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The Legendary Photo Archives of LeRoy Grannis | There is an old surfer taunt: You should have been here yesterday. LeRoy Grannis was there in the 1930s and ’40s when a few hundred young men in California and Hawaii with heavy redwood boards represented surfing’s Camelot. Portrait photography had Felix Nadar and Mathew Brady. Fashion photography had Baron de Meyer and Edward Steichen. Surfing photography had Grannis and his friend John “Doc” Ball; they set the standard for all the pictures that followed.Photo: LeRoy Grannis / Makaha, Oahu, Hawaii, 1962Born in 1917 a block from the ocean in Hermosa Beach, California, he began surfing in 1931 and became one of the state’s top surfers. Grannis is featured in more than a half-dozen photographs in Ball’s classic 1946 book, California Surfriders. That volume might be considered the Old Testament of surfing photography. Doc Ball started surfing in 1929, when there were, by his estimate, about 20 surfers on the entire California coast. He started taking surf pictures seriously in 1931, capturing the kinetic excitement of the sport.LeRoy Grannis worksWorks by LeRoy Grannis: Dewey Weber, 22nd Street, Hermosa Beach, 1966 , Duke Classic Finalists, Sunset Beach, 1968 , Miki Dora, Malibu, 1963 , Malibu, 1965 , Miki Dora, Malibu, 1961 , Palos Verdes Cove, 1964 , Henry Ford, 22nd Street, Hermosa Beach, 1963 , In the Pier, US Surfing...M+B PhotoJohn Grannis, son of LeRoy Grannis, recently went through the legendary photo archives of his father to look through some of LeRoy’s earliest work from Malibu in the early 1960s including unseen images of Miki Dora, LeRoy’s camera collection, as well as photos from the early 1970s on the North Shore of Oahu. This video is an incredible gift to fire me up for a new series of interviews with people that paint with light …Below is a fragment from an old interview with Juice Magazine. Simply historic milestones in surfing photography and the perfect way to travel back to the future. And learn from the past …JM: Was Doc taking pictures before you?Doc saw an article that had some pictures Tom Blake did about Waikiki. Being a very inventive type, Doc decided he’d try it for himself. He started shooting with these large-format cameras — 3 1/4 and 4 1/4. He built a water box because he found out Blake had made a water box using that same type of equipment.JM: How did he build it?He stripped the outside of the Graflex, left the guts of it and built a wooden frame around it. On the front end, he had this trap door type thing that he’d open up when he was shooting. He could close it up to make it waterproof. Sometimes, when he was shooting and the wave would break outside of him, he’d just throw the whole box over the wave and then pick it up after the wave went by. He got some great stuff with that setup.JM: Did you ever build a water housing yourself?I didn’t build a water housing, per se. I built a wooden box that was about 15 inches long and 8 inches square with suction cups in each corner. I’d take a big gun out at Sunset and put this box on the front of it with the suction cups and paddle out. I could shoot with the camera bare, in the water. If a wave did come, I could close the box up and it was waterproof. That way I could change film out in the water and I didn’t have to come in with the water box like the other guys did.JM: What was the Depression like?Fortunately, almost everyone was in the same boat. We just didn’t have anything. I’d go for months without a penny in my pocket. Then I got a job sawing wood for my dad at 30 cents an hour in the spring of ’35 and I was rich. It was a good learning experience. We had nothing and we learned to get along with nothing.“The American dream had relocated to the beach in Southern California,” says Matt Warshaw, author of The Encyclopedia of Surfing. “In the old days, surfing was a small world, but in the ’60s it became the world where everybody else wanted to be.” This enviable situation was not, perhaps, something that most surfers thought much about. “We had that life for years,” Grannis says, “and didn’t know how lucky we were.”Warshaw notes that Grannis came to photography late and was never a full-time professional, but adds that “he had a good eye, he knew how to compose, and he was totally plugged into the surf scene.” This intimacy gives his pictures of the boys, the girls and the boards the joyful feeling of family photos taken by a particularly talented brother. “He loved what he was doing,” says Warshaw. That love can be seen in Grannis’ pictures of both the big-wave thrills and the familial comforts — a realm beautifully assayed in the book LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s, published last year in a collector’s edition and just republished in a popular edition.LeRoy Grannis. Surf Photography (Limited Edition) - TASCHEN BooksJoin us on a surfin’ safari through the sun-kissed golden years of surfing in this collection of photographs from the Hawaiian and Californian ...TASCHENTASCHENI just rushed to Amazon and bought some a piece of history to better understand my own future. And made a mental note to go for a subscription to EOS. | |
Great stories are meant to be told. | Below’s a story that captured my imagination. As we’re slowly getting ready to close down the editorial section of our site and moving all our content to this Medium Magazine, I stumbled upon this post by Bradley. It stands the test of time and I feel this must be updated with an interview to see where we both stand a couple of years later. I feel an instant connection with people who chase the dream and share the insights that come with facing the challenges of living a good life. It’s never as easy as it sounds. But always worth it.“Our journey of (more than) a thousand miles did start with just one single step. It was over 4 months ago now when we sold our house. I left my job; we cleared our debts and set off on a family adventure. It was just one step, but it was a big one. A liberating one.We travelled in a caravan down the east coast of Australia for seven weeks, experiencing everything the incredible coastline had to offer. We found paradise repeatedly and stripped it all back to pretty simple living.Next was the North Shore of Oahu. 5 weeks immersing ourselves in the Hawaiian culture, living with and doing community with the locals while experiencing our first North Shore winter. Our minds were blown and our hearts captured by the small island and its people.Now we are back in Australia, and people say to us, “I guess it’s back to reality?” To which I’ve often replied; “Maybe, but we are creating a new reality — we’re not going back to the old way of doing things”We’ve set out to do life a little differently. We landed in this fine country 12 years ago with nothing but a kitchen table, our wedding presents (mainly kitchen appliances), 3 surfboards and $1000 in our pockets. We spent years chasing the dream of owning a home, having kids, taking holidays and climbing the corporate ladder in order to make it happen. And there is nothing wrong with that if it’s what makes you tick. But I realized I’d lost my passion for what I was doing. I was living to work and not working to live. Going through the motions because it was what I did, what I was known for, even good at. But it all means nothing when the flame has dimmed and you’re stuck on the hamster wheel of your career. So we decided to break out, to live a little and grow as a family, and yes now it is back to the reality of earning an income and having a place to rest our heads — but what if it can be done differently?I write this sitting at the kitchen table in a beach shack in one of our favourite places on the Northern NSW coast. I can hear the sound of waves crashing over basalt boulders a short distance away. It’s a place we’ve frequented on holiday for years, a place that lights our collective souls and a place that we’ve fantasized about living in. Now it’s the place we will call home for the next year.We’ve wondered how we could set up a working lifestyle where we could be flexible and work from anywhere, travel a little more and earn a crust by doing the things we are passionate about. Now we have a boutique marketing agency, specializing in brand journalism and freelance writing, and my wife is shooting photos and we dream of creating something special together. We may have just started over again, but we are not going to die wondering if this kind of life exists.Our story is far from over; in fact, it feels like its only just beginning. I’ve often said that nothing changes if nothing changes. And now we can say it’s completely true. It all starts by taking just one single step. All you really need is a little bit of courage and a pocket full of faith. An air of expectancy follows us around now, and my soul comes alive with every breath of salty air I breathe each morning as I realize; this is the life I’ve dreamed about.We’ve all got a story — People, brands, and businesses. Sometimes they’re right there for all to see and other times they’re hidden a little below the surface. But great stories are meant to be told. It’s what makes life, brands and people interesting and inspiring. We crave authenticity and we gravitate to what is real. We shouldn’t be known for what we do, but rather for who we are. Maybe it’s time we talked story as you prepare to take your next step?”A Story by Bradley BricknellFormer professional surfer in South Africa, sponsored by Billabong from the age of 18. Prior to joining the brand as an employee in 1999, Brad surfed in events domestically & internationally, studied marketing and experienced various roles as a sales rep, recruitment consultant and in-house brand specialist for a supermarket chain before ultimately settling into a long-time role in the surf industry. | |
Time To Ship a Web3 Magazine | The LiveTheLifeTV Magazine sits at the intersection of storytelling, community development, and web3 technology. Images: LiveTheLifeTVPlatforms hold our audiences and content hostage. They have a monopoly on our IP, creativity, and the value we create. Content will no longer be built on platforms. Platforms will be built on content. The LiveTheLifeTV magazine will further explore the Zora Protocol to create, share and exchange valuable media. Zora’s protocol creates assets that contain a market and media component, allowing NFTs to become independent of the platforms they are issued on, a concept they have called “cryptomedia” (video) | |
Bruce Gold, the lord of the shells. | Exploding orange aloes. Caffeinated surfing addicts. A wooden boardwalk on the dunes overlooking the point, freshly repainted, carved with stories worth telling. And, not unlike, Bruce Gold, a bunch of escape artists on the prowl for fun.A solid 6 feet off Boneyards, unloading 50-yard sections before moving into the magic alley known as Supertubes, right where two surfers sat, freaking out of their minds. Airbrushed lineups of perfectly symmetrical Supers, with offshore tubes stacked to the horizon, fire red sunrises and humpback whales breaching in the distance. Add a couple of pro surfers to the canvas, and those 2005 Billabong Pro memories come back to life.A smokey bar is filled with surfing icons. The King is rumoured to sing with Donovan Frankenreiter. Kelly Slater never shows up, maybe he was mind surfing his upcoming finals against Andy Irons. When suddenly hypnotic blue eyes steal the show. Spotlights turn his blonde-greying beard into Gold. Shells bejewelling his lofty frame. Charisma spreading all over the place. Slightly starstruck. Donovan amplifies the magic. Dance moves are re-invented.Sprouting philosophies like “surfing competitions and marriage are the two most unnatural things in the world” and “I can’t afford to work — it will ruin my reputation”, Gold is said to be vexed by the nature of professional surfing. But that night it seemed like a match made in heaven. Marriage might be the enemy of surfing freedom a bit of dancing and flirting can’t hurt. Some call him the town’s last true hippie. As much part of J-Bay as the pelicans and dolphins …Bruce Gold is one of J-Bay most recognisable throwbacks to that golden era when wild-eyed youngsters descended on the Eastern Cape seeking the perfect wave. Bruce’s wave knowledge, honed over four decades is obvious. He trims effortlessly through the racy Supers sections, his arms often raised in a soul-arch salute. Sustaining his bohemian lifestyle by selling shells that he picks up on the beach.Bruce first came here in 1953 with his family and each time ended up staying longer. It started with a 6-week surf trip while still loving his taxi driver job in Natal and later giving five Rand massages in PE (Port Elizabeth).A reference to the 1966 cult surfing film, The Endless Summer, is expected. Bruce remembers when the first Americans arrived in a Land Rover in the early 1960s with cameras. During the mid-1970s a SABC television personality filmed a docu about Bruce Gold. The legend was born.Photo: LiveTheLifeTVHis ever-present “Scooter Girl” at the heel. The Pekingese was "sort of" friends with “Scooter Boy”, named for the famous 1940s Waikiki surfing dog. Wild stories, like the fact that Miki Dora got certified as blind, so he could get free upgrades and take his dog "Scooter Boy" from Biarritz to J-Bay.Surfing icon Miklos ‘Miki Da Cat’ Dora, stopped over at Jeffrey’s Bay for five years. Miki lived in the studio beneath the Gary Yosh home, overlooking Supertubes. Dora only interacted with a select few people, Bruce Gold being one of them. The surf scene was never a big part of his social life. ‘Living at the beach isn’t the answer,’ he once said. ‘Guys who live at the beach get waterlogged. I’m there for the waves, nothing else.’Unfortunately, these icons have dwindled during the last decade. Miki passed away in California after a seven-year fight against pancreatic cancer.Photo: LiveTheLifeTVBruce is now one of the few sexagenarians to brave the line up of J-Bay. Like a millionaire in memories with few possessions. (Besides a museum-worthy collection of shells and surfboards ranging from a rare Midget Farrelly Single fin to a Joel Tudor fish.) Bruce Gold smiles a toothless grin and a gloved hand taps the box containing some possessions of Miki Dora. Should we auction it? “Never sell out”, I was told.“You can spend your hole life trying to figure out how to make a million or you can spend your time doing what you love and what you’re good at!” — Doc quoted in South African Surfer magazine, 1970’s. Take note Bruce would say. Life’s a bargain, cheap at any price. | |
A Sport Of Kings @ P-Bay | Forty years ago, the Kingdom of Pavones was a well-kept secret paradise where only living legends of the surfing subculture were invited to exercise their art under the benevolent eye of Danny "Mack" Fowlie. He created jobs, infrastructure, and helped teach locals construction, heavy machinery operation, and gardening. Fowlie was not short on cash, inherited some money, and made the rest as a real estate speculator and from a leather goods business that supplied high-end department stores. He owned a multimillion dollar farm in Riverside, California, a ranch in Baja, Mexico, and eventually his own private piece of paradise in Pavones.In the early 60s, Kenny Easton became the first surfing foreigner to find Pavones and its now legendary waves. When Fowlie followed Easton’s secret map and inquired in the Golfito cantinas about the beach property, he quickly bought Rancho Del Mar, his first property for $30,000. From 1974 to 1982, he purchased every beachfront ranch and beach concession from Rio Manzanillo to Punta Banco, giving him over 15 miles of beach-concession land and over 80 percent of Pavones.Fowlie's kingdom was certainly out of a storybook. The locals got jobs, and he helped teach them construction, heavy machinery operation, and even gardening. But the purchase of the San José mansion of U.S. fugitive Robert Vesco may have been why he came to the attention of U.S. anti-drug agents.Despite this, Fowlie's dream life in Pavones continued, and his story was documented in "The King of Pavones," a film that contains a lot of Fowlie’s own footage from the time he lived the dream life. Allan Weisbecker's book, "In Search of Captain Zero," is the perfect intro to the story and explains why paradise is a place you visit, not a place you live. Weisbecker sold his home and possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his long-time surfing companion, Patrick, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. At the finale of his critically acclaimed first memoir, he found his paradise at the end of the road, Pavones.However, living in paradise can be a balancing act of greed and fear. Owning a piece of paradise is a dream for many, but the fear of losing or sharing the slice of heaven can be overwhelming. Weisbecker's follow-up book, "Can't You Get Along," explores the painful editorial process of "In Search of Captain Zero," his fall from grace with the powers that be in Hollywood and the publishing business, and the near loss of his life due to the writing of the book.In the end, Pavones remains a prized gem for surfers and travelers alike. Fowlie's legacy lives on in the infrastructure he built, and the locals who still benefit from it. The story of the Kingdom of Pavones is a reminder that paradise can be found, but it's up to us to decide whether we want to visit or stay.The myth of Danny Fowlie started living its own life. Fueled by the books of Allan Weisbecker and films like Chasing the Lotus. However it was best documented in “The King of Pavones”, the film contains a lot of Fowlie’s own footage from the time he lived the dream life.Allan Weisbecker's book , In search of Captain Zero is the perfect intro to the story. And why paradise is a place you visit, not a place you life. Allan sold his home and his possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his long-time surfing companion, Patrick, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. At the finale of his critically acclaimed first memoir, he found his paradise at the end of the road, Pavones.Can’t You Get Along follows the previous book with how painful the editorial process of Zero was, and how annoying it was and still is to deal with Hollywood trying to bring these books to screen. The author gets to interact with potential actors playing him: Sean Penn, John Cusack, and Brad Pitt as well as a bucketful of producers, writers, and other people who are supposed to make things happen. It’s exciting, even though Zero, according to Allan, isn’t really a movie, not unless he writes the screenplay to make it into movie-material. It is the story of Weisbecker’s paradise, its underbelly, his fall from grace with the powers that be in Hollywood and the publishing business, plus the near loss of his life due to the writing of the book.Paradise FoundBack in 1974 Danny Fowlie had it all. Well, almost. Aside from his flotilla of yachts and fishing boats, his private aircraft, boy toys, personal extravagances and priceless artifacts from primitive cultures worldwide, he owned a multimillion dollar farm in Riverside, California, a ranch in Baja, Mexico, plus fugitive financier Robert Vesco’s heavily-fortified compound in San José, Costa Rica. But Danny was poised to possess the one thing he did not have, but wanted most — his own private piece of paradise.When the first Costa Rican families ventured to the remote, unoccupied area of Pavones in the sixties, the Boruca Indians had already departed the region for the Talamanca Mountains, leaving behind only their gold-strewn graves. Only twenty to thirty Costa Rican families occupied the vast region surrounding Pavones when Fowlie arrived in 1974.In the early sixties, Kenny Easton, who grew up diving and surfing La Jolla with Fowlie during the dawn of California surfing, became the first surfing foreigner to find Pavones and its now legendary waves.When Fowlie followed Kenny’s secret map it lived up to Easton’s stories, he immediately inquired in the Golfito cantinas about the beach property, and within a few days, Fowlie had bought Rancho Del Mar, his first property for $30,000.One by one, the other beach owners approached him to sell pieces of their land. From 1974 to 1982, he purchased every beachfront ranch and beach concession from Rio Manzanillo to Punta Banco. These purchases gave him over fifteen miles of beach-concession land and over eighty percent of Pavones. By the summer of 1974, Dan had moved his family into huts he constructed on the beach and had begun employing almost every local to build essentially every public amenity found in Pavones today.Pavones was yet to be known as one of Costa Rica’s most prized pointbreak gems. Said to offer up to three minute long leg-burners as the left-hander wraps its way down a series cobblestone beaches.Fowlie's kingdom was certainly out of a story book. The locals got jobs, and he helped teach them construction, heavy machinery operation and even gardening. Fowlie was not short on cash. Some money was inherited. The rest he made as a real estate speculator and from a leather goods business that supplied high-end department stores. Fowlie, was 41, when he arrived in Pavones, setting up a dream life he didn't need to escape.But the purchase of the San José mansion of U.S. fugitive Robert Vesco may have been why he came to the attention of U.S. anti-drug agents.After several years of risky investments and dubious credit dealings, Vesco was alleged guilty of securities fraud. He immediately fled the ensuing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation by living in a number of Central American and Caribbean countries. Vesco was notorious throughout his life, attempting to buy a Caribbean island from Antigua in order to create an autonomous country and having a national law in Costa Rica made to protect him from extradition. After settling in Cuba during 1982, Vesco was charged with drug smuggling during 1989. Vesco was sentenced to 13 years in jail by Cuba. In November 2007 the New York Times reported that he had died of lung cancer at a hospital in Havana, although it has been suggested that he faked his death.Clearly not the kind of dream Dan was chasing. Dan kept himself busy with planting 200.000 trees to develop nurseries, teach locals how to farm and develop balsa and cocoa trees. Tom O’Neill (of the O’Neill wetsuits family) helped him plant thousands of palm trees from Rancho Del Mar south to Rio Claro and north to Rio Manzanillo.Dan cut roads, at first only within his kingdom, but soon bridges spanned the plethora of rivers and streams descending from the inland rainforest; the deep seaside bush was cleared for a private airstrip; schools and churches were built; farms sprang up, overseen by experts in soil and crop management. Fowlie bought and rebuild the Cantina in 1976 which became a gathering place for all the local families.He hauled in heavy equipment, building materials and generators, along with foodstuffs to sustain his crew of Costa Rican farmers and imported agronomists, veterinarians, oceanographers and engineers, until the farms and fishing boats he envisioned could start producing and make the community he foresaw self-sustaining.When the surf was flat in Pavones, you’d find him working with the locals on one of their many planting or building projects. When the swell rose, he enjoyed the company of no more than ten surfers in the water, a group composed of his son and son’s friends, of locals they taught how to surf, or of living legends like Buttons, Pat Curren, and Rory Russell, all of whom he knew from his surfing and shaping days in California and Hawaii in the forties and fifties. He also invited early surf cinematographers Spyder Wills and Greg Weaver to document the waves at Pavones between 1976 and 1982. They created hundreds of recordings during their extended visits, some of which footage the surf documentary Chasing the Lotus features and more of which footage featured in "King Of Pavones", a Love Machine Films’ documentary.Mid 80’s. The Turning Point.Danny Fowlie becomes a fugitive from United States justice. When he was detained in México in 1985, California investigators found there the evidence, an ounce of marijuana, that eventually resulted in a federal conspiracy trial. Let me repeat, one ounce !His land holdings began to deteriorate under pressure from people who doubted that he would come back. Dannyland was up for grabs.In the mid 20th century, Golfito was a major banana growing region (also resulting in it being the major port of southern Costa Rica), but a combination of worker unrest, declining foreign markets, rising export taxes and banana disease led to the closing of the United Fruit Company in 1985. Over the Easter holiday known as Semana Santa, several hundred squatters from Golfito are bused and trucked to Pavones in a large scale, unlawful invasion of the area. The Costa Rican government, fearing political fallout from the left, does nothing. The squatter wars had begun.The State Department travel advisory urged U.S. citizens to avoid the Pavones area. This kept the surf lineup uncluttered with uncommitted, here-on-a-two-week-surf-vacation lightweights. It only amplified the cult status to die-hard surf travel pioneers.In 1987, the tides of fortune then turned against Fowlie when he was convicted and incarcerated in Mexico at the request of the US, later extradited to federal prison on Terminal Island, California, in Rancho Del Rio 1990, and then released in 2004.Free at last. The dream shattered.After waiting eighteen years to return to Pavones, Fowlie’s dream of living there again was shattered. In June 2005, Costa Rica’s Director General of Immigration exiled Fowlie from Costa Rica for purposes of public safety on the basis of reports that Fowlie’s brief return to Pavones after his release from prison caused public fear and disorder in the region. Fowlie says his trip was peaceful and uneventful. La Nación quoted locals who said they feared him, and the immigration director banned him from the country based on the newspaper article.The entry prohibition appears to have been overkill because Fowlie notes that he was accompanied by an off-duty Costa Rica police officer, and he was shadowed by two on-duty officers. It is said that the encounters where locals claimed they were threatened were taped and refute the claims.The Legal Battle for ParadiseThe land manipulations have frequently broken into the news with a fatal shooting in 1997 and the 2011 arson fire of the legendary Bar and Restaurant La Esquina del Mar that Fowlie built. Fowlie appears to have purchased legally all the concessions that he holds and also has been paying the municipal taxes. Still his efforts to reclaim any land he says he holds will be a big payday for scores of lawyers. Hundreds of expats and Costa Ricans face similar ownership threats.Mid 2015. The Tico Times published “Pavones: Small Costa Rica surfing town faces big growing pains” . Karl Kahler wrote an unbiased report about the Pavones Point project that most people seem to think is a terrible idea. Two buildings are currently under construction, with the first models scheduled to be completed by Mid 2016. Each building will contain four two- or three-bedroom condominiums, with prices starting at $475,000. Eventually, plans call for 15 buildings, or 60 units.Virtually all the expats here are against it, and many of the Ticos too, but some of the locals are 100 percent for it, welcoming the jobs it will bring, hoping it will help to get the roads paved, to improve the water supply. But does a development like this misses the point ? Pavones is a small community. People like to come there for that reason.Paradise saved12 years ago a multinational company received approval to install the world’s first yellowfin tuna farm near the mouth of the Golfo Dulce. The tuna farm as planned would pollute the area, endanger sea turtles, affect the existing fish population, and threaten the world-class wave. A lawsuit was filed just in time, and the project was successfully stalled. Thus began an unlikely alliance of local surfers, fishermen, and global environmental groups to save a wave and one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Additionally, José Ureña, president of the Costa Rican surf federation, has officially nominated Pavones as the country’s World Surfing Reserves candidate wave.In The Battle for Paradise, Jeremy Evans travels to Pavones to uncover the story of how the locals stood up to a multinational company and how Danny became once again, a hero, saving paradise. Dan Fowlie’s and Parque Pavones’s financial support to the legal battle against the tuna-farming project helped stop the project—thereby saving Golfo Dulce, one of the most diverse biospheres in the world, from an environmental disaster.Fowlie united the region in economic, environmental, and social prosperity for over a decade. Parque Pavones clearly wants to build upon that community’s decade of accomplishment. In Fowlie’s absence, the past’s united effort to develop Pavones in a manner prosperous to the whole community and environment has dissipated. Collaboration between Parque Pavones and Daniel Fowlie has the ambition to provide immediate support and long-term advantages to the Pavones region. The clear vision of the king continues. The rest is history. | |
REAL WORLD ART | LIVETHELIFE.TV, the founder of IKIGAI LABS, embarks on a transformative journey by fully embracing TRACE (Tokenized Records for Artwork Certification and Evolution) technology. Developed by our esteemed partners at Transient Labs, this groundbreaking innovation is central to our mission of introducing real-world art into the world of NFTs and redefining the future of art ownership.IkigAI Labs XYZ is committed to onboarding artists to create digital Certificates of Authenticity (dCOAs), order secure chips, and expand our network to include galleries, auction houses, and museums. This initiative allows anyone with Ethereum or a credit card to purchase physical artworks by buying the NFT version.Each physical artwork is embedded with a secure, tamper-evident chip, paired with a digital certificate of authenticity on the blockchain as an NFT. This setup ensures that the provenance of the artwork is recorded and updated throughout its journey, including sales, exhibitions, and alterations. Artists can add their narratives and authenticate them on-chain, creating a living history of the artwork.The T.R.A.C.E. system meticulously records and updates each piece’s journey. A digital twin NFT is minted for each artwork, backing the physical piece with blockchain technology. Once the NFT is sold, the physical artwork is claimed by transferring the digital twin NFT to the T.R.A.C.E. chip, locking it there forever and preserving its provenance and authenticity.With T.R.A.C.E, ikigAI Labs XYZ offers a revolutionary way to authenticate, preserve, and appreciate art in both digital and physical forms. It provides a novel platform for artists to express and manage their creations, fostering a deeper connection between the artist, the artwork, and the collector. This system bridges the gap between physical and digital art, utilizing a secure chip attached to the artwork and a digital certificate on the blockchain as an NFT. This dual existence secures the provenance of physical artworks with unprecedented rigor and enriches the art with a living digital narrative.Designed to ensure provenance and authenticity for both digital and physical artworks.Key benefits:• Immutable Provenance: Ensures the authenticity and history of artworks are preserved and transparent.• Dynamic Art Histories: Records and updates the artwork’s journey, allowing artists to add their narratives and authenticate them on-chain.• Bridging Worlds: Integrates physical art with blockchain technology, creating a seamless experience for collectors.• Empowering Creators: Provides artists with a platform to express and manage their creations, fostering a deeper connection with collectors.A leap in the art world, where the journey of an artwork is as valuable as the artwork itself.“Over the last year, my appreciation for physicals has grown considerably. Maybe I just spend too much time in front of a computer and scrolling Twitter? I was super grateful when Avant Arte approached me with the opportunity to apply their world-class printing processes to my work.” - SnowFro ABOur journey begins with the initial set of FUTURE SCAPES artworks for TRACE integration, setting the stage for our TRACE-focused Curated Art Explorer.IKIGAILABS.XYZ | |
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Sustainable Surfing in PNG | While some exotic surf zones around the world are starting to struggle to manage crowds, tempers and expectations, Papua New Guinea has a ‘Surf Management Plan’ that appears to be working really well. White Horses magazine was intrigued by the idea that the rest of the surfing world could learn something important from this small island nation.Andrew Rigby. Photo: PNG Surfaris / Chris PeelCrew involved:DOP: Shane Peel from My House PicturesDrone filmer: Glen Glaydon, Surfers: Felicity Palmateer, Andy Mooney, and friendsDirection/Edit: Gra Murdoch & Shane PeelThis clip broadly sketches out the Surf Management Plan, and shows how it’s possible for Surf Tourism to be sustainable, and how everyone can benefit if we all do the right thing.The successful controlled development of Papua New Guinea tourism and benefits afforded to locals through the Surf Association Abel Reverse spiral management scheme created over the last 22 years has resulted in a unique and unprecedented approach to the creation of an equitable and sustainable surf tourism model that can be applied to other niche tourism sectors around the globe.Photo : PNG surfaris / Chris PeelThis model has caught the attention of the World Bank through the IFC who funded the SAPNG Strategic Master Plan. The SAPNG is now embarking on their draft stage of their Bill for an Act of Parliament known as the SAPNG Surf Management and Development Act.Photo: PNG Surfaris / Chris PeelPNG has unlimited surfing potential from October to April during monsoon seasons and thousands of miles of coastline just waiting to be explored- not to mention breathtaking scenery and pristine atolls. Located just south of the equator and 100 miles to the north of Australia. PNG enjoys warm waters and consistent waves, complemented by the rich and diverse traditional culture time of its people in its premier surf destinations of Vanimo, Wewak, Madang and New Ireland provinces.Great surfing isn’t all that PNG offers. The same winds that surfers enjoy also make for perfect kite surfing which is relatively undiscovered. The warm waters of PNG are uncrowded and ideal for kite enthusiasts. The reef breaks provide great action for wave rider, while the pristine blue lagoons lure flat-water fans. Visit PNG from late May through to November to take advantage of the Laurabada trade winds, providing consistent 10.25 knot winds.Kite surfers should focus their attention on the southern part of PNG. Areas around Port Moresby and Milne Bay have optimal conditions and stunning scenery. Fifteen minutes from Port Moresby, Sero beach’s large lagoon gives way to a surf break 500 yards out. Daugo Island is a 20 minute boat ride from the Port and one of the best local spots to kite surf. Two hours down the coast, Hula is a large peninsula that receives the full brunt of Laurabada winds, creating the optimal environment for kite surfers.MV Golden Dawn has been providing diving charters in Papua New Guinea and has recently begun offering Kitesurfing charters.It sounds like something from a post World War II cargo cult: Three decades ago, an Australian pilot leaves a surfboard in a remote village in Papua New Guinea called Vanimo. The village, which lacks rudimentary facilities like electricity or running water, becomes surf crazy. Twenty years on, surfing is not only a pillar of village life but also a means to prestige. With no access to economic or educational advancement, village life is hermetic. A spot on the Papua New Guinea national surfing team is the way to see the wider world; the only way.Feature Credits:Directed and Shot by Adam PesceProduced by Perrin ChilesEdited by Kim RobertsScore by Jesse Vocciaitunes.apple.com/us/movie/splinters/id496625637facebook.com/splintersmoviesplintersmovie.comsplintersmovie.tumblr.comThe Grass Roots documentary is an extended version from upcoming filmmaker Beau Eastman. The documentary showcases not only a surf trip to amazing waves but also the positive ripple effects that surf tourism can have on the host community. Join Beau, World Surfaris boss, Shaun Levings and son Jai on the trip of a lifetime.PNGPhoto: PNG Surfaris Chris Peel. Rider: Andrew RigbyThe PNG Explorer is a live-aboard ship designed for surfing, fishing, diving, and general tourism in PNG. Its home port is Kavieng in the northeastern archipelago of New Ireland Province.Steve Arklay PhotographyYour hosts, Andrew and Jude Rigby, are committed to establishing PNG Surfaris as the best tourism live-aboard in the country through providing exceptional service, preserving a high safety standard and by promoting sustainable tourism which benefits local communities and has a low impact on the environment.Joel Coleman PhotographyFly into Kavieng then straight onto the air-conditioned comfort of the “PNG EXPLORER”, a 23m steel vessel kitted out with all mod cons and safety gear. Cruising along at a comfortable nine knots, the “PNG EXPLORER” and her crew will ensure you have the charter experience of a lifetime. Leaving Kavieng, your destination will be much further afield to the many islands and reefs still being explored for surf. There are many known breaks that you will visit but many more that we are yet to discover.Other options:Nusa Island Retreat is set on an idyllic point surrounded by a beautiful swimming beach teeming with marine life. It is the perfect choice for those seeking that elusive slice of paradise. The environmentally low impact retreat is within easy reach of Kavieng township (just two minutes by boat). At 2.5 degrees south of the equator, the perfect tropical weather will ensure a superb Melanesian holiday.Vanimo Surf Lodge has a range of surf breaks on the north coast of Papua New Guinea neighbouring Indonesia’s territory of Jayapura. The concept of the Vanimo Surf Lodge was born from friendly conversations between Andy Abel and David Ryan after a few early expeditions in the early 1990’s.Turpira Surf Club has access to up to seven uncrowded breaks and Ulingan Bay is one of the most consistent swell magnets in Papua New Guinea. Tupira Surf Club, Ulingan Bay is located approximately 180 kilometres north of Madang Town and approx. a 2 hour scenic drive from Madang Airport by sealed road along the beautiful north coast of Madang.Rubio Plantation offers basic traditional accommodation and a home-stay vibe. For the surf adventurer looking for a new location with guaranteed no crowds. This surf-rich east coast of New Ireland is unchartered by mainstream surfers and the potential for world class waves is endless.Source: http://www.sapng.com/Steve Arklay PhotographyA CALL OUT FOR DONATIONSThe battle that local surfers in PNG face in just finding/securing an old/new fibreglass surfboard to simply enjoy what we take for granted, is an ongoing challenge in the village communities as the sport evolves. The growth of SAPNG affiliated surf clubs in PNG in all divisions is inspiring the growth of the surfing culture and way of life and donations will help SAPNG to further expand its reach to established and yet to be established new surfing destinations in remote village communities. The donations will be distributed through SAPNG established networks.Photo: PNG Surfaris / Chris PeelFor most, Papua New Guinea is not a well-known destination for surfing, however, people have been surfing here for hundreds of years. New Ireland has become known to surfers only over the last 15 years, with the opening of Nusa Island Retreat who was the first to promote surfing and cater for travelling surfers in and around the Kavieng area.Steve Arklay PhotographyWhile many international surf destinations rapidly pass through stages of initial discovery and early years of limited exposure and exploitation; all too often the once pristine surf destination quickly becomes overexposed, overexploited and overcrowded. The magic is lost as the resort operators & tour operators quickly take control, resulting in overcrowding and over development with the primary goal becoming profit generation for the operators.Steve Arklay PhotographyFortunately, PNG has had the foresight to observe and identify the many shortcomings of over-commercialisation of surf resources in various other mainstream locations. The Association, its Clubs, Resource Communities and ultimately the commercial tour and service operators have necessarily aligned and agreed to the establishment of Surf Management Plans in order to promote sustainable growth of surf tourism in line with agreed expectations and benefits at each level of the PNG Surf movement.Photo: PNG Surfaris / Chris Peel | |
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If Tripadvisor & Insta had a crypto lovechild | Destinations and accommodations worldwide are often chosen by individuals based solely on websites and online reviews. However, there's a pressing need for a platform where travelers can exchange personal experiences and advise peers contemplating similar journeys. The opportunity remains ripe to address unreliable reviews by spotlighting endorsements from friends rather than anonymous internet users.Many continue to rely on apps like TripAdvisor and Instagram to explore novel locations. Over two decades, we've curated a list of the top thousand hotels and restaurants we aspire to visit. Our website, which exhibits these venues, has attracted a community of seventy thousand followers. While the authenticity of their fandom is debatable, their engagement with our content is apparent.If you're unsettled by how the algorithm incentivizes us to dance in the street like a monkey, completely cut off from reality and not caring where we are, then you'll want to jump into this conversation:Two gigabrains, one from web2 social, one from web3 crypto, talk about the future of ties between social and crypto. (video)Yet, when arriving at a thoroughly-researched destination, we're often overwhelmed by choices. Our fallback? Free apps like Google Maps or TripAdvisor. Recognizing the ad-based business model of these free tools, we understand that our data becomes their commodity. And while Instagram intensifies our FOMO with glamorous depictions of life, it fails to provide location-specific recommendations based on our and our followers' previous endorsements. The existing tools neither spotlight nearby attractions nor simplify the reservation process. After downloading numerous travel apps in search of this functionality, we found a gap.Embracing the web3 vision, we're crafting a mobile application, underpinned by the principles of privacy and user-centricity. It allows users to publish, explore, and share remarkable destinations as they 'Live The Life.' (GitHub Repo 2018)Your first React Native dApp | Solana Mobile DocsIn this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a React Native dApp that sends a message to the Solana network.Solana Mobile7 years later Apple is still blocking web3 apps, so we may explore the Solana Mobile #SAGAJust as Netflix recommends movies, Amazon suggests products, and Spotify curates playlists, imagine a platform tuned into your preferences enough to advise on activities, destinations, and companionship? Enter Shaka Places: the premier, privacy-centric, location-based decentralized app that promotes enchanting locations while rewarding contributions across content, code, and design.Embedded within each upvote, like, star, or follow lies an underlying token system, allowing creators to actively partake in the platform's governance. Our mission? Software that is not just for the users but by them too.Position-dependent applications can prove that a customer has arrived at your restaurant or hotel so that the smart contract can trigger a reward.A decentralised application for users to:Never forget a place again. Save your favorite places on a digital map.Always know where to go. Users can discover their friends’ maps.Find a multitude of maps carefully made by our ambassadors.ProblemWhen you stumble upon something extraordinary or experience a memorable trip, sharing it with friends on social media is second nature. Yet, months down the line, if they venture to that same location, would they recall that amazing restaurant you raved about on Instagram? And even if it does ring a bell, would they know where to locate it?Social media rely on content creators for the value their platform provides, though they rarely receive rewards for it. SolutionRevolutionizing user experience, we prioritize content on your feed according to your present location. This offers a platform for travel enthusiasts to share their stories, aiding potential vacationers and simultaneously valuing contributors. Content creators could earn tokens relative to their contributions, such as the weekly likes on their photos. Each upvote is backed by an intrinsic token, ensuring that early adopters contributing to the app's growth also share in its success. Possession of these tokens not only bestows membership but also entitles participationIncentivise anyone using the app to travel to a location, and get rewarded for spending quality time and inspire friends to share the Good $VibesHow will potential users discover our platform? Our best marketing tools are a top-notch product complemented by satisfied customers and word-of-mouth endorsements. By harnessing the reach of existing social platforms for visibility and distribution, we aim to present a compelling value that encourages avid users to transition to our exclusive, premium community.What's the scope of the opportunity? We begin by tailoring maps for specific communities. Take, for instance, the global surfing sector, which encompasses travel and holds an annual market value of approximately $10 billion, engaging 50 million surfers. Our vision is to soon branch out to cater to various passionate communities, from skiing and yoga to wine enthusiasts and beyond.How can a token encapsulate value? While finding the optimal model will require continuous testing and refining, the true innovation of cryptocurrency networks lies in their capability to amplify network effects by letting users partake in the value they generate. As every new user or database entry joins our app, the platform's value intensifies for each user, triggering a cascading network effect. This offers us a distinct chance to channel that value back to its creators. When structured properly, the strategic distribution of a revenue stream can bolster these network effects, providing users with a tangible financial motivation to engage.The integrated wallet offers users a seamless journey, from navigation with turn-by-turn directions and travel guides to securing hotel accommodations. Beyond its utility for travel, the in-app wallet serves as a vault for storing and accumulating value. It facilitates fund transfers, enabling users to send money, exchange currencies, and even receive cash-back rewards for transactions made within the app. Furthermore, the app introduces a novel way of acknowledging content creators – for every "like", a token is automatically allocated to the creator. These tokens serve as gestures of gratitude, tools for curation, and mechanisms within bonding curves. Essential functions like logging in, session key authorization, and wallet restoration are safeguarded by a six-digit PIN. To ensure secure management of these tokens, each user is equipped with a Gnosis multi-sig on layer 2.NFTs are evolving into a dependable ledger of life's moments. Each destination you visit lets you obtain a distinct badge (NFT), anchored in cryptographic assurance. These aren't mere tokens; they pave the way for diverse experiences. By scanning QR code stickers, users can amass these badges, unlocking access to tailored events, activities, and exclusive perks. Essentially, these NFTs become a cryptographic testimony of your travels, blending prestige with tangible perks.Imagine enhancing location-based interactions. Recognizing when users enter or leave specific spots, facilitating personalized alerts, and immersive in-app experiences. Prompting them to explore suggested activities or offering timely promotions and insights as they step into top-rated venues. Our vision is to reward users for their physical presence at locations through geo-mining, letting businesses draw clientele, capture their interest, or engage them in intriguing tasks. It's a win-win: businesses only incur costs for actual visits, simplifying ROI metrics.Through our POL protocol, we're exploring realms like location-centric airdrops that prioritize user privacy. A user could validate their presence within a broad region without pinpointing their exact coordinates. Moreover, there's potential revenue for users who share data with establishments like eateries and hotels, all while retaining data sovereignty.The term "virtual" assets might sound intangible, but we aim to root these in palpable reality by mapping them onto real-world coordinates. Envision digital assets occupying space beside you, only waiting for your smartphone to bring them to life. The tangible nature of these spatially-bound digital assets holds immense promise.Our platform is designed with a reputation mechanism, factoring in temporal activities. Any geographical inconsistencies, such as impossibly quick travels, will impact a user's credibility score. While still in its nascent stage, we're aligned with BeraChain. Given that blockchains inherently can't tap into external data, smart contracts sometimes require external cues, like locational proofs. Oracles bridge this data gap.Price Feed Oracles & Market Data for Smart Contracts | Pyth NetworkPyth delivers real-time market data from institutions to smart contracts on any blockchain. Get reliable, accurate price data for your blockchain applications.Pyth NetworkThe landscape is bustling with startups championing decentralized Proof of Location solutions, rewarding user participation via crypto. While each has its methodology, a common thread is user privacy enhancement vis-a-vis conventional apps. Location-Based Services (LBSs) leverage geographic data, offering location-tailored functionalities. Our proposal presents an avant-garde method for verifiable proofs-of-location: digital attestations to one's spatial presence at specific moments. With blockchain at its heart, our decentralized P2P framework ensures locational authenticity, all while safeguarding user confidentiality.Compelling things that look and behave like web2 but are web3 underneath.Hivemapper: Global Map Data Powered by Dashcams and AIAccess our dynamic global map data: fresh street-level imagery, object-detection insights, and mapping solutions tailored for diverse applications.HivemapperLocation data infrastructure | Geofencing SDK and API | RadarThe leading geofencing platformRadarEngine: Open-Source Server for Scalable Web3 Apps | thirdwebA production-grade HTTP server to generate backend wallets on any EVM blockchain—with smart contracts, auth, gasless transactions, & managed infra. Get started.thirdwebIf we stick to the L2 approach with Arbitrum or Polygon, we may lean into the TW engine | |
Munga Boutique Guesthouse | Munga guesthouse is the perfect place to explore Taghazout and its surroundings. It’s beautifully designed with art and local materials. Salvaged wood is a common theme throughout the hotel. You can enjoy the different terraces, tea rooms, open spaces, a library, and a rooftop with a lounge pool. (Video)The guesthouse offers 15 unique suites. Breakfast is included for all rooms. The 35 square meters Mini-Suites are decorated in an African Moroccan fusion style and have their own balcony. 2 of them are hostel-style rooms, perfect for groups or singles. The larger Suites have a luxurious decoration with a terrace and mini-fridge. Some of them can have an extra bed to sleep a child or 3rd person. The Magnum Rooms are the most spacious and 100 square meters with a private outside living area. They are decorated in a more cozy, arty style. They can sleep 3 or 4 people and feel like a private beachfront apartment.The Favela Restaurant offers rooftop dining with a menu of homemade tapas, Mediterranean and Moroccan food. All dishes are freshly prepared and they offer vegetarian and vegan options plus delicious desserts. Munga’s Kitchen has a more relaxed setting at the lobby level. Decorated in a luxury beachy style, this is the place for lunch and dinner if you prefer healthy comfort food.Munga has its own surf academy where they teach and guide small groups of surfers of every level. They have a range of surf packages. And you can combine it with yoga and food options. If you prefer you can just book private yoga sessions with a certified instructor on the rooftop terrace.Other activities to enjoy locally are SUP, camel or horse riding, fishing or golfing. If you want to explore the region some more, you can book one of the day excursions.Munga guesthouse was built with passion and patience and is a beautiful Morrocan-designed boutique-style B&B. An ideal place to stay on your Taghazout holiday offering a comfortable and authentic experience. Taghazout Boutique Hotel: Munga Guesthouse, Taghazout MoroccoMunga Guesthouse & Boutique Hotel was built as a result of passion, patience and the product of hard work. Located in the surf town of TaghazoutMunga Guesthouse | |
From London to Sorake Beach. | It was time to go. The penance was done, the bitterness was over, and I wanted to go surfing again. In our squat in London, Dollis Hill, N3, 1996, there was talk of Indonesia, but Nias was beckoning.For perspective, the first surfers to discover the wave called Nias at Lagundri Bay was young Australian surf explorers Kevin Lovett, Peter Troy and John Giesel in 1975. Back then, they were the only visitors, a local family quickly built them a losman, and that was the beginning of the surfing settlement of Lagundri Bay. The village grew around surfing.It was an overnighter flight from London to Singapore, then a quick connecting flight from Singapore to Medan. With a backpack and a three-boards, board bag, I put my head down and strode confidently out of the airport.The temperature hit me at the same moment as a frenzied cluster of Indonesian men started bellowing. The humidity was a cuff by a wet blanket. Lonely Planet Guides were invaluable back then, but nothing can prepare for a bunch of seemingly aggressive foreigners shouting all at once in an incomprehensible language.All I needed was a taxi, and all they wanted was to offer me a taxi, but the language barrier was insurmountable.Eventually, a young Indonesian kid came and sat. We shared a cigarette. He indicated a lift in his dad's taxi to a friend's guesthouse, and I took it.The guesthouse was small but clean, and there were bottles of water and kopi, as well as an icy shower. The next day I climbed on a bus for a fun jaunt over Sumatra to the western port of Sibolga.After that, it was a day and a night and a day there in Sibolga. I was waiting for a ferry over to Nias, waiting for a ship to come in. A lurker was hanging around, who invited me to his house. At first glance, he seemed sly, but I trusted him immediately for some reason. It was the right call. He was cool, and he opened up his house and put on a Bollywood karate channel.There was no eating, just a few bottles of boiled water. The food was unrecognizable, and the risk of a stomach problem was lurking. I slept on the floor. The next day he put me on the ferry, destination Sorake.It was the wrong ferry, and I ended up at Gunungsitoli, to the north of Nias. Sorake Beach was in the south. A taxi offered transport, and we headed down south. It was drizzling, the road was shoddy, with crude bridges made out of logs and planks, and it took us four hours.On arrival at Lagundri Bay, it was clear that accommodation at Nias was never going to be a challenge. Losmens were littering the bay.The waves were small. I found my losman, and fell into the deepest of sleep. The next morning the waves were six-foot on the point, and there were a few guys out. It was a relaxed paddle out with hair dry through the keyhole, before gradually drifting over to the sweetest of takeoff spots.At six-foot, Nias is perfect, and a multitude of surfers got pitted several times. Drudging, as a construction labourer in London, had done little towards surf fitness and bravado. A wide swinger and a wobbly ride to the inside was my low-key debut in paradise.The next morning was small, and flawless two-footers waves were reeling down Kiddies Corner. Just what I needed to restore the fitness and to reignite the fire.Looking back at the bay from the lineup, the shoreline looked ancient, like it was from a history book. Smoke rose in tendrils from all the rickety losmans, small brown people walked the inside path along the shoreline, and it was business as usual at one of the greatest surf spots in Indonesia. I stayed for a full 2 months. | |
Bruce | If you have been to Jeffreys Bay South Africa, you cannot fail to hear stories of Bruce Gold `The Last of the Surfing Hippies` A tall skinny fellow dressed in baggy colourful clothing and a wooden staff in hand like a surfing Gandalf. He is as much a part of the scene at J-bay as the Aloe plants on the point and the `Clown Town` (as he refers to the pro tour) that takes over the town briefly every winter. He dropped out from Three years as a Policeman ( you had to be either in the Army or a policeman after school years) and moved to J-bay in his twenties to life as a hobo, surviving on oysters, selling shells or the generosity of others and hanging out with the other early surfers camping out in the dunes trying to avoid the rather conservative `Afrikaans` townsfolk that frowned upon pot smoking surf hippies. Bruce frowns upon the inevitable change that has come to J-bay over the decades but is known as a kind of unofficial mayor, friend to everyone including the pro surfers of which Bruce sent me a video of himself to say Hi and a wave to the camera from Kelly Slater that had come to visit him between events. He is still surfing everyday and can be instantly spotted in his Gath helmet straight lining it down the perfect waves at the point and throwing his arms in the air hooting like a grom. He has had several battles with skin cancer over the years but prefers to `cover up` than use toxic sun cream. He doesn`t eat sugar or fast foods but is partial to a bit of `Durban poison` and loves to tell a story or two after a couple of Ales. It is rumoured that he possesses in a box, the last of Miki Doras possessions that Miki told him never to open. Bruce has a few rare surfboards and his beloved spaniel `Scooter girl` but otherwise has lived most of his life outdoors or in derelict houses. These days he is crashing in a servants quarters of a friends house that looks over the entire bay and everyday that we spoke he would send me videos of the point with his commentary of the waves sounding as though it was the first time he had laid his eyes upon one of the best right hand points in the world. They don`t make them like Bruce Gold anymore. This is what Bruce had to say to Real Surfing Magazine. WHEN WAS YOUR FIRST SURF AND YOUR INFLUENCES?My first surf..mmm I was swimming and body surfing at four years old on those thin wooden 3 ft belly sliders with the nose turned up and we hired rubber lilos. The lifesavers back then had big hollow finless Hawaiian boards we called them. Father then bought a `Crocker` paddle ski for older brother Gavin and I. He would paddle and I would park in front. It was a Ten-foot wooden frame all covered in canvas and rather leaky I remember. In the mid 1950`s I would of been eight and the lifesavers acquired what we called a `trick board` that had a fin and could broadie the waves, I should have joined up sharp. I only got my own board at about fourteen in Durban. It was a long heavy wooden fellow, painted white with black rails and a skull and crossbones. I could have got a foam board but it had no skulls. I suppose those Kings Beach lifeys must have influenced us somewhat. Our Durban High School library used to get Surfer mag in the early sixties so there was enough influence. I was clueless as to who was surfing hot in Durban having just arrived back. Born in the area were we. S.A. Surfer magazine only came out later sixties. Have just obtained three of them. Cheers.TELL US OF THE EARLY DAYS AT JEFFERYS BAY?Came surfing end of 1968 on a 9'6" Safari board, no legropes, wetsuits or booties. Got cut up bad not amused really but we camped at the point at Jeffreys, toilets and cold showers provided were not even a Rand a night. Aussies and Kiwis had been camping in the dunes since about 1964. There was a marvellous Kiwi girl doing some sewing. A tar road only started in Ferrerra town just over a Km from the Point and there was the Beach Hotel and separate bottlestore and the Andora trading store. Jeffreys bay was 2 Kms up the drag and there was the Savoy Hotel, Ungerers Supermarket and Coetzees fish` n` chips plus one big cafe on the beachfront that only opened over the season. Legendary shell lady Tant Emma "Engeltjie" Wait also did home cooking from Smitties a bit later. Meantime back at the point named Noorsboom Point, we had just ascertained you could rent a caravan or half an old bus or park a kombi or tent it. Often there were enough players for two soccer sides. The townsfolk were not amused at all with Anzacs scooping the brown fisherfolks daughters. Acid was floating around and some strange stories. Some whiter blonder kids were on the main beach where the boats launched.`The Brotherhood of Eternal Light` was pitched up with `California Sunshine` Acid but none shined my way. Maybe having just left the police and my short back and sides hair and big ears gave my game away. Anyway long hair yoga in the dunes, chanting and fasting sure made an impression.Surfer Mike Kunz had a beautiful 7'6"Diffendirfer and a 5'6" Plastic Fantastic and a more casual surfer one would be lucky to see. Diff even rocked up at one point. In fact, I have Super 8 footage of that whole scene. Gold got more gold. Lots of glare.Yes, stories get better but early seventies used to duck to Durban for summers and drive taxis night beat and so I could spend longer and longer in j- bay in the winters. I was eventually surviving on oysters and recycling our vet friend's syringe bottles and filling them with mini shells. Still do a few and bottles have become smaller and shell micro but I keep most and find bottles in second hand shops.I got a barman job in the Beach Hotel early days still with short back and sides and the big ears and could speak Afrikaans having been a policeman for three years. Did I mention that? So I was definitely a bit of a peacemaker and the dune dwellers had returned overseas and locals were into the Surf Point camping spot. Beach Hotel had the snooker table and that was the spot every night. Interesting types pulling in. Bunker Spreckles opened a free bar from 4-6pm on his birthday, with cake and snacks. Owl Chapman looks me up and down and says "Do you surf" sort of incredulously. So I tried it out on Simon Anderson one time.Too many stories to mention but was nicely surprised to see Barry K. pull in. Anthony Michael Van Den Heuwel was our old longboard surfing hero and he ruled the roost, small as he was. Charisma a plenty though and intensity to spare. Even Miki Dora treated him carefully. Not that he didn`t style on shortboards as well. ANY TROUBLES BETWEEN LOCALS AND SURFERS?We are all natives here but the local fisherfolk are an amalgam of white and Khoi-San blood with more Xhosa over the years. Now there is a large Xhosa population and still rather segregated unless you can afford a sea view. No troubles really between surfers and local fisherfolk though. Lots of surfers became fisherfolk. There was plenty of racism everywhere and here we were most probably more tolerant than many places. We kinda have to be. They call me Jesus and my lord, lots of drunk car guards and bush sleepers thinking I am going to sponsor their habits. Rather very annoying at times and this is really a dirty little town now, litter everywhere, reticulation suspect and green slimy rocks where water streams runs down from the hills. No one testing as far as I know. HOW ABOUT MIKI DORA TURNING UP?Dora?...Hey, Meatball was here for years. Dave Rensin got quite a bit in his book. I helped him out in a lot of ways with accommodation and trying to get the young locals to respect the old geezer that was getting all the bombs on his big board. I avoided him the first month being somewhat in awe and he approached me on the street and was pretty charming with Scooter Boy, his runty King Charles Cavalier dog. He accused me of being the last of the purists and I intimated maybe he was not the Dora. He was very rude to people pointing cameras at him, however, a farmer friend Edward Godfrey had an early video recorder and we ended up on the buchu farm near Paarl. We did a few wine tastings with the recorder and a helluva surf trip to Elands Bay and Port Nolloth via the Namaqua daisy season. Miki scooped Edwards Cressida and a lady and took a drive up to Alexander Bay in search of the black diamonds. We were busy with the party-hearty. That`s in the Rensin book. I`m hoping the video footage I have is not too mouldy. Keep forgetting to check. It`s nearby at Seal Point. Was there yesterday. Sitting on quite a bit of the Dora detritus but Ed Godfrey has the Surfboard Mike Meyer shaped him still.YOU MUST HAVE SEEN SOME GREAT SURFING AT J BAY OVER THE YEARS?So many great surfers through here. Prefer guys on longer boards in proper waves like Joff Hoffman, a Saffa of old and Terry Simms on his Nine foot Cali gun. He left it with us. Lots liked Terry Fitzgerald and Simon Anderson and Johnathan Paarman the main Saffa bigwave hellman of olden days. Building majestic cats now with his brother Mark. Smoothest ever was Mike Kunz on his Diffendirfer. Never did see Tom Curren and Mason Ho link it all together. Saw his father as well that time. Enough now, Shaun Tomson looked O.K too on bigger waves, weaving all over, winding up for his bottom turn and his cousin Michael an even stronger surfer. They had fun while I was running for my like. Supers name is Noorskloof Point. Noorsboom is a tree that looks like a Vikings horns. WHAT ABOUT TECHNOLOGY?Technology. See the waves, they trying to finish the lunatic fringe waste of resources in. I feel guilty charging my I-pad and getting in a motor car. Really enjoying surfing the bicycle. Spose sending me a few back issues of your magazine for our museum here won't take too much energy, say what?IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE WHERE WOULD YOU GO?Time machine…The far future to this or that planet where philosurfers tread with slow measured steps, surf likewise and there is no electricity.Interview by Steven Halpin of real surfing magazine Cornwall | |
Dramatic jungle-covered hills | Imagine hearing the sound of the waves crashing on a pure white beach, from the privacy of your own piece of paradise? Imagine feeling the sea breeze and using the views on as a perfect indication of swell size, tide and wind direction. Imagine not needing binoculars to spot the whales. Imagine a 5-minute drive down the hill and check out the surf beaches up close. Santiago Hills Villa is the real deal.Santiago Hills Villa www.airbnb.comAt the end of the road, at Pavones, I remember vividly, reading a sign that said: "dream it, see it, live it". Talk about a trip to memory lane, it's been twenty years. Today, the images you are seeing are from a couple of good friend of us. They no doubt got inspired by one of our very first blog posts. It was followed by an article about Studio Sax, and their award winning architecture in Costa Rica, showcasing the "floating house" in Santa Teresa. Well, these friends are now living the dream, they bought a slice of paradise, hired Benjamin Garcia Saxe and with some blood, sweat and tears created a stunning villa in an area known as Santiago Hills. It’s such a short drive to Playa Hermosa that it’s inevitable that many people will buy or move here. And like the other small towns in the hills above the beach towns, the air is less humid and so it’s more “fresco” for living. The community in this area is young, close and very international. The area’s residents make a living running tourism ventures and real estate companies. The schedules are set by the surf. Santiago Hills Villa www.airbnb.comGenerally, the profiles of people interested in buying in this area break down into two categories: the investor looking for land to develop; and people looking for a second or third home. And for good reason, it is not only one of the most beautiful places in Costa Rica, but one of the most beautiful in the whole world. Imagine perfect beaches with coconut palms, almond trees, and ancient pochotes, backed by dramatic jungle-covered hills. The water is warm all year, and the jungles are filled with an amazing variety of animals: monkeys, parrots and other birds, iguanas, and even the occasional anteater.In the 1960’s a few foreigners discovered Montezuma, and moved there, before there were cars or electricity. Travel was done on horseback. Life was harder, but worth it. Over the decades, the area was “discovered” and hundreds of people moved there from all over the world, especially Italy, Argentina, Germany, Canada, and the United States. It became known as a secret hideaway for movie stars, musicians, artists and creative people of all types.Before travel to Costa Rica was common, it had already become a world famous hotspot for tourists “in the know” about the best places on earth. In the last twenty years, this area became the next great destination, and has since outgrown its sidekick status to places like Tamarindo up North, becoming a major destination of its own, now with far more hotels and restaurants. It’s no wonder that the Puntarenas Province has experienced rapidly escalating real estate prices. | |
A Decent Wave Count In Hawaii? | The North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii is a crowded place. Being one of the best surf destinations in the world, home to a handful of world champions, and venue for a list of Championship Tour and Qualifying Series events, it's going to be packed out.Hawaii is seasonal though, and it's the wintertime of November – January that sees the visitors pour through the Honolulu airport and head through the pineapple fields for the North Shore.It is always packed, every day, along the entire 7-mile stretch, but there are a few ways to get a couple of waves on a day-to-day basis and beat the crowds.Firstly, you can hit the Dawn Patrols in the hope of getting a few before the masses arrive. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but as long as you don't choose the highest-profile spots, then you do have a chance of getting a few bombs under the belt before it's packed.Pipeline and Sunset are always busy in the dawn, and if the tide is right, then V-Land will never have a window of uncrowded conditions. Still, sometimes you can get lucky at Rocky Point, and other times you can score at waves like Laniakea or Chuns without a soul in the water.If you're feeling really confident you can always paddle out at Sunset in the dark. Several other things could go wrong out there though, like getting mowed down by west peak in the dark, which will give you the biggest wake-up call you will ever experience.Morgan Maasen Prints / InstagramYou can also surf the Second Tier waves, and you will be guaranteed of getting a fair share and a decent wave count. Pinballs is the little wave that hugs the rocks at Waimea Bay on a small swell. It's not very good, but you can do a few turns and have some fun. Leftovers is a fun, double-up left that you will find on the way from Waimea towards Haleiwa. It's not a great wave by any means, but you can catch lots of them and have fun out there.Backyards is the section of reef around the corner from Sunset Point, and it is a great wave that reels and spins towards Sunset proper. It does shift and swing a bit, but if you get a good one here, it can be quite a thrill. Jocko's is one of the better uncrowded waves, but it's not the crowds that get you, it's the rip, sucking you deeper and deeper into the takeoff zone.If the North Shore is just too much, then you might need to think about Heading West. You could try a few of the outside reefs in the vicinity of Haleiwa, but they are quite well known and the only way you're going to get lucky is on the in-between size swells that don't interest the locals.Heading on past Haleiwa and carrying on towards Kaena Point, there is Army Beach, and several secret and semi-secret spots, including a pretty good left-hand reef – point set up that is really good, with an easy paddle-outs and no one around.Turtle Bay Resort If you're travelling with any surf of decent budget and happen to be staying at the Turtle Bay Resort, then you have some waves right in front of you that are never going to get crowded but are also never going to get very good.The primary wave is called Pool Bars, a wave that forever backs off. Still, if you know your conditions, there is a rockpile on the east side of the resort with lefts breaking around the corner, and there is a right-hand point-break that is almost accessible by foot but in a private zone, run by some people who don't really like visitors. Over to you.Turtle Bay Resort 57-091 Kamehameha HighwayKahuku, HI 96731Main: (866) 475-2569 | |
Surfing In The Land Of The Vikings | Norway, the land of the midnight sun, home of aurora borealis, snus, fata morgana and the Nisse and the Tomte. Norway has so much to offer when it comes to surfing, and the Lofoten Islands are a place of unparalleled beauty and wonder.Lofoten Masters. Photo: Red BullIt's hard to get to Lofoten if you're coming for a visit, with many planes to catch and quite a bit of driving, but it is a fantastic place and well worth the effort to get there.Surfed for the first time by Norwegian surfers many years ago, the Lofoten region was revealed by a Surfer Magazine article in the '80s, where they pinpointed the wave known as Valhalla.Still, they didn't really score any waves to speak of. Long before their accurate swell forecasters knew anything about it, surf trips were planned months in advance, and the surfers were just reliant on the whims of nature.Nowadays surf travel has evolved to a fine art. There is very little doubt involved, and a strike mission usually turns out well. The swells can be seen weeks in advance, and the winds as well. If you see something coming, you can time it to get to your destination as the first edges of a new swell start arriving. There is very little need for guesswork or impulsiveness. Some people call this an improvement, but that is subjective.These days there is no one hanging around Lofoten on the off chance of a surprise swell, and when the forecasts look good, then the surfers arrive, move into local accommodation, and wait for the swell to come.There are two excellent waves at Unstadt, and many more in the close vicinity, but surfing in Norway is not as easy as you would think.The water is cold. There is no getting around it. The surf only comes with bad weather, and there is very little chance of surfing at any of the spots unless you're in cutting-edge wetsuits, boots, gloves and hood. You need a slightly thicker board to accommodate all the rubber and an excellent attitude to dealing with the cold. Maybe a little bottle of sherry, or rum.Chris Burkard PrintsThe waves in Lofoten are of good to excellent quality. The sight of Valhalla reeling down the point, with snow-covered mountains in the background, is a sight to behold. The wave is long, it is perfect, and there are barrel sections on the inside. It's not heavy, and you can pick up a few bombs even if you're not a pro surfer.The left on the other side of the bay is also a classic wave and has moments when it gets really good, reeling across the outside reef with high-performance walls and the odd barrel.Unstadveien 105 8360 Unstad, Nordland, Norway. e-Mail / Facebook / Booking / +47 970 61 201Even though it is a clinical process to get waves at Unstadt, it still feels like quite an adventure, and when you approach the area, check out the wild countryside with huge mountains, icy lakes, and cliffs running into the sea you realise how wild it must have been all those years ago.There is a rebuilt longboat in the vicinity, made from the remains of a genuine longboat wreck. It has been turned into a banquet hall or party venue. Walking around it makes you think back to another time, to a time when Vikings walked the earth, and when life was short and ephemeral.As visitors to Norway, we are incredibly privileged to able to cover such massive distances on a whim, in search for waves, and we are even more privileged as surfers to be able to paddle out and have fun riding some Norwegian waves. We should, as surfers, be grateful for what we have, every day. | |
Far From The Madding Crowd | It is a beautiful family destination with some great waves, but going surfing in Mauritius takes a whole different approach to get your fair share of waves.There is a crew of surfers in Mauritius that don't let you surf if you're not a local. They are heavy-handed and brutal, and the authorities look the other way. It's well-known, and no one does a thing about it, so the best way to have fun with your family and still get a few waves on the island is to avoid any conflict. There are many waves on the island, and although the hotspot is Tamarin, there are enough waves for everyone to get their fair share.Photo by Guillaume BaudusseauThe water is warm, and the winds blow predominantly from the south-east – the trades – so the whole west coast is a good zone for surfing, as well as kiteboarding.To find the best waves on most swells, you need to be On The Peninsula, down in Le Morne. There are several options down there, from the barreling fun of One Eyes to the extended paddling mission of L'Ambulant, to some fun little double-ups that need a little bit less wind. If you're into it, and you know what you're looking for, some big right-handers work before the wind comes up, and there is a great beginner wave that you can see directly from the One Eyes car park.Photo by Boris BaldingerIt can still get a little tense at One Eyes, so it is suggested to you don't surf there on the weekends if it is looking excellent, and rather go and surf a little further down that long, winding reef.When the wind puffs from the north, then you must head Down South as there is a veritable wonderland of options at the bottom of the island. There are, in fact, the best options on the whole island down south, but it is totally ripped apart by the trade winds for most of the season.Most of the south end waves are based around a geographic anomaly called Mushroom Rock, with a few reefs and point-type waves in the vicinity, but the best waves are elsewhere, somewhere between Le Morne and Maconde, and you do need a boat to get to the best of them.Photo by Guillaume BaudusseauThe best thing about the waves in the south is that they do not get frequented by the bullies who hang out at Tamarin. (drone footage)When you're looking for quality waves on giant swells, then you need to think about Skirting the Upper Regions, as there are a bunch of secret and semi-secret waves around the Balaclava Bay area. They are rare, and they do need very specific swells and tides, but if you find them and give it a go you will find that the surfers are friendly and embracing of visitors, and the waves are so uncrowded that you will be stoked to be surfing with anyone. The waves further up the west coast are not as perfect as the waves around Tamarin and Le Morne, but they make up for it in wave count and having so much fun as opposed to having to watch your back every step of the way.Photo by Dan FreemanThe zen of surfing in Mauritius is that you don't usually go there for a pure surf trip. There are better places to go to with guaranteed waves. If you do go to Mauritius for any reason, then just bring your board along, only in case. You never know what you might discover right in front of you.Photos by LiveTheLifeTVHere's a couple places near Le Morne that stand out to live the Mauritius lifeKozy Le Morne / LUX* Le Morne Resort / Paradis Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa / Dinarobin Beachcomber Golf Resort & Spa / Villa Cambier by StayMauritius / The St Regis Mauritius Resort / Happy Days Guest House / | |
Coming Soon. Web3 Documentary | The evidence of dramatic change is all around us and it’s happening at exponential speed. Previous industrial revolutions liberated humankind from animal power, made mass production possible, and brought digital capabilities to billions of people. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is, however, fundamentally different. It is characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital, and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies, and industries.Images: LiveTheLifeTVTravel IndustryThe travel industry relies upon different companies passing information between one another. For example, travel agents need to pass customer details on to flight companies and hotels, while the personal belongings of travelers are often passed between companies and tracked too. Blockchain can make accessing and storing important information easier and more reliable because responsibility for storing it is shared across the whole network. Of course, financial transactions are a vital part of the travel industry too, and blockchain technology has the capacity to not only simplify but also secure payments. This is especially true when dealing with overseas payments. As a consequence of this, blockchain has the potential to improve the level of trust among all parties. Several startups are bringing blockchain-based loyalty tokens to the market, with the idea that it will make it easier for customers to transfer and trade the value in their vouchers. Customers can choose to invest their earned value in what they need right now, rather than what they have previously spent money on. Overall this will lead to happier and more satisfied customers.Real EstateTo ensure trust, a lot of paperwork needs to be checked and managed by multiple entities, including government agencies, banks, and so on! When it comes to blockchain, you do not have to deal with so many intermediaries. It is a trustless platform. This means that you know what you are doing and what you are getting into. You can verify the owner of a property before making the deal. The agreements are transparent and are tamper-proof. With blockchain, real estate can see many changes, including bringing in a more efficient process with the help of automation. With proper tokenizations, real-world assets can be stored and traded on the blockchain. Tokenization also means that other kinds of information can be stored online, including real estate funds.Final ThoughtsI’m optimistic. It feels a lot like the early ’90s to me. You’ve got all the smartest venture capitalists, programmers, business executives, entrepreneurs all over this thing. That’s always a sign that something big is going on. Is it an irrational exuberance? Is this worth making a documentary? | |
Interview Q&A | Introduce the subject, her/his history, and the background of our piece. The introduction should reflect on the article in general, and it should also frame the interviewee in some way.Warming Up Where are you based now?How would your friends describe you?What drives you to do what you do?What do you really wantWhat have you always wanted? Did you ever get it?AgingWhat age do you feel right now and why?Getting old, how does that fit as a surfer?If you could be any age for a week, what age would that be?If you could retire tomorrow, what would you do?StuffWhat is your favourite thing to spend money on?If you could keep only 5 possessions what would they be?FearName the most terrifying moment of your life so far.DeathIf you could bring any person back to life, who would it be?What do you want your tombstone to say?If you had one week to live, how would you live it?TravelWhich of the four seasons do you most love?Worst vacation? Best vacation?What’s your all-time favorite city?MemoriesWhat is your best childhood memory?What do you feel most proud of?HighlightsWhat was one of your most defining moments in life?Time MachineIf you could witness any event of the past or future, what would it be?Food & DrinksGin, beer or wine?WebTVWhat’s the best thing you have ever watched on TV / Netflix?Is there docu that changed the way you thought about something?PerfectionWhat does a perfect day look like to you?HomeWhat did you love most about the place you grew up?PleasureName a guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up.MoneyHow would you spend a million dollars?When was the last time you really pushed yourself to your physical limits?Do you believe ignorance is bliss? Why or why not?What do you consider unforgivable?If you could change one law, what would it be?If you could speak another language, which would it be and why?If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?What makes you the happiest?What is “home” to you?Explore a new planet or the deepest parts of the ocean?What makes you cry?If you could use technology to do one thing, what would it be?If you could have the answer to any question, what question would it be?What are you most grateful for?What words of wisdom would you pass onto your childhood self?If money was no object, what would you do all day?Where do you most want to travel, but have never been?CreativityIf you were to create a piece of art, what would the subject be?What are the things that make you really happy?What’s the best decision you have ever made?What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?What do you think would be one of the best steps to end poverty?What do you think we could do to best improve the education system?What are your top 5 favourite apps?What is something you tried but will never do again?What is the one place in the world you wish you lived in?How could you make this world a better place?What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?What music are you listening to right now?What is the best question anyone has ever asked you?At what age did you get interested in the surf culture?How did it suck you in?Where did you grow up and fine-tune your wave riding?Is there anything you miss when away from home?What have been your go-to crafts lately?What contributed to the decision to live life in…?Why do you think surfing sparks your creativity?Surfing has become a focal point in your lifestyle. How do you balance surfing with running your own business? What are some of the things you do to maintain the balance between work, family, and fun?What’s your favourite part of your work?Why did you want to start your own business?What have you found to be most difficult for your young business, developing the product or getting the word out about it?Who is your intended audience and consumer?Challenges to producing your products in a sustainable manner?Do you focus on healthy eating? Are you into yoga or meditation?Why do you think there is a growing trend of nostalgia in surfing? What was at the heart of surfing in youth that the newer generation of surfers should focus on? What was going on back then that we should steer clear of?What about some of the difficulties you’ve had to overcome?What do you find yourself enjoying most these days? How have your interests changed and evolved over time?Can you start off by telling us a little about the genesis of your career?Tell us a little bit about your creative background.For all of the aspiring creatives out there, could you offer some tips on how to make it as a freelancer in the outdoor world?Where do you look for inspiration?Any common themes that run through your art?What compels you to share and create?What are you hoping to accomplish?What prompted you to make a movie?What is your creative process like?What filmmakers inspire you most?What equipment and editing software do you use?Do find yourself shooting a mix of stills and video?What are the similarities between photography and video?What advice do you have for photographers?When composing a shot, what is it you are looking for?What’s playing in your iTunes?Do you have any particular project that you are most proud of up to this point in your life?Anything in the pipeline that is getting you excited that we should be getting excited about as well?What sorts of projects do you have in store for the future?If you could travel through time where would you go?If you could sail anywhere, where would it be and why?What is so far the best surf session in your travels?What is the most difficult thing about coming back home?What are your five most favorite travel destinations? Why?Can you tell us a memorable experience that you recall?Any place that is high on your to-explore-list? Why?Destinations where you would not revisit? Why?What is the next adventure for you?A spot where you instantly felt at home?A spot where you have your biggest culture shock?Emotions What makes you laugh?What can make you cry?What can make you really angry?Eye CatchersWhat’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen recently?How do you see the future…?What environmental message you would like to transmit?Do you think we can still save the planet?What do you see as the key to the future of a happy world?The best compliment you have ever received?Any parting wisdom? Anything you want to put on the record?Now wrap things up with your conclusion. It often alludes back to the introduction or some interesting part of the interview. You can also use it to give a look ahead to the interviewee's future plans. | |
EOS captures the voice of surfing | The Encyclopedia of Surfing (EOS) is the greatest collection of surf matter on the planet. A gigantic aqua-blue-tinged mass of history, culture, and commentary. Imagine your local library packed floor to ceiling with surf-related books, magazines, newspapers, photos, movies, TV shows and documentaries. There's a friendly reference librarian to help find anything you’re looking for. Want some history on your local break? Check out EOS. Winners from yesterday’s big contest? Got it right here. Wondering if Gerry Lopez was really all that cool and suave at Pipeline back in the day? Check the footage. And yes he was.BACKSTORY: Harcourt published the Encyclopedia of Surfing in 2003. Sixteen-hundred A-to-Z entries. Half-million words. It’s the biggest, best-reviewed, most-respected book ever written on the sport. EOS is now the industry standard reference work on surfing. It’s been cited not just in every surf magazine and website, but in Outside, Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and the New York Times.All great. Except reference books are dead in the water.GOING DIGITAL: The EOS site is like the book, except reborn for the digital age. A zillion photos, video clips, and links. Fully searchable. Updated constantly. All the archive material, plus a rundown on what’s happening in surfing right now. The site is already designed, and it’s off-the-chart awesome. Clean as a whistle. Fast and functional. No exclamation points. No ads. All of the text from the book is now updated and loaded into the site. New entries are being written. Photos and video clips are right now being scanned, edited, logged, and tagged. It is a subscription-only service. Three bucks. Less than a latte. No ads . . . like zero fucking ads. Be gone, corporate logos and banners and popups! Fully viewer supported, and it is an active, happy, well-stoked community of viewers indeed.Matt Warshaw grew up in Southern California. In the ’70s he was on the Zephyr surf team. In the ’80s he was a second-rate pro surfer, then later became editor of SURFER magazine. In the ’90s he freelanced articles to the Wall Street Journal, Esquire, the New York Times, Outside, and Interview. Cover Image: Chris BurkardSurf Splendor - 295 - Matt WarshawFather, husband, surf historian, Matt Warshaw chats about how to nurse the bruising of online commenters, the virtues of quitting surfing, pays tributes to surf’s little known stories, and he outlines a grander EOS. Enjoy!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesGoogle PodcastsDavid Lee ScalesSurf Splendor - 197 – Matt Warshaw: The Encyclopedia of SurfingIn today’s episode we Wax On with Matt Warshaw. Matt tells us his origin story, what compelled him to chronicle surfing’s history, the value of distancing one’s self from the act of surfing, while he gave away all his surfboards, and what’s next for the Encyclopedia of Surfing. Enjoy! Support the En…Google PodcastsDavid Lee Scales | |
Ireland and the Litmus Test | When the inimitable Litmus movie came out in 1996, there was a small section of Joel Fitzgerald charging a deathly left-hand slab called Pmpa. That's what sent us scurrying on our way. We wanted to discover precisely what was going on in the little coastal village of Bundoran.A cold, bewitching place that will keep you coming back for more.It was a good 25 years ago, and no one had ever really done the surf exploration to Ireland and scored, but we were excited and had a small budget from an American magazine to go and explore, surf and take photos.We spotted a severe storm, on the way, and made our plans to head on out and get to Bundoran, to see what it was all about. It didn't take us too long, to get there, but while on route the temperature started dropping out.We were still ahead of the weather when we finally arrived in Bundoran, but there was a tremendous amount of things on the go, and there was a load of preparation. We found our accommodation and went out to do the local recce. The Peak at Bundoran was flat, the little right-hander was breaking on a dry reef, and the only spot that had any wave was ab enjoyable little wedge called Tullan.Unfortunately, some of our crew had a few puffs of a local spliff, and it was too powerful for them. They were in no condition to jump off the rocks. They sat, perched like monkeys, watching us surf as the sun made myriad little colour speckles and rainbows and such stuff, no doubt. We got a few waves, and it was pleasant, but we wasted quite a bit of our time observing the crew on the rocks and worrying that they were going to wobble off and fall in the drink.Talking of drink, we headed straight to the local Bundoran pub afterwards to wash it all down with a pint or two of Guinness. It started drizzling, and we were told of the wonderful saying, 'If it's not raining in Ireland, it's about to rain.'The weather hammered down that night, and the following morning The Peak had six-foot sets, and we were all over it. Although a perfect looking wave, The Peak is quite complicated to surf, with a few people and some shut-down sections. The tide was a tad low, and the rights weren't happening. All the action was unfolding on the lefts.We could recognise some fearsome-looking left grinding away in the background, with no takers. It looked too shallow to ride. A local told us that it was Pmpa, one of the reasons for us being there.The following morning, we found ourselves on the freezing ground in front of a serious-looking left-hander, and we were on it. We all had a few waves, some barrels and a treacherous paddle-in. It was exhilarating, and the barrels were deep and shallow. It was an excellent start to the day.That afternoon the wind appeared. It started to whistle through the village and rattle every house and every glass inside the pub. The swell started building along with it. By late afternoon it was maxing, with all the regular surf spots just washing through the channels.A local lad took us to have a look at the local castle. Mullaghmore Castle sits on a prominent headland, and it was where Lord Mountbatten died when the IRA bombed his lobster boat.At the time we stood on the grass, watching these giant waves ricocheting off a ledge. It was enormous, legitimate big waves, and little did we all know back then that we were all staring at Mullaghmore, the most prominent Irish big wave spot.It would take a few years for the locals to get jetskis in the water and tow a few waves, and the rest is history.Affordable room, overlooking Donegal Bay? TurfnSurf Lodge in Bundoran!Want to live in a bubble? Check Finn Lough. It is a low-key, luxury hideaway. A place to escape life’s incessant beat and spend time on your own terms. Relax and rejuvenate in the spa; explore and discover the forest and lake; eat and drink authentic quality. Facebook / Online Booking / eMail/ call +44 28 6838 0360 | |
Heading Down South In Chile | We went searching for a wave that would handle the big, clean south-westerly swell. We had heard of a wave up north, and so we drove. The spot was a skunk. The boys went running the cliff, but I slept in the car. When we were driving away, out of the little dust road, another surf vehicle came tearing past us like a bat out of hell.They were driving way too fast for it to be normal on the narrow dust roads, and the dust cloud was smothering us. Our driver couldn't see much and had to hold back for visibility. We went back into cruise mode, came around a corner and there they were, sitting in their shiny 4x4, waiting in front of a gate. We cruised past slowly.Once we had driven past them and around the corner, we stopped to discuss tactics.We waited for five minutes, turned around and headed back. They were gone. So we pondered in the car for a while. The Kiwi among us got out to check the gate. It was open. We looked at each other. We had been warned over and over again not to go onto private property. The stories and rumours that abound down in the far south, of cowboys and shotguns and hard black magic, had made us all nervous and wary of venturing off the beaten track. However, it took us a unanimous split-second and a few grins to decide to go in.We headed down the track, nervous but so excited. We went over a rickety little bridge and came to another gate.'Here's where it ends," some pessimist said. I got out and tried the gate. It was open. We were fully committed and ventured through, closing the gate behind us.The track got rougher and more convoluted. Some steep sections, loads of loose gravel, and at the top of one particularly steep section we came to another gate. Our hearts sank. Here we were deep in private property, and the odds of this gate been open were slim. We tried it, and it yielded. The gods were with us. The track took a radically steep downhill, as it headed from a height back down to sea level. We rounded the corner, and the road was just way too steep downhill even to attempt. So we pulled over. Climbed the edge of the track, and came to a vast field. We all set out across the field at a trot. Rough ground, our pace was slow. We got to the far side to find ourselves at the edge of a significant, vegetation-rich drop. Below us was an empty bay.There was a flat beach, with a couple of cows grazing. Jutting out into the windy ocean was a headland, and reeling off the cape, over a super shallow bank, was a flawless left-hand barrel. The first one we saw just spat rudely as we watched in shocked silence. Another set racked up on the outside. From our vantage we could see the swell bending and refracting off outside rocks, connecting off the headland and reeling down over the bank relentlessly towards the beach. As we watched, the guys who had been waiting at the gate cruised across the beach. We all instinctively ducked behind the bushes and shrubs. So it wasn't a secret spot, but it sure wasn't well known. We sat and watched for maybe half-an-hour, weighing up the odds. Go down, show the guys we have found the spot, piss them off properly and get barrelled, or come back another day when they had gone, and we would for sure have it to ourselves without the pressure. We bailed, elated and bummed at the same time.On the way out we spotted another gate, leading into another field further up the coast, and made some mental notes.We returned two days later. The locals had left, the wave was terrible. The howling wind had ripped the guts out of it. We headed off for the 'new gate.'It too was open, so we headed in. The field was full of sheep. We felt it necessary to shield the Kiwis eyes from the field of frolicking temptation. Five people found it funny, and one didn't. So it was funny.The track came to an abrupt end at the top of a very steep downhill. We climbed out and ran down, incensed by a chance that there might be more waves. Then we came upon The Place. A perfect left was spiralling off yet another headland in front of a semi-deserted village. We were on it, and put on our wetsuits and ran down. The dogs in the town went crazy, some old couple came out and were full of smiles and Old Spanish phrases, and escorted us through the village and to the beach. Small, with deserted buildings, three black pigs, a few cows and loads of little dogs, and a perfect, empty left.Finding a new spot, whether it exists in other surfers' minds or not, is like the first time you get barrelled – a mammoth progression of a surfers' soul. Little Pumpkins was yet another perfect left in the land of perfect lefts.Stylish surf lodge Hotel Alaia is perched amid the dunes at Punta de LobosThe skatepark at the hotel’s entrance, the big, colorful surfboards in the lobby, the small in-hotel Patagonia store, and the view from every guestroom window all attest to the inspiration behind Hotel Alaia. The 12-suite property puts guests just moments from one of the country’s top surf spots—a picturesque stretch of coastline and natural wonder in itself—as well as being a celebration of all things Chilean.Online Booking / eMail / Instagram / Another top pick is Lodge del Mar | |
Peru. Longest Wave in the World? | Chicama is a surfers paradise. Waves can carry you as far as 2 km. The left hander at Chicama is the Queen of Peru’s northern region. Cristobal Col, a local surfing star, established a Guinness record for longest distance ridden on a wave. The young Peruvian surfer rode for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. And that’s not all Chicama is about. There are more waves in the area, many of which have identical characteristics. Almost all of them are relatively crowd free. You can be sure that in this part of Peru the average distance ridden will easily be three or four digits by the end of your trip.What more could you ask? All this is complemented by the impressive background of the Andes mountain range and the tropical rainforest. Puerto Chicama is most consistent during South America’s winter months from March to October. The wave works best when south or southwest swells move north towards the coast of Peru, sorting into corduroy rows before wrapping around the southern jaw of the bay.Chicama Hotel. Official Site / Facebook / +51 1 4406040The proper name for Chicama is Puerto Malabrigo. The actual distance between the furthest take-off point and the fishing jetty where the wave ends is 4000 meters, although to be fair no one has actually ridden it for that distance. Staying in one spot requires treadmill like persistence. On good days most people end up catching different waves on a journey down the point, surfing through a couple well defined breaks: Malpaso, Keys, El Point, and El Hombre. Surfers use the constant current to drift down to the next take-off point. Some avoid the pain by hiring zodiacs. Everyone else fights as long as they can to catch a wave, then they wash up on shore to take a 30-minute walk back to their break of choice.AC Hotel by Marriott Lima Miraflores. A great choice for travellers interested in gourmet food.It’s a long way from Lima to Chicama. Young dirtbags might want to bus it, older travellers with less time and more money might opt to fly to Trujillo and hire a car from there. Either way, you usually end up spending at least one night in Lima. The area around the airport is pretty sketchy. To avoid it, plan ahead to get a safe ride to a good night's rest before catching a flight to Trujillo.Miraflores, LimaGet the celebrity treatment with world-class service at AC Hotel by Marriott Lima Miraflores. Rates start at 132€ Booking / Official Site / +51 1 5969480If you’re an intermediate surfer, you’ll probably be heading straight to Chicama. Chicama Boutique Hotel. Official Site / Facebook / +51 1 4406040If you want to find the biggest, fastest, and best ones, chase the swell; otherwise, just head to Pacasmayo. Locals make rad little fishing boats called caballito de totora. They’ve used these to break through the waves for about 2,500 years. They claim original surfer status, and they deserve it. Pacasmayo is always bigger than Chicama. It can hold much more size and doesn’t have gaps in between peaks. Many claim it’s a longer wave.Puemape. La Huaca. Pacasmayo, Peru. BookingFacing the sea, with a large terrace and a privileged view of the surfpoint. Stairway to the beach. Built in mud, wood and cane. Rustic and cozy design. AirbnbCover Shot: Machu Picchu is located about 795 miles (1280 km) southeast of the capital city of Lima. Today, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) train ride connects travelers to Machu Picchu from the city of Cusco. By far the fastest way to get to Cusco is by plane. The flights take 1 hour 15 minutes approx. Book Flights at LATAM.The 15th-century Inca citadel is located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, on a 2,430-metre mountain ridge. Embedded within a dramatic landscape at the meeting point between the Peruvian Andes and the Amazon Basin, the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu is among the greatest artistic, architectural and land use achievements anywhere and the most tangible legacy of the Inca civilization.The approximately 200 structures making up this outstanding religious, ceremonial, astronomical and agricultural centre are set on a steep ridge, crisscrossed by stone terraces. Following a rigorous plan, the city is divided into a lower and upper part, separating the farming from residential areas, with a large square between the two. To this day, many of Machu Picchu’s mysteries remain unresolved, including the exact role it may have played in the Incas’ sophisticated understanding of astronomy and domestication of wild plant species. | |
How To Handle The Supercrowd | The first ever event that the WSL ran, as part of their new ownership of the sport of surfing, was the 2014 Quiksilver Pro and Roxy Pro Gold Coast. During the opening days of that event the surf turned on, with excellent, barreling four to five foot gems peeling down Snapper and the Superbank. Then a very surprising but positive decision was made – the WSL sent the girls out, in what was actually looking like the best day of the waiting period.Photo by Veri F.It was awesome, but while Carissa was surfing out of her skin, a mounting crew of the best male surfers in the world and their best friends felt thwarted, and were frothing for the waves they felt entitled to. When the final heat of the day was over, the lineup turned into pure chaos. I paddled out, simultaneously with 20 others, and there were four or five deep rows of surfers behind me - girls, longboarders, professionals, groms and locals, all clogging up the gulley.Photo by Manny MorenoI hung at the top for about 3 seconds, before heading down the point, ending up in the middle of Rainbow Bay. There were hundreds of us out there. A head count from the judging tower that afternoon put it at an estimated 600 surfers in the water from behind the rock to the middle of Greenmount, with streams more doing the run around. It was hard to count though, as the whole crowd from entry to exit had become an infinite loop.A big set came through and Slater was on it. I needed to paddle out, to get out of his way, but there was no way I could move. I was totally hemmed in. Eventually, on my insistence – ‘dude, you've got to paddle!’ - The guy in front mobilized, and I followed him, literally paddling on top of him to get out the way. It was a stressful experience, and eventually I broke free and sat further out, watching.That day I got three waves in an hour. A bomb, dropped in on immediately by a muscular longboarding goofy-footer who looked back at me with utter disdain as he bounced his board around. He was never going to pull out. My second wave was a straight-hander, closing out immediately, and a final third wave that faded so quickly I was cutting back from take off, and I rode it in.Lessons learned.1. When it’s super-crowded, have no expectations whatsoever. That way you can’t get bummed.2. When you commit, you have to go. Pull back once on a super-crowded day and you will not get another wave.3. Go on anything. You do not have the privilege of wave selection.4. Take your best paddler. If you’re not catching waves you’re not surfing, and any advantages help.5. Don't be a prick. You do need a certain level of tolerance when it gets super-crowded. People will bump rails, there will be a bit of a push and shove on the jump off, and there will be people shouting and whistling. Don’t be that guy, and take offence to one person out of hundreds who might be irritating you.6. Also, don’t be that guy irritating everyone by whistling and shouting.7. Always give it a go and paddle out, no matter where you are and no matter the size of the crowd. It would have been so easy to say, ‘fuck it, too crowded’ and gone and drunk beer at the RSL with the rest of the media crew who were over it. If you don't paddle out, you’ll never be in line for a bomb, however remote the possibility.8. If you go to the Superbank, don't bother with a dawnie. They surf through the night there. | |
A Shipwreck Leads To Perfection | In 1973 a 20-year-old Australian set off on a journey of a lifetime, to discover the world and to find his destiny. As fortune would have it, the boat in which Tony Hinde was in became shipwrecked, and his initial mission to reach Jeffreys Bay scuttled.The wreck was as serendipitous as could be, as the boat came to rest in the modern-day paradise known as The Maldives.“It all started with that movie The Forgotten Island of Santosha back in 1973. ... I knew that’s what I wanted to do: find a perfect wave out in the middle of nowhere, live simple and surf. ... I’m a natural-footer. So I figured Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa was the go. The plan was to travel up through Malaysia, over to India, then find a way to get to Africa from there. That was my dream.” (Surfline)The modern-day paradise known as The Maldives.Don’t ever sail anywhere with a guy with an eye patch & a monkey on his shoulder.While working on the shipwreck, Tony and his fellow boaters spent some time exploring the nearby islands, and soon discovered the perfection of Pasta Point, of Lohis, Jail Break, Honkies and Cokes to name a few. It was Pasta Point, however, that Tony settled on, and started up a surf camp.It didn't take long for Tony to fully immerse into the local culture, and he married a local beauty and settled down in the Maldives, started Atoll Travel. The area where he had settled soon began attracting the hordes, and Tony adopted strict control of his piece of paradise, making sure that is was sustainable and eco-friendly. He put a cap on the number of surfers who were allowed to visit at any time and maintained that only the surfers staying at his resort were allowed to surf Pasta Point, using the local 'house reef' law of the territory. (45 max)Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives - Water Suites - Online BookingPasta Point is an incredible wave and an enjoyable experience. It is expensive, but worth every cent. The wave is a perfect, roping left that has enough excitement in it to be a total thrill on the sets, but enough of the Maldivian style of fun waves to not be too dangerous as to be scary. Only on the bigger, offshore days does it get heavy, but it still breaks in the same spot, and it is mechanical, so it is easy to get to grips with the wave, the take-off spot and the speed run down the line.The wave barrels, particularly over the inside section, and it does break over shallow coral, so injuries do happen and you must have reef boots and medical insurance. There is a resident doctor at the resort, but only for emergencies, and you do need to have that insurance.Across the channel is the perfect right-hander of Sultans. It gets crowded, but it is a perfect wave with a bunch of barreling sections and a long winding wall along the inside part. It is one of the better right-handers in the area, but it does get crowded and stay crowded.Around the corner is Honkies, the left that gets hollow on the inside. It remains relatively uncrowded due to the inside coral and the chances of getting drydocked or injured. A little bit tricky for natural-footers, it is a quality wave that wedges due to the waves moving through the channel between islands.Slightly further afield is Jail Breaks, the perfect right-hander with three barreling sections that join up to make a perfect wave on the right tide and ideal swell. It is a bit sectiony at times, but is still a famous wave and is never really that crowded unless a few boats are staying right there.Even further afield is the perfect partnership of Cokes and Chickens, two perfect barreling waves within viewing distance of each other. Cokes runs down a ruler-edged reef and can barrel perfectly, but is not too dangerous or heavy.Chickens is a class left, but it is fast and shallow, frequented by the goofy-footers.If you're on the wrong side of the tide, and you need to paddle out to a boat against a dropping tide, beware of the 'Male Express' - the inter-atoll current that sweeps through the atolls just before the full low tide, and it is impossible to paddle against it. If you get stuck in the current you need to chill, and you'll get washed onto an island or around the corner and out of trouble, and your boat can send a tender to come and fetch you. It's all part of the Maldivian experience.Tony Hussain Hinde passed away while surfing at Pasta Point in 2008. He probably suffered a fatal cardiac event. 'Serendipity' pays tribute to the ultimate surfing destination, a legend and the journey that made a fairytale come true."It is the story of a man on an adventure who became a legend. By the most serendipitous chain of events Tony found himself shipwrecked on a deserted island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Tony stumbled across a multitude of discoveries, perfect surf on a chain of tropical coral attols, eastern islamic culture and a new personal identity. Tony had access to a fleet of perfect waves for 15 years. Alone! Over that time he had only a few select friends who visited. Amazingly non of the lucky few broke the agreed-upon code of silence. Eventually Tony’s secret was exposed, he protected those waves as long as he could. Tony realized that if he could not own the waves then he would provide the best surf travel experience by starting the only dedicated and most successful surf camp in the Maldives. Tony Hussein Hinde is considered to be the father of surfing in the Maldives, not only did he kick started the nation’s emerging tourism industry he also found his own personal nirvana and livelihood."Serendipity is written and directed by Simon Lamb. Produced by Blacklamb Productions. Rent the Serendipity Surf Docu for 3.5 EuroCinnamon Dhonveli offers an exclusive experience in a surfer’s paradise.Cinnamon Dhonveli. May to September is the most consistent.Well-designed suites feature thatched wood ceilings and solid wood flooring. Located about 16 km, or a 20-minute speedboat transfer, from Male Airport.Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda HuraaVibrant with tropical flowers, Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa is a garden-style resort arranged as a traditional Maldivian village on its own coral island. Just a 30-minute speedboat transfer from Malé international airport, it offers for year-round sun, surfing and diving. Booking / TropicsurfIn 2015 they suspended the development of a luxury surf resort on the Kaafu Atoll, home to the iconic Sultans and Honkeys. Thanburudhoo Island (Kaafu Atoll). Photo: Jesse Little"This will allow local surfers, surfers from around the world and organizers of surf competition to use the island in the best possible way," notes the Ministry of Tourism. We want Thanburudhoo Island to become a "surf heritage site." Adaaran Select Huduran Fushi - Premium All InclusiveLhohifushi Island. Fully air-conditioned, the private beach and over-water villas come with en suite bathrooms and have an outdoor rain shower. Photo: RasheedBeing host to five WQS events (Deep Blue Open 2001-2005), Lohi’s is a longer wave than Pasta, but not as "perfect". Guests may also make use of the on-site water sports facilities to kite surf, dive and wakeboard. Booking | |
Images straight out of a fairytale | Ralf v/d Veerdonk is 36 years old and based in the Netherlands. He runs his own film production company called Veerdonk Visuals. When he graduated from film school he immediately started his own film production company. That's now over a decade ago. It actually took off like a rocket and he never looked back. Where do you look for inspiration?Inspiration can come from anywhere, really. When I’m running or driving a long distance in the car is when the best creative ideas come up in my mind. But also watching other filmmakers’ work on Vimeo can be very inspiring. Any common themes that run through your art?Not any particular themes but I have a certain camera operating style. Which is a certain subtle cinematic camera movement. That can be a dolly shot on a slider, a steady cam or gimbal shot or a drone shot. It needs to be as silky smooth as possible as I dislike a deliberate ‘dirty handheld’ camera operating style. The speed and composition of that camera movement is very important to me. It needs to be perfect. What compels you to share and create?The feedback I get from people all around the world especially on my travel, lifestyle and hospitality content is amazing. It motivates me to create more content when people enjoy my work. What are you hoping to accomplish?To be honest, I accomplished far more than I would ever thought possible. I’ve been hired for assignments on the most remote and luxurious places on earth. From exquisite private island resorts in the Maldives, cast-away resorts in Fiji and the Cook Islands, fabulous overwater villa resorts with gorgeous lagoons in Tahiti and Bora Bora, Marlon Brando’s private dream atoll with a private airline that flies their exclusive guests in, to filming in submarines, on exclusive yachts in the Caribbean, and one of the world’s most exclusive ski resorts in Lech, Austria. But also tv commercials for national television in the Netherlands, interesting assignments for the Dutch government, multinational companies like Epson and Asus (to name a few) and many other national and international clients. It never gets dull!What is your creative process like?That varies a lot. For some clients I create an entire concept, script and shot list in pre-production with filming on location and the entire post-production afterwards. A full-service agency. And for other clients I only do the camera operating for instance. It varies all the time. You have to be flexible and multidisciplinary. However if I can develop a communication strategy concept and outline each individual scene with a storyboard and scriptwriting, that’s when the creative juices really start flowing. Working that creative concept out in collaboration with a client and then seeing it all coming together as we progress when the camera rolls, is always a fantastic process. What filmmakers inspire you most?Not many in particular to be quite honest. However I do like most of the work from Mark Toia, an Australian filmmaker. I’m also always in awe by the BBC World documentaries like Planet Earth series, especially considering the amount of work and patience they need to bring to the table in order to end up with the required footage of specific animal behaviour. I always enjoy the ‘behind the lens’ parts at the end of each episode where you can see a little bit of the struggles they went through. Just astonishing!What equipment and editing software do you use?I started out with Canon camera bodies and lenses. But as Canon was/is pretty conservative and slow with innovating technical features like sensor resolution, RAW video codecs and high frame rates to their cameras, I switched to Sony that was shaking things up in 2015. With the use of a Metabones Speedbooster I was able to use all of my Canon glass which worked well for me. I often used a Atomos Shogun Inferno to record 4K RAW externally. But just recently I switched back to Canon as they upped their game with the Canon C200. Being able to shoot RAW internally in 4K is just amazing, along with the perfect Dual Pixel autofocus really helps my workflow as a one-man-band filmmaker. The footage just looks so extremely pleasing and cinematic to my eye. I was instantly in love with it. When I started to colorgrade the Canon C200 footage for the first time, I realized how much I missed the Canon colour science during my Sony era, so to speak. I mainly use lovely Canon Compact-Servo Cinema Zoom lenses that create stunning visuals. For editing I use Apple’s Final Cut Pro X. During my film school days I had to use Adobe’s Premiere and I was always so happy when I could switch to Final Cut 7 in those days. Now with FCPX editing is just a breeze as everything works so intuitive. I can’t imagine switching to any other NLE software. Veerdonk Visuals. Photos: Ralf v/d VeerdonkDo find yourself shooting a mix of stills and video?When I’m filming on location for an interesting assignment then I often shoot stills on the side for sure. But my core business and main focus is always film. Similarities between photography and video? The similarities between photography and video is often a good composition and telling a story with that composition. In post-production, the colour correcting and grading is also a similarity of course. But film goes way beyond photography in terms of complexity if you would ask me. I mean, film is 24, 25 or whatever frame rate you use, per second. That creates a lot more possibilities. Not mentioning the role of audio, which is also a huge addition to the entire experience of a viewer. You can really stimulate the senses with carefully crafted music and subtle sound effects. What advice do you have for visual storytellers?Well, just go out and shoot! Mess up, learn from it and try again. Watch other filmmakers that are out of your league (at this moment) and try to nail down what it is that makes their work stand out. Other than that, there are no shortcuts or hacks, you need to put in the work to develop yourself and work your way up. Eventually you will develop your own set of skills style that sets your work apart.When composing a shot, what are you looking for?Balance. Balanced compositions are strong and appealing to the eye. Sometimes these are tight shots with shallow depth of field, other times wide dolly shots with subtle movement. But I always try to find balance in my compositions. What do you find yourself enjoying most these days? During these strange days of social distancing, I’m enjoying my custom made screensaver with the full takes of my own best shots around the world. It blows my mind every time I see my own footage to realize that I was there. But I’m also working on the concepts of a few local passion projects that I’m going to do as soon as the whole situation has normalized. Looking forward to that! Any place that is high on your to-explore-list? Why?I’ve been to every single continent except South America. So I’d like to explore Brazil and Patagonia in particular. But I’d also like to visit Lofoten in Norway as it is so remote and looking so peaceful. I know that it’s been filmed and photographed already by so many people but I’d like to capture it in my own perspective.Destinations where you would not revisit? Why?I’m pretty sure I won’t return to Shanghai and Beijng in China anymore. Interesting city’s to explore but the people over there are so unaware of their surroundings and not hospitable. That was a cultural shock for me but that's just my experience. What is the next adventure for you?Good question. Could be Lech in Austria again for a summer image film for the same renowned hotel as I produced a winter image film for, but we’ll have to see how things will develop the comings weeks and months. It’s a serious crisis we’re all in at the moment and I’m afraid we’re not out of the woods for a long time.What are your 5 most favourite travel destinations?Bora Bora and Moorea in French Polynesia are definitely topping my list. Both islands are extremely lush and beautiful and have the well-known Polynesian overwater bungalows with Bora Bora being more exclusive at the top end of luxury. Bora Bora truly is the ultimate tropical island where dreams are made of. Just picture perfect and considered by many as the most beautiful tropical island on earth. The soaring volcanic mountain peaks, the pristine turquoise lagoon full of tropical fish and of course the luxurious overwater bungalows look even more spectacular in real life than in the pictures. But it’s a tiny island and that’s where Moorea comes into play. Moorea is one of the most scenically striking islands in French Polynesia. It has even more dramatic volcanic mountain peaks, is also blessed with a blue lagoon and there are more land-based activities in Moorea. So you can get more active here. I’ve been to French Polynesia three times now and I really like the mystical Polynesian culture with it’s traditional music, dance, art, language and friendly people. Spending several days for filming in the Brando Suite on Bora Bora was probably one of the highlights. Maldives. I think most people are familiar with the Maldives. But it is a nation of small islands encircled by the most perfect coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. The soft white sand, swaying palm trees and exquisite resorts make you feel like living in a dream. I’ve been flown in on 4 different Maldivian island resorts by now and it’s always a privilege to go there. Especially by seaplane which is a spectacular experience! I remember arriving on the airport in Male for the second time and how cool it was to see my footage of my first visit on several tv screens on the national airport. Cape Town, South AfricaCape Town is one of the greatest city’s I’ve ever visited. I’m not too fond of visiting cities in general but Cape Town is truly something special. On one side the ocean with awesome great white sharks swimming in it and on the other side the majestic Table Mountain. In between a vibrant and modern city with a European feel to it. It just has a fantastic vibe somehow. There are also more than enough game reserves in the neighbourhood to check out the big five. I never forget hearing the local Afrikaans that sounds like pre-historic Dutch. It’s so funny for Dutch people to hear and read that language. I really enjoyed my time over there! Last but not least, the Alps. Whether it’s the renowned Arlberg in Austria, the iconic Matterhorn in Switzerland, the Dolomites of Italy or Mont Blanc in France, the imposing mountains and beautiful lakes of the Alps are simply out of this world. Although it’s relatively close to the Netherlands, it’s really one of my favourite places to travel to. There are so incredibly many gorgeous places over there. But for me the most picturesque place is Val di Funes (or Villnöß in German) in Southern Tyrol in the rugged Italian Dolomites. That valley looks just straight out of a fairytale! I can’t describe it any differently. Val di Funes. Photo: Ralf v/d VeerdonkWhat’s the best decision you have ever made?Well many decisions have led to where I am today. But I think the best decision is one I take very often. Just be open for everything that comes your way. Whether it was starting at film school or taking up assignments where I didn’t had a clue how it would end. I just started and it worked out all the time. And it often led to even more interesting opportunities along the way. What’s your favourite part of your work?There are so many aspects that I like. Doing something that I love on a daily basis. Being able to turn my hobby into my profession. Traveling to great places all over the world, creating fantastic imagery where I could only dream of several years ago. Meeting the most fantastic people everywhere from all walks of life and cultures. Having an inside look at so many companies and learning a lot from the people that work at all these companies. Being my own boss and therefore being able to spend loads of family time with my wife and three boys as well. I’m perfectly happy and could’t ask for anything more, really! | |
This was a year in the making ... | Julian Wilson has always had two sporting passions: surfing and skateboarding. For his latest project the Australian decided to combine the two in the water. In essence, the plan was to surf a makeshift rail in the water as he might on the skate park but the project was not without its challenges. Here is all you need to know: - The project was a year in the making, Wilson and his team first attempting it in the ocean before the volatility of the seas made that impossible so they instead turned to a wave pool, URBNSURF in Melbourne.- Explaining his reasoning behind the project, the 31-year-old said: “For a long time I had the idea of combining the skatepark with the ocean. To take something I have so much fun with in the skate park with my profession as a surfer that’s going to challenge me.”- To undertake the challenge, he worked with shaper Jason Stevenson from JS Industries to create a board that actually proved hard to surf but importantly had the minimal weight and maximum carbon fibre strength required.- The problem was trying to get the make-up of the rail and its weight in the water just right so he could actually slide across it in time and safely without it moving too much in each and every set of waves.- In the water, he had a team with him, including a rescue diver and those able to move the rail back into position to tackle the next set. And it was all captured by photographer Andy Green.Photos: Red Bull- Wilson added: “It’s been about as challenging as it could possibly be. As much as I thought there’d be so many controllables in the pool, there ended up being so many challenges too.” After his close shave with the flying rail as he surfed past it, he admitted to himself: “This is maybe not going to work. It’s super dangerous. I nearly got my head taken off. With an hour to go [of the allotted session time] I thought maybe I was going to be dead in the water."- It required a late psychological boost from coach Luke Egan for him to have one final attempt at the water.- But with an hour to go, he cracked it and successfully rode the rail, again and again and again. Of the experience he said: “It was super fun. That’s the feeling I wanted to create with the wave.” | |
Kai Lenny made an indelible mark | Hawaiian star Kai Lenny received another accolade in his glittering career when he became the youngest person ever to enter the Surfers' Hall of Fame, aged just 26.He was inducted with Sam Hawk and Janice Aragon, their hand and footprints immortalised in cement out the front of Huntington Surf & Sport as the ceremony paid tribute to the stars who have made an indelible mark on the sport, industry and culture of surfing.Along with his surfing honours, Lenny has won the SUP world title several times and was runner-up at the Kite Surf Pro World Championships while he has become a leading global campaigner in fighting ocean pollution.Photos: Red BullHere is what the Maui native had to say after an impressive 2019 season riding the waves:How was your big wave season in 2019?For me the big wave season last year was probably the best I have ever had. We didn't have the most consistent big swells, but some of the most challenging conditions that I could ever remember. It super windy, with really big waves and conditions that were very unforgiving. The fact that I was able to survive another season but, at the same time, feel like my level went up a notch meant that I accomplished everything that I set out to do. Coming into this new season, I am really excited because there is still so much left to be done to go to the next level.You have said in the past you sometimes felt like an outsider, is that still the case now?I think I felt like an outsider growing up mainly because I had my hands in so many different sports and, within each sport or discipline of surfing, there are little tribes that you jump in between. You are either with the windsurfers, the kite surfers, the surfers or the stand-up paddlers, and when you are not consistently in one, you don't really have a place in any. I quickly outgrew that mentally and now I feel comfortable in my own skin doing what I would rather do. It was a good learning experience growing up.After winning so many big titles so early in your career, what is your main focus now?For me, right now, my focus is on winning a Big Wave world title on the Big Wave Tour. I have been able to win a lot of different things across a few sports. For me, each event is not so much about beating someone else but kind of proving to myself that, 'OK, I have reached this certain point and where can I go next?'. Winning is just basically having a lot of fun doing it and my goals, for sure, are always to try to be the best I can possibly be and that requires me testing myself against the world's best consistently.What is it about the ocean that makes you so happy?The sea makes me so happy because it is a place that I can constantly test myself, but also enjoy myself. It is always there. It is for free. I grew up doing it for so long that it is who I am now. Imagining not being in the water is almost worse than going to jail, just because it feels like it is built into my cells. The salt water feels really good, just being immersed in it and all that other stuff sort of melts away that you take from land.You are a shining star when it comes to environmental issues, what more needs to be done to help save our oceans?Growing up I have noticed the changes in the ocean, mostly the pollution and micro plastics. Now, with so many people around the world just spewing stuff into the ocean, there are a lot of fish that are consuming micro plastics which is morphing into their DNA. That is going to go back into us and, if we don't want to have cancer later on in life from fish, I suggest that we try to keep the oceans much cleaner. We have got to protect the environment because we are part of it. If it goes down, we are getting dragged with it too. | |
How to be part of the solution | The reason why surfing became a multimillion-dollar sports industry is that brands appeal to consumers' emotions and dreams in a very effective way. The surf industry is what it is, and surfing wouldn't be what it is today without the innovations and technologies companies have developed during the sport's first century of existence. Surfing is supposed to be a near-zero carbon emission footprint, but the future still doesn't look bright. So, how can we turn the surf industry upside down and become part of the solution. Isn't it time we glide towards a more sustainable world? Don't hesitate to send tips!Cover: Breitling’s partnership with sustainable apparel manufacturer Outerknown, co-founded by Kelly Slater. The watch features a Nato strap crafted from ECONYL® yarn, an innovative material created from nylon waste. ClothingBoard shorts are being reasonably easy to produce, but they can be as expensive as $200. Marketing strategists sell you innovative stretch fabrics, revolutionary water-repellent coatings, and super comfortable out seams. But really, what are they made of? Polyester and elastane. Could organic cotton become a thing?Actually, we really don't like the feel of polyester board shorts on our skin."Since organic cotton has not been treated with pesticides, it is also better for the skin of everyone involved - from the farm worker to the final consumer - you. Furthermore, less greenhouse gases are emitted (since the production of fertilisers mainly depends on fossil fuels), and less artificial irrigation is necessary for organic cotton, resulting in better water management and preservation of groundwater." Source: twothirds.comThere's no doubt, tons of small brands are out there that deserve our and maybe your support, reach out to us to complete the list of sustainable options.WetsuitsSixty percent of wetsuits are produced in the same factory. Believe it or not, the majority of the world's wetsuits are made in the same place. Taiwan's Sheico Group produces two million wetsuits per year for the planet's most prestigious surf companies. So, don't expect huge differences between neoprene models from rival wetsuit brands. So, what about Yulex and Limestone Neoprene?These wetsuit are lighter, warmer and last longer than oil derived neoprene."Created by Japanese company Yamamoto, the neoprene is made from limestone sourced rubber. Nitrogen gas blown rubber that increases the insulation of the wetsuit, making it warmer. A 23% higher closed-cell structure than oil-derived neoprene, making it more buoyant. It is 98% waterproof, whereas oil-derived standard is only 70%. "Limestone" neoprene is way more expensive than a classic neoprene but cutting classic distribution network cuts costs, today you can buy a limestone neoprene wetsuits, handmade in a specialist workshop for the same price as a classic wetsuit."Have a look at sennosen.comSurfboardsAll materials involved in the production of surfboards are toxic. Some surfboard brands outsource their production as is not a highly lucrative activity. NOTOX is leading the way and when this C19 nightmare is finally over, we'll visit them for a full report. Pretty cool to see the French brand inspire people across the globe.Surf WaxNinety-five percent of all surf wax sold worldwide contains petrochemical additives, solidifying chemicals, high-strength bleach, and paraffin. So, surf wax is basically a petroleum-based product that will do more harm than good to your health and will cause damage to the oceans and marine life. An alternative solution? Make your own wax or buy some eco-friendly alternatives.www.beeswell.comBee Swell means "Be a Good Person, Do Good Things, Live life to the fullest."SunscreenUnfortunately, there are no sunscreens 100 percent safe for corals and reefs, and marine life. It has been proved that oxybenzone and octinoxate, two of the most common ingredients in chemical sunscreens, decrease corals' defenses against bleaching. In the medium-term, and especially in crowded beaches, when sunscreens get in touch with the water, they will damage and eventually kill coral reefs. And it is not like there aren't any good alternatives. mandanaturals.comWave Pools Make no mistake: the first generation of wave pools is an energy-intensive industry. This explains the price you have to pay to surf an artificial wave. But can we not bash Kelly for chasing his dreams? This innovation is here to stay, and yes there is room to improve it. Soul-surfing qualms aside, the wave he created in a test pool in Lemoore, California, is perfect. Disgustingly so. But the amount of energy needed to created a wave that good is not a small thing. That’s why Kelly Slater Wave Company decided to partner with PG&E’s Solar Choice Program. What that means, is the the wave will be run off of 100% solar energy.Surf TravelOh boy, we sure kept the best for last hey. Surfers are known for globetrotting. Disappearing at the drop of a hat to chase down a perfect swell. But while traveling, we are burning fuel in cars, airplanes, wave-runners, charter boats and off-road vehicles. Each journey we take produces greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. When that time of year comes around where you can start planning your surf getaway, think smart. Surf trips are amazing experiences and a reward for working hard the rest of the year, so don't get a guilty conscience by trashing the environment. The past year, we planted 100 trees for every single surf charter booking. It's a start, but we can do better. More about that later.Choose Your SpotThere are destinations you can go that are greener than others, e.g. Costa Rica provides 96% of all its energy from renewable sources. Many famous surf spots are in wild areas filled with natural beauty. You can help preserve these locations by staying at eco friendly accommodations. Avoid hotels or complexes that have been built on cleared coral reefs, believe it or not some companies have been known to blow away parts of coral reefs to clear beaches for tourists and to make foundations for buildings such as hotels. And if you really want to have a positive impact, stay home and enjoy your local break. TransportWhen booking your flight look for a carbon offsetting option. A flight from California to South Africa creates over 5 tons of CO2. When booking a 1000 dollar flight, take 5%, and use it to plant trees. With 50 dollar you can have 50 trees planted and these will offset your carbon footprint. Our new travel app will make that as easy as pushing a button. Be A Sustainable TouristLeave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories. Tourists can have a massive detrimental effect on a local economy by using valuable resources. Through a little research you can find ecologically sensitive companies and accommodation that work to preserve the local environment, culture & surf. | |
Healthy living starts with food | Jordy Smith has lit up the professional surfing world over the last decade with superhuman feats on the land and in the water. He is extremely excited to be representing South Africa at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Making the 31-year-old the first South African surfer to qualify for the Olympics. Trevor Moran/Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content PoolThe IOC and Tokyo 2020 organisers held an executive board meeting this week at which they reiterated their hope the Games can be the "light at the end of the tunnel". However the IOC coordination acknowledged Covid-19 could still affect the rescheduled Olympics, which are due to take place from 23 July-8 August 2021. More reason to stay healthy and that often starts with quality food. Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content PoolIt can't hurt to get some insights about healthy food from a world class athlete.What food and drink is on your shopping list?We eat chicken about 3 times a week, beef once and fish once. We also have veggie meals once or twice a week.What’s in your fridge and kitchen cupboards?I'm a huge believer in balance so there’s a lot of healthy, high in nutritional value foods, but also sweets and little sneaky snacks. Since we’re home in South Africa, we’ve got fresh fruit, berries, veggies, chia seeds, flax seeds, dates, a bar of chocolate or two, and Red Bull. Also lots of water, I go through about three litres a day whilst surfing in the salty water.What do you eat when you’re training?After training, I’ll usually make a smoothie – anything with peanut butter and banana, also I love berry smoothies and add flax, chia seeds and sometimes dates.Do you have cheat days? If so, what’s your guilty pleasure?Absolutely! They shouldn’t be called ‘cheat’ but rather ‘treat’ days’’. You can’t live every day at 100%, you’ve just got to balance it out. My wife, Lyndall, makes the deadliest pizza’s ever: Salami, feta, garlic and avocado. On a gluten-free bread base.How important is meal planning when training?It’s good to make sure you’re having food that helps you recover really quickly. I like to eat pretty clean and healthy – my body really works well with Paleo. I’m also pretty allergic to brewer’s yeast and dairy so it’s easy to stay away from it if we’ve got all the right ingredients we need at home in the fridge.Ryan Miller/Red Bull Content PoolWhat are your top tips for healthy eating?1. Eat healthily 80% of the time and whatever your body craves now and then.2. Eat foods that make you feel good! Foods that give you sustainable energy.3. Eat lots of whole foods and buy from farmer’s markets. 4. Have a plan for the day and don’t skip meals.5. You can eat a hamburger, just swap out fries for a salad.6. Drink loads of water! | |
Surfers are not very adventurous | Martin Daily is best known as the captain of the Indies Trader fleet, and for exploring the Mentawai islands. It is often said that Daly has discovered more high-quality surf breaks than anybody in the world.Martin Daily took the Rip Curl crew on the first filming trip to the Mentawais for The Search Film #2. They were the first to document the Mentawai's in film and magazine articles. Tom Curren rode the fish at Bawa. The very first trip with Martin Potter, Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones was to Enggano Island, not the Mentawai. The trip in 1992 was the first chartered trip to the outer Indo islands that resulted in a leaked photo to the magazines. Photo: Yves Van den Meerssche/LiveTheLifeTVMartin Daily is said to be as impenetrable as the steel hull of his ship. There's no way around it, while we are researching some data for an upcoming interview, we are, once again, reading up on his background, all the things that lead up to him becoming the most adventurous surfer. As they become increasingly rare to find we're not skipping the opportunity to learn something new, or at least walk home with a few tips on how to live life and keep chasing those dreams. If you are not into reading, or watching grainy old footage, feel free to simply enjoy the 18 minute long documentary produced by GoPro in stunning 4K quality. Daly was born (1957) in Sydney, and began surfing at age eight, at Narrabeen, on an old balsa board. In his teens, while living in Queensland, Daly got crewing job on fishing boats working the Great Barrier Reef. Daly later said that watching Alby Falzon's 1972 surf movie Morning of the Earth, set partly in Bali, inspired him to look for warm, empty, exotic surf in Indonesia. "That was the whole focus of my life during my late teens," Daly said. "But I didn't actually get there until I was 23."Albert Falzon’s 1972 masterpiece, Morning of the Earth, is internationally renowned as being one of the greatest surf films of all time. The film’s audio visual tour de force redefined the cinematic experience and became an instant benchmark of avant-garde cinema. A fantasy of surfers living in three unspoiled lands and playing in nature’s oceans, Morning of the Earth tells the story of a group of friends exploring the measures of all things beautiful as they live the simple life throughout Australia, Bali and Hawaii; shaping their own surfboards, building their own homes and living off the land in harmony with nature. With an original rock soundtrack, and spectacular surfing sequences featuring some of the world’s best, Morning of the Earth is a must-see and pre-requisite for any surfer and cinephile alike.This trailer was edited using temporary 4K scans of the 16mm Kodak/Atlab release print, courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. The source material for the fully remastered version (coming summer 2020) will be the superior camera originals, which make up the original 16mm A&B rolls.morningoftheearth.comPhoto: Morgan Maasen Featured on the abandoned Indies Trader Twitter accountOriginal Story by Andrew Lewis. In 1971, a 16-year-old Martin Daly dropped out of school and left his family home of Townsville, a wave-starved Great Barrier Reef enclave in northern Queensland. The reason? "I wanted to go overseas and explore," Daly remembers.He'd heard the waves were good in New Zealand, so that was his first stop. He leased a gas station in Pauanui, a sleepy resort town popular with weekenders from Auckland, where he sold boards and filled scuba tanks. But when the Iranian Oil Crisis hit in late 1978, and the New Zealand government shut down the country's gas stations on the weekends, Daly cashed out and then spent much of his time surfing the North Island.Meanwhile, Martin had gotten wind of commercial diving work on the oilrigs in South Asia, so he borrowed $70 from a former girlfriend and took off once again. Within weeks he was in Manila, scraping oil rig bottoms for $120 a day. The job lasted three months before he took off yet again -- this time to Sumatra, where he promptly "went feral." The year was 1981.From Medan, Daly caught a local bus to Lake Toba. Chickens cackled. An elderly lady vomited in his lap. And when he finally got to Nias, he found 30 guys camped on the point. Daly hardly caught a wave from the crowd, many of whom were off their chops on some crazy Sumatran weed. But the place itself was stunningly beautiful -- white sand beaches, clear blue water... Daly stayed a month, caught malaria and nearly died.Some time later, Daly made his way to Jakarta, where he linked up with mates Jeff Chitty and Ross Hannon. The trio scored a contract diving the Ardjuna oilfield in the Java Sea. One day, they met an Australian "scrap pirate" named Dave Barnett on one of the rigs. Barnett was making a fortune in illicit salvaging or, as Daly puts it, "ripping off anything underwater that was lying around unattended." Once Barnett came up on a salvaging dry spell, he took a contract cleaning platforms from his boat, an old trawler aptly named the Rader.In 1983, while on a break from work, Daly, Chitty and Hannon asked Barnett if he'd like to take a trip to Sumatra's offshore islands. He was game, and the crew discovered setups like One Palm, Panaitan and others. They never saw another soul surfing anywhere. "It was epic," Daly says. "The hook was set."The crew swore an oath of secrecy before returning to Jakarta and heading back to the rigs. One day in 1986, Barnett got wind of a big wreck. "There was some controversy, disputed waters," Martin says. The story made the cover of Tempo, a Jakarta-based weekly, with a cartoon of Barnett running off with a treasure chest, which might as well have been a photograph, because Barnett really did split with his millions to Perth (where he still lives today -- right down the road from Daly, his wife and their two children). But on his way out, Barnett sold the Rader to Daly. "The boat was so hot that I needed to disguise it," Daly remembers, "so I painted it blue and re-registered it." He also extended its name to "Indies T-Rader."Daly started a commercial diving company while continuing his work on the Ardjuna. But in order to fund his surfing trips on the side, he needed surfers. He offered his services to a select few individuals in the expat surfing community around Bali -- so long as they "swore on a pack of Bibles" that they would tell no one where they had been taken. The deal worked... for a while.In 1992, one of his acquaintances in Bali asked to charter a trip with a few unnamed mates. Daly reluctantly obliged. "I needed to know for the port authorities who the crew was, and it was getting down to the wire," he remembers. Finally, the names came through: Tom Carroll, Martin Potter and Ross Clarke Jones were at the top of the list.They left Merak Harbor at midnight and motored out into six-foot seas. At a lefthander far to the north, Daly witnessed the biggest waves he'd ever seen. "Tom and Ross were doing crossovers," he says. "Pottz had the most amazing drop. I now knew the difference between them and us mere mortals."Later in the trip, at a wave that would eventually be known as "Lance's Left," Carroll hung back on the boat while everyone paddled out. "I hear this screaming and think, 'Oh my God, someone needs help," remembers Carroll. "So I run out on the deck and see Martin on this perfect left, high-lining, wearing these overalls with booties that look like tennis shoes, and he's screaming at the top of his lungs. I'm going, 'This guy's out of his mind.'"Daly was indeed out of his mind. After nearly a decade roaming around the Mentawais, this was the best surf he'd ever seen. But the thrill came with a heavy price. Within months, a photo of Carroll turned up in the Australian surf magazine Waves. Meanwhile in Jakarta, Daly remained naïve to the fanfare. "We didn't read the surf mags," he says. "We were completely isolated from that stuff."Indies Trader 2001. Photo: LiveTheLifeTVBack in Australia, Quiksilver's Bruce Raymond was beginning to see the marketing potential of boardshorts pictured in perfect outer Indonesia. Once he heard Daly was passing through Bali, he rushed to meet him. "Martin didn't want to see happen to the Mentawais what happened to Hawaii and Bali," says Raymond. "And I wanted to do right by him, so our surfers weren't allowed to bring cameras, and everyone signed a confidentiality agreement. We did it right for about five years."For Daly, the relationship with Quiksilver meant freedom from a gritty life in the oilfields -- and a future of full-time surfing. It also sparked in him an idea for another escape plan. "It was Martin's view that surfers were not very adventurous," Raymond says, "that they only really surfed within about 60 miles of international airports, that there had been no impetus to go and do a marine exploration for surfing."After having a few beers one afternoon at G-Land, Daly and Raymond hatched the "Quiksilver Crossing." Daly envisioned it as a travel slush fund between all the major surf companies in which the mission was simple: discovering perfect waves. Ultimately, only Quiksilver bit. In order to pay the bills, the Crossing became one part Martin's dream and three parts floating ad campaign -- a compromise Daly begrudgingly accepted. "I didn't sign up for Rio harbor cruises," he says, "but I got paid for seven years to drive around the world looking for surf. I lived all my dreams and surfed my brains out."Seven years, 27 countries, 160,000 nautical miles and some 100 new waves later, the Crossing made its final official stop in Oahu during the winter of 2005-06 for the Eddie's opening ceremony. With the Crossing finished, Daly set off for the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific, a destination so remote he never got the chance to go. What he found was, as he puts it, "the most pristine marine environment that I've ever seen."Since 2007, Daly has run his charter operation out of Majuro, the Marshalls' capital. He also partnered up with renowned windsurfer Keith Teboul to create Marshall Waves Experience, an operation that is as much about diving the island's World Heritage-listed marine sites as it is about offering surfers an opportunity to ride perfect waves in solitude. "I just returned from an exploratory trip from there to Fiji," Daly says. "I love that kind of adventure."While he has no illusions about the hazards of offering charters in untouched wave gardens, Daly insists tourism is carefully managed in the Marshalls, where the only other sources of revenue are copra and fishing rights. "Their marine environment is their largest asset," he says, "and their only hope for self-sustainability."And this time, the inherent isolation of these islands might actually work in keeping these secrets safe. It’s basically to inspire people to explore and not get discouraged. There are still heaps and heaps of uncrowded, perfect surf out there. You just have to get off your lounge chair and look for it. I’m basically allowing the next guy to come along, pick up the stone and feel like he was the first one to discover it. What I do want to achieve, is not to spoil it for the young, feral guys who get the maps, can still do it on their own.Click here to learn more about Martin Daly’s surf charters. | |
Not always a Sea of Darkness | In his teens and early 20s, Martin Daly moved from New Zealand to the Philippines to Singapore to Bali, mostly working as a commercial diver for oil companies. In 1983, he and a group of friends began exploring the smaller islands along the Indonesian chain, in a 60-foot salvage boat borrowed from Daly's boss. By the end of the decade, back in Australia, having bought the salvage boat and refurbished it as the Indies Trader, Daly had earned an underground reputation as the man who knew where Indonesia's best secret breaks were hidden. In 1991, Daly took on his first pro surfer charter, ferrying Tom Carroll, Ross Clark Jones and Martin Potter out to Enggano Island, 90 miles off the coast of Sumatra. The surf astounding, photos leaked out, and while the exact location of this incredible new surf zone was kept secret for a few years, eventually the nearby Mentawai Islands became the hottest surf ticket in the world. A soon-to-be-booming Sumatra-based surf charter industry was born, with Daly at the fore.The Quiksilver Crossing wasn’t your typical surf trip. Supported by the United Nations, the Reef Check program was arguably the most ambitious ecological survey ever undertaken by man, evolving from a 12-month journey to a seven year expedition that circumnavigated the globe. The marine biologist-led Crossing employed the helping hands of thousands of volunteer scuba divers in a massive effort to find surf, respectfully engage with local cultures, and, above all, determine the global health of coral reefs, contributing to the universal scientific knowledge of the oceanic life source.Those who were lucky enough to see the Sea of Darkness documentary at the Malibu Film Festival will attest: the film is most certainly about surfing, and about a group of surfers who blazed a trail of adventure, self-discovery, mysticism and crime throughout Bali, Java and other, more remote parts of Indonesia long before the days of the fully catered boat trip. But at its core, Sea of Darkness is a film about choices.It follows the life-changing decisions made by early Indo surfers Mike Boyum, Jeff Chitty and Peter McCabe, who turn to drug-smuggling to fuel their passion for surfing -- and those made by Martin Daly and Dave Barnett, who funnel their wave addiction toward more legal pastimes that gain them fame, fortune and a lifetime of perfect waves.Filmmaker Michael OblowitzMichael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker born in Cape Town. His early fine arts short films have been shown in the Whitney Museum’s No Wave Cinema series, as part of a tribute to the innovative work of filmmakers and artists in Manhattan’s Lower East Village. Oblowitz was included in the historic Club 57 show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and his early film and photography work is in the Permanent Collection of The Museum of Modern Art.The Sea of Darkness documentary took Oblowitz over three years to make, and, beyond Daly, McCabe and a host of other Indo adventurers, features Steve Spaulding, Jeff Divine and John Milius. Dave Gilovich from Surfline caught up with the filmmaker: How did the project get started?Martin and I talked about what we respectively do. We are about the same age. We both love surfing. I am from South Africa and I talk about the early days of surfing in South Africa. So Martin and I were having this conversation about all these strange and mysterious waves, and he had his Mac with him and it was just loaded with amazing, exotic photographs because he was in the midst of the Quiksilver Crossing at the time. He started talking about Jeff Chitty and Dave Barnett and the elder guys and how all of this had come about -- what his boat had previously been used for. And of course out of all these names comes the illustrious Mike Boyum. And how Mike Boyum had built a camp at G-Land. How Boyum was dodging the cops in fifty countries. How he got booted out of G-Land, and how he came to live with Martin and Jeff Chitty in a place in Jakarta -- a little house called the "Skull Cave" from which Boyum conducted many, many sojourns, forays and drug dealings. And how all of this was done to fund Boyum's dream of building another G-Land somewhere. It all sounded as a movie script to me.Photos: Shirley RogersWhat happened to Mike Boyum?The film revolves around a fork in the road. And that fork in the road really turns at a certain point when Boyum is presenting to Martin Daly and various surfers: 'Let's get together with all your technical and oceanic knowledge and let's build a fleet of drug-smuggling boats that could really work and could really get that 60-feet on the waterline filled with tonnage. We can pick it up in Engano in Sumatra and drop it off on the West Coast of Australia. We'll make millions.' And Martin turns him down.Jeff Chitty and Peter McCabe, on the other hand, allow him to contract them to smuggle drugs and they do all kinds of crazy stuff like swallowing pounds of cocaine. They eventually all get arrested. When they come out of jail they decide to do one more big run to build up some money for Vanuatu where they are going to set up another surf camp. And Chitty has a kilo or two that he gets busted with in Australia and goes to Boggo Road Prison for ten years, and with him goes Boyum's stash money. Boyum arrives in Australia but he can't access the stash money because Chitty has already been sent to solitary confinement. He attacks Chitty's beautiful girlfriend; tries to get it that way. In the end, he can't get the money. Boyum goes off to the Philippines, to Siargao; you know that island there, Cloud Nine? And we have a number of different stories about what happens to him. But the general story is he tried to cleanse himself through a diet and absolve himself from his sins and start all over again. One of the interviews we did had him lying dead; found by a pastor in the town, of starvation. Photo: @indiestraderIn 1991 Martin hooks up with Bruce Raymond and Quiksilver hires the Indies Trader, formerly called The Rader. And that was more or less when I met Martin, but then I lived through the entire collapse of the Quiksilver Crossing with Martin. 2007 is when I think the final shot was made. Jeff Chitty is now out of jail after being there for 15 years and he is sitting on Martin's boat, along with Martin and Dave Barnett, and he is talking about what might have been, and Martin's pretty happy with what is.Surfing is an addiction, if you let it consume you, it will consume you. 'There are absolutes and there is a right and there is a wrong. Though the universe may appear indifferent, it does matter.'Photo: @indiestraderYears later, Daley said he explained the idea to Quiksilver executives in meeting thusly: “You guys are going to pay me to drive my boat around the world and go wherever I want and look for surf.” Read More: indiestrader.comThe Crossing campaign lasted six years, with the Indies Trader visiting 27 countries, and covering 160,000 nautical miles. By that time, Daly's own charter business had 60 employees. Join Martin today at indiestrader.com He is still living the life! | |
Fletcher: A Lifetime in Surf | Through fifty years of epic stories, art, and personal ephemera, The Fletcher Family spans surfing's golden era to the present day, when bathing-suit model Dibi and competitive surfer Herbie met, to raising talented Christian and Nathan on boards and waves, to passing the torch to their skating-phenom grandson, Greyson.Greyson Fletcher & Christian Fletcher. Photos: Red Bull Content PoolThe epitome of both surfer cool and punk counterculture, the Fletcher family for the first time has put together a window into their immensely colourful life. A visual memoir of this near-mythological surf family, The Fletcher Family is sure to appeal to their massive surfing fan base, young skaters, and those who are interested in the Fletcher family and their place in Southern California as a subcultural force of nature.Fletcher: A Lifetime in Surf, is written by Dibi Fletcher—wife of Herbie and matriarch of what Esquire has called “surfing’s first family”—simultaneously traces the evolution of the Fletcher family’s life and offers an oral history of surfing’s counterculture from the 1950s to today.Throughout the volume, the family’s intimate storyline is augmented with anecdotes from luminaries including surfing legend Gerry Lopez, Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys, artist Julian Schnabel, eleven-time world champion pro surfer Kelly Slater, and Steve Van Doren, of the Vans skate shoe company. Dibi’s recollections begin with her childhood memories of her father, big-wave surfing pioneer Walter Hoffman. She then goes on to narrate her union with Herbie, as well as the lives of their sons Christian and Nathan, both surfers, and their grandson, Greyson, a renowned skateboarder, all of whom have erased the boundaries between surfing and skateboarding.The book is now available on AmazonTo commemorate the publication of the book, Gagosian installed artworks from four different series by Herbie Fletcher at 976 Madison Avenue. Fletcher’s Wrecktangles are large sculptures made from once-perfect, custom surfboards that have been ridden and broken by the greatest contemporary tube riders at the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii. For years now, elite surfers, known as “Wave Warriors,” have saved their boards to be made into Wrecktangles. The accumulated boards tell oblique stories about the culture of surfing.Herbie Fletcher is a surfing legend. Fletcher and his sons, Christian and Nathan, made a habit of doing things exceptionally well and in their own way before they became the norm. But the Fletchers are not merely trailblazing surf and skate legends; they also are counterculture and subculture icons. T Magazine referred to them as having "punk family values." Their sincere love for art and surfing and their collective DGAF attitude has earned them legions of devoted fans and friends from so many different worlds: music, fashion, streetwear, and art.Gagosian presented an exhibition celebrating the publication of FletcherIn his Blood Water paintings, Fletcher uses mineral-rich earth from the Waimea River, Hawaii. After the winter rains on the North Shore of Oahu have subsided, he paddles up the river with large pieces of untreated canvas on the nose of his surfboard, staining them in the iron-oxide-rich red earth washed down from volcanoes. After they are completely saturated, he paddles back to the coral sand beach and lays the canvas out to dry, creating visions reminiscent of ancient petroglyphs. Similarly, in his Connecting to the Earth paintings, Fletcher affixes found objects from the Hawaiian shores such as netting, and burlap used to carry taro, to the canvas, paying homage to native Hawaiian traditions.Gagosian also screened the film Heavy Water, a documentary about Nathan Fletcher, with an introduction by Julian Schnabel.Nathan Fletcher. Photo: Alfredo Escobar/Red Bull Content PoolNathan Fletcher was a world-class aerialist early in his career, then a fearless rider of big, dangerous waves. Fletcher was born in 1974, the scion of an influential surf-world family that includes older brother Christian, the sport's heavy metal aerial pioneer, father Herbie, longboard maestro and surf accessories manufacturer, aunt Joyce Hoffman, twice world champion, and grandfather Walter Hoffman, big wave original and textile magnate.In 1976, Herbie created Astrodeck in his own lab—the world-famous traction pad company. “I looked at it like the last part of my shaping job by adding kicks, arches and different surface patterns for ultimate grip and control, until the designs eventually evolved into the patented multi-grid lock high performance foot pad of today,” explains Herbie. Dibi added, “We’ll always have market share as long as I stay authentic. Companies went too big, they have to make their quarterly earnings. If you want big, you have to go and push your brand all over the place. Pretty soon you have no story left because you whitewashed it to death to get your corporate earnings.” Next time you are going out to buy some traction pads for your board, think about who you would rather support. Check out the new collection on the official site. | |
The Reality Of Reunion Island | Imagine a surf destination that is part-Indonesia with mechanically perfect waves, part-Maldives with turquoise water and part-Hawaii with some big waves and thundering barrels. It is an absolute surfer's paradise, a dreamy destination that was kept quiet and those in the know slipped off to, and rode perfect, uncrowded waves.Dreamy Surf SpotsThe most famous wave in Reunion is St Leu; a perfect coral-bottom left that reels and barrels. It was the venue for much of Jack McCoy's original Billabong Pump movie with a marvellously braided-hair Occy going crazy, along with Ronnie Burns RIP. Along with the high-performance sections and the odd inside barrels at St Leu, there are the barrels in St Pierre, big waves at Le Port and sometimes Etang Sale, grinding reef-pass barrels at L'Hermitage and nudity at Trois Bassons.What went wrongIn the last eight years, there were 24 attacks, and 11 of those were fatal. Half of those attacks involved surfers and bodyboarders.It has the highest attack zone in the world, and government officials continue to wring handsSurf shops have closed, surf camps and resorts are empty, with their doors shut. Surf schools have packed up their soft-tops, and the industry finished.It is still illegal to surf, and the rules and regulations are simply in place to protect those officials in charge from getting into legal troubles, and not to safeguard ocean-users.There have been nets, there have been drumlines, and there have been extensive security watches – divers, boats, drones etc. – but all have been short-lived and experimental. At the same time, nothing is being done on a political level to stop the constant attacks.It must be difficult growing up as a surf-stoked kid in Reunion. Thirteen-year-old stoked-out grom Elio Canestri was killed in 2015 while surfing at Les Aigrettes. Nowadays, for a kid to go surfing there has to be a full shark vigil in place.Most surfers use an anti-shark device of some sort while surfing in Reunion, but the jury is still out as to how effective these are. The theory goes that an anti-shark device generally creates an electric field. Sharks have gel-filled sacs called Ampullae of Lorenzini which they use to sense electrical fields given off by prey. When a shark senses the electric field caused by an anti-shark device, the severe discomfort is supposed to cause the shark to swim away. In theory.In practice, however, for must prudent Reunion surfers, the most effective method of shark protection is to stay on land.Photos: LiveTheLifeTVWhat Happened?A large chunk of coastline on the west coast of Reunion was declared a no-fishing zone back in 2007, and something went out of whack with the ecosystem in the process. There are many theories, including loss of natural food for sharks, and the sudden drop on shark catches, but either way, the bull sharks came to town.Another theory was that the natural shark populations flourished after the island banned the fishing of sharks for food way back in 1999. This decision was motivated by confirmation that shark meat contains high levels of the dangerous toxin ciguatera. The prevalence of larger shark species is also due in part to overfishing in Reunion, which possibly caused the collapse of resident reef shark populations. In response to the resulting biological space, bull shark numbers in particular soared.So, as a surfer, you have hordes of bull sharks tearing around the line-ups, wanting to eat anything in front of them, be it birds, fish, car tires or surfers. If you go for a surf you are running the gauntlet every time, and any session you brave might be your last. | |
Finding Lance's Right | I didn't plan on going to HT's. There was never the intention of surfing HT's, or Lance's Right. I booked a ticket from London to Singapore, and the plan was to get across to Sumatra and find a way to Nias.Being There.Getting to Nias in 1996 was transcendental. After Singapore, I just started moving, and I would climb on board taxis, meet people in Sumatra and sleep in their houses and drink bitter kopi in the morning before moving on to the next cab. It took days to get to Sibolga and then a night there, before another full day to reach Nias.There have been a few little rumours floating around in 1996 about the Mentawais. People spoke of the Indies Trader and Enggano. They spoke of a myriad of perfect reefs, but not much was known. At Nias however, a surfer had hired a feral boat and had headed down to the Mentawais. He had scored. The captain from Nias knew the deal.We took the overland route, and head down Sumatra, aimed for Padang. The journey to Padang from Sibolga was torturous. It took us days and days of travelling through the poor heart of Sumatra. There was not much to see except poor people, wet villages, and TV's everywhere. Every shack had a TV, and some had two.Padang, 1996.The jump-off spot to the Mentawais had seen very little surfer traffic in 1996, and locals treated us with curiosity and interest. The backstreets of Padang back then were wild. It was busy and poor, but it still felt strangely safe. People wanted to sell you things and to talk, but there was no chance of being robbed, or of having stuff stolen. We were in safe hands with the locals.The Local FerryThe ferry to the Mentawais was a junk ship, and it was a wooden pile of junk. The Fast Boat didn't exist, and about a hundred people overcrowded this local ferry. We were stuck in the sand in the harbour and waited for the tide to move before we got going. Locals slept everywhere, on our surfboards and our bags. It was unbelievably hot, with thousands of cockroaches crawling all over the hold.The Other SideWhen we landed in the Mentawais, at some arbitrary port, there was a market on the go. People flocked to the port to see their friends and families who were coming over. We were a curiosity again. There had been a few surfers, but no one head down the local ferry and had just breezed past in the luxurious boats like the Indies Trader. We ate some food, and I used the 'bathroom' – a tiny square on the edge of the food shop that had an open conduit that ran into the sea. The toilet had a door that didn't close and a low wall. People watched me.We eventually hired a local outrigger to take us around, to where a hand-drawn map had an X marked in a little bay. When we showed the skipper of the boat the spot, he knew where we were going.It took us two hours in the beating sun to reach the bay. The outboard died twice. We were safe, inside the reef, but we drifted for a while as he desperately tried to coach the engine back to life.Eventually, we alighted at a small bay, and a few locals and the village elder came down to greet us. They grabbed our boards and our bags and helped us off the outrigger. They walked us in the village, and the village elder, Pak Hosien, invited us into his house.Surfers had been here before. There were remnants of a surf magazine, and a few bits of surfboards lying around. There was a nose, a fin, and a piece of foam. We weren't the first, but not many had been before us.We didn't have much of the language – this changed quickly – but we figured out that there had been a surfer before us who travelled alone to HT's. He had walked to Lance's Left – over the top – but had speared himself under his arm and had lost so much blood that he had nearly died in that very house. He had recovered, looked after by the locals, but no one knew what had happened to him when he left the island.We slept on the dirty mattresses with make-shift mosquito nets that we all carried in our packs. We were exhausted, and sleep was comfortable. The next morning Lance's Right was six-foot, light offshore, with not a soul in sight. The view from the empty window frame was straight into the barrel. | |
Riding the world’s longest waves | Throughout his storied four-decade career, Robby Naish has been a true pioneer, ushering once-niche activities like windsurfing, kiteboarding, SUP, and foil surfing into the forefront of the global sports community, racking up 24 championship titles along the way. It is this lifelong quest to master all obstacles that led Naish to his latest undertaking.Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger travels the globe with legendary windsurfer Robby Naish, whose quest to master the world’s longest waves unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities as a competitor, mentor and father.Photo: Red Bull Content PoolThe Longest Wave transcends the action sports genre by capturing obstacles outside of the legendary athlete’s professional life in an intimate, cinéma-vérité style, revealing Naish balancing the pursuit of excellence at sea with the demands of life’s complications on land. Mere weeks before his inaugural attempt at taming the longest wave, Naish suffered his first major injury: a near fatal hip fracture. With Robby also navigating a difficult divorce and financial tumult, his quest to return to the water takes on new meaning, as a volatile personal life and unwavering drive for professional performance escalate the already-high stakes Robby sets for himself. A personal story of drive, dedication athletic conquest and self realization, Naish’s tale is emblematic of universal themes that touch on all aspects of life.Photo: Craig Kolesky/Red Bull Content PoolThe Longest Wave offers a rare glimpse into what motivates an athlete who has everything to lose to push his body and mind to the limit. With a mix of intimate interviews and high-octane state of the art action sequences, the film provides more than just sensational sports action; It’s a raw portrait of one of the world’s most accomplished athletes, diving deep into what exactly makes him the champion and man he is today. | |
How to pack for an Indo surf trip | There is so much to think about when packing for a trip to Indonesia. More so for an extended trip. Surfers might not carry as much stuff as a kiteboarder, but a surfer planning on a more extended surf trip is going to need to pack carefully. There is a golden rule when packing for a surf trip or any trip whatsoever – 'half the clothing and twice the money.'Outerknown boardshort made from 100% Australian Merino wool.Threads.You're going into boardshorts territory, so that cuts out a whole list of clothing you're not going to need. There is no need for jeans, no jackets, no tracksuits and no socks. It makes a big difference if you eliminate all of those except for maybe a pair of socks or two, especially for flying, and one or two long shirts or thin jackets for late evenings on the beach.For most of your trip, you'll be living in boardshorts and tee shirts, so you do need a couple of pairs of boardies and a pile of tees. A couple of wife-beaters will also work in a hot climate, as well as long cotton shirts for mosquito protection. You'll be wearing flip flops for most of the time or other sandals, but make sure you pack a few spare pairs because they break pretty easily.As mentioned, a thin jacket or two for drinks on the beach, and don't forget a range of hats and headgear to keep the sun off and the melanomas at bay.Three boards maximumUnless you're a full-time professional surfer, you don't need more than three surfboards on any trip in the world, including Hawaii. If you try to get more than three through most of the Indonesian airports, they'll hit you with a tax anyway.Your standard shooter, you basic go-to board, is the first board you need to pack. On any surf trip, there will be small days and average days, and that's where your go-to boards come in.A step-up, your second board, is always a good idea to have along. If the waves get a bit chunky, or there is a long-haul paddle, or even if the rip is rushing down the point off the cliffs, then a step-up can make your life a lot easier.A gun, while not always a necessity, is excellent to have. Should a swell arrive and there are real waves out front, you don't want to be under-gunned. It is way better to be over-gunned than under-gunned. The problem with a gun is that if the waves do get monstrous and you have a big board, then you're obliged to paddle out. If you're not prepared to paddle out, then leave the big board at home and pack 2 x step-ups.AccessoriesThere are so many accessories needed, all just as important as the next. Here is a brief list of what you need for a trip to Indonesia. You're going to need a couple of pairs of sunglasses. If you lose a pair or break a pair, you're going to need some backups. Along with this is some sun cream, and some zinc for your face. Rash vests and surfing hats are also essential to stave off the rays of the sun.Make sure that you have your fins and fin keys packed, as well as some wax. A few leashes and a few more leashes. These types of accessories are also suitable for trading and leaving as gifts.You need your phone, a strong case and a couple of charge cables, possibly a spare battery and some headphones. If you need a laptop, make sure you have all the necessary plugs and wires. Download some books before you go and update your music.First Aid KitAn excellent Medical Aid kit is essential for all Indo travel. You also need knowledge of how to use most of the stuff therein. To get the best, we would recommend a surfer's first aid kit. The best one out there is the Calm As… kit. Specially designed for surfers to be able to throw into their board bag and forget about until needed. Inside you'll find the items packed into six resealable plastic bags, each labelled with the condition the bag's intended to treat and it's contents. Includes hospital-grade medical equipment from Australian suppliers:Ten alco wipesTen packs of gauzeTen non-sterile emergency nitrile glovesFive x betadine wipesFive x 30mL packs of sterile saline for wound irrigationSterile scissorsSterile tissue forcepsTwo sterile packs of small wound closure strips ("steristrips")Two sterile packs of extra-large wound closure stripsTwo sterile 10mL syringesTwo sterile 18G blunt needlesSterile cotton applicators ("Q-tips")Triangular bandage ("Shoulder sling")1.5m of flat-packed 3.75cm strapping tape50cm x10cm sheet of breathable fabric wound dressing ("fixomul")Two x medium waterproof transparent wound dressings (6x7cm)Two x large waterproof transparent wound dressings (10x12cm)Two x medium combines with waterproof backing (10x20cm)Two x large combines with waterproof backing (20x20cm)Two x tongue depressors ("finger splints")Five x fabric bandaidsTube of Burnaid gelAeroform Snakebite bandage (doubles as a "tensor bandage")Calm as… First Aid Kit for Surfers. Alternatively buy (sold out now). | |
Surf charter etiquette is needed | The boat trip is a strange thing, an anomaly of surf trips. It has been around in its present form of luxurious travel for a good few years now in relative terms, and rules, laws and etiquette have slowly started to form around this form of travel. There are just a few points to remember when on such trips. Here's the lowdown on cruising around paradise on a boat.1. During a boat cruise, the boat gets quite crowded and cramped. It's part of the whole thing. If you're not good with loads of people in small areas, find an escape area, maybe on the roof of the cabin, perhaps somewhere else, where you can chill with your music, watch the stars, and relax with the rhythm of the ocean.2. Most boats have a designated area for boards to be stacked. This system is for a reason, as boards lying around the vessel can result in accidents and injury. Don't want to be tripping up over a board or a leash and breaking a bone. So put your boards away, tie your leashes up, and don't leave boardies and rashies on the deck – hang them all up.3. There is always going to be food for everyone — no need to panic and jump queues on a boat. Food comes.4. When the captain or skipper suggests against going to a specific surf spot, it usually means that he either knows it is going to be poor, or he knows that it is going to be hell getting there due to approaching bad weather. Take his word for it.5. If there is an engine failure, it is not the captain's fault either. He doesn't want to be floating around aimlessly while the waves are cooking. If you can help, then volunteer, otherwise stay out of the way and keep quiet until they have repaired the engine.6. If you arrive at a surf spot and there are three guys out, and a local is sitting in a little canoe waiting for them, it is poor form for all 10 of you to jump overboard and paddle out at once and hassle for every wave. Try and stagger your attack, with three or four guys going out at any one time.7. Don't paddle out into waves beyond your skill levels. You will be a menace to everyone in the water, including yourself, and you could very easily injure yourself, putting yourself as well as the captain or anyone with a medical background through some severe trauma. Know your limits. If it's ten-foot Nokanduis, please be very sure of your skill levels.8. Getting drunk on a boat is beautiful. Just don't go for a drunken late-night pee over the edge because if you fall and no one hears you. You're gone forever. Just use the inside toilet at night.9. Also, while getting drunk with your mates is all good, playing pranks like smearing toothpaste in a bed or hiding a turd under a pillow isn't that funny if you're the person who has to clean up the next day.10. Some captains and their boats are inexperienced and shoddy and are pushing their luck with taking on people for expensive charters. Do loads of research before slapping your coin down on some new boat. Find people who have been on the vessel before and speak to them. Go through a reputable travel company when making your booking.11. If you are on a boat and the waves go flat, and the winds go wrong, be prepared to read, and to play backgammon, and to drink Bintangs. Think about it – life's not that bad is it?LTL Surfcharters has over 10 years experience in assisting surfers with their surf charter bookings. All you have to do is fill out the form with your requirements on the contact page. We will email you within 24 hours and find you the best suitable options. Is there a specific boat that interests you ? We’ll check with that boat! | |
Nunti Sunya - Vincent Lartizien | Globally, cannabis has a long history as one of the mainstays and drivers of early industrialisation, providing fibre for ropes and canvas for sails that powered maritime trade to help build the global market that exists today, as well as textiles for clothing and an important role in medicinal apothecaries.The banning of industrial hempIt was South Africa’s colonial government that nominated “Indian hemp” to be listed as a dangerous drug by the League of Nations in the mid 1920s followed by the banning of industrial hemp as the result of a corporate agenda of nefarious interests in the US in the mid 1930s. It has been illegal for the past 80 years in most parts of the world for its narcotic properties while the industrial capacity continued to contribute to the economies of China, India and parts of Europe.Currently, more than 30 countries have legal cannabis for medical use and a growing number of states in the US and other countries are legalising or tolerating cannabis for recreational use, including South Africa where the Constitutional Court ruled in September 2018 that it was legal to cultivate and use cannabis in the privacy of your own home and gave Parliament two years to amend legislation.The cannabis value chainToday, the global medical and recreational cannabis market is growing from an estimated $9.6-billion in 2017 to a projected market value of $57-billion-plus by 2027. The cannabis value chain is based on the components of the plant that have economic potential: the seed offers food and oil that is high in essential fatty acids, resulting in boosted immune systems. In addition, the plant can be used to produce both ethanol and biofuel that could potentially feed directly into the energy and plastic sectors. The stalk offers two main agro-processing streams, the outer layer that can be stripped providing one of the longest fibres known to humanity to be used for an extensive range of consumer and industrial textiles. The inner part of the stalk is used in the paper, automotive and building industries. The flower and most controversial part of the plant is where the medicinal and recreational benefits lie."The potential income per farmer per hectare is dependent on bio-region, climatic conditions and seed strains. Conservative estimates indicate that per hectare, stalk biomass is worth R50,000, fibre R18,000, seed R155,000 and cannabinoids R100,000. Average income per hectare is about R175,000, generating revenue of R350,000 for a small farmer on two hectares." (estimates in ZAR)There are also noteworthy climate crisis mitigation benefits to cannabis farming and the possibility to access climate funding to roll out an industrial cannabis strategy. Cannabis sequesters up to 10,000 tons of carbon per hectare.Nunti Sunya - Vincent Lartizien
On her podcast, Imi, had the privilege of having a chat with one of the pioneers of big wave surfing: he’s French and his name is Vincent Lartizien. Vincent started his career as a professional windsurfer. He traveled to Maui in the ’80s to follow his dream and ended up living there for the next 20 years. It turned out big wave surfing was something he loved doing, and during the time he spent in Hawaii, he learned and mastered the art of tow-in surfing just after it got invented by Laird Hamilton. He was, in fact, the first non-Hawaiian to be allowed to surf Jaws and spent the next 30 years pulling off incredible exploits in dangerous situations in Hawaii and the rest of the world.The podcast covers these early years and beyond, but turns into a more spiritual conversation about the flow of energy in the ocean, and how Vincent’s spiritual connection with the ocean has helped him see life differently. In fact, about 6 years ago, Vincent, against all odds decided to create a hemp t-shirt manufacturing business. Six years later he is a successful soulpreneur with a vertically integrated hemp manufacturing facility near Hossegor.Nunti Sunya - Photos: LiveTheLifeTVSeedThe seed can be processed into food with a focus on preventative healthcare to boost the diet of the poor in the form of hemp hearts, the inside of the seed, or protein powder made from crushing the seed shell. Both are extremely high in proteins and omega essential fatty acids. The seed can also be cold pressed into an oil for human consumption.Bio-fuel and plasticThe seed can be cold pressed into oil, the whole plant can be processed for fuel through a pyrolysis process or converted into ethanol by a fermentation process. There is also huge potential for an eco-friendly bio-plastics industry that will start to reverse land and sea plastic pollution.BuildingThe inner part of the stalk, the hurd, can be processed into hempcrete for building houses that are stronger, fire- and moisture-proof and more durable. Communities can grow and build their own homes transforming the government’s housing programme from handouts to skills development and empowerment. The hurd can also be processed into eco-friendly insulation and pressed fibre-board similar to existing wood-based options.TextilesThe outer part of the stalk, the bast fibres, can be used to make textiles that are extremely versatile and used for a wide variety of applications from accessories, shoes and furniture, to home furnishings.PaperPaper is made from either the hurd or bast fibre. Industrial cannabis/hemp paper is a valuable alternative to conventional paper made from trees, and could provide a more renewable source for much of the world’s paper needs — one acre of hemp can produce as much paper as four to 10 acres of trees over a 20-year cycle. Hemp stalks grow in four months, whereas trees take at least 20 years.MedicineCannabis medicines were once the most commonly used medicines in the world until the 1920s and were listed in the US Pharmacopoeia until the mid-1930s. Today medical cannabis is playing an increasingly significant role and offers potentially cheap healthcare solutions for a variety of ailments that can directly contribute to primary and preventative health care on a community level and pharmaceutical medicines for specific conditions.The rapid introduction of far-reaching, proactive and empowering legislation is required to create the conditions to allow cannabis the possibility to create jobs and to grow and manufacture sustainable food, fuel, fibre, shelter and medicine in a green sustainable way. |
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