11th hour action

I watched the 11th Hour film recently, which in environmental terms made pretty scary viewing. It confirmed that we as a race are pretty much screwing the planet and unless we act fast there's not going to be much left. As comsummers we can make a difference but buying habits need to change. There are also a small number of individuals in this world that wield most of the power. The sad fact is that they...and one man in particular, hold the ability to make massive positive changes whilst in office. But in his eyes starting an unjust war and lining his pockets with the oil proceeds is more important...if GWB had ever surfed in Texas the world might be a very different place!



11th Hour action is a community that will help individuals and communities connect with each other to help find solutions that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, increase the use of renewable energy, and slow down consumption of natural resources. For more information visit:

http://www.11thhouraction.com/

Are you addicted to surfing?

If you can answer yes to all, or most of the following questions, chances are you are either already addicted or beyond the point of no return. There's no cure, no cold turkey, you're in the club .... a surfer for life:

1. Have you ever lost a relationship because she/he just can't get why it's so important to drop everything and go surfing when there's a swell?
2. Do you plan all your holidays so that the destination is no less than 5 minutes from a surf spot?
3. Do you buy your vehicles based on the suitability for carrying surfboards? (a 2 seat sports car might look good but where's the stick gonna go).
4. Have you ever given up a job because it's located too far from the beach or they won't let you leave early or take a day off to surf?
5. Have you ever moved house to be closer to the beach?
6. Do you become miserable, grumpy, depressed, if you haven't surfed in weeks?

Just think, somewhere on the planet there's a warm water, sunny, offshore, reef or point firing perfect glassy walls....don't ignore the tremors, get out there and find it :)


* No doubt I've missed some obvious surf addict symptoms, so feel free to comment with anymore ideas

Surfing Fitness: Get fit to surf

The holiday season is here, the ocean is warming up and the surfing masses are emerging from their annual winter surf hibernation, itching to get back in the water. The only problem is lack of surfing time equals lack of surf fitness, equals less waves. However with the help of Clayton Beatty BSc, a certified personal trainer from Perth in WA, we're going to run a series of surf fitness tips, which should get you back into peak condition for that next session.

Heres a word from Clayton and the first in the series of exercises:

Wouldn’t you like to be able to surf harder and longer, get more barrels, bust bigger airs and surf with more style? And wouldn’t you like to be able to accomplish this without even getting wet?

Surfing has reached a new level of professionalism in recent years, with pros opting to train harder and smarter in an effort to increase their performance out in the waves.

Mick Fanning’s rise to the top was driven by his dedicated approach to his fitness regime after a debilitating hamstring injury. Taj Burrow has personal trainer (Bra Boy - John Gannon) flown around on tour to keep him in peak physical condition at all times. Obviously fitness training for surfing is becoming more and more important to the top professionals.

So what can the rest of us mere mortals do to improve our surfing ability whilst stuck on dry land? The secret lies in functional training.

What is functional training?

Most fitness programs created by fitness trainers are designed for bodybuilders not athletes. Generally these programs are generic in nature and do not tailor to the specific needs of the sport.

Functional training is working out using exercises that have movements similar to that used in the sport, in this case, surfing. It is basically training for a specific purpose.

From a performance perspective, functional training overloads your body whilst you are doing similar movements to that you would use whilst out in the surf. Your body then adapts to this overload and the result is that these movements are easier to perform whilst surfing.

There are many movements your body undertakes whilst surfing including paddling, pushing, squatting and twisting just to name a few. Therefore it is important any functional training program incorporates core strength, balance, upper body strength and lower body strength.

Russian Twist

• This exercise will work your core muscles in a twisting motion.

• Lie on a stability ball with your feet on the floor and knees at right angles.

• Hold the basketball above your head and roll to the side until the tip of your shoulder is on the ball. Repeat on the other side.

• Do 8 repetitions each side.

• To increase the intensity, do the exercise faster (with good form) or use a weight plate or medicine ball instead of a basketball.

For more info visit Claytons website at http://www.totalsurfingfitness.com/index.htm

Point break 2: Indo

Pointbreak is up there in my all time surf movie list...not because it's an all time classic, but because it's a bit cheesy, heaps of fun and is watchable again and again. So I listened intently when I heard theres going to be a sequel! It is going to be filmed but there are a lot of rumours flying around about the plot....

"The original 1991 movie starred Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, and Gary Busey. No word on whether any of them might be involved in the sequel yet, but Swayze’s health problems make him extremely unlikely, and Gary Busey has apparently gone loco. That leaves Keanu, who hasn’t really done much recently so Point Break 2 might not actually be a bad move for him.

The sequel is written by the same guy who wrote the first one, W. Peter Iliff. The word is that the plot of the sequel will involve a Navy Solider recruited to infiltrate a gang of criminals in Southeat Asia. The new movie is about a military specialist / surfing star who takes off for the waves on the coast of Bali after being disqualified from the pro-tour. There he’s recruited by a security organization trying to hunt down a bunch of surfing outlaws. The gang he’s after is called “The Bush Administration”.

It all sounds like typical Hollywood trash to me....I can't wait!

What is in it for Nike?

Am I the only one thats thinking this? I hope not.

So what are Nike doing focusing their vast amount of resources on surfing? Is it because the founding member and board of directors are surfers? Is it because their shareholders voted to help promote the positive aspects of surfing? Do Nike want to help improve the environment and the oceans we use? Are they fighting back against the new range of Billabong football boots and Rip Curl athletic shoes? *

or

Do Nike want to squeeze every last penny out of surfing? Do Nike want to use their cash and buying power to gain market share on established real surf companies or even close them down? Do Nike and its corporate suits want to turn surfing into just another commodity that equals only profit in shareholders eyes? Do Nike want to deflect from allegations of child labour and work force abuse in their Asian Factories by latching onto an ethically forward thinking sport like surfing? Would Nike buy up access to beaches and charge for riding waves?


You decide...

Feel free to post your comments..

* Billabong and Rip Curl aren't making football and athletic equipment...that'd be as daft as Nike making surf gear!

Burma Cyclone appeal

The Disaster Emergency committee are the organisation who co-ordinates disaster relief funds through to recognised charities, who are allowed access to and are working in Burma to assist with the massive human tragedy there.

Their website is: http://www.dec.org.uk/

Extremehorizon expands its tree planting for 2008

Extremehorizon are a Climate Neutral business. Its not something we wave a big flag about or wander around feeling smug, it's just a decision we've taken and by posting this blog it may point others in the same direction. We feel a business needs to minimise any negative environmental impact, not as an afterthought but as a fundamental founding principle. There's enough shite being pumped into our atmosphere and we don't want to make it any worse, so we've joined a tree planting scheme to offset our calculated CO2 emissions.
This year we've extended the number of trees planted on our behalf to 750 with the help of the Face Foundation, a dutch organisation.
The project, Face, are currently working on is a Reforestation scheme in Malaysia. The information below outlines the project we are a small part of:

General description:
A severely damaged Malaysian tropical rainforest is being rehabilitated on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan) The Malaysian government is striving toward sustainable use of the rainforest and has assigned around 1 million hectares as nature conservation area. The project, near to Danum Valley, is founded by partner Face Foundation in cooperation with Innoprise. Last year a significant amount of research was conducted at the nearby Danum Valley Field Centre. The research and experiences have improved plant and cultivation methods. As soon as the rainforest is recovered it will be managed sustainably. It could then function as a buffer area for the protected area of Danum Valley.

Situation without the project:

Intensive and large-scale deforestation has resulted in a severely degraded forest. Due to the intensive growth of the liana (a type of vine) it is impossible for some tree species to regenerate naturally. Without this project the forest will never return to its natural state. In this project tree seedlings are planted and liana cut away from existing trees thereby enabling them to grow.

Environmental impact:

Besides sequestrating a yearly amount of CO2, the project will contribute towards the biodiversity of the forest. As the forest recovers there will be more food available for the primates, as well as an increase in insects and with that the food source for birds and reptiles.

Social impact:

The area around Danum valley is becoming an increasingly well-known by eco-tourists from Europe and the US. One of the most important tourist attractions is the unique Borneo Rainforest Lodge, a sustainable hotel located in the middle of pristine forest. Furthermore there is a research centre set up by “the Royal Society” in the Danum Valley. Projects are initiated by local people from the local organisation INFAPRO (INnoprise Face PROgram). This project offers employment for the area in tourism, research and nature conservation.

In Addition:

Without planting the trees the forest would never return to its original state. There is no local money available to perform replanting. With the selling of the carbon offset credits that are realised in the project, money will become available for further development of the project.

Key facts:

• Project name: Infapro Malaysia Forestry project

• Project owner: Infapro

• Project location: Danum Valley conservation area, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

• Project volume: 11.040,79 Ha

• CO2 captured: approximately 100.000 tons CO2 per year (CO2 sequestration)

• Project type: Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs)

• Project standard: SGS COV standard (in 2008 CCBA and VCS certification will be added)

• VERs contracted by CNG: 100.000 per year

• Project status: in operation

Tow surfing with a Great white shark

I came across this video clip on Alex Wade's, Surf Nation blog and just had to post it here. It's a clip of a guy towing into a wave being pulled in by a white shark!! OK it's as fake as Jordan's puppies but it's really well done...


Surfing With A Great White Shark - Watch more free videos

ITS A TRIPLE FOR THE NORTHCORE TEAM AT THE 2008 ENGLISH NATIONALS

It was a storming weekend at the English National surf competition, held at Watergate bay, for three of the Northcore team. With fantastic results for both Lewis Clinton and Kathleen Spears taking 1^st place in the U18 boys and girls categories respectively. Not only that, Lewis was awarded the Dave Gent Memorial Trophy for the best-placed junior surfer from Newquay.

Grishka Roberts, who tests Northcore's surfboards, was also honoured by being awarded the Randall Davies Memorial Trophy for the best overall performance by a Newquay surfer.

With 23 divisions and close to 300 entrants, the Headworx English Nationals is one of the biggest surfing competitions in Europe. This year it was also one of the busiest, with Saturday alone seeing 40 hours of heats contested simultaneously on four peaks.

“We had a really busy day on Saturday but luckily the surf was brilliant for a competition; everybody was really happy with yesterday’s surf,” said Contest Director Ester Spears.

In winning their events both Lewis and Kathleen have earned the right to represent England in the European Junior Surfing Championships which will be held in Morocco in November.

Lewis Clinton said of the event, “I'm super happy that I have won, its quite a big event to win! The surf conditions were not great but I suppose I just managed to pick up a couple of waves and it worked out for me! I'm just stoked that I have won but also winning the Dave Gent memorial trophy, was a real privilege for me, it put the icing on the cake”

Kath Spears, said of the weekend " It was amazing to win the english, at the beginning of the year it was one of main aims and I'm stoked to have acheived it. The comp was really well run and the waves were pretty average so it was a bit of a test! Thanks to all my sponsors and every one who has helped me do this."

for more information visit www.northcore-europe.com

(PICTURE: LES CLINTON)

Measuring wave Height

There we were, sat in the campsite, discussing wave height from that days session and between the three of us the same waves might as well have been on different sides of the planet. They ranged from 2ft, to 4ft to "overhead". It's a conversation held between surfers for generations and no one can ever really agree. However I have discovered the answer and the following may help:

Wave height definitions.
1. Wave buoys. These give an accurate reading of open ocean deep water swells, which are measured crest to trough, but when the swell hits the beach, the size is determined by the Bathymetry (bottom contours), which vary greatly. A reef is going to kick up a bigger wave on the same swell compared to a beach break. So wave buoys are an indicator.
2. The Hawaiian method (not to be confused with the rhythm method). This is measured from the back of the wave and is not at all accurate. Some waves have hardly any back at all, for example Teahupoo, which measured on a Hawaiian scale would be a 2ft wave, whilst on the other side of the wave riders are buried in cavernous barrels big enough to drive a truck through. The Hawaiian scale is more about showing who has the biggest cahones and is a way of scaring visiting haoles!
3. Surfer scale. This is generally used by surfers based on body heights, ie a knee height wave is 1ft, waist is 2ft, shoulder 4ft, overhead 6ft etc. But again this only provides an indication for obvious reasons, short riders who crouch a lot are going to get loads more overhead days than a tall surfer.
4. Wave face: This is the measurement from the wave lip down the curling face to the base of the trough. Using wave face is when measurements get silly. I've been out on 4ft days and guys are claiming 10ft faces. Waves like Cyclops in WA aren't that "tall" in the traditional sense but have massive wave faces as the lip really throws out.
5. Wave height. This is measured from the land and denotes the height of the wave crest. Again this is almost impossible to determine and it doesn't take into account wave face etc.

There are some scientific formulas out there to measure waves (and technical drawings like mine above :), but surfers will never ever agree, unless they refer to the following answer for measuring wave height:

Wave height "You can either over estimate or you can under estimate" .... simple really

Pipeline Posse

We were emailed this link recently from the guys at Current TV. It's some sick footage of Pipeline... enjoy :)