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#28 MAY/JUNE 2 015
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CONTENTS
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ED NOTE. AIN’T NOTHING MORE THERAPEUTIC, THAN SURFING ALL DAY LONG WE TELL YA.
COVER We run a simple editorial policy when choosing a front cover. We’re not trying to cure cancer or anything… it’s only surfing guys and girls. It goes something like this: best photo wins. Sure, we’ve got the super stars inside: Dane stomping a big ol’ frontside grab in the afternoon glow at D’bah. Jordy throwing a large backside rotation, he still claims is the biggest one he’s ever done. The king, diggin’ his rail in during the day of the year at Straddie. Kerrzy getting totally toobed during his stint at home. And West Oz stunning the pro’s. But when this photo of Scott ‘Whip’ Dennis landed our way, the wild charger from the south coast who knows how to surf, it was pretty obvious where it belonged. Best photo wins right. On that note: come on in, as Australia lights-up. Photo: Leroy Bellet
BLOWN AWAY. WEST OZ STUNS PRO’S DURING THE WAITING PERIOD OF THE MARGIES PRO.
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES. THE ART OF JAMMING TWO SURFERS INTO A BARREL, TO PURSUE DIFFERENT ANGLES IN THE SURF PHOTO GAME.
WIDE ANGLE. A VISUAL COLLECTION OF WATERY MOMENTS FROM THE PAST TWO MONTHS.
18seconds
a pack involved in crimes such as running guns down to the beach when it's 10-foot-plus and illegal carry-on luggage weights: andy morris editor
andy@18seconds.com.au
alicia smith designer
alicia@18seconds.com.au
russell ord photo editor ordy@me.com
contributors
18seconds is self-published six times a year in Currumbin, Australia: PO Box 86, Tugun, QLD 4224. Views expressed by authors aren’t necessarily those of the publisher and editor. Copyright is reserved, so please don’t reproduce our pages for anything. Email addresses are published for professional communication and swell alerts only.
ted grambeau chris burkard duncan macfarlane ed sloane andrew christie leroy bellet billy morris lee pegus peter 'joli' wilson jason corroto jake 'yaki' newell – music ink dwayne fetch – video james driscoll – proof reading jake williams – designer
E D N ote
all day long. It doesn’t get much better than last Sunday 26 April (despite some bonghead removing the legrope from a board I’d stashed on the beach). The wind, the tides, the swell, the sun, the water temps. Everything was perfect and it stayed like this all day long. Due to a last minute dash up the highway to The Spit carpark, we arrived without a ski or a guaranteed ride over the seaway. Note to self: don’t get ski serviced in autumn. And Tommy Whits (who has the backup ski), mate, that was bad timing to go over to Cali for the Oakley Lowers Pro.
Paddling was an option, but with a bulky water housing rigged up, a semi-waterproof bag of delicate lenses and a westerly wind pushing one-foot chop up the seaway, it was definitely a last resort. Before such a drastic move, we’d jump on the ferry and make do. I asked to be dropped on the back of the island, so I could bring in my semi-waterproof camera resting on top of my board. This isn’t the driver’s usual route, but when half the surfers on the ferry (team Volcom) said they’ll jump off too and run through the island as a warm-up, he agreed with a slight nod of his head. As I hit the water with my gear, I imagined what it would feel like to be making my way off an Indo outrigger at Apocalypse with a month worth of precious supplies. I carefully kicked and floated into a small landing of sand. I was out of my comfort zone trying to keep camera gear above sea level. Salt water and finely tuned electrical goods don’t mix bro. I def' enjoyed the risk though.
The feast we were greeted to on Sunday 26 April. Offshore winds, solid east swell, dazzling sun. All the ingredients for a fine autumn day, where everyone got really (really) barrelled, all day long. Photo: Andy morris.
After a quick check for water damage and a 500-metre walk through to the other side, it was obvious it was pumping. I’m not going to be poetic. I’ want to let the ocean (greeting us in the pic before your eyes as we made our way over the dunes) do the talking. We settled and it stayed this way all day long. I’ve got a lot of responsibility these days. House, partner, one kid, two kids and more recently three kids. But for those hours on Sunday nothing else mattered. It reminded me of my teens and twenties, where I wanted to surf my life away (which isn’t such a bad idea). There are waves that’ll make you want to drop everything in life. When the offshores are blowing and the swell is on the pulse, Straddie is one of them. Just do it. All day long. AM
feature 01:
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES The art of jamming two surfers into a barrel, to pursue different angles in the surf photo game. PHOTOGRAPHY leroy bellet
You’ve probably seen the video on the WSL Big Wave Awards of Scott ‘Whip’ Dennis going down on one of the heaviest slabs you’re likely to see along the rugged southern coastline of Australia (If you haven’t you should def’ Google it once you finished this issue). This season the crazed slab hunter has been working with rising photographer, Leroy Bellet (who’s fast gaining a big set of figs too) pursuing a unique follow-cam angle, pioneered by former French pro surfer, Laurent Pujol. The difference with these guys is, Laurent’s backyard is big wave beachies. Whip and Leroy’s jungle is unforgiving reefs on the south coast of New South Wales. And you know Leroy doesn’t have a chance of coming out of these waves unscathed. He takes a good beating every time. But before you feast your eyes on this unique perspective, flick the page to find out how they pull off this dangerous stunt.
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UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES Thoughts when Leroy said he wants to try follow-cam with you: Leroy and I had just started shooting together around the time the doubletow started with Taj and Mark Mathews [August 2014] at The Right, which was fucking crazy. That put the idea in his head. Seeing how good it looked at a local slab near home, Leroy called it, ‘l’m keen to double-tow today, I'm frothing to nail something,’ he said. Hahaha, l was like, yep let’s do this, still thinking he was talking shit. But staying true to his word, we had a crack.
Choice of waves are in your area for attempting follow-cam: Most of the spots are way too dangerous, breaking on dry rocks. Around home there are a few gems, which are super shallow. The heave hard, then fade into deep water, which is perfect for follow-cam shots.
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Logistics of the shoot: You need a jetski, a tow rope and both of us on one rope. It all starts with the driver. He makes the call on the right wave. The he’s got to put us in the right position with the correct speed coming into the wave. There’s definitely an art to driving and requires hours of practice. Then it's up to me to let go first and put us in a nice and deep position. Then Leroy needs to make sure he follows my line into the wave. If this all goes according to plan, both of us should be sitting sweet in the pit. It’s that easy… hahaha. Not really.
Dangers: How dangerous is it for us? Hahaha. For me, not at all. But for Leroy, very. For starters, he doesn't get to make the wave. He's packing barrels super deep, so there’s enough barrel for me too. He doesn’t really stand a chance. He's always falling on the heaviest part to get the shot and when we both fall, he's not only got his board he’s got to worry about, but my board too which is thrashing around… it gets crazy. We’ve tried a few times now and he's already had seven staples to the head from my board flying back at him… it put a nice hole in his head.
Change your barrel technique when someone’s behind you: A little bit. I try not to think about him. It’s all about taking a clean line and making sure you minimise the amount of spray flying off your rails in front of the camera.
Plans for this season: We’ve had a few good days on this right, but not too many. I’m hoping winter turns on the goods. The plan is to try a few different and heavier waves. We have a couple of other ideas to make it look even better… so more to come.
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UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES
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“You need a jetski, a tow rope and both of us on one rope. It all starts with the driver. He makes the call on the right wave. The he’s got to put us in the right position with the correct speed coming into the wave. There’s definitely an art to driving and requires hours of practice. Then, it's up to me to let go first and put us in a nice and deep position. Then Leroy needs to make sure he follows my line into the wave. If this all goes according to plan, both of us should be sitting sweet in the pit. It’s that easy… hahaha. Not really!”
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UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES
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“Seeing how good it looked at a local slab near home, Leroy called it, ‘l’m keen to double-tow today, I'm frothing to nail something,’ he said. Hahaha, l was like, yep let’s do this, still thinking he was talking shit. But staying true to his word, we had a crack.”
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UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES
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“How dangerous is it for us? Hahaha. For me, not at all. But for Leroy, very. For starters, he doesn't get to make the wave. He's packing barrels super deep, so there’s enough barrel for me too. He doesn’t really stand a chance. He's always falling on the heaviest part to get the shot and when we both fall, he's not only got his board he’s got to worry about, but my board too which is thrashing around… it gets crazy. We’ve tried a few times now and he's already had seven staples to the head from my board flying back at him… it put a nice hole in his head.”
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BLOWN AWAY feature 02:
WEST OZ STUNS PROS. Photography Russell Ord (unless credited)
It was obvious a week or so out from the Margaret River Pro waiting period. All forecasting data was singing the same song: a succession of strong swells in the 8–15-foot range were due to strike the south west of Western Australia right on cue as the world’s best surfers arrived. The ocean was blue, offshore and big. The lines were stacked. And it remained like this for the majority of the 12-day waiting period. It was a dream run for event organisers who made use of the hollow, slabbing backup venue known as The Box. Imagine: two guys out, eight foot slabs on shallow, hard rock. Adrenalin overdrive. Lucky for us, the freesurfing around the event was electrifying. Our man on the ground, Russ Ord, has all angles covered.
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The notorious wave known as The Box fired over a number of days during the waiting period of the Margaret River Pro. Surfers who had to tackle it in their heats, had whiter knuckles and much higher anxiety, than the guys in later heats who would likely be at Main Break due to afternoon winds. It’s easy to understand why, when KElly the king says it’s harder to surf than Teahupoo.
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Jordy Smith enjoying what could have been the best backup venue on the WSL schedule. Unfortunately, for this to happen, the WSL needed to negotiate with The Shire of Augusta Margaret River, six months prior to the event to determine the suitability of the backup site. This didn’t happen, but it’s a sure thing for 2016. Let’s hope Huey backs it up. No pressure champ.
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Jay Davies is the freesurfing local who almost went the whole way at his first ever WSL event. After being gifted a wildcard into the trials (which he won), the giant killer then proceeded to thrash two world champs (Gabriel Medina and Mick Fanning) at The Box in heavy conditions…. the kind of stuff he’s grown up surfing. The kind of stuff he feels most comfortable in. No wonder he’s currently ranked 25 on the Championship Tour… and he’s not even on tour!
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“I’ve been lucky enough to see Shaun's progression over the years. Back in the day, his dad [Mat Manners – local shaper and incredible surfer] would sit in the carpark rain, hail or shine and watch his micro grom pull apart the River Dog [rivermouth break next to main break at Margaret River] charging into one foot closeouts. These days it’s a different carpark. Shaun’s now taking on North Point bombs with ease and pulling large slobs like this hefty one pictured here. He is certainly not out of place in a star studded lineup, earning the respect from his peers for his, go for it no questions asked attitude.” Russell Ord. Photo: Paul Smyth
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North Point in all its glory. When the WSL returns in 2016, this knifing wave could be coming to a screen near you, as a backup venue for days when the swell maxes out at Main Break.
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Dusty Payne getting his serve of The Box. Funny story about The Box. There were a number of occasions during the WSL broadcast where commentators put their foot in it. For example: Ms Chelsea Cannell said how The Box was the gift that just kept on giving. Huh? Even Parko turned and raised his head during an autograph signing when he heard that one. And our favourite, Kieren Perrow, explaining how he never gets enough of The Box and has to take every opportunity he gets. Immature? Juvenile? Yes, we are.
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Jack Robinson, North Point colour. After narrowly loosing to Jay Davies in the trials for the main event, Robinson went on to put a clinic for most of the top 34, showing them how to tackle the area’s notorious slabs and reefs he’s grown up surfing. Everyone says it, and we’ll say it too: he has a big future.
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wide angle feature 03:
A visual collection of watery moments from the past two months. Photography andy morris (unless credited)
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Straddie. Sunday 26 April. Pumped like this all day long.
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wide angle
Jordy smith throwing what he stills claims is the largest backside rotation he's ever done. this was stomped on a warm afternoon as the sun was setting over D'bah. after his session he ran the length of the beach approaching all filmers asking them if he could buy the footage.
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Tommy Whits. despite always kinda being on vacation, he is one of the hardest working surfers around.
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“Oh yeah this wave... I don't condone this sort of behaviour, but when surfing on the Gold Coast it's very hard to avoid people, when trying to get some practice in [for the Quik Pro].� Julian Wilson
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Nick Vasiceck. this is Not the super sunday session at straddie where everyone was barrelled out of their minds all day long (including nick which you'll see in the following pages), this is another super session at straddie a couple of weeks before the real super session!
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wide angle
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The beauty of this shot, despite the dreamy colours and scenery, is the fact that these beachies hardly ever break like this. We’ve been watching this space for about seven years now and it takes a very particular set of conditions for it to look like these pixels gracing your computer screen. We’re not gonna tell you what it needs. That wouldn’t be fair. Here’s a hint though: usually there’s too much water moving around, the waves are washing through the inside banks and the wind’s ripping into it. Photo: Darren Moorhouse
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chad du toit drives a stylish bottom turn, as d'bah does its most stylish pipe impersonation.
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ryan 'hippo' hipwood might be used to charging much bigger waves than this, but this reef break near his home still gives him a good run for his money.
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jack freestone, with pockets full of steeze and control.
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“this was such a rad session... After a long waiting period for the quik pro with tiny surf, I was excited to get some waves. I’m the perennial grom ya see… always frothing and surfing all day.” Josh kerr
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there are a few things we don't know about this shot. we don't know who the guys is in the barrel. we don't know who the guy is looking at the guy in the barrel. the only thing we do know is exactly where this wave is... but we don't know how to tell you.
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“This is definitely one of the bigger waves I’ve ever had at Straddie. I came up for the day [from Byron Bay] knowing there would be a few waves over there.”Soli Bailey
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billy stairmand lucks into a colourful straddie session during a two-day stopover while passing through to california.
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“I was so fried on this day. My eyes felt like raisins rolled in chilli powder. There is a lot to love about surfing all day in Australia.� Dane Reynolds
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“In the morning we went a few hours down the coast to a very quiet and hollow right reef. Jye Demmrich was picking off all the nice ones that linked up on the inside section. As you do in South Australia, we definitely covered a few k's chasing this swell.� Photo: Damon Arandelovic
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sebastian zietz, shooting sand out his pipe.
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tommy whits, down the coast.
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“this was a good day. I’d been in Coolangatta for a while. It was good before the Quik Pro started, but the last week of my trip in Queensland was some of the best waves I could ask for.” Jordy Smith
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josh kerr cops a beating seconds before the photographer does.
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chad du toit bringing colour to a dreary, sharky day.
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nick vasiceck driving through the super sunday session on april 26.
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hot off the plane from west oz, kelly the king makes a brief appearance during the super sunday session at straddie.
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unknown, deep and committed. straddie sunday 26 april.
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james woods and the bending perspectives of a fisheye lens in the toobe.
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we posted this frame on insty. yeah we'll admit it. but now it's here again because we've got a point to prove. a lot of people commented, this wasn't a make, he fell off for sure blah blah blah. come on! it's dane 'fucking' reynolds man. one of the most gifted surfers of all time. so here before you, sequential evidence of a make.
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while sydney was being battered by wild weather and 30-foot waves on this day, billy stairmand was enjoying a completely different story further north on the gold coast.
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wide angle look son, i'm airing over the rock wall! we're not sure who froths harder. Tommy whits or his two micro groms.
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“I love coming back to where I grew up. It was so fun to get good waves at my favourite breaks on the Goldy after the Quik Pro. I really miss it.” Josh Kerr
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When we processed this image, we knew there were some special shots on the memory card. Turns out it is a Gold Coast lifeguard, Storm Hosking who’s always on the sniff for Straddie pits. He was impressed with the shots too banging through an email… “Wow they are pretty sick! How good are the colours! That’s your page one right there! Hahaha.”
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another view of straddie on sunday 26 april.
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james woods on the heaviest beachbreak we've seen in a long time. you can see why people are saying this was the best straddie they've ever seen.
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bede durbidge enjoying the extended run of water clarity near home.
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Tommy whits knows the drill: you gotta pay to play.
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“I shot this afternoon from a small boat anchored in the channel. Jye Demmrich [pictured] jumped straight off with his little 6'1" and paddled a few insiders before towing, which was pretty wild considering the size of the sets. There were a few guys paddling, blowing up about the two-to-three skis out there.� Photo: Damon Arandelovic
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Kelly’s moved into a beachside penthouse roughly 22 k’s from this very barrel. He came over by jetski (which he drove), paddled out and proceeded to be hassled by everyone in the lineup. He did however score a few gems.
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