How to make a Wallako surfboard? from Kanardo on Vimeo.
WALLAKO SurfShop, Bidart, France:
http://www.wallako-surfshop.com/about.html
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Paddle-out tribute to AI
Landudno Beach, Saturday 06 Nov 2010.
We were there...and so were the dolphins and a couple of whales...
Image courtesy: Anton Louw
We were there...and so were the dolphins and a couple of whales...
Image courtesy: Anton Louw
Friday, November 5, 2010
Mahalo Andy!
I received this morning the usual Mahala newsletter in my mailbox. As I open it, I see there is an article about Andy Irons. Andy Irons passed away a couple of days ago. The news chocked the surfing community, me included. Since Tuesday, we can see words written on all the surf mags an other websites paying tribute to the legendary surfer.
I did not know Andy Irons personnally. Just saw him for the first and last time in July this year at the Billabong Pro in Jbay. It was my first experience of International surfing contest. And i have to say...what a show! I have seen Andy surfing and loosing against Shaun Holmes. How he did not like it at all...How he took surfing competition very seriously.
And then I read that Mahala article (see below). Says it all! The truth, the real, the raw... How he was really....How he lived his life to the fullest! It is sad to think he died so young like that...leaving his wife pregnant and due in 6 weeks....
Rockstars always leave this world too early! and so did Andy... RIP.
The Dark Lord of Surfing
Thursday, November 4th, 2010 by Andy Davis, images by Craig Kolesky
Goodbye to the Dark Lord of Surfing. The thought of a 32 year world champion surfer dying of dengue fever in a Dallas hotel room is depressing and unnatural. Especially when the image burnt on the mind’s eye is of the guy standing impossibly deep in a huge Pipe cylinder, seizing life, defying death. He was a competitive machine, proving that he could win surf events in any conditions but when it got really big and really hollow, normally breaking over barely concealed coral reef, was when he truly came into his own. He had a special talent for long, deep tube rides. His trumps were power and confidence. It never seemed like he was reacting to the waves, he rode them intuitively. And the ocean loved him.
The rest of us weren’t so sure. To many he came to epitomize everything that was wrong with modern surfing. He was aggressively competitive, to the point that he lost perspective, manners, tact and charm. At times he was unlikeable. But he was always honest about his ambition. He never hid his disappointment in defeat or his euphoria in victory. He was uncouth and complicated. He did not surf to make friends. He could be a bad ass, a meanie, a shit. But he was also the champ. No one would have tolerated that kind of tempestuousness if he couldn’t back it up with his surfing. And in that regard he was spectacular and worthy of the indulgences he demanded in return. His ego tax. He was a thoroughbred, a dark and brooding force of excellence in competitive surfing. I like to think of him as the Darth Vader of Kauai. He ensnared us in his circular turquoise propaganda. He sneered in the face of the golden boy Kelly Slater, took his crown, and kept it. At the peak of his powers he was unbeatable. He represented everything Kelly Slater is not. If Kelly was the White Knight, Andy was the Dark Lord. He was a moody titan of the surfing world. To shuffle off the coil in a Dallas hotel room due to a relatively common tropical mosquito borne illness (and, perhaps, some pills) just seems so… ordinary. Knowing that he’s left behind a beautiful wife and an unborn child makes it all the more tragic. Hotel rooms in Dallas are a world apart from the tropical beaches of Kauai. Fish out of water.
Truth is, for a long while, I never really liked Andy Irons. I had my own personal diss to get over. Please understand I’m not really talking about the real person here, I’m not qualified to, I only met him for a few minutes in 2004 and he blew me off. Cold. I’m talking about his media persona and an incident that made it concrete for me. It was 2004 in J-Bay. I was hacking for Surfing magazine and had an interview with the reigning world champ, Andy Irons. I was excited. I wanted rapport. I wanted camaraderie and an invitation to surf secret spots with the champ. He never took off his sunglasses. There was an uncomfortable silence. I asked him how he felt about his upcoming heat against Sean Holmes, who had knocked him out of the event the two previous years. Listening to the interview now you can almost hear him groan at the question. He sighs deeply as I ask it, pauses a long while and then rehashes the old press release, “aah dude, same contest… I’ve had bad luck over the last couple of years.” He struggled to find the enthusiasm to even say that, he sighed again, audibly, and added another platitude, “I’m looking forward to it.” His voice flat with disinterest. Right after that he stood up, looked out to sea and said, “I’m over this,” and walked away. Blown off like a bluebottle on a South Easter. Andy went on to beat Sean, win the event and the world title that year.
“I am not some bubbly fucking angel who is going to go out and try to be your best friend.” He said in a 2008 interview with Surfline. “I have my friends, and I surf because it’s what I have always loved doing.” I wish he’d told me that in 2004. It took a few long years before I started to appreciate the precision of his surfing, that unflinching candidness and that radical terminator style competitive zeal.
“I have been on tour for the past 12 years. I have won 3 titles, and come runner-up who fuckin cares how many times… You are on tour to win, and anyone who is on tour that says they don’t want to win is just saying that to make themselves feel better about losing… I want to win everything, or I don’t even want to be there.”
What he lacked in tact, he made up for in talent, with interest. And this was part of the enigma. He had his crew and fuck you. He had his impossibly beautiful wife and he surfed like neptune’s favourite son. And he knew it. Easily one of the best surfers of his generation, probably the only one who could have challenged Kelly Slater’s hegemony – and did. But then he lost his mojo, stopped giving a shit and went on a losing streak. His confidence and A-game crumbled. There were rumours of drugs and rehab. He took a break from the tour, the limelight, and fought his “inner demons”.
“If you guys see me out on tour again it’s because I am there to win, and I’m going to go 100%.” He told Surfline in that same interview. “If you don’t see me on tour, it’s because I have found happiness away from winning, and that might be the biggest achievement I could ever accomplish.”
He all but disappeared for a year and re-emerged in 2010 as a Wild Card. Calmer. It was good to see him surfing again. Competitively he was still a hitman. Focussed, methodical. He had some average results and then won the Billabong in Tahiti and reminded everyone he would always be a contender. He was sitting 16th going into the last two events of the year, all set for re-qualification and a title-run in 2011. Then he contracted dengue fever in Puerto Rico last week. He missed his heats due to the illness and was en route back to Hawaii when he started vomiting on the plane between Miami and Dallas. In Dallas he checked into a hotel and died sometime during the night. Some people blame the dengue but there are other reports surfacing that a bottle of methadone and other prescription drugs were found on the nightstand next to the bed. Dengue, drugs – or a lethal combo of both. Who gives a shit. Part of the shock is that the guy was so bullet proof. Rock solid, uncompromising and always so damn self-assured. Surely, if anyone was immune to death it was AI. Apparently not.
Andy’s old friend Derek Reilly from Stab Magazine dug up this final quote: “I’ve had my fair shares of hills and valleys, but my life’s been radical and exciting. Stuff that kings would die to do. Straight up, fucken A. The lifestyle we’ve got and the life I’ve led since I was 17, I can’t even tell my friends. I try and tell stories and they think I’m making it up or saw it in a fucking movie. Straight up. It’s the life I wanted since I caught my first wave.” – Andy Irons, October 12, 2010.
*All images © Craig Kolesky/Nikon/Lexar.
I did not know Andy Irons personnally. Just saw him for the first and last time in July this year at the Billabong Pro in Jbay. It was my first experience of International surfing contest. And i have to say...what a show! I have seen Andy surfing and loosing against Shaun Holmes. How he did not like it at all...How he took surfing competition very seriously.
And then I read that Mahala article (see below). Says it all! The truth, the real, the raw... How he was really....How he lived his life to the fullest! It is sad to think he died so young like that...leaving his wife pregnant and due in 6 weeks....
Rockstars always leave this world too early! and so did Andy... RIP.
The Dark Lord of Surfing
Thursday, November 4th, 2010 by Andy Davis, images by Craig Kolesky
Goodbye to the Dark Lord of Surfing. The thought of a 32 year world champion surfer dying of dengue fever in a Dallas hotel room is depressing and unnatural. Especially when the image burnt on the mind’s eye is of the guy standing impossibly deep in a huge Pipe cylinder, seizing life, defying death. He was a competitive machine, proving that he could win surf events in any conditions but when it got really big and really hollow, normally breaking over barely concealed coral reef, was when he truly came into his own. He had a special talent for long, deep tube rides. His trumps were power and confidence. It never seemed like he was reacting to the waves, he rode them intuitively. And the ocean loved him.
The rest of us weren’t so sure. To many he came to epitomize everything that was wrong with modern surfing. He was aggressively competitive, to the point that he lost perspective, manners, tact and charm. At times he was unlikeable. But he was always honest about his ambition. He never hid his disappointment in defeat or his euphoria in victory. He was uncouth and complicated. He did not surf to make friends. He could be a bad ass, a meanie, a shit. But he was also the champ. No one would have tolerated that kind of tempestuousness if he couldn’t back it up with his surfing. And in that regard he was spectacular and worthy of the indulgences he demanded in return. His ego tax. He was a thoroughbred, a dark and brooding force of excellence in competitive surfing. I like to think of him as the Darth Vader of Kauai. He ensnared us in his circular turquoise propaganda. He sneered in the face of the golden boy Kelly Slater, took his crown, and kept it. At the peak of his powers he was unbeatable. He represented everything Kelly Slater is not. If Kelly was the White Knight, Andy was the Dark Lord. He was a moody titan of the surfing world. To shuffle off the coil in a Dallas hotel room due to a relatively common tropical mosquito borne illness (and, perhaps, some pills) just seems so… ordinary. Knowing that he’s left behind a beautiful wife and an unborn child makes it all the more tragic. Hotel rooms in Dallas are a world apart from the tropical beaches of Kauai. Fish out of water.
Truth is, for a long while, I never really liked Andy Irons. I had my own personal diss to get over. Please understand I’m not really talking about the real person here, I’m not qualified to, I only met him for a few minutes in 2004 and he blew me off. Cold. I’m talking about his media persona and an incident that made it concrete for me. It was 2004 in J-Bay. I was hacking for Surfing magazine and had an interview with the reigning world champ, Andy Irons. I was excited. I wanted rapport. I wanted camaraderie and an invitation to surf secret spots with the champ. He never took off his sunglasses. There was an uncomfortable silence. I asked him how he felt about his upcoming heat against Sean Holmes, who had knocked him out of the event the two previous years. Listening to the interview now you can almost hear him groan at the question. He sighs deeply as I ask it, pauses a long while and then rehashes the old press release, “aah dude, same contest… I’ve had bad luck over the last couple of years.” He struggled to find the enthusiasm to even say that, he sighed again, audibly, and added another platitude, “I’m looking forward to it.” His voice flat with disinterest. Right after that he stood up, looked out to sea and said, “I’m over this,” and walked away. Blown off like a bluebottle on a South Easter. Andy went on to beat Sean, win the event and the world title that year.
“I am not some bubbly fucking angel who is going to go out and try to be your best friend.” He said in a 2008 interview with Surfline. “I have my friends, and I surf because it’s what I have always loved doing.” I wish he’d told me that in 2004. It took a few long years before I started to appreciate the precision of his surfing, that unflinching candidness and that radical terminator style competitive zeal.
“I have been on tour for the past 12 years. I have won 3 titles, and come runner-up who fuckin cares how many times… You are on tour to win, and anyone who is on tour that says they don’t want to win is just saying that to make themselves feel better about losing… I want to win everything, or I don’t even want to be there.”
What he lacked in tact, he made up for in talent, with interest. And this was part of the enigma. He had his crew and fuck you. He had his impossibly beautiful wife and he surfed like neptune’s favourite son. And he knew it. Easily one of the best surfers of his generation, probably the only one who could have challenged Kelly Slater’s hegemony – and did. But then he lost his mojo, stopped giving a shit and went on a losing streak. His confidence and A-game crumbled. There were rumours of drugs and rehab. He took a break from the tour, the limelight, and fought his “inner demons”.
“If you guys see me out on tour again it’s because I am there to win, and I’m going to go 100%.” He told Surfline in that same interview. “If you don’t see me on tour, it’s because I have found happiness away from winning, and that might be the biggest achievement I could ever accomplish.”
He all but disappeared for a year and re-emerged in 2010 as a Wild Card. Calmer. It was good to see him surfing again. Competitively he was still a hitman. Focussed, methodical. He had some average results and then won the Billabong in Tahiti and reminded everyone he would always be a contender. He was sitting 16th going into the last two events of the year, all set for re-qualification and a title-run in 2011. Then he contracted dengue fever in Puerto Rico last week. He missed his heats due to the illness and was en route back to Hawaii when he started vomiting on the plane between Miami and Dallas. In Dallas he checked into a hotel and died sometime during the night. Some people blame the dengue but there are other reports surfacing that a bottle of methadone and other prescription drugs were found on the nightstand next to the bed. Dengue, drugs – or a lethal combo of both. Who gives a shit. Part of the shock is that the guy was so bullet proof. Rock solid, uncompromising and always so damn self-assured. Surely, if anyone was immune to death it was AI. Apparently not.
Andy’s old friend Derek Reilly from Stab Magazine dug up this final quote: “I’ve had my fair shares of hills and valleys, but my life’s been radical and exciting. Stuff that kings would die to do. Straight up, fucken A. The lifestyle we’ve got and the life I’ve led since I was 17, I can’t even tell my friends. I try and tell stories and they think I’m making it up or saw it in a fucking movie. Straight up. It’s the life I wanted since I caught my first wave.” – Andy Irons, October 12, 2010.
*All images © Craig Kolesky/Nikon/Lexar.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
When the TTR kids go on a surf mission....
Little surf session at the Berg on a friday afternoon with the Masi kids from the Ticket To Ride foundation:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
25th International Coastal Clean Up Day
After some typical topsy-turvy spring weather during the week, we were greeted with an ideal calm, warm day on Saturday. Well done to the weather for also coming to the party. The only problem is the waves were cooking! Only, a small sacrifice for some good karma, I guess.
We were joined by 20 kids from Masiphumelele who were more stoked to be at the beach than any frothing grom could ever be. Assisting them were 13 gap-yearers from the UK out with Ticket-to-ride. Locals also chipped in, as did the visiting Boland surf team who were busy getting some practice in before the up-coming SA champs – let hope their good deeds convert into good results.
The team starting walking towards Klein Slangkop and reached this area after collecting around 50kgs of trash. After a quick splash in the waves, we returned back to Long Beach, for a hard earned sandwich. The kids were also rewarded for their efforts with stickers from Ocean Minded and copy of National Geographic Kids.
All in all it was a great morning and apart from the good work done, the stoke of being at the beach was really cool to see. I can see a generation coming through which will ensure that their beach and ocean is preserved.
We were joined by 20 kids from Masiphumelele who were more stoked to be at the beach than any frothing grom could ever be. Assisting them were 13 gap-yearers from the UK out with Ticket-to-ride. Locals also chipped in, as did the visiting Boland surf team who were busy getting some practice in before the up-coming SA champs – let hope their good deeds convert into good results.
The team starting walking towards Klein Slangkop and reached this area after collecting around 50kgs of trash. After a quick splash in the waves, we returned back to Long Beach, for a hard earned sandwich. The kids were also rewarded for their efforts with stickers from Ocean Minded and copy of National Geographic Kids.
All in all it was a great morning and apart from the good work done, the stoke of being at the beach was really cool to see. I can see a generation coming through which will ensure that their beach and ocean is preserved.
Special thanks to all involved – but especially John Keiser of Plasfed, Tim from Ocean Minded, Tim, Dan, Chirs and Pat from Ticket-to-ride, and Lisa from ERM.
(Text Credit: Anton Louw)
Thursday, September 16, 2010
THE Secret Spot...
East of the Mother City...
Somewhere few hours away on the garden route...
The place that only a handfull of us know about...
Hidden somewhere on the coastline...
A walk away from the bitten tracks...
That's where you'll find the The Secret Spot!
Somewhere few hours away on the garden route...
The place that only a handfull of us know about...
Hidden somewhere on the coastline...
A walk away from the bitten tracks...
That's where you'll find the The Secret Spot!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tilt and Shift!
My favorite spot in the world (Raglan, NZ)...
The place I learned the art of surfing...
Miniature way?
Really cool fake effect...
or also called tilt-shift photography.
Thanks to digital processing !!!
Copyrights: my friend bodyboarder Seb Boulay.
The place I learned the art of surfing...
Miniature way?
Really cool fake effect...
or also called tilt-shift photography.
Thanks to digital processing !!!
Copyrights: my friend bodyboarder Seb Boulay.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
International "Perfect" Surfing Day
The day started by an early wake up for me as organizer. Oats and tea...and off to Masiphumelele township (Kommetjies) where 10 youngsters from the Ticket to Ride Foundation where waiting for me. A couple of nartjies and banana later, we were on the road, the kids piled up in my station wagon, off to the Berg and ready for a fun day on the sun!
Tash Mentasti (Surfing SA), Stacey Guy and friends where already at the beach getting the boards off the truck. After an interesting wetsuit fitting, board waxing and fins fitting session, it was time to head to the beach.Little warm up first and then a couple of minutes of coaching from Tash...and we were good to go.The older ones went straight to the back while the youngers were splashing by the shore with water up to knee high.The kids had a lot of fun...some of them perfecting their standing, some of them trying for the first time...It was not all about surfing but more enjoying this fantastic day in the water! We finished by a little snack and familly photo and it was already time to go back to Masi.
Tash Mentasti (Surfing SA), Stacey Guy and friends where already at the beach getting the boards off the truck. After an interesting wetsuit fitting, board waxing and fins fitting session, it was time to head to the beach.Little warm up first and then a couple of minutes of coaching from Tash...and we were good to go.The older ones went straight to the back while the youngers were splashing by the shore with water up to knee high.The kids had a lot of fun...some of them perfecting their standing, some of them trying for the first time...It was not all about surfing but more enjoying this fantastic day in the water! We finished by a little snack and familly photo and it was already time to go back to Masi.
It was such a perfect day at Muizenberg: 20 deg, sunny, no wind and glassy 1 foot waves !!!!
Perfect day, Perfect company and lots of smiles shining under the Berg sky!
Perfect day, Perfect company and lots of smiles shining under the Berg sky!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Girls just wanna have fun!
I have always said that surfing for me is more about having fun than anything. Surrounded by competitive guys who just want to get the barrel of their life at each session, i was feeling a bit aside and really misunderstood. I was desperatly looking for like-minded people for whom surfing is above all sharing a moment with your friends out there. And here is what I found today:
The Fairer Surfer's Blog
Fine Tuning
14 June 2010, 08:08
So why do we surf? For fun? To live the dream, the endless search for the perfect wave, to be completely in the moment? To get away from the rat race? To find a calmer, quieter, more focused version of ourselves?
You'd think. Lately it seems like the rat race we're trying to get away from scurries after us into the water. Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but surfing for me is more about fun, about being out there and chatting at the backline meeting like-minded souls in the sunshine and enjoying this amazing sport together. But in the past few weeks I've been festering in a swirling testoterone-infested pit. And it's got to me a bit. Dare I say it, the first place in the dog show - Long beach. But I bet you saw that one coming. Out-paddling 60 other guys with something to prove is not my ideal surf. After a weekend at a crowded Vic Bay I realised the selfishness and greediness that is creeping into our community, our world, into our lifestyles. There are too many people on the planet and we're all trying to out-do each other rather than help each other out. I say this because in Vic Bay it was the same five or so guys who made the steep drop at the very backline, boiling over a treacherous rock, and then claim the wave all the way through to the beach. OK, given, they may be locals and proved themselves and are experienced enough to handle it. But what about the rest of us mere mortals? Can't you drop off the wave halfway so that we could pick it up and just have a taste of surfing a point break?! To try to advance our skills? Can you not just let one or two waves through? We all have to start somewhere. Do you have to have every single one for yourself? There are enough waves for everyone, plus the unspoken code which every surfer knows yet so many "pretend" not to, or use excuses like "I though you were going right" when the wave is clearly breaking left. C'mon guys let's not lie to ourselves.
I've been surfing just over a year now, I've already gone through a snapped mini-mal, moved onto a shortboard, pushed my limits in bigger and steeper breaks, had very scary life-threatening experiences and the change surfing has made in my life is unmeasurable. It's given me confidence to speak my mind, to believe in myself more, to pursue my passions, it's become a lifestyle, something i love so much my life would just feel empty without. It's completely obsessive and addictive, and so fulfilling. But lately I had been getting so disheartened that it had to become a fight to get onto a wave. Because boys are bigger and stronger and have more paddle-power really shouldn't be an excuse, but in reality I think it is. We'll never grow "guns" like you boys have or "take our sick puppies to the vet".
This all culminated together when I was surfing at Milnerton lighthouse a couple of weeks ago. The conditions were epic - silver-mirror glassy, 3-4 foot perfection... About an hour into the session, which had all been going smoothly and had been so much fun - I saw a perfect A-frame gleaming out from the horizon enticingly moving towards me - I paddle to get myself into the perfect position when out of the corner of my eye I see a guy who had been to my left paddle Aaaaaallllll the way around me and position himself on my inside and start going for the wave. "No way" I thought, as I paddled and kicked harder, there is no way he will ruin this wave for me... Bear in mind this is after weeks of being "walked-over" and being "too nice" in the water, this had happened one too many times. Whatever happened to manners?! I'm not a kook anymore - I know how this works. We both get up on the wave and he shouts "HEY" at me, at the same time as other guys in the water shout out at him. I'm in a perfect comfortable, crouching stance on the glittering face of the perfect wave. I calmly turn around and say to him firmly " YOU paddled around ME!", then proceeded to rip up the wave up all the way to the beach... He dropped off it as it closed out on him. It was one of the best waves of my life. I paddled back with my heart pounding in my chest from the adrenaline of that awesome ride ( I think my heart was trying to hi-five my surfboard) and the biggest grin on my face. Ironic that only through surfing had I learnt how to stand up for myself AND also got to use this new skill out there in the ocean. I'm not saying it happens all the time, but in the last month it had really built up...there are enough breaks, and enough waves for everyone, so be in the moment out there, interact with your fellow surfing homies, let a wave or two slip by you and appreciate the stoke lighting up someone else's face and let's keep these surfing vibes mmm-good... the way it's meant to be, bro! Surfing's for fun!
Kristi
The BOMB: http://www.thebombsurf.com/blog/13
Monday, June 7, 2010
La vie en Rose
Small swell, long period waves and no wind! Saturday forecast was looking soooo good that I proposed to my begineers friends to go for a surf lesson at the Berg.
While waiting for the late ones to arrive, the pink panthers of the Roxy surf school were already warming up on the beach...
While waiting for the late ones to arrive, the pink panthers of the Roxy surf school were already warming up on the beach...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Before and After
Just a little before and after comparison...
to realise how much my board gained in prettyness!!!
to realise how much my board gained in prettyness!!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
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