by The Editors on February 19, 2009
A researcher at the University of Florida says that the bad economy is most likely responsible for a drop in shark attacks world wide, according to a story on the University of Florida website. It’s not that the sharks noticed any difference in the markets, it’s that fewer people traveled to the beach says George Burgess, ichthyologist and director of the International Shark Attack File.
According to the latest statistics released today, the total number of shark attacks declined from 71 in 2007 to 59 in 2008, the fewest since 2003, when there were 57, said Burgess, who works at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus. . . . “I can’t help but think that contributing to that reduction may have been the reticence of some people to take holidays and go to the beach for economic reasons,” Burgess said. “We noticed similar declines during the recession that followed the events of 2001, despite the fact that human populations continued to rise.”
When we think about how many shark attacks there were at New Smyrna Beach alone it’s hard to believe it was a down year.
[Link: University of Florida News]
by The Editors on February 18, 2009
Billabong founder Gordon Merchant has run into a little trouble while building his AUS$12 million beach house in “the tiny NSW wave haven of Angourie” New South Wales, Australia, according to a story on Goldcoast.au.com. And it all centers around a two-meter tall pole Merchant has erected to hold a camera that would allow him to check the surf from anywhere in the world.
A letter sent to The Gold Coast Bulletin outlined residents’ concerns over the camera that will sit atop the roof of the three-storey beach house. . . . “We residents feel our privacy infringed, as this camera peers into our living and bedrooms 24 hours a day,” said the local, who wished to remain anonymous. . . . Residents also believe the pole is above height restrictions for the area.
Clarence Valley Council Mayor Richie Williamson is quoted as saying the city council has received complaints, however he says the “The property developer has said if there are any privacy concerns over the camera they would modify the design.”
Since a pole surf cam is something we’ve thought about many times we have an idea for Gordon: put the camera on a telescoping pole that will up-periscope when you want to check the surf and then hide away when you’re not using it. And don’t put it up until well after the house is completed and the neighbors are no longer nosing around. Then no one will be the wiser and you can thrust your pole into the sky as high as you want.
[Link: Goldcoast.au.com]
by The Editors on February 18, 2009
In a letter to friends and family Ross Garrett, the former group publisher and president of media at Airborne Media LLC, says that while he is still a partner at Airbourne, he has accepted a new job.
I’m excited to let you know I have accepted a position as Director of Operations and Development for Journal Concepts Incorporated, the parent company of The Surfer’s Journal. While I remain a partner at Airborne Media LLC and have a vested interest in Foam Magazine and Airborne’s other properties, I will be day-to-day with Steve and Debbee Pezman at the business they built in San Clemente, Ca. My mission at Journal Concepts is to grow the platform, improve the efficiency of the current operations, and grow The Surfer’s Journal itself. How that unfolds tactically, is something I will sort out with Steve and Debbee in the coming months.
Congratulations, Ross. Follow the jump for the official press release.
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by The Editors on February 18, 2009
The USC crew at Quiksilver got a little deeper recently when James G. Ellis was added to the Board of Directors on February 13, 2009.
Ellis is the dean of the Marshall School of Business at USC. He began his career with Carter Hawley Hale stores and rose to vice president of Merchandising for the Broadway department store chain. . . . Later, he became president and CEO of American Porsche Design and has been involved in several other entrepreneurial ventures. He held leadership roles in several apparel manufacturers and action-sports companies.
Sounds like Mr. Ellis has all the skills necessary to help pilot Quiksilver into the storm.
[Link: OC Metro]
by The Editors on February 17, 2009
A boat with 30 illegal immigrants from the west coast of Morroco onboard capsized in the surf near Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and a Uruguayan surfer named Christian Hunt was able to rescue six of them, according to a story in the Irish Times.
Mr Hunt said he ran into the surf from his beachside house after his wife saw that the boat had capsized. “When I got out there it was already a nightmare scenario. There were people floating off, the boat was overturned and several people were still holding on to it,” he said. “They would all have gone to the bottom if they hadn’t managed to grab the boat.” . . . While he threw himself into the water, his wife ran to get the surfboard, which he used to ferry the immigrants towards the beach. Mr Hunt said that on one of his journeys to the boat a 14-year-old boy told him to look for a smaller child first. “I hadn’t realised that he himself was so young,” he said.
Twenty-one others died in the accident and three others were still missing according to the story.
[Link: Irish Times]
by The Editors on February 16, 2009
While the ASP World Cup Tour and the PR crew at Quiksilver would like to say that Kelly Slater is committing to another year on the ASP World Cup Tour and to winning his 10th world title, all he’ll say now is that he’ll be on the Goldie and that he will compete in the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks beginning February 28, 2009.
“I commit to where I am,” Slater said. “I’ll be on the Gold Coast for sure. I’m pretty excited about some new equipment and am ready to surf, I think. No. 10 is alluring and is there for the attempt, but I’ll let everyone else worry about the pressure of it as well as I can.”
If he does go after it, current world number two Bede Durbige is letting him know that he’s gunning to make sure it doesn’t happen, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
I have had a good steady climb on the ratings so I guess there is only one more spot to go now,” said 25-year-old Durbidge, who has risen every year since arriving on the main tour in 2005. . . “To take Kelly out this year is a big ask, but it is achievable and I feel I’m up to the challenge.”
We’re going to go way out on a limb and predict that Kelly will keep surfing the tour as long as he is winning. For the rest of the official ASP release, follow the jump.
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by The Editors on February 13, 2009
The Motley Fool investor information site has recently given Volcom a “4-star” rating and a headline that says that the “stock is about to pop.” Not sure what that means exaclty, but here is their logic:
Over on CAPS, 380 of the 416 All-Star members who have rated Volcom — or 91% — believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include MagicDiligence and bullshiite, both of whom are ranked in the top 10% of our community. . . . Late last month, MagicDiligence noted that Volcom “is smartly run, financially sound, and has plenty of growth opportunities overseas. It’s also extraordinarily cheap!”
Not to say we disagree, just that we’re not so sure that user-generated stock advice is the best guide for where people should invest their money.
[Link: Motley Fool]
by The Editors on February 12, 2009
A 33-year-old surfer known only as Gary was “having a sunset surf off south Bondi about 7.30pm when he felt something brush his arm while paddling back out to catch another wave” according to a story in the Sydney Herald.
Realising he had been bitten, he called out for help to a group of nearby surfers who came to his aid, paddling him to shore and carrying him to safety onto the beach. One of them used the leg-rope of his surfboard and wrapped it as a tourniquet around the man’s heavily bleeding arm.
A doctor and nurse just happened to be walking by and were able to help stabilize the surfer and get him ready for transport. Sadly, the surfer has lost his hand above his left wrist. This is the second shark attack in Sydney this week. In that attack a diver lost his right hand. Guess the shark was going for a pair.
[Link: Sydney Herald and Times Online]
by The Editors on February 11, 2009
Surf City and Ship Bottom New Jersey beaches, it turns out, are littered with World War I era bombs and fuses, according to a story on the AP wire.
Back when World War I was winding down, Navy ships patrolling the New Jersey coast found themselves with leftover ammunition and no targets. . . So they dumped it all overboard, probably thinking the fuses and other ordnance would never be seen or heard from again. . . . They were wrong. Nearly 90 years later, the fuses resurfaced, invading the shores of two of New Jersey’s most popular beaches, Surf City and Ship Bottom.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which accidentally moved many of the munitions in a beach replenishment program that started in 2006 are now faced with getting all the explosives emoved before someone gets blown up. “So far, work crews have retrieved 1,213 pieces of munitions, mostly 6 to 8-inch-long fuses filled with gunpowder that could explode if jostled or struck.”
[Link: Associated Press]
by The Editors on February 11, 2009
Not to be outdone by Quiksilver Skate, Rip Curl shows how much they still believe in the magazine as metaphor by creating Ripcurrents digital magazine: a magazine that is literally on your computer screen with pages that actually turn when you click on them, you know like a paper magazine only on your computer with music that will drive you crazy and that retro sound of crisp pages turning through salty air.
There is even a shadow in the middle of every spread to screw up the photos just like in a real magazine. . . did we mention how much we hate these things?
[Link: Rip Curl Currents via Global Surf News]
A researcher at the University of Florida says that the bad economy is most likely responsible for a drop in shark attacks world wide, according to a story on the University of Florida website. It’s not that the sharks noticed any difference in the markets, it’s that fewer people traveled to the beach says George Burgess, ichthyologist and director of the International Shark Attack File.
