by The Editors on April 17, 2008
We are so lucky to live on the West Coast. And stories like this are nice reminders of how bad surfers in Florida have it most of the year:
From the minute you step foot on area beaches, the blast of sand whipping around hits your face well before you notice red flag warnings. “It’s amazing, that’s why we stopped and pulled off the road, it’s like we wanted to see what the beach was doing,” says Cindy Collins.
Yeah, that wave looks pretty amazing.
[Link: WPTV.com]
by The Editors on April 14, 2008
It was a night where size definitely matters as the elite big wave riders gathered at The Grove in Anaheim, California on April 11, 2008 for the 8th Annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. This year, the biggest wave of the year award went to Mike Parsons, 43, for his Cortez Bank 70 footer.
“I didn’t think a session like that could ever happen twice, I mean that day in 2001 where I rode the first winner at Cortes was incredible,” said Parsons. “It feels surreal to say that I rode a 70ft wave, I can’t believe it… There have been so many big waves ridden throughout time and when I sit at home I can’t believe that I may have ridden the biggest one ever,” he said. “The amazing thing about big wave surfing now is how global it is going.”
Parsons only got $15,000 for riding the largest wave, all the big money ($50,000) went to Shane Dorian, 35, for “Ride of the Year” for his wave at Teahupoo on November 1, 2007. Hmmm, I guess Billabong can give their money to whoever they want, huh?
[Link: Billabong XXL]
by The Editors on April 9, 2008
According to the Sunshine Coast Daily:
A Sunshine Coast surfer has been pulled out of a competition in WA after a massive shark was sighted by a fellow competitor – a day after a 16-year-old boy was killed by a shark.
Maroochydore’s Mitch Coleborn was midway through the heat at the Drug Aware Pro at Margaret River in Western Australia when the drama unfolded.
Coleborn was leading the heat comfortably when the surfers were called in with nine minutes remaining.
“I’d just completed a wave when I heard the commentators call us all in so I knew immediately it was a shark sighting – I paddled as fast as I could and it definitely rattled me when they called us in…. “
[Link: Sunshine Coast Daily]
by The Editors on April 9, 2008
According to LiveNews.com.au Koby Abberton has been asking his girlfriend Tahyna Tozzi to marry him repeatedly, but the girl keeps saying no.
“I ask her to marry me every single day, but she keeps saying no,” he said. . . For her part, Tozzi tells News Limited Abberton was far from the ruffian his reputation suggested. . . . “I’m not saying Koby is an innocent angel – because I know he can be a boy – but to me he’s just a teddy bear,” she said. . . . Abberton is due to face court next month after being charged with assault in a recent Hawaiian bar brawl.
What could possibly be stopping her?
[Link: LiveNews.com.au]
by The Editors on April 8, 2008
From the Daily Telegraph:
A BODYBOARDER could get a bravery award after desperately trying to save his mate’s life when a boy was mauled to death by a shark on the NSW North Coast today.
The 16-year-olds were surfing at Lighthouse Beach, near the mouth of the Richmond River, at Ballina, when the victim Peter Edmonds was grabbed by the left leg.
The boy’s friend Brock Curtis-Mathew told paramedics he heard his mate Edmonds cry for help and immediately paddled over to help.
With no sign of the shark and blood pooling around them, the young bodyboarder then bravely paddled his Edmonds 75m to shore.
During the ordeal Edmonds passed out, forcing Curtis-Mathew to take his weight and drag him through the shallows on to the shore.
The youngster then used Edmond’s mobile phone to call for help.
However, by the time paramedics and a lifesaver arrived the boy had bled to death.
[Link: The Daily Telegraph]
by The Editors on April 8, 2008
by The Editors on April 4, 2008
Kauai surfer Keoni Lucas, 35, died Saturday night March 29, 2008 in Santa Monica after falling asleep at the wheel in Santa Monica, California.
Hailed as always positive, outgoing and born for the water, mourners for North Shore surfer Keoni Lucas will honor the 35-year-old who passed away Saturday by dedicating this year’s Annual Irons Brothers Pinetrees Classic to him. The event occurs this weekend.
Our thoughts are with Keoni’s family and friends.
[Link: Kauaiworld.com]
by The Editors on April 4, 2008
Joe Giangrasso, 18, is at home recuperating from a shark bite to the ankle that he got while surfing at Florida’s Ponce Inlet.
“I thought he was going to hit me and hold on for a second. When I went to pull out, he clamped on harder and shook his head. I tried to reach, grab, and push, do whatever I could do. Finally he let go,” said Joe Giangrasso, the shark bite victim.
This is nibble number four for the year. Mmm. . .
[Link: WFTV.com]
by The Editors on April 1, 2008
Police in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia are searching for clues relating to a skeleton that Landcare workers found on Sunday August 24, 2003.
The skeleton was found in a pair of Levis brand stonewash denim jeans (size 35), a pair of Quiksilver brand blue shorts, and an ‘Ecko Unlimited’ brand shirt. . . . Police say forensic tests have revealed they are those of a man aged between 18 and 50.
So that’s who’s wearing them!
[Link: ABC.net.au]
by The Editors on March 31, 2008
We guess he’s the original ZJ. For those who never knew Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner’s story, this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle is a great place to start:
Wagner is owner of Zuma Jay Surfboards, an institution of 33 years that has become a cultural crossroads in Malibu, drawing tourists, celebrities, workaday folk, billionaires and mom-driven surf groms from the valley. He slept in the back of the shop for more than a decade and now holds court behind the counter, dispensing quips and esoteric commentary along with leashes, wax and ding-repair kits.
Follow the link for the rest of this angry surf story.
[Link: San Francisco Chronicle]
We are so lucky to live on the West Coast. And stories like this are nice reminders of how bad surfers in Florida have it most of the year:
