by The Editors on April 13, 2009
Rip Curl Pro wild card Owen Wright showed the world today that his round one victory over Dane Reynolds was not a fluke. With consistently smooth, powerful backhand surfing Wright simply put Kelly Slater away in an extremely close heat.
Early on Kelly had some trouble with the lip, nothing compared to his rail tripping during the Quiksilver Pro, but glitches just the same. He pulled into a couple little coverups, got a nice floater, but lacked the explosive perfection that the world (and the judges) have come to expect.
Owen Wright just stuck to it and ended up with a 14.67 to Slater’s 13.83. “There was a lot of pressure,” Wright said in his post heat interview. “Then I thought to myself. ‘I can surf. I’m not that bad of a surfer.’ I know he’s the 9 time world champion, but I just figured if I do what I do it might be enough at the end of the day. . . I’m really happy to get one on Kelly Slater. There won’t be many chances like that that come around. I’m so stoked right now.”
Now the big question: will Kelly stay with it or throw in the hopes of number 10? We’re hoping he hangs in for a couple more.
[Link: Rip Curl Pro]
by The Editors on April 13, 2009
Yes, there is an action sports hierarchy. And here is YoBeat’s Nick Lipton version (with a little help from Robbie Sell).
Obviously we cannot consider snowskaters, kite boarders, skibladers, or any of those other silly make-believe sports into our equation. Including such activities could lead us into the troubled waters of soap shoes, heelies, and other gimmicks that should have never been invented.
For the rest of Nick’s entertainingly navel gazed explanation of where we all line up follow the link. . . if you have a little time that needs killing.
[Link: YoBeat.com]
by The Editors on April 13, 2009
A 56-year-old father of two from Dublin, Ireland died surfing Saturday on the island of Inis Oirr from hitting his head on a rock after falling “awkwardly from his board,” according to a story on Herald.ie.
Shocked family members watched in horror as the tragedy unfolded off Ceann na Faochán on the southwest of Inis Oirr. . . He was unable to swim back to shore and was pulled from the water by his son who attempted resuscitation while another family member ran for help. . . The medical student gave his father the kiss of life but his efforts failed.
Our thoughts are with is family and friends.
[Link: Herald.ie]
by The Editors on April 9, 2009
The Surfing Heritage Foundation and Nike 6.0 are presenting a three part event on the fourth Friday of April, May, and June where the photo editors of the big three surf magazines (Surf, Surfing, and Surfer) will present a slide show and discuss the ins-and-outs of dealing with surf photographers and explain how they choose photos in a way that keeps all their advertisers happy all the time.
The line-up looks something like this:
Fri., April 22: Aaron Checkwood/ Transworld Surf
Fri., May 22: Pete Taras/ Surfing Magazine
Fri., June 26: Grant Ellis/ Surfer Magazine
Tickets cost $15 and there is limited seating so sign up soon. Just talking about it kind of makes us miss light tables, and seeing those guys hunched over in a dark room illuminated from below. . . we’ll leave it at that.
[Link: Surfing Heritage Foundation via Global Surf News]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
In the hunt to find a reason to pay for Surline’s “premium subscription” the wave forecasting site is rolling out a new “HD surf-cam experience” for those who just aren’t getting enough wave detail on the free cams.
Surfline’s founder Sean Collins says, “In March 2009, Surfline introduced the very first live HD Surf Cam from Surfline headquarters in Huntington Beach. Using a 16:9 format and high-resolution detail, the video streaming quality is excellent, and viewing the online camera is as if you are actually on location and watching the waves from our office.”
Sure, eventually all surf cams (and cameras in general) will be high definition, but are we really going to pay to see Newps in HD? Nope. But if we were already paying it would be a nice upgrade.
[Link: Surfline]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
Surfersvillage and Global Surf News have always bummed us out a little. Their “we post everything and don’t care who we steal it from” mentality made for some great fun in the early days as online editors at certain surf magazines delighted in posting completely bogus stories just to see how quickly the seemingly irony impaired minds behind Global Surf News would pick them up and run with them. Remember the Rip Curl Search at Swami’s story?
But now, with The Surfing Yearbook, Surfer’s Village has done something that we think will become standard for most publications in the action sports media space (if they’re smart). They have collected a year’s worth of posts from their websites, added some great photos, and a bit of commentary and perspective and are releasing it all in a 240-page illustrated coffee table book edited by surf journalist Phil Jarratt. Here’s what he said about it:
“What we’re aiming to do with The Surfing Yearbook is to present a fully-rounded picture of surfing that will appeal to everyone in the sport, culture and industry, from the lowliest grom surfing in his first amateur comp to the high-rolling CEO of the biggest surf corporations. We’re targeting the grom first because we know the CEOs will follow.”
We haven’t seen the $65 book yet (the official launch party is April 9, 2009 at Bells), but the idea seems perfectly timed.
[Link: The Surfing Yearbook]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
Looks like Sony Australia is turning to Billabong to give the ailing electronics manufacturer a little help with the iPod driven cool kids (specifically with Joel Parkinson), according to a story on Current.com.au.
In his new role Parkinson will represent and endorse the Sony brand, Sony sub-brands and products with media, consumers and retail partners. . . “2009 is shaping up as a big year for me and it’s pretty cool that the partnership with Sony allows me to keep my fans up to date with what’s going on both on and off the world tour. Family, friends and supporters are important to me so documenting my year with products such as Sony’s Cyber-shot cameras, Handycam camcorders and VAIO notebooks will help me share my experiences and, hopefully, triumphs,” said Parkinson.
The video cameras are great, but we hope the money is good because not having an iPod can be almost debilitating.
[Link: Current.com.au]
by Sir Ben Marcus on April 7, 2009
To celebrate the Grand Opening of Jed Noll’s surfboard shop in San Clemente, Jed’s proud parents Greg and Laura Noll beat on the Redwood Wireless, which connected with the Coconut Wireless and sent out an invitation that apparently no one could refuse.
On a fresh spring afternoon in April – the 4th to be exacto – Jed Noll’s surf shop at 1709 North El Camino Real in San Clemente was the place, and the faces included three-plus generations of surfers, writers, photographers, industrialists and other surf notables.
Phil Edwards and C.R. Stecyk made rare public appearances and they cruised and schmoozed with Paul Naude, Bruce and Dana Brown and entourage, L.J. Richards and Eddie Talbot (E.T)
The Scandinavian countries were represented by the brothers Aaberg – Kemp and Denny and also Karl Ekstrom and a large number of tall attractive blondes.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on April 7, 2009
Lindsay Rose, a 15-year-old surfer from Goleta, California died Sunday after being found unconscious in the water at Sands Beach on April 1, 2009, according to a story on Noozhawk.
The Dos Pueblos High sophomore was discovered by other surfers face down in the water around 5:15 p.m. April 1 at Sands Beach near Devereux Slough. Paramedics were called to the scene and performed CPR and defibrillation, according to eyewitness accounts. . . .She was transported to Cottage Hospital where she was reportedly breathing on her own. Doctors put her in a drug-induced coma to help her recuperate, but she died Sunday morning.
Lindsay was a member of the Dos Pueblos High school surf team. Our thoughts are with her parents, family, and friends.
[Link: Noozhawk.com]
by The Editors on April 7, 2009
Rip Curl Pro wild card Owen Wright showed the world today that his round one victory over Dane Reynolds was not a fluke. With consistently smooth, powerful backhand surfing Wright simply put Kelly Slater away in an extremely close heat.
