At the 56th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine May 27-30, 2009 in Seattle, Washington Dr. James MacDonald, M.D. presented the findings of a recent surf injury study, but it wouldn’t take a degree in medicine to come to their conclusion about the two biggest dangers facing surfers.
Surfing under the influence of drugs or alcohol are two of the prime dangers facing surfing enthusiasts. . . The most common surfing injuries involve lacerations, contusions and soft-tissue damage, said James MacDonald, M.D., a physician and lead author of the surfing study.
Rob Vassallo, the owner of Australia’s Jett Performance Products, says his designs for a battery powered heated vest that he showed to Rip Curl in 2005 are now being used by the company in their H-Bomb wetsuit and he is not getting paid, according to a story on News.com.au.
“They loved the technology and, after I provided mock-up samples, they sent prototypes to the US for feedback and finally, in 2006, they ordered 500 units,” he said. . . . Rip Curl unveiled the wetsuit last year as the H-bomb using a surfing video shot in Iceland. . . Mr Vassallo said that a week later Rip Curl told him it had lost faith in Jett’s ability to make the wetsuit.
Rip Curl says they have only sold 200 of the suits and that they “absolutely refute the idea that we have stolen anything from Rob Vassallo or Jett,” according to spokesman Gary Dunne. Vassallo, of course doesn’t not agree.
Brazilian big wave charger Maya Gabeira is featured in an extensive profile (and video interview) in The Independent.
Underneath the veneer is a young woman driven to pursue a rush that few of us will ever know, punishing her body and testing her resolve as she breaks into a macho and fiercely-territorial boy’s club – all for a few big waves. . . “I thought it would be so cool to have a girl who could do it, just like the boys,” she says. “I thought it was an impressive sport, and so radical and intense, and it took so much dedication. And I thought if I ever saw a girl doing it, I’d be impressed? Right now, I can’t even visualise that that girl is me.”
Not that we’re arriving late to the Maya party, but this girl is rad.
Palmerston North resident Tony Robert Costa, 33, died after “being struck on the head by another surfer’s board” with another surfer at Wellington, New Zealzand’s Lyall Bay, according to a story in the New Zealand Herald.
Fellow surfers, who had to contend with a rip, struggled to get Costa to shore following the collision and were not able to resuscitate him once they got him out of the water. . . President of Lyall Bay Surf Club Martin Robinson said he had never heard of anything similar happening in more than 20 years at the club. . . At that end of the beach there was a lot of competition for waves and boards would collide relatively often, but hadn’t heard of anyone being killed in a collision, he told Radio New Zealand. . . The water was not crowded because it was windy and the surf was choppy, he said.
Australia’s Stab magazine interviewed two of what they called Postsurf.com’sLewis Samuels‘ “favorite targets” about how it feels to be berated in the Power Rankings. Here’s a little of what Phil Macdonald and Drew Courtney had to say:
Phil Macdonald:
Why would I care what some twerp, who just wants to be controversial, has to say? I’d love for him to say some of the shit he writes to my face. I wouldn’t hit him. I might word him up, but then again I don’t really care. Why would I invest energy into hating some dork, two-faced prick who writes shit for the sake of being controversial?
Drew Courtney:
It doesn’t bother me one little bit. But I heard a few of the Hawaiian guys are hunting around for him. I would love for him to show his face at one of the contests, instead of just watch ‘em on the web cast. I’d love to meet him face to face. It wouldn’t go real good.
We’re not sure Kelly Slater will appreciate this or not, but Manhattan Beach, California artist Alison Wright and surfboard shaper Mark Brog have created a piece of art on display today at the Culver City Art Walk titled “If Slater Bowled.” The piece features a 10-foot tall bowling pin along with a bowling ball that is 4 feet in diameter, according to The Beach Reporter.
“The concept of the work responds to Los Angeles’ love affair with heroes as well as to the long, narrow characteristics of the gallery itself, which is featuring a group show of artists whose studios are in the Helms Building,” Wright said. “Several of the artist’s studios will be open in addition to the gallery during the art walk.”
Brog will reportedly try to surf the bowling pin after the show is over. Come to think of it, maybe Kelly should try it out on the WCT. Couldn’t hurt, right?
A bride and groom celebrating their marriage in Cornwall England decided to go out for a short surf during their wedding reception at a bar on the beach at Porthtowan, but neither of them were ready for the conditions according to a story from the BBC.
His wife joined him for a dip and the pair got caught in a rip current. . . Off-duty lifeguards raced to the sea and rescued the bride, who ended up on some rocks, before saving her husband. . . the groom was caught in a really strong rip current and was being dragged around the corner of the headland, which at high tide is “no-man’s land”. . . “He was in a fair bit of trouble and had also abandoned his board, which was his only flotation device,” the lifeguard added.
It took lifeguards and some other surfers nearly an hour to paddle the groom back to his reception. Hopefully, the couple is a little better at marriage than they are at surfing. . .
Looking to sell 1,800 copies of a surf book about pipeline at 90% off, anyone interested in an opportunity buy? http://www.experiencepipeline.com/
Apparently Quinn Haber’s “coin-toss book”Experience Pipeline isn’t moving as well as the publishers would like. At 90% off the whole run would be about $2,500. Any takers?
Before making an offer it would probably be a good idea to watch this video . . .
Our favorite Quinn quote: “I wrote this book and I’ve been reading it for about two years now and I still come across new plots, new endings, new situations. . . ” Really?
