by The Editors on January 11, 2009
There appears to be a swell on the horizon and while Marvericks contest director Jeff Clark says “everything beyond 48 hours is hypothetical” this bump could mean a Mavericks contest January 16-17, 2009, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News.
The pulse looming large on satellite imagery is the byproduct of a gale spawned off the coast of Japan late last week. The system is expected to be tracking southeast today toward the international date line and making a beeline for the coral reefs off Oahu and Maui. . . .If it stays on course, it will release its fury there Wednesday and Thursday. Then it will hurtle toward Northern California with the potential for clean 40-foot wave faces jutting from the shallow rocky shelf off Pillar Point on Friday and Saturday.
Keep your browsers tuned to Marvericks.
[Link: San Jose Mercury News]
by The Editors on January 11, 2009
Jason Borte takes on the persona of the core surf shop and points out some of their challenges and why they are not going to go away any time soon in a rambling rant on Surfline.com titled Reports Of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated.
Along the way he drops the names of the bad guys; Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Target, and quotes the good guys Bob Hurley, Quiksilver’s Tom Holbrook, Billabong’s Royce Cansler, and Whalebone Surf Shop’s Jim Vaughan. This is how Borte wraps it up:
Surfing is magical, and the one place where we all gather outside of the water is magical as well. We, the authentic surf shops, are nothing less than shrines to the sport. We provide the essentials for riding waves, and we provide a place for surfers to connect, communicate, and share the stoke. Just as wavepools fail to deliver the magic found in the ocean, pseudo-surf shops fail to offer a genuine experience. Truth be told, I don’t deserve the credit. It isn’t the building or the smells that make a surf shop special. It’s people. And those people don’t just smell like surf, they do it.
If only we had a lighter handy, we’d be waving it high above our heads right now and typing one-handed.
[LInk: Surfline.com]
by The Editors on January 11, 2009
Yesterday, on Australia’s Gold Coast Jonathon Beard, 31, was surfing with three friends at Fingal “when a shark inflicted a bite about 40cm long and 5cm deep to the top of his leg.”
Apparently there was a group of dolphins nearby and then the next thing he realised was he received a large bite to the top of his leg,” he said. “The blokes he was with then saw some violent thrashing in the water and called out ‘Shark!’. . . . “They showed a lot of initiative — they used his leg rope as a tourniquet and got him into shore quickly and got help.”
Meanwhile at Binalong Bay 13-year-old surfer Hannah Mighall was surfing with her 20-year-old cousin when she was chomped by a 5 meter white pointer.
The shark twice dragged the girl under the water before her cousin reached the scene on his surfboard and hit the animal, causing it to let go of the girl’s leg. . . . The cousin managed to pull the teenager on to his surfboard and began to paddle towards the shore. But the shark followed and circled the frightened pair as they frantically paddled.
Luckily, both surfers escaped major permanent damage though as the story points out they will have some great scars to talk about.
[Link: The Australian and Time Magazine]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is running out of funding and may close, but O’Neill founder Jack O’Neill has an idea, according to a story on SantaCruz.com: “Write checks, please.”
Always the type to take his own advice, O’Neill handed over a $4,000 large novelty check inside the museum to members of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society, the new name for Santa Cruz Surfing Club members that hope to take over the museum.
The City of Santa Cruz and the Preservation Society still have a few details to work out including raising at least $20,000 to finish out the year, but with friends like Jack it seems the museum has a good chance of living on.
[Link: Santacruz.com]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
Nathan Fletcher suffered a broken femur Wednesday January 7, 2009 while surfing Pipeline, according to a story on Surfermag.com:
Fletcher caught a clean west peak, ducked under and then emerged cleanly from a six-foot spinning tube. He sped out onto the shoulder in full afterburner mode. Fletcher then lay his outside rail into a massive Mach 5 roundhouse. He headed into the oncoming foam ball with a prodigous amount of speed. Too much speed. It was one of those cutbacks. His speed and velocity actually increased through the turn. Unfortunately, the mountainous white cotton ball grinding towards him was anything but fluffy and soft. “I heard his leg snap,” said Wassel. “It was the eeriest sound. Myles and I looked at each other and we just knew it was bad.”
Myles Padaca and North Shore lifeguard Dave Wassel went out and were able to drift with Nathan down to Gums and get him to the sand. We wish Nathan a speedy recovery.
[Link: Surfermag.com via Transworldsurf.com]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
On January 13, 2009 Town & Country Surf Designs will release their “one-of-a-kind Obama’s Inaugural Luau” T-shirt according to a story in the Hawaii Reporter.
“The design ties the historic moment of Obama’s inauguration to his roots in Hawaii,” says graphic artist Lani Isherwood, who created the artwork. “It depicts a Hawaiian luau fronting the U.S. Capitol, complete with kalua pig, a poi bowl, fresh island fruits, hula dancers and more. The luau scene represents the truly unique way Hawaii celebrates a milestone.”
The front of the tee features a yellow pineapple and the T&C Surf logo with the word’s “Hawaii’s own” scripted underneath. These luau shirts will be available at T&C Surf stores and retail for $20.
[Link: Hawaii Reporter]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
NorCal surfers deal with a lot more sea life than those in Southern California and sometimes their cavalier attitudes make us feel downright soft; especially during shark season.
Being bitten by a great white shark six years ago has not kept Michael Casey out of the water, nor did seeing a shark again while surfing this past New Year’s Day near the Bodega Dunes Campground. . . . Instead of giving up for the day, Casey went a quarter mile up the beach and went back in the water. . . . “I saw other guys out,” said Casey, a Santa Rosa assistant city attorney. “I just felt more comfortable, it was uneventful, I caught some good waves and it was a good way to start the new year.”
Then again, maybe Casey expects a little professional courtesy this time around.
[Link: Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
Sometimes when we get so jaded that we start thinking magazine covers are just photos on the backside of a spread ad, it’s nice to read some local coverage to remember how stoked people are when they make the cover.
Here’s what O’Neill surfer Jesse Hines, 29, had to say about his January Surfer magazine cover in the North Carolina’s Outer Banks Sentinel.
It’s the Surfer magazine cover shot, however, that is huge. . . . “It’s a miracle just to get a photo in there,” Hines said. “They just happened to like the image, it’s just chance. . . “They look at millions and millions of photos from all over the world [for each issue],” he added. . . .”I used to look at surf mags and dream of it [surfing],” he said.
Nothing like a hometown paper to put everything in perspective.
[Link: Outer Banks Sentinel]
by The Editors on January 8, 2009
The amount of money going into the promotion of the Mathew McConaughey film Surfer Dude DVD release (it is currently selling for $5.99 on Amazon) could have financed a couple years of round the world surfing for someone. And now they’re stepping it up by giving away Surf Prescription boards on Movieweb.com
One lucky grand prize winner will win an actual surfboard from Surf Prescriptions, which will be signed by the film’s star Matthew McConaughey himself! We are also giving away a few posters for the film signed by McConaughey as well. These prizes will surely go super-fast, so be sure to enter this contest today!
So we guess in Hollywood speak an “actual surfboard” means a Doc Lausch surfboard.
[Link: MovieWeb.com]
by The Editors on January 7, 2009
There appears to be a swell on the horizon and while Marvericks contest director Jeff Clark says “everything beyond 48 hours is hypothetical” this bump could mean a Mavericks contest January 16-17, 2009, according to a story in the San Jose Mercury News.
