In big waves the current trend is away from towsurfing and toward catching waves unassisted on ten foot+ boards. The individual challenge of paddle surfing may be greater but collective progress is almost non-existent. In this article, blindboy argues that towsurfing is the only means forward if surfers are to keep pushing the outside of the envelope.
The most striking footage of Pipeline this year came from Eric Sterman, a young videographer from Hawaii who perched cross-legged on the sand with a remote control in his hands as Kelly Slater paddled into a set during the Pipe Masters.
The winter storm dubbed by The Weather Channel 'Hercules' is currently impacting the European continent. After causing record low temperatues on America's East Coast it's fast becoming a storm of international significance. However, not everyone is happy about the naming convention. "The Weather Channel is doing a disservice to the field of meteorology," says one opponent.
In all the drama and emotion of the last day of the Pipe Masters, it was easy to overlook the fact that Robert Kelly Slater once again demonstrated, with an absolutely stupendous three-heat master class, that the day he leaves the tour will be sadder than anyone can imagine.
Judith Wright ended the 1996 edition of her book Coral Battleground with a chapter entitled “Finale Without Ending”, warning that popular memories were short and fresh onslaughts on the Great Barrier Reef's mineral resources likely to resume at any time.
With the passing of anti-Apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, it is worth thinking about some of ways in which the surfing world has been entangled in apartheid.
It is a rare thing in our age to run the daily risk, however small, of being attacked and eaten by a wild animal. And that is at the core of our fear. It is not the risk of dying as such, our odds of drowning are orders of magnitude higher, it is the nature of the death that appals us. Our fear is built into our bones.
In light of the most recent shark bite fatality in Western Australia last week, there have been renewed calls for a cull of large sharks to protect ocean users. Environment minister Greg Hunt has said he wants to reduce the risk of attacks. So what is the best way to reduce that risk?
Body Glove, the first wetsuit company in the world, who count Pipeline charger Jamie O'Brien in their stable of surfers, has just released a new range of products. Titled Body Glove Pet, the new range includes wetsuits for dogs, floaties for dogs, and little beach tents for your dog to sit in while you're out surfing.
Plastic production has increased from 1,700,00 tonnes in 1950 to 280,000,000 tonnes in 2011. In Australia just 20.5% of plastics are recycled. The result is each square kilometre of Australian sea surface water is contaminated by around 4,000 pieces of tiny plastics,