15-year-olds would, the trio had a difficult time explaining why they have been tapped to become the future of American surfing. But the consensus amongst those in the Team USA camp — and certainly amongst their multitude of sponsors — is that this trio is the best to come from the mainland in at least two decades.
Looks like the mainland is in good hands.
[Link: Sports Illustrated]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
Hollister, the surf fashion brand that doesn’t waste money on silly things like sponsored surfers, surf advertising or surf contests, is joining Quiksilver and Billabong in New York City with a new store called EPIC Hollister at the corner of Broadway and Houston. And the press release is enough to make Miki Dora roll over in his grave.
It’s 40,000 square feet of pure California fantasy. It’s walking along Huntington Pier, hanging with the hottest crowd at the beach while the waves crash around you…literally! “The EPIC store is what Hollister is all about–big waves, surf, sun, and hanging out on the pier,” said a Hollister rep. “The laidback HCo. vibe is effortlessly cool, and we’re bringing the SoCal lifestyle to SoHo. . . . The first of its kind in the world, Hollister Co.’s EPIC store is about sight, sound, scent, taste, touch, and most of all, positive energy. It is without a doubt the coolest store to open in NYC. EPIC will be SoHo’s must see destination!
It’s so fake, it almost feels real. We can hardly wait!
[Link: Yahoo Finance]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
Surf Diva, the La Jolla, California based women’s surf camp, retail store, and clothing brand is in the middle of a permit battle over professional surf camp access to the waves at La Jolla Shores between Menehune Surf‘s Darren Fulhorst and the City of San Diego’s Real Estate Assets Department, according to a story in The Voice of San Diego.
But how the city has distributed those permits in the last four years is threatening to put one of those companies, Menehune Surf, out of business, said Darren Fulhorst, the company’s owner. When his competitor, Surf Diva, was granted only two of the three permits it bid on in 2005, the city circumvented the formal bidding process to create a fifth permit at La Jolla Shores, which it granted to Surf Diva, and in the years since has been unwilling to account for how or why it did so.
Probably just another case of Isabelle Tihanyi handling handling her business.
[Link: Voice of San Diego]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
SIMA announced yesterday that they have confirmed dates for Surf Summit 12 the conference that was cancelled in May due to Swine Flu worries. Now that Swine Flu has taken over the world, it appears that it is now safe to go back to Cabo September 30 – October 3, 2009.
SIMA President Doug Palladini believes it is the surf industry’s duty to attend:
“SIMA’s new Surf Summit 12 dates reflect the surf industry leadership’s strong consensus that we need an annual gathering of people and ideas, be it May or September,” said Doug Palladini, SIMA president. “We know that attending will remain a priority for all SIMA members given the need for increased business acumen and communication in these challenging economic times.”
For all the details about registrations, refunds, and the Friday, July 31, 2009 deadline, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
