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Smith Takes Brazil; de Souza First in Ratings?

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:36:46 +0000

South African Jordy Smith just won the Billabong Rio Pro against Brazilian national favorite Adriano de Souza by a score of 17.80 to 16.34 in clean two-to-four foot waves at Barra Da Tijuca at stop number 3 of 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) in the dwindling hours of the the Billabong Rio Pro waiting period. The ASP Top 34 ripped a wide ranging cast of conditions from shreddable little nuggets and ramps to throaty, shallow tubes.

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Women's Surfing is Here

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:15:53 +0000

Women's surfing is on fire. Today's girls don't hold back. They are pulling in deep and going for broke on and above the lip. If you've ever seen Carissa Moore surf live, you know that there are very few surfers on this planet that can out surf her (that includes guys). The girls are putting themselves into situations that 20 years ago would have been thought impossible. But it's not as some say that this generation just stood up and declared an end to their second class citizen status and started charging and grabbing their piece of the pie. Oh no, it has been a painful incremental inching towards legitimacy against one of sport's most male dominant hierarchies. You say "What?" Surfing ain't chauvinistic. Surfers are just a bunch of mellow all-accepting dudes. However, you might be wont to notice that women have had a tough time in the lineup (still do) because of male dominant attitudes and behaviors. Women have been charging for decades, but they very rarely had sponsors willing to offer them a free ride to the world's best waves. Women had to wager their savings and safety to make sure they made it to the next contest or the next great spot.

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Dumpster Rubble: the dominance of name recognition

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:40:53 +0000

"When asked precisely how many surfboards his company sells, he demurred. 'The more boards you sell, the less cool you are. The more success you attain, the more people don't like you. It's just surfers, man!'" That quote concludes a great article in Bloomberg Businessweek and speaks volumes about our day to day existence. Do tennis players ruminate on the purity of their sport under the leaning slab of capitalism? Doubt it. And I know that baseball fans have all but accepted the marketing of every minutia of their beloved "past time." Not a sport but a past time. That's what it was. Not an industry but a past time, a lifestyle, a culture. Baseball was once a group of young maniacs stoked on the exhilaration of competition and the purity of comradery. Sound familiar? If not, read about the young surfers who explored the North Shore back in the 50's and 60's. We've come a long way in quantity, but we haven't gained much in quality. Have we sullied our lifestyle for convenience? Sure, but now we have heats on demand and surf camps and wave cams. I ain't gonna lie. It's nice. I get more sleep and ride more waves than ever, but it all feels dirty.

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Surf Music

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:10:49 +0000

Why is it called surf music? Music and surfing are inseparable. Their kinship goes back to the ukulele no doubt as Hawaiians recomposed amidst post-olo board sessions (picture Eddie and Clyde Aikau chillin' around a fire after a Waimea session, ukulele and some cold ones in hand) , but the term "surf music" waxed electric a generation later as Californian beach culture exploded. 1960's acts like Duane Eddy and The Ventures developed the instrumental rhythms that would stoke legions of surfers. The sound was honed to perfection by Dick Dale and exploded in beautiful absurdity via The Surfaris' "Wipeout." While the genre faded as the 70's approached, surfers still turned to music as fuel and therapy. But as the years went on, the sounds of such giants as the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Lynard Skynard, and the Stones showed how difficult surf music was becoming to categorize, but the power to amp was always the secret ingredient.

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De Souza on Top?

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:48:21 +0000

Just read Surfline's Power rankings and although I have always dug Nick Carroll (essential surf journalist and brother of Tom), I am just having a hard time seeing Adriano De Souza at the top of the heap even after his win at Bells. To be clear, this is not some nationalistic fear that the Brazilians are taking over, and my beloved home country may be losing its grip on the upper regions of the tour. I mean no matter how much we would like to think otherwise, Slater's time will inevitably end. A back injury in your 40's is never good. But with De Souza, it's more about the style factor. No matter how efficient and precise his surfing is, it always comes off over-calculated, mechanical, and stiff when juxtaposed against the likes of Florence, Smith, and Parkinson. It is true that professional surf judging is forbidden from using the subjective factor or "style" in its evaluation of each wave, so it makes sense that a focused, competitive machine like De Souza will succeed, but to win the title, I would like to believe that it will take that phantom essence as well. You know, that something beautiful that haunts the movements of great surfers, and even though De Souza gets it done every time on every wave, his three or four turns don't move me like one of Florence's weird mid-face stalls or Reynolds' strange full-standing bottom turns in the pit. De Souza has it all planned out: multiple turns and varied maneuvers on long waves. He maximizes points but not the wonder of surfing's infinite possibilities. Even in the confines of competition, judges recognize the X factor that makes a turn great or timing perfect or a barrel epic. Style (which comes in many forms) is a dirty word when trying to force an imperfect natural phenomenon into a square hole, but secretly, stealthily, furtively; it must be taken into consideration. Mr. Carroll I just don't see it even though he is heading into his home turf with so much momentum. I think that heavy pressure will be his downfall.

To Air is human...To Punt is New

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:54:41 +0000

Even though Steph Gilmore told CNN that surfers don't talk slang anymore, I got to thinking about how the surfing lexicon (the language we use) has changed. Hodads have given way to kooks and Barnies, and the green room has become a shack. Cut-backs and slashes are now hacks and gaffs. But as you read the the latest mags, you probably noticed the oft used term "punt" as to mean to launch an air. Why choose a football term to describe a maneuver that is so obviously not related to football? Let's look at the difference between today's aerial tricks as opposed to the days of yore.

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Surfing's Danger Factor?

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:51:47 +0000

Every once in a while, there is a super gnarly photo of a surfer's shredded knee or hamburger face that goes viral. Just Google Keala Kennely's smashing meet up with a Tahitian reef. I won't link to it just to be sure I don't gross anyone out who wasn't looking to get grossed out. However, surfing injuries have increased 50% over the last decade. Pundits point to the astounding array of new aerial maneuvers and tail whips that permeate progressive surfing. But I must say nay. Instead, I have a bad feeling that the increase has more to do with an insane explosion in the surfing populous than anything else. Crowds? Uhg! That thought is wretched. Sure, I understand that surf lessons (like the ones here on this site) that help new surfers learn more quickly are leading to more people in the lineup, but I also believe that most of these folks would have learned anyway (and probably would have gotten in more danger without some skills) and the growth of surf schools has provided surf instructors and business owners some surf-related career options.

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Long Live Surfing History

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 09:41:12 +0000

The surf world forever marvels at the future of our sport. Board materials and fin configurations are quickly cataloged as "old" the minute something new is unveiled. Surfers who inhabited the excitement of eminent greatness are shuffled back to haunt their home breaks as soon as the media decides they aren't worth the video time or magazine space. Sure, all sports have this problem, but surfing does very little to honor its forefathers (and mothers) save for precious few memorial contests here and there while small contingents of youngsters jump around in beaver tails waving their single fins like a 70's cover band plays "Stairway to Heaven" almost as a joke.

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40 Something Slater Takes the Quiksilver at Kirra

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:35:46 +0000

Kelly Slater at 41 years of age won the 2013 Quiksilver pro in pumping Kirra against the reigning world champ who just so happens to be a local at said right point. But the Floridian didn't just catch a lucky break or barely squeak by Joel Parkinson. He soundly answered two excellent rides with two "excellenter" rides. He didn't surf like a last gasp from a forgotten era but rather a stealthy, agile, and confident keeper of the flame. Along the way, Slater put Dane, Kolohe, Fanning, and Parko all in a strangle hold with a savvy mix of old school power, new school theatrics, and some good old fashion tactical "strategery". The waves got good and everyone was ripping, but Slater just plain out surfed them all. It was a great event with Michel Bourez breaking through into the semi- final out with Spartan power and Tahitian style. Even if the the Super Heat lacked in its super-ness as Dane Reynolds never really got started, Jordy ripped one measly wave to pieces, while 70's super hero turned underground ambassador Rabbit Bartholomew grabbed the only legitimate wave in the heat with a throaty barrel and rail carve. Oh but the waves! They lit up for the main event. The semi-finals and the final were epic. Big, long tubes and open walls that played the part of canvas for the artistic rendering of the world's best surfers. The pro season has begun and those who follow it are for some fun. Let's hope John John heals up and Reynolds makes the most of his next wildcard.

Truths Learned at Snapper Rocks

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:33:22 +0000

Snapper Rocks has yet to deliver for the maiden event of the 2013 ASP World Tour, and really neither have the surfers. It looks like most competitors are being cautious, even those who are traditionally the least traditional. That said, there are a few universal truths that have arisen from this event so far.

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