by The Editors on May 19, 2009
What is it about being attacked by a shark that makes people want to get right back in the water? Glenn Orgias, the Australian surfer who lost his left hand to a 2.5 meter great white while surfing at Bondi Beach, has spent his downtime working as an Australian Red Cross Blood Service ambassador but he’s looking forward to going surfing again, according to a story in The Sydney Morning Herald.
He told the Seven Network he hopes to receive a prosthetic hand but it won’t be waterproof, forcing him to improvise when he gets back on a surfboard. . . .”Yeah, I’m not sure how to push up on the board yet and hopefully I can get back on and get up.”
Tough man, Glenn.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on May 19, 2009
Like many fans of the WCT tour we cringed yesterday as Kelly Slater fell off wave after wave in the opening minutes of his round 2 heat against Spain’s Aritz Aranburu. It wasn’t until the last two seconds of the heat that we saw the Slater we know and love spring back to life with an inverted snap that reminded everyone that they were watching the world’s greatest surfer on a bad day. But the wave just didn’t have enough on it for Kelly to advance.
Leave it to The Sydney Morning Herald to put Kelly’s third first-heat defeat into proper perspective:
Kelly Slater bombed out of the Billabong Pro in Tahiti yesterday to continue the biggest fall from grace by a king since Henry VIII took a liking to Anne Boleyn. Slater, the greatest of all the surfers, needs a miracle to retain his world title after losing to little-known Spaniard Aritz Aranburu at Teahupoo.
It was a humble and contemplative Slater who answered GT’s questions following the heat–sometimes with the painful honesty of a warrior who has lost something important but just doesn’t know what it is.
“That may have just given me an excuse for a big, long vacation,” he said. “I don’t know yet. It’s really decision time for me. With that many 17ths, you’re really hard pressed to win a world title. I’m not here to just make up the numbers, but I don’t want to fall off the map, either. I guess I kind of have, though. Numbers-wise, I’m still within the possibility of getting in late in the year, but I don’t know. I guess I have a lot on my mind.”
We’re hoping he continues in the hunt, but then again it’s tough to watch a hero repeatedly limping off the field of play.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on May 18, 2009
Former WCT surfer Shane Bevan was fired from his job as a baggage handler at Oceania Aviation Services twenty months ago after his employer accused him of participating in Queensland’s Coolum Classic surf contest while on “sick leave with a bad back” according to a story in The Australian.
But now, after two reviews by Australia’s Industrial Relations Commission it has been determined that Bevan should not have been fired.
The IRC initially upheld his sacking but, on appeal, a commission full bench last week supported Mr Bevan’s claim that the termination was harsh, unjust and unreasonable and ordered the company to pay compensation.
Nice work, Shane.
[Link: The Australian]
by The Editors on May 18, 2009
Those pesky Florida sharks are still at it in New Smyrna Beach, according to a story in the Orlando Sentinel.
This weekend saw three surfers bitten by sharks, at the main spot where this happens: the surf zone just south of the inlet in New Smyrna Beach. . . Two surfers were bitten 9 a.m. Saturday morning, within 10 minutes of each other, said Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Scott Petersohn. . . .A third surfer was bitten around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday at that same location, Petersohn.
We’ve said this before, but it seems shark bites are pretty high price to pay for Florida waves.
[Link: Orlando Sentinel]
by The Editors on May 17, 2009
The Santa Cruz Sentinel tells the story of the “hold-down” of Darryl “Flea” Virostko’s life. It wasn’t at Maverick’s. It was a week after a group of his family and friends held a little intervention that Flea finally drove himself to Monterey’s Beacon House drug rehab center and checked in.
When nurses admitted him, Virostko’s blood alcohol content registered at 0.28 on the breathalyzer. A BAC of 0.30 and above is usually enough to put a person in a coma, if not flat out kill him.
The rest is classic story of drug abuse (strangely similar to this clip we just watched of Steve-O) featuring sadness, loss, methamphetamine, and a blown professional surfing career. But that is all old news, the story claims, because now Flea is back and has been sober for eight months.
Today, the intensity in Virostko’s face has returned. The hunger is there. He’s surfing every day. He’s following a healthy diet. He’s moved to Ben Lomond with his girlfriend and three dogs, Mija, Riddle and Passion, to “get away from my wreckage.” Virostko surfed Maverick’s twice this winter – on the only two legitimate Mav’s swells that came through – including the Nov. 30 “Turkey Day” swell, which saw some of the largest, cleanest paddle-in Mav’s in years. He managed to nail a handful of heavy drops.
And that’s good news.
[Link: Santa Cruz Sentinel]
by The Editors on May 16, 2009
There’s just nothing like a $49.99 O’Neill Costco spring suit to keep that morning chill off the bones.
by The Editors on May 15, 2009
Apparently, Surfline.com has a new Claire Bevilacqua up on their site, but after seeing this photo we kind of forgot what we were doing. . . .
[Link: Surfline.com via Nixon]
by The Editors on May 14, 2009
by The Editors on May 14, 2009
Brown Cannon is a professional photographer who likes to put his water photos on surfboards an then show them in galleries, according to a story in the Marin Journal.
Cannon’s images of whales and waves and water, of sea life and coastal environments – “the full scope of a person’s relationship to the ocean” – adorn classic surfboards that are both fine art and functional – sculpture that you can actually surf on. . . He has been creating these custom boards for two years now in collaboration with GP Surfboards, a company in Capitola near the rideable waves of Santa Cruz.
Currently Browns work appears to be on display at two locations (Richardson Bay Audubon Cetner in Tiburon, CA and Casa Romantica in San Clemente, CA) with a third at The Bolinas Museum going up on May 20, 2009.
[Link: Marin Journal and Brown Cannon 3]
by The Editors on May 14, 2009
The Chicago Park District is apparently opening four Lake Michigan beaches to surfing according to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Vince Deur, who founded the Surfrider Foundation’s Lake Michigan chapter in 2007, said Wednesday that supporters met Tuesday with Park District Supt. Timothy Mitchell, who agreed the district would begin taking steps to allow surfing at four beaches between this Labor Day and Memorial Day. . . The surfing group and the Park District are also looking into allowing surfing at the 41st Street Beach all year, beginning perhaps as early as Memorial Day weekend, Deur said.
That’s so fresh.
[Link: Chicago Sun-Times via USA Today]
What is it about being attacked by a shark that makes people want to get right back in the water? Glenn Orgias, the Australian surfer who lost his left hand to a 2.5 meter great white while surfing at Bondi Beach, has spent his downtime working as an Australian Red Cross Blood Service ambassador but he’s looking forward to going surfing again, according to a story in The Sydney Morning Herald.
