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. [click to continue…]
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.
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.
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.”
Not to be outdone by Quiksilver Skate, Rip Curlshows 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?
After a 7.5 quake rocked the easter region of North Sulawesi, Indonesia has issued a Tsunami warning according to Fox News.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.0-magnitude quake was centered 195 miles from Manado, the northernmost city on Sulawesi island. It said it had a depth of about 20 miles beneath the ocean floor.. . . The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports that a pacific-wide tsunami that would threaten Hawaii is not expected. . . . However, earthquakes of this size can generate local tsunamis that could be destructive along coasts located within 62 miles of the epicenter.
Another analyst who follows Quiksilver’s stock has downgraded her rating thanks to Quik’s rather large debt, according to a story in the Orange County Business Journal.
Caris & Co. analyst Claire Armstrong Gallacher downgraded Quiksilver’s stock to “average” from “above average,” saying the company’s profits are “at risk” due to its heavy debt and the retail sector’s downturn. . . . “Given the large debt burden, tight credit markets and worsening consumer spending trends we would recommend investment in companies with debt free balance sheets,” Gallacher wrote.
The Billabong Design For Humanity evenings are always a good party. And we’re guessing the Sydney event is going to knock people to their knees. Wish we were there.
No Eddie in sight, but Mark Healey goes spearfishing and brings back some great video (including a Tiger sharkie). Sometimes these Healey videos are the next best thing to being on the North Shore.
