It may have taken until 1:15 PM local time, but the Rip Curl Pro Portugal finally got underway at Supertubos. Daniel Ross and Chris Davidson joined the favorites by winning in Round 1 forcing Taj Burrow and Jordy Smith to surf tomorrow in the rising swell. Joel Parkinson and Gabriel Madina tied for the day’s high score of 17.87.
“The conditions improved so much in the span of one heat when compared to the warm-up just before,” Parkinson said. “It was great and everyone was getting barrels and scores. I guess it just shows how quickly things can change out there.”
Today (October 14, 2011) Thrasher Magazine announced that they have convinced Ewan Bowman to join the team as Director of Videography.
[Ewan] work with P-Stone, Schmitty and the rest of the crew to take the videos you see on our website and DVDs to the next level of radical. Though he’s known for being one of the best in the biz behind the camera and computer, we’re stoked to have Ewan on the team because he’s a stand-up dude, a true skater and fuckin’ hilarious.
We can’t agree more. Follow the jump for an full interview with “Lord Bo.”
According to a story on Goldcoast.com.au, Base Surfboards, the surfboard maker owned by Simon Anderson, Darren Handley and Murray Bourton has gone bankrupt.
Worrells was appointed as voluntary liquidator for the company last month when the Australian Taxation Office started putting BASE under pressure to pay off a tax debt of almost $1 million. There were hopes the company would be pulled out of financial trouble if new investors could be found, but negotiations broke down recently with interested parties and now the company will be shut down and the assets sold off.
Guess Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore will have to get their boards somewhere else from now on.
Last night the pleas went out over Facebook, Instagram, and via text: Skateboarder Kanten Russell’s 15-year-old daughter Kaelia has been reported missing in Chula Vista, California. She was reportedly last seen with a Bryan Espinoza in a yellow Nissan Xterra with license number 6AZP660.
Captain Roxana Kennedy of the Chula Vista Police department says they’re doing everything they can.
“What we have is a high school girl who was last seen with her boyfriend,” Kennedy said. “They left in a vehicle together. . . Right now there is nothing that we have to follow up on that would suggest foul play. This girl does not have a history of runaway. So the family is understandably concerned. We are doing everything we can and if anything came up that suggested foul play we would release that information.
Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that. Anyone who has info should call the Chula Vista Police Department at (619) 691-5151.
Last night (October 13, 2011) Supra kicked off the official opening of their newest retail shop in Paris with a pretty large party.
The event started at the store on Rue du Temple, and the celebration continued at the after party around the block at Jules & Jim, a soon-to-be-opened boutique hotel in the Marais. Good food, cold drinks, and a blazing fire provided the perfect backdrop to incredible sets from DJ Feadz and Sam Tiba.
Some people were just built for taking care of business. And while people may not have expected that from Erik Ellington in the past, it’s obvious now. His work with Baker Boys Distribution, Death Wish, Shake Junt, et. al. has proven that the guy is a savvy merchant who knows exactly what he’s doing, as evidenced by this interview with Copenhagen’s BitchSlap Magazine.
A Basin opened today (October 13, 2011) on an 18 inch base of nozzle blast (and a few inches of natural snow) and Loveland is reportedly opening tomorrow (October 14, 2011 on the white ribbon of death pictured on the right.
Looks like Denver area shreds can finally get their slide on. Side note: Wolf Creek killed them all in the annual “first to open” competition by getting their lifts running last Saturday.
Police in Shawano, Wisconsin and closed the city’s skate park after what they call “a rash of problems there, including fights, littering and loitering,” according to a story in the Shawano Leader.
Capt. Jeff Heffernon said the closure is not permanent and the skating area could be re-opened in a week or so. In the meantime, he said, the department would welcome any community feedback on the matter.
Well, how about this, Capt. Heffernon: Why not just do your job and make sure the people causing the problems are taken care of so the good kids can roll. Or would that mean losing too much donuts and coffee time?
Just when we thought we’d heard pretty much every story from the monster surf spot Cortes Bank comes word of journalist Chris Dixon’s upcoming book Ghost Wave from Chronicle Books. Here’s the story:
[Dixon] recounts stories from Greg Long, Brad Gerlach, Mike Parsons, and a cadre of divers, explorers, sailors, nation builders, and lunatics who have all tried their luck at Cortes Bank and barely lived to tell of their encounters. This astounding true story of the Everest of the sea will captivate anyone with a curiosity about, and respect for, the vast and unknowable ocean.
We’re almost more interested in reading about the history of the place, than we are to hear wild tales of surf bravado. And what’s more Sebastian Junger says Ghost Wave is a “beautifully researched and compellingly written book. I read it straight through from the first page. Terrifying.” Let’s just say we’re looking forward to reading it.
Ghost Wave goes on sale on Amazon in October, 2011. Click here to pre-order it. Or visit Warwick’s Booksk in La Jolla, California on October 13, 2011 at 7:30 PM or The Surfing Heritage Foundation in San Clemente on October 14, 2011 to hear Dixon read from the book live and in person.
