Kirk Passmore, 32, a big wave surfer from Carlsbad, California who has lived on the North Shore of Oahu for the past two years, died surfing Wednesday, November 13, 2013 after getting held down while surfing Haliewa’s Alligator Rock, according to a story on CNN.
Jamie Sterling, a surfer who saw Passmore wipe out, told KHNL, “He was seen swimming down with his feet up above the surface, and we think he broke his eardrum because what happens when you break your eardrum is you have complete loss of balance and you have vertigo.”
SurferMag.com has a Daniel Russo photo sequence of Passmore’s last wave along with a statement from his family in which they said:
He was not new to big wave surfing, having surfed most of the well-known big wave locations, including Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, Pipeline, and outer reefs on the north shores of Hawaii. He was a familiar face at Todos Santos off Baja California. He also surfed Maverick’s in Northern California and Puerto Escondido in Mainland Mexico. He spent 3 years in the southern coast of France. He moved to the north shore of Hawaii full-time in the spring of 2012.
Our thoughts are with Passmore’s family and friends.
During the summer of 2012 the City of Mammoth Lakes, California (home to Mammoth Mountain) filed for bankruptcy thanks to losing a lawsuit to a developer. Rather than throw in the towel, the City worked with Mammoth Mountain to plan for their eventual rise from the ashes and the strategies they used over the past seven months could work for almost any business that is down and feeling like there is no way out. For the entire breakdown check out this story by Robert Holmes on Urban Land.
The world’s best big wave warriors gathered at The Grove in Anaheim, California on Friday night, May 3, 2013 for the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards Ceremony. The 2013 Big Wave Award and Paddle In Awards both went to Santa Cruz, California’s Shawn Dollar.
“Is this really happening? Are we really paddling into waves bigger than what we used to tow?” exclaimed Dollar. “It’s surreal, it’s such an honor. This is what I’m passionate about, I’m as big a fan as anyone – to be the guy that set the record? Phenomenal. Stoked. Over the moon. 61 feet? It’s hard to put numbers on those things, but it was the biggest wave I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Dollar.
For the official word from Billabong (including full results) follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Jamie Anderson and Chas Guldemond took their rightful places at the top of the podium by huge margins. Chas was 12 points ahead of second place, Finland’s Roope Tonteri. And Anderson took her event by nine points over Norway’s Kjersti Buaas.
Guldemond even took one for the team. “My first run was for the U.S. Snowboarding team and my second run was for me,” Guldemond said. “As always I try to have a good time snowboarding no matter what. It feels so good to be on top and start the Olympic qualifying period. It’s my goal to continue this success to the best of my abilities. . . I have really been working hard to perfect my run and it is going well so far, I am happy with how my dub 12 is coming together.”
Anderson, who wins pretty much everything she enters still finds a way to sound surprised, which is nice. “This has all been unreal, I feel so lucky,” Anderson said. “Thirteen is my lucky number, I was born on the 13th and there are 13 letters in my name so I would like to think this good vibe will keep going through.
There will be two showings, at 7pm and 9pm, and you will need a ticket to enter. Tickets are free, but due to overwhelming demand and limited seating, you must RSVP to prettysweet@dqmnewyork.com to be eligible for a ticket.
Amer Sport the Helsinki, Finland based parent company of Salomon, Bonfire, and Nikita reported their financials for the quarter ending September 2012. Profits appeared flat versus 2011 with net sales increased by two percent, and unfortunately winter hardgoods sales were down by 12 percent, according to Marketwatch.
“Our Q3 sales were driven by strong on-going momentum in Apparel (27% growth), as well as continuous improvement in Suunto (+24%), Fitness (10%), Tennis (+8%) and Cycling (+7%),” said Keikki Takala, president and CEO of Amer Sport. “As expected, Winter Sports Equipment declined in line with the previously communicated low pre-orders, despite our strengthened market position.”
Guess their trouble in winter sports equipment is old news. For the official word and all the numbers click the link.
Steamer Lane will be lifted back into its rightful place on the world tour November 1-11, 2012 as the O’Neill Coldwater Classic returns the Santa Cruz, California break to World Championship Tour status.
With a long and rich history, the O’Neill Coldwater Classic at Steamer Lane is known for producing powerful and consistent conditions in a classic Northern California setting. Originating in 1987, the event has taken on various incarnations over the past three decades. It was once an ASP WCT event (prior to the ASP creating a two-tier system), but for the past few years, it has run as an ASP Star or Prime event. With this year’s upgrade to the highest echelon of professional surfing, it will not only bring the top caliber of talent to Steamer Lane, but a lofty $425,000 prize purse as well.
Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi’s flying through the apperati in the women’s final.
The New Zealand OpenBurton High Fives “invitational” contest in Wanaka, New Zealand wrapped up the Slopestyle finals today with Mikkel Bang and Enni Rukajarvi taking the top spots.
Burton rider Mikkel Bang (NOR) was the clear standout throughout the men’s competition as he took the lead right off the bat with his first run score of 91.00 – only to top it on his second run with 95.40 points. Mikkel’s winning run started out with a switch backside 1, front 270, back 5, switch back 12, front 10 double, and a backside rodeo 5 stale over the final hip jump. Head Judge, Mel Simmons, commented, “Mikkel’s run had everything, it was tech, it had the spins, and it was totally stomped. It was the complete package”.
For the rest of the official word from Burton, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Swedish snowboard photographer Daniel Blom is celebrating his 10 years in the action image capturing game with a book titled Drifting Decade.
Drifting Decade, a hardcover 240 page book portraying some of the most influential riders of the 21th scenery, on and off the mountain, mixes documentary style images with crisp action and snapshots. This book presents the full spectrum of this subculture’s ramifications including big mountain lines in Alaska, stadium contests in Germany to urban riding in Finland.
The book ships out at the end of September. But you can pre-order a signed copy now by signing up on the website. Looks like it’s going to be a good book. Especially for those who prefer pictures over words.
The Nike Lowers Pro returns to San Clemente, California May 1 – 5, 2012. The ASP Prime contest features at $250,000 prize purse and maybe even a few touring pros that don’t surf for Nike.
With a win at the Nike Lowers Pro equivalent in ratings points to a third-place finish at an ASP World Tour event, it’s typical to see many of the World’s Elite 34 in the line up. Past winners have included: 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), the late, great three-time World Champion Andy Irons (Hanalei, Haw.), Rob Machado (Encinitas, Calif.) and Tom Curren (Santa Barbara, Calif.), to name just a few.
So yeah, this is a pretty serious contest. Click the year for photos from past Nike Lowers Pros: 2011, 2010 or follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Kirk Passmore, 32, a big wave surfer from Carlsbad, California who has lived on the North Shore of Oahu for the past two years, died surfing Wednesday, November 13, 2013 after getting held down while surfing Haliewa’s Alligator Rock, according to a story on CNN.
