Extremehorizon surf blog providing: regular surfing news, updates, stories, surf pictures, product reviews, surfer interviews and anything from the world of actions sports which is begging to be blogged!
From time to time we receive press releases and snippets of info and this one looked as though it was worth sharing. Its a magazine article focused upon big wave riders and the tragic death of one of the tribe, Peter Davi, who was sadly lost at Ghost tree last year....heres the words from "Mens Journal"
"When monster cyclone-fueled surf hit the Pacific in December of 2007, fearless big wave riders like Peter Davi flocked to Ghost Tree, the infamous remote corner of a rock-strewn shoreline in California also called Pescadero Point .The March issue of Men's Journal (on sale now)delves deeper into the tragic story of Davi's last wave, talking to the key people that were there that fateful day.
The magazine a also talks to Laird Hamilton, who recounts his rescue of friend Brett Lickle in the same deadly surf in Hawaii that threatened to take Lickle's life. Even as anaked Hamilton swam away from his bleeding friend through deadly surf to reach the overturned Jet Ski that would narrowly save them both, he never questioned his decision. "When I see giant surf, " Hamilton tells Men's Journal , "it's not like Should I go? It's automatic."
I was awoken this morning with no idea of the time, by my house shaking. This isn't too common in the UK, but after similar experiences in California and Indo, I recognised it as an earthquake and went back to sleep. As it turns out we were only a few miles from the epicentre of a 5.2 earthquake which is kind of strange. Thoughts of course turned to surfing, but with the shock waves going east out across the North Sea perhaps Denmark and Norway will receive a mini shock-wave swell?
Theres been a lot of subtle changes going on recently on the Extremehorizon surf shop website. One of the most noticable is the re-formatting of the layout. Its not too exiting I guess but it makes the site easier to view on all sizes of PC monitors and varying resolutions, hopefully enhancing the usability for you, the end viewer :)
Another update, this one a bit more fun is the introduction of a fully interactive surfing picture gallery, where users can register, upload pictures, rate and comment on other users pictures and more. Theres some great shots on there already so feel free to join up http://www.extremehorizon.com/gallery.php
This wave in SW France is called Belharra and it doesn't go off in a big way too often but when it does it can be massive. Just check the awesome shot here which was taken 02nd jan 08 and has been submitted to the Billabong XXL big wave awards. I'm not sure what they've measured this as but its got to be at least 40ft? the geeza has big plums but I dont rate his chances of making it out of this one unscathed (check the lip)
I was lucky enough to meet and interview Dave Kalama a while back. He's a really sound bloke who told me about a couple of things which have remained with me. Firstly he mentioned that his Grandmother was from England (Birmingham to be exact) to I guess that makes Dave a quarter English, which is kind of cool (and a useless piece of trivia!) but he also talked to me about Foil surfing which struck a cord when I watched the clip below on You Tube. At that time he and Laird Hamilton had discussed the possiblity of riding massive open ocean waves which could be ridden for as long as a surfer could stay up (as they'd potentially be hundreds of miles from any reefs or coastline). I haven't heard if they have ever tried this, but if anyone does it'll be these two inspirational men.
There are tidal bores the world over including our very own on the River Severn, but compared to this Bore in Brazil it looks a little tame.
The phenomenon is a wave that forms at the head of the incoming tide in certain rivers or estuaries.It is the product of the tide wave and should not be confused with a tsunami.
A tidal bore can travel in excess of 20 miles an hour (30 kilometers an hour) and gets stronger as the river gets narrow and shallower, reaching recorded heights of up to 30 feet (9 meters). The pororoca, as the bores are known in the Brazilian Amazon, has been sighted over 180 miles (300 kilometers) inland on the Rio Guajara.
Waimea Bay - With just 17 days of the three-month holding period for the Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational In Memory of Eddie Aikau remaining, the Pacific Ocean is bouncing back to life. A final flurry of big-wave action has begun to pulse through the Hawaiian Island chain with waves to approach giant heights later this week.
The Quiksilver Big Wave Invitational is staged each winter at Waimea Bay, on Oahu's North Shore, and only runs when and if wave heights reach a minimum of 20 feet on the Hawaiian wave scale (40-foot wave face heights). The event is held in honor of big-wave rider and Waimea Bay lifeguard Eddie Aikau.
Taking a radical shift from what has been the worst winter on record for waves in Hawaii, the tail end of February looks like being above average by comparison to other La Nina years.
Thursday's swell is forecast to reach 15 to 18-feet Hawaiian scale (wave face heights of 30-36 feet), still just a notch under "The Eddie" requirement of 20 feet Hawaiian (approximately 40-foot faces). If nothing else, it will be an exceptional warm-up day for big-wave riders, given ideal easterly winds that will fan Waimea Bay to offshore perfection.
Moving beyond Thursday's swell, wave forecasters are looking at regular big-wave episodes every two to three days. Each will be closely monitored for Quiksilver Big Wave potential. In the event that the right size swell is generated, 28 of the world's best big wave riders will make the journey to Waimea Bay's hallowed ground and ride the giant surf with the same spirit as Aikau.
British newspapers wouldn't be the first place I'd start looking for surf related info and discussion, let alone "The Times" newspaper, one of the UK's longest running "broadsheets" and universal symbol of all things traditionally British. So to find a surfing related blog nestled comfortably amongst the pages of Times Online website is unexpected but wholly welcomed and is a pretty forward thinking move by one of the corner stones of the British establishment. The Blog has been created by Alex Wade and is worth checking out: www.timesonline.co.uk/surfnation
He is the first UK writer to cover surfing in serious depth for a national newspaper thanks to a daily blog at www.timesonline.co.uk/surfnation, and lives and surfs in the far west of Cornwall.
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 11 February, 2008 : - - The tow-surfing pair of Duncan Scott (Newquay, Cornwall) and Alistair Mennie (Portrush, Northern Ireland) has further highlighted the magnitude of giant, surfable waves breaking off the British Isles’ coastlines, with their recent nominations into the 2008 Billabong International XXL Big Wave Awards.
The XXL nomination follows their record-breaking session at Mullaghmore Head, in Donegal Bay, on 1 December 2007, where the pair rode waves between 55 to 60 feet high, the biggest waves ever recorded by Ireland’s Marine Institute and the Met Eireann meteorological office.
‘We are extremely proud of the inclusion of Duncan Scott and Alistair Mennie into the XXL International Big Wave Awards. It’s a worthy recognition of the efforts and commitment they’ve invested into big-wave surfing in the UK and Irish waters, and shows the calibre of waves and surfers our coastline can produce,’ commented Karen Walton, National Director of the British Surfing Association.
This is the first time a UK or Irish surfer has gained entry into the premiere ‘Ride of the Year’ category, in which the winner takes home a $50 000 paycheque. This category rewards the technical ability and critical approach of the surfer, as well the size of the wave ridden.
They are also in contention for the $15 000 prize for ‘Biggest Wave’ category, where a panel of surf industry experts gauge the sheer vertical height of the biggest waves ridden. Alistair Mennie, who rode a 55- 60 foot wave, the biggest ever recorded in the British Isles at Mullaghmore, is hoping that a little Irish luck may continue to prevail for them when they fly out to Anaheim, California for the awards ceremony at the event’s conclusion.
This video clip is around 6 months old and you may have seen it before but its still pretty amazing. The wave is created by Child's Glacier in South-Central Alaska
Its the middle of nowhere, the only people that use the beach are dog walkers, fishermen and the occasional surfer and to find the place you'll need to be from the area because its doubtful even to be recognised by SatNavs, so of all the unlikely beaches to find graffiti spray warning that this is a "locals only" spot, this one has to be the strangest. Lincolnshire surf beaches are still uncrowded (a crowd at this spot is about 5 people!) , surfers acknowledge and talk to each other and the regulars all know one another, so localism just isn't even on the agenda and nor should it be. As surfers we all love to travel and we all surf locations outside of our home spots, so there'll always be times that each and every one of us will experience being "non-locals", so just imagine getting aggro every time you traveled away or dishing out aggro every time someone you don't recognise strays into the line up at your home surf break...the surfing experience would really suffer. Without trying to sound like a hippy, waves wherever they are, belong to all of us and sharing a few at home (if the laws of karma are to be believed) will be repaid in kind when you're surfing away. Also when you are traveling, a little courtesy and respect, the same as you would expect at home, goes a long way :)
Most of us identify Tasmania with apples, timber, and the quiet rural life. But a handful of Tassie surfers seem determined to re-work that image. In their backyard is Shipstern Bluff -- one of the world’s heaviest big wave surf zones. And rather than leave it to big-name visiting pro surfers, locals Marti Paradisis, Mike Brennan and brothers James and Tyler Hollmer-Cross have been seizing the day themselves.
Photos and footage from their amazing efforts are some of the most compelling in the Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards – Australasia’s most sought-after big surf challenge. “They’re just charging,” says photographer Stuart Gibson, winner of the prestigious Nestle Award, who’s been busy documenting his mates’ efforts at Shipstern. “Marti’s been throwing himself into everything.”
A near classic North sea swell hit this morning and thankfully the forecasted snow didn't arrive to make getting to the beach a hassle. The air temp was around zero degrees and the beach sand first thing, was frozen, but the sun was out, it was offshore and a long period 4-5ft swell was pumping. The waves were super clean, they held up for ever and formed long peeling, fairly punchy and some barreling waves. As the tide flooded though the lateral rip became stronger and paddling out of the impact zone was tricky and the drift in the line up was rapid. Lets hope for lots more days like this in 2008!
Looking at the Met office pressure charts the 955mb low pressure shown here is going to stir up a good size swell due to hit the UK East coast early on Saturday morning. Its going to be long period waves with a lightish offshore breeze forecast. Air and Sea temps will freeze the plums off a penguin but it looks like the swell will be worth it
