MAGAZINE
BLADE
ISSUE 2: August 2013
Featured:
! l a p e n o g e av h d l u o h s u Yo o miss out h w e s o h t o t A tribute
Managing editor: Matt Burgess Contributors: Andrew Cassidy, Alison Cassidy, John Messenger Photographers: A Cassidy, J Hepp, S Whitesell, Y Lii, S Williams
Cover Shot: Kody Kerbox slotting a barell somewhere in Hawaii - Photo: Y Lii (curtousy Naish In Inside Shot: Kai Bates checking the surf at a Bali, Indonesia beachy. - Photo: Alison Cassidy
Back Cover Shot: Kyron Rathbone jumping off a cliff somewhere on the Australian coast - Photo: Ste Contact: info@blademagazine.net
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nternational)
eve Williams
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y n en
L i a K
Written By: John Messenger Photo: Stephen Whitesell
Kai Lenny, the boy fortunate enough to ride with legends for his upbringing has become the legend. The term “Waterman� now is a description of him, whether on a Stand Up Paddle board, Sailboard or Kiteboard, you know he is at one with the ocean and its elements.
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: t i w f l a ! h l a e p h e t n o o t g e e t v u a h d Trib l u o h s you Written by: Matt Burgess Photos: Alison Cassidy
We’ve all been there. The months of planning. The endless videos of perfection. The build up of froth. And then, there is always one guy, just one, that pulls out at last minute. This is to you, jackass! This story isn’t one of the usual. It is about an idiot who pulls out of a surf trip with a group of mates. A surf trip offering Indo perfection. And you know who it was? It was me. Yep! The editor, head honcho, el padrino of Blade, and don’t I feel like a half-wit. Indonesia is one of those places every surfer must surf at least once. It’s up there with Hawaii’s north shore, however you don’t go there unless you have stomped indo. It’s the first cab in the rank to prove yourself as a surfer. And I love the place. An archipelago to 17,508 Islands, Indonesia is as culturally diverse as the UN General Assembly. But most wouldn’t know that, or have any interest. Surfers have been travelling to the island ‘paradise’ of Bali since the early 1950s and have ventured little further. It’s only recently (past 15-20years) that a boom in surf tourism in Bali and islands in close vicinity, fuelled by photos of uncrowded perfection, which has spurred an increase in crowds and aggressive locals protecting their breaks. As SUPers, that’s something we’re against and tend to go away from the ‘main’ peaks of a break and find our own bit of joy. In May 2013, an intrepid group of surfers from One Liquid, lead by Deep’s Andrew Cassidy (Casso), featuring Fanatic’s Kai Bates as well as Jason and Cheryl Cater left the main tourist haunts of Bali and spent a week surfing the breaks in and around Balian, on Bali’s west coast. Flicking through the shots and speaking with the crew when they returned, boy did they score! Having lived in Java for 6 years, I have become accustomed to the magic Indonesian waves can produce! I was lucky enough to have been surfing breaks where, due to the travel and difficulty of finding them, the most I ever surfed with was two other people. Balian also has this option when the waves are pumping on the east coast of Bali (Ulu’s, Serangin), as most surfers will head to the proving grounds for the search of that perfect barrel.
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Jason Cater - Afternoon surf check
Kai Bates - Backhand re-entry Issue 2 || BLADE Magazine || 7
Top: Kai Baates Bottom: Andrew Cassidy
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“
We arrived after midnight and couldn’t gauge what it was like but waking up the first morning I knew we had scored - big time -Andrew Cassidy -
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“
I actually quite enjoyed my role as chief photographer for the trip – the guys were really appreciative of even my beginner skills behind the camera. The photographer they had lined up bailed at the last minute so they had to make do with me. - Alison Cassidy -
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The only time I saw him hit the Bintangs was when he was trying to impress a couple of cute, young longboarders. He said the pink Fantas didn’t really cut it in that situation - smart boy. - Andrew Cassidy -
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Top: Kai Bates Bottom: Cheryl Prout Issue 2 || BLADE Magazine || 11
Whilst the crew were there, they scored Balian perfection! And I’m frustrated I didn’t go. Interestingly enough, they didn’t know what they were in for. However, the first morning they were presented with left and right peaks of sheet glass, glistening under a golden sky with nobody out. Yeah, perfection! “Anyone who was invited on the trip, offered free accommodation, who knew the possibilities of a remote Indonesian break like that… and didn’t go would have to be an absolute lunatic” said Andrew Cassidy upon his return. Due to flights and travel times, the guys didn’t arrive until after midnight. “I could hardly sleep the night before, my imagination was running wild with ideas of tomorrow’s waves,” said Kai with the grin of a grommet. “[In the morning] I awoke to the sound of thunder, as perfect 5-6ft waves peeled down Balian, I definitely was amazed.” “It stayed like that for the entire week” Casso responded. “Only fluctuating a couple of feet up and down and we had the odd windy afternoon. We surfed our guts out every day only stopping for awesome, cheap food and massages.” Travelling with the perpetual groms (Casso and Kai) were Alison Cassidy (Mrs Casso), Cheryl Prout and Jason Cater (Kai’s Mum and Step-Dad). Both Cheryl and Jason joined in on the SUPing escapades and managed to jag a couple of slabs themselves, dominating the peaks. “The crowds were fine,” says Cheryl. “Most days there were about 10 to 12 out and that was when the swell was pretty solid.” Casso added: “It was good having Kai there though, I don’t think any of the crew had seen someone rip on a SUP that well before. He earned a lot of respect and paved the way for the rest of us.”
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Alison, in all her glory, managed to capture the epic shots you see before you. “I actually quite enjoyed my role as chief photographer for the trip – the guys were really appreciative of even my beginner skills behind the camera,” Alison said. “The photographer they had lined up bailed at the last minute so thay had to make do with me.” Outside of tourist haunts of Kuta and Legian, Bali is astoundingly picturesque and relaxing, making it perfect for a family getaway. I remember as a kid, the further you went north, the more isolated, the more remote you went, the more relaxing Bali became and you actually felt a truer sense of what Indonesia has to offer. Balian is the perfect compromise, allowing you to surf as well as get an understanding of the Indonesian Hindu culture. “It’s a really unspoiled part of Bali and the locals were lovely… Take me back!” joked Alison. ‘If you could have stayed longer, would you?’ I asked the group. “I could have stayed for months” Cheryl said. “Would have been nice to move around a little, but Balian was so nice. We would have a morning surf followed by a big breaky followed by another surf then a massage followed by lunch, happy hour then dinner.” Even as I sit here writing this, looking at the photos, seducing my imagination of perfection, I’m becoming increasingly agitated I didn’t go. The crew scored. Perfect lefts and rights with a great group of friends in a beautiful part of Indonesia, what more do you want for a quick trip away. To everyone who has missed a surf trip because of last minute commitments, this tribute is to you. Moral of the story, GO SURFING!! Don’t miss a session. Don’t miss a trip! When you do, everyone else will have that little twinkle in their eye that goes along with the story of perfection whilst you’re sitting in the dark corner with a rain cloud above your head. DON’T BE THAT GUY! IT SUCKS!
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Top Left: Jason Cater Top Right: Andrew Cassidy Bottom: Kai Bates Issue 2 || BLADE Magazine || 15
s n i f s k l a t jb Written by: John Messenger Photo: Jimmi Hepp
Most of the time we hear a lot about board reviews, volumes, lengths, widths and peoples opinions on how they ride. But we rarely hear in depth about fins. Fins are a vital part of a boards performance and more so than the average rider probably would think. Fins essentially are designed to keep the back of the board at the back, but they also do a lot more. A lot of the time it can be the fin that makes or breaks a move or situation your in. To help a little about fins with out getting too technical, I thought I go through a few of the differences most common in fins. I guess the first thing that stands out most of the time is size. Size plays a huge part, especially with SUP as we are riding larger boards than say a surfer or even a longboarder. The size of the fin, if you like, is the amount of amplification of the fin’s properties. The bigger the fin, the more of the fin’s properties you will experience. With SUP we generally use bigger fins than we would on our conventional surfboards. Next key difference is the material the fin is made out of. There are various materials available from plastic to full carbon and then there is different cores and so on. The material of the fin will control flex, stiffness, strength and weight. A stiffer fin will maintain it’s desired properties under more load however a more flexible fin gives forgiveness and a smooth and easy ride, a good surfer does not necessarily always want a stiff fin. Finally, we look at fin shaping and foils. These can get confusing and hard to understand without an engineering degree (which I don’t have), but in general a larger/deeper foil will produce more lift but also more drag than a fin with a smaller/shallower foil. Lift is the energy or force produced by the foil which is generally in the direction of travel and opposite to opposing forces (like drag, buoyancy, etc..). But we won’t go into that. Wikipedia is good for a read on lift and fins. Then there is the outline shape of the fin, a more upright fin will be quite efficient at producing lift, and is normally matched with a shorter base (the part aligned with the board) to give a lower drag and can be a good choice for higher speeds, where as a general more raked back fin with a larger base is excellent at low speeds for grip and producing high lift with little effort. All this is only a very quick skim of the surface on fins, and there are so many variables in fin design. I guess produces the biggest of questions: “Which fin is right for me?” Unfortunately no one can really tell you, as it is a totally personal thing. A fin needs to be matched to your size, style, board and desired results. So the best thing you can do is visit your local store and make use of their demo fins and test centers. You will learn pretty quickly what you like in a fin, and aid your journey in finding your perfect match. (In this pic. You can see that Kai is relying on his fins quite a bit here, producing lift to keep the rail engaged and board direction moving forward.) 16 || BLADE Magazine || Issue 2
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