Enter a world of magic and mystery, in my own head, where surfing and snowboarding are considered real jobs! Amazing feats of daring and skill are performed every day - and that's just getting the footage onto film!
Media anarchist, film guru, surf addict and web video blogger!
Mick Fanning may have won in 2012, but it was "that air" by Kelly Slater in the final we all remember. (Photo:ASP)
52 Years of iconic contest surfing starts up again tomorrow with the start of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Stop 2 of the World Tour gets underway in small conditions with the forecasters calling epic conditions for the Easter Weekend, just in time for droves of fans to line the point at Bells.
That man Kelly Slater is in the number 1 slot once again, with Joel Parkinson breathing down his neck. Mick Fanning as defending champion will also be a major threat and after watching his turns at Snapper, you best believe that if Bells is big, Jordy Smith will be taking names! Dust Payne has just come off a win at Margaret River and that confidence may well see his best result on tour happening at Bells. Julian Wilson was also in that final and will be feeling good. Dark horses in my opinion will be Kohole Andino and Philipe Toledo.
Anything can happen at Bells though, so look forward to an exiting event!
The waves were tiny, but the Under 20's were still ripping! (Photo: Stix)
It was a tough day for the Groms with small, small waves at the Point in Jbay, but that did not stop the kids from ripping. We saw the first Round of the big lads and Mikey February and Max Armstrong were my pics in the first round. The Under 14's scored for their Quarter Finals as the swell picked up and glassed off towards the end of the day. Check out the Day 2 video...
The RVCA Junior Series got under way yesterday with Day 1 action. The waves were small but the groms were caning it. My stand outs for the day were little girl ripper Kai Woolf, Max Elkington and Simo Mkize from Umzumbe. Check the video out...
Ford van Jaarsveldt working the small waves. (Photo: Stix)
Keep an eye on this gal! Kai Woolf ripping the Point. (Photo: Stix)
Empty Perfection amongst the madness! (Photo: Dunbar)
Its a dredging sandbank in the heart of the chaos that is the Gold Coast. It's bred multiple world champions and countless super stars. The day after the Quiksilver Pro it turned on for the many that had been waiting and what a show it was...
The guy may not love contests or want to win a world title, but he surfs some truly inspirational lines. I just love how Dane surfs! The kook wipeout parade at the start also nearly made me crap my pants I laughed so hard. Enjoy...
The man has moves unlike any other! (Photo: Red Bull)
There has been a lot of banter and speculation on Jordy Smith the last few months and the tight loss to good mate Travis Logie at Snapper Rocks just added fuel to the fire. The bottom line is the man does rip hard, whether he gets a world title or not! So just sit back, drop your jaw and be amazed!
Mark Mathews on his way to a royal hiding in Oz. (Photo: O'neill)
Every year Surfline puts together a compilation of the worst wipeouts in surfing. This year was no different and there are some real cringers in there! Nice to see Grant Twig baker representing for the Saffa contingent...
Tyler Wright has been caning the women's Pro Tour, including winning the season opener at Snapper Rocks this month. But it was the footage from this session at the infamous P Pass that really got my attention. The wave is big, super hollow and runs like a freight train. No problems for this gal, with brother Owen shouting support, she charges some monster pits!
Dylan Lightfoot soars to victory in both the /18 and /20 Finals.
What a great event and weekend in Durban with Wok and the Groms! Warm water, super fun little waves and some incredible surfing from the SA juniors. Big ups to Bos for supporting SA surfing. I got to spend some quality time with the Billabong team and all I can say is that the future for South African surfing is bright!
Billabong
Junior Series (Event #1 of 4)
New
Pier, Durban
Results
U20
Boys
1. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) R10 000
2. Michael February (Kommetjie)
3. Mickey Venter (Durban)
4. Dane Staples (St Francis Bay)
U20
Girls
1. Heidi Palmboom (Bluff)R10 000
2. Emma Smith (Jeffreys Bay)
3. Nicole Pallet (Durban)
4. Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach)
U18
Boys
1. Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay)R5 000
2. Max Armstrong (Scarborough)R900
3. Ethan Pentz (Kalk Bay)R600
4. Justin Sykes (Salt Rock)R500
U18
Girls
1. Chanelle Botha (Warner Beach)R5 000
2. Nicole Pallet (Durban)R900
3. Tahra Uren (Jeffreys Bay)R600
4. Caryn McNicol (Scottburgh)R500
U16
Boys
1. Jordan Maree (Kalk Bay)R5 000
2. Tim Baard (Jeffreys Bay)R900
3. Jerry van Wyk (Jeffreys Bay)R600
4. Donovan Wichmann (Marina da Gama)R500
U14
Boys
1. Koby Oberholzer (Durban)R2 500
2. Adin Masencamp (Strand)R450
3. Ethan Fletcher (Kommetjie)R300
4. Rewaldo Abersalie (Jeffreys Bay)R250
U14
Girls
1. Kai Woolf (Jeffreys Bay)R2 500
2. Olivia Izzard (Durban)R450
3. Sophie Bell (Durban)R300
4. Kirsty McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay)R250
U12
Boys
1. Max Elkington (Hout Bay)R2 500
2. Saxton Randall (Durban)R450
3. Tide Lee Ireland (Durban)R300
4. Angelo Faulkner (Jeffreys Bay)R250
VonZipper Flair Up Award– Best Aerial manoeuvre
Diran
Zakarian (Melkbosstrand)R10 000
DaKine Youthful Movement
Award –
Most progressive surfing
Shane
Sykes (Salt Rock)R10 000
Nixon Winner Takes
All (WTA) – Highest heat total
Kai Woolf (Jeffreys Bay) – 19.40 (10.0 + 9.40)
out of 20 – Custom engraved Nixon Watch
Ok boys, your favorite surfer, Alana Blanchard, is in the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, as good a reason as any to go buy it. On this episode of her Surfer Girl web show, she shows us behind the scenes footage of the shoot in Las Vegas, as well as some time with her friends on the North Shore. Enjoy...
Holy goodness you guys get an epic Podcast this week! First up I had the gremlins on the show in the form of Jake and Max Elkington and Adin Masencamp - all surfing in the Billabong Pro Junior, presented by Bos, over the weekend in Durban. We got inside the minds of the kid brigade. After the kids left, Chris Cab and DJ Legend Haezer pulled in to talk Cab's home area in Austria, Haezer and his tours there, music by the White Miles and WasteBoys Inc, skating, surfing, snowboarding, bid Cabby good bye and finished with an epic 20 minute set by Haezer! Plug in and listen...
The old dinosaurs of surfing have to realize one thing and fast, women's surfing is no longer the small often looked down to little sister any longer! With market share fast shifting over to the Brands supporting women's surfing, the numbers of women in the water growing every day and most importantly the level of girl's surfing exploding both on tour and in the free surfs, we may find ourselves as the second string one day...
Leading the charge for female surfing is Carrissa Moore and if you don't believe me just watch the video and accept!
Meet young up and coming Pro Surfer, Quincy Davis. This girl has got some pretty mental style both in and out of the water. Spending lots of her time in Puerto Rico, she has the Island Vibe down and knows how to put a board on a rail! This is one girl to keep an eye on!
To say Coco comes from Hawaiian royalty, is not an overstatement! Daughter to Michael Ho, and niece to Derek, this tiny bombshell has grown up in the North Shore sunlight and holds her own on the golden mile! One of the most down to earth and affable surf stars you will ever meet, follow her on Twitter to find out, she is fast making a big name for herself on the ASP World Tour.
Dale Staples representing for the North Shore Saffas and making 9th!
Pipeline was not at its utmost best, but there were waves and the focus shifted from the lefts to the Backdoor Rights. The lone Saffa, Dale Staples charged hard and ended up making the Semi Finals and a well deserved 9th place. Josh Kerr and Chris Ward were on a hard charge and pushing the limits with super late drops and "backdoor" tubes. But after all was said and done, it was defending champion and North Shore royalty, John John Florence who managed to defend his Pipe Pro title and take the glorious Spartan War Helm Trophy home, which happens to be right there...
Say what you want about the man, he still surfs like no one else on the planet. Kelly Slater is back for 2013 and seems to be ready to surf the ASP World Tour. Interesting to hear him speak about hating missing good waves because of contests though, so be sure that if somewhere on the planet looks epic, Kelly will not be in places like Brazil for the contest. Check out this video of a recent Bali trip and remember why we all want to surf like the Boss!
While the swell poured into the North Shore, the contest directors at the Volcom Pipe Pro decided not to run the contest, as conditions were to wild and wooly. This did not stop the waiting Pipeline chargers from attacking it all day long. Amongst the horror and carnage there were some bombs, some spit as thick as a Sea Monster's spout and of course some hero making drops!
The contest season on the ASP World Tour starts with a bang at Pipeline for the 2013 Volcom Pipe Pro. The 5 Star event always brings drama and great action to the start of the year and you can bet that 2012 winner John John Florence will be looking to defend his title! The usual suspects of North Shore chargers and World Tour stars will battle it out for honors, though I am most excited to see how the Saffa boys go. (Well, that's hoping some of them get in...)
Frank "Frog" Solomon and Josh "Vanilla Guerrilla" Redman discuss life and stare in each other's eyes on the bike path. (Photo: Spex)
The "Late" Season starts and already the Pacific Ocean has obliged with one great North Shore swell pumping through over the weekend. There to greet it are a pack of Saffas (South African Surfers) living on the North Shore for the next 2 months chasing waves, photos, results and respect. What really makes me super stoked about it, is that they are some of my best buds! Enter the crew of Sacha "Spex" Specker, Frank "Frog" Solomon, Josh "Vani G" Redman, Andrew "Roosta" Lange, Grant "Twig" Baker and Ant Fox. These guys are there to ride and document the North Shore, surf some competition and ride the dream.
Over the next few weeks they and other other South Africans will join Spex on my radio show to fill us in on what has been going down. All the stories, the drama and the results! So keep an eye on this here blog and the Monday Radio show on 2 Oceans Vibe. In the meantime here are 2 videos of week 1 on the Shore!
Maya is drop dead gorgeous and deadly in the big waves!
Meet the hard charging big wave hell lady, who also happens to be a tiny and gorgeous women. Maya Gabeira comes from Brazil and learnt to charge big waves on the North Shore of Hawaii. This lady is not scared, even when asked to surf naked for ESPN...
