CARVE Surfing Magazine

Fanning fights back! ASP title race hots up in the home stretch P.38

SURFING MAGAZINE

Arctic challenge a surf trip to northern Norway and Russia

Who is Britain’s best shaper?

The votes are in

The Great North Run A mad scramble to score sick Scottish slab action

carvemag.com ISSUE 111

£3.80

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Christmas gift guide • Tom Doidge-Harrison • Boost your backhand top turn

9 771354 508054

© Rip Curl / Yassine OUILHAL

The world’s first power-heated wetsuit patent pending

in select stores now!

With Project Resurrection, Rip Curl gives a second life to neoprene waste. We turn old discarded wetsuits and production scraps from our wetsuit factory into shoe outsoles. Bring us your old wettie, we will recycle it. More on ripcurl.com

contents/8

On the cover: Northern Spain has some great waves and it’s a cool place for a late autumn or winter getaway.

Michel Velasco pulls in at Sopelana. Photo: Victor Gonzalez. This page: Arctic explorers Christian Wach and Pat Millen hike down to the beach at a spot the locals call Hell’s Peak in northern Norway. Photo: Yazzy.

departments// 14 18 20 26

Takeoff Incoming Planet Surf Bulletin

28 Foam 32 Competitions 34 focus 100 Final Score

106 Essentials 108 Sussed 113 Sessions 118 Out There

120 And Finally...

features// Quicksand

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The Great North Run

48

The Great CARVE Shapers’ Poll

62

Just when everyone thought the outcome of the World Championship was a foregone conclusion, Parko tweaked his ankle and the Atlantic went into snooze mode for the first two European events. Suddenly the doors were flung open for the top title contenders to stage a fightback, and Mick Fanning led the way. Ben Mondy went behind the scenes to find out what was really going on in Hossegor, and he also scooped an exclusive interview with Mick.

In the good ol’ days it used to be a real thrill to read the charts right and score perfect waves at some far off break. If you were lucky, you sometimes bumped into a couple of old mates you hadn’t seen for years as a bonus.

These days not only do you know how good the waves will be, you also know how many vanloads of Newquay boys are going up...at least five days in advance! Still, it didn’t put Nate ‘Paris’ Phillips and Mark ‘Britney’ Vaughan from blasting up to Scotland, with photog Will ‘I need my sleep’ Bailey in tow.

Who are the best shapers in Britain and Ireland? It’s an intriguing question.

So we thought we’d try to find out. We polled every shaper we could think of in both countries, and asked you lot out there in readerland as well. We got a massive response, literally thousands of votes and opinions. And here are the results.

Peeking behind the Iron Curtain 66

Earlier this year Canadian photog Yazzy Ouhilal and a crack team of coldwater explorers set off to search for surf along the Arctic coasts of Norway and northwest Russia. Travelling by boat, by plane, by car, on foot and on snowmobiles, they scoured the wilderness coast of northern Norway, finding a few gems here and there. But when they crossed the border into Russia they found that getting around wasn’t nearly so simple.

Pure escapism

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The CARVE Christmas Gift Guide

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Winter is slithering towards us like a big badass anaconda – cold, wet, and very, very long. Sure, some people like the winter, just as some people like snakes.

But if you’d rather be wearing a pair of boardshorts than a 5/3 with boots and gloves, then you might want to start thinking about a little winter getaway...

Crikey, it’s the Chrimbotastic CARVE Christmas Gift Guide! Yeah, try saying that after a few pints. Anyway, if you want some cool pressies this Chrimbo, here’s how to do it. 1. Check out our Christmas Gift Guide. 2. Grab a marker pen and put a couple of huge ticks next to some of the things you like. 3. Leave the mag (open at that page) where your nearest and dearest will see it. 4. Fingers crossed they’ll get the hint, and you’ll get the gear. Result!

carve surfing magazine 9

l Photos: Alex Laure

GO TO VANSSURF.COM/TRASHPROJECT FOR MORE INFO! ©2009 VANS, INC. ACTION : NELLY

100% RECYCLED PET UPPER

TIMMY REYES COLOR-UP

SUPER LIGHT WASTE-FREE OUTSOLE

takeoff/14

Mitch Corbert drives into the rising autumn sun. Baggies, Scotland.

will bailey

Props

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s been a pretty good month for British and Irish surfing...

And I’m not just talking about the glassy swell that hit pretty much every point of our coasts and reduced thousands of surfers’ arms and legs to jelly. No, I’m talking about our top bods representing on a truly global scale. In fact, I can’t remember a month on this kind of scale, well, ever!

From Reubs pulling ‘oops’ at the Mundaka CT, to Stokesy coming off the bench and taking out the Pantin Expression session. Brits and Irish lads and lasses doing well at the Eurosurf; to Skindog charging on the ELT, WLT and taking out the Europeans. It’s been epic!

In California the Waverider team: Joel Conroy, Gabe and Lauren Davies, graced the Surfer Poll awards and took out the award for Best Documentary (as well as being nominated for the heavy-water award); the ‘odd couple’ - Al Mennie and Andrew Cotton - have once again been invited to the Nelscott tow comp and Fergal Smith got on the Eddie nominations list.

Meanwhile, back home the surfing in the ‘Quik British’ championships and the Billy British Juniors really stepped up a gear.

The finals of the Brits were, dare I say it, a highly watchable and exciting affair. Great to see so many promising surf-stoked groms running amok stickers and jellybeans flying everywhere - down at Fistral.

Perhaps more importantly for you and I, the sun came out across Britain and Ireland, the wind went offshore and, well, there was proper surf for a bit. Although autumn didn’t really M.T.F.U. in the requested heavy-duty way, there were lots of extremely surfed out bods slumped on sofas in the evenings of early October. And that’s another thing. Have you ever seen so many shots of guys getting pitted around our shores?

And not just Ireland. Guys have been getting properly tucked-in all over the joint...

Yeah, October was a top month I reckon. So pats (and shacks) on backs all round, and bring on November!

– Steve England

oli adams, watergate Bay, cornwall

photo: mike searle

the surfing tribe

We’ve been surfing in Britain for 50 years.

Now it’s time to meet the guys who started it all.

A history of surfing in Britain

®

S U R F I N G

M A G A Z I N E

editor Chris Power associate Editor Steve England Production Manager Louise Searle Operations Director Mike Searle Sub-editor Kat Dawes/Alex Hapgood Editorial Assistant Rob Barber Graphic Design David Alcock, Mike Searle senior Photographers Alex Williams, Mickey Smith, Stuart Norton, Will Bailey.

Photographers Estpix, Chris Power, Mike Searle, Simon Williams, Tim Jones, Gary

Knights, Joli, Pete Frieden, John Callahan, Nick Wapshott, Andrew Chisholm, Paul Gill, Lucia Griggi, Tony Plant, Jason Feast, Ricardo Bravo, Victor Gonzalez, Alan Van Gysen, Yassine Ouhilal.

Contributing Writers Ester Spears, Ben Mondy, Will Bailey, Mickey Smith, Yassine

Ouhilal.

Advertising Advertising Manager Steve England steve@orcasurf.co.uk

Tel: 01637 878074 Call or e-mail for advertising rates or a copy of our media pack.

Subscriptions/Merchandise Subscriptions and Merchandise Manager Jane Chambers jane@orcasurf.co.uk

Tel: 01637 878074 Subscriptions are £29.99 for one year (nine issues), or £52.99 for two years (18 issues), see Subscribe Page at the back of the mag. Back issues of most editions are available, see the Orcashop ad at the back of the mag. Moving? Please write or e-mail giving both your old and new address, indicating that it’s a subscription to CARVE; allow three weeks’ notice.

Orca Publications

“Encyclopedic, lovingly illustrated and peculiarly British.” – Andy Martin, The Daily Telegraph “Tells it like it was. Enlightening and empowering.”

– Tigger Newling

“If you’re a British surfer, you’ll be fascinated by this book and our shared history.” – Paul Russell “…ably illustrates the richness of Britain’s surfing history.” – Alex Wade, The Times

th e surfing tribe A history of surfing in Britain

by Roger Mansfield published by Orca Publications £24.99 Signed copies available from www.orcashop.co.uk Orca Shop hotline: 01637 878074

CARVE is published by: Orca Publications Ltd, Berry Road Studios, Berry Road, Newquay, TR7 1AT, England. • Tel: 01637 878074 • Fax: 01637 850226 • e-mail: info@orcasurf.co.uk Sorry, due to the volume of enquiries we cannot respond to all e-mails. If you want info about where to surf or what equipment to buy, check our website. If you want info about other destinations, check the books advertised in the Orcashop ad at the back of the mag.

Repro, printing and distribution Printing: Garnett Dickinson, Rotherham.

Distribution: Seymour Distribution Ltd, 86 Newman Street, London W1P 7HJ (Tel: 0207 396 8000 • Fax: 0207 396 8002) CARVE is printed on elemental chlorine-free paper produced from sustainable forests

Contributions CARVE welcomes high-quality story and photo contributions. Send contributions to the editor at the Orca Publications address above, and include an SAE. We are not responsible for unsolicited contributions (stuff we haven’t asked for).

Unsolicited contributions sent without an SAE will not be returned. Please do not send us colour prints as we cannot use them; we only accept digital images submitted to our specifications, transparencies (slides) and black-and-white prints. Contributor’s Guidelines for professional photographers available – send request on your headed paper with tearsheets of published work.

Copyright© 2009 Orca Publications Ltd. All material in CARVE is copyright. Reproduction (including by electronic means, such as commercial websites) without the permission of the publishers in writing will result in prosecution. While every care is taken in compiling CARVE, the publishers assume no responsibility for any affect arising from omissions or errors. Views expressed by individuals herein may not reflect those of the publishers. CARVE is a registered trademark of Orca Publications Ltd.

carvemag.com

COMING OCTOBER 2009 A DARK, YET ULTIMATELY UPLIFTING, FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY, REVEALING STORIES OF ARTISTRY AND OBSESSION IN THE REALMS OF FREERIDE SNOWBOARDING, BIG WAVE SURFING AND HARDCORE PUNK ROCK.

TO WATCH THE TRAILER AND MORE VISIT RELENTLESSENERGY.COM

It’s your mag, so have your say!

– send us your pics or write to us at incoming@carvemag.com

online extras

andrew chisholm

incoming/18

Barking

Sometimes it feels like every man and his f--king dog are out surfing at your break. Still, it’s not as bad as this yet… the dog surfing championships took place in (where else?) the US last month, while horse surfing is also becoming popular. www.heraldtribune.com & www.telegraph.co.uk

joli

From: Jezza, North Wales Subject: Stepping up!

That photo of James Hick pulling an ollie over the step at Shipstern’s is one of the heaviest things I’ve ever seen a Brit guy do in a surf mag.

The boy is doing the UK proud going out there and doing the hard yards. Everyone needs to remember that Shippies is not only one of the heaviest waves it’s also at the arse end of nowhere and the water

From: Joe, south coast Kernow Subject: Air Time?

Surely the excellent live coverage of most of the World Championship Tour events that most of the surfers that I know watch religiously has proved that it is time for some quality television coverage? With the excellent venues, the man on man format and the balls to the wall performances it could be made in to some quality mainstream programming. With it looking as though the title race is going to come down to Pipeline it has the potential to be an awesome sporting event that would cane some of the gay sports that are getting air time these days.

As for the rest of TV, if I have to watch one more episode of What Katie Did Next or What Peter Did Next I might commit Hari Cari. Apart from Cheryl Cole, Pop Idol can piss off as well. Give me Joel Parko head to head with Fanning at Backdoor and I’ll die a happy television addict!

From: Simon Jayham, Swansea Subject: Is it safe to SUK? SUK? Stands for ‘Stand Up Kayak’, more commonly known as Stand Up Paddleboard.

Here on The Gower we have a few of the best paddle surfers in the UK (all of whom are excellent surfers) and it must be said they are very competent at negotiating crowds and they don’t endanger others.

However, last weekend there was

18 carve surfing magazine

looks to be pretty Baltic. For a young guy from Jersey, this fella has really gone for it, and he’s got cajones. I tip my cap to him – he’s gone out there on his own, made friends with a pack of fellow nutters and is giving it a full-on dig.

Looking forward to more of his lunatic antics in the future!

Couldn’t agree more Jezza. The lad is Radio Rental! – RB

a worrying incident involving a novice / intermediate SUKer at our local beach. The waves were small and clean, and I was helping run a surf school lesson, filming the guys as they rode the whitewater on their safe soft Swell boards. Just then a SUKer wobbled down the line and fell off just as he got to the surf lesson area. A 12-foot hard board with a 12-foot leg rope, out of control and at speed, heading towards four novice surfers. It was a dangerous situation. Luckily for the four guys in question, one of our surf coaches put his own safety on the line and dived in to catch the nose of the board. The SUKer responsible for this near-accident was totally unaware what had unfolded and appeared to be more concerned about saving his paddle than nearly killing people.

On this particular occasion the SUKer was lucky, as he could have ended up in court. Who else might be liable? The beach owner / management perhaps, as they owe a duty of care to all beachgoers. Maybe us too – as a surf school might we also be held responsible for not doing everything reasonably possible to protect the health and safety of staff and customers? Since the incident we have contacted the beach management department of the local council, reported it to the BSA and RNLI, and we will be holding a staff meeting to discuss how to keep customers safe from SUKs. But is this enough?

Should SUKs be in the surf when it’s busy with other water users? Were they even designed for use in surfing zones? Should they be restricted to their own zoned area, and banned from all other areas?

Here are some points of concern: 1.

Novice / intermediate SUKers can catch bigger waves they would have been able to catch on a beginner’s surfboard, like a Swell board. Once on the wave they often struggle

to control the board and become a danger to those around them. 2. Many SUKers don’t seem aware of the drop-in rule and the surfers’ code of conduct. 3. The equipment is big, bulky and dangerous with large fins and sharp paddle blades. 4. Due to their unwieldiness, SUKs need large operating areas in the surf zone (with the exception of the excellent few). 5. When wiping out, SUKers often appear to be more concerned about their paddles than their boards, which go hurtling towards the shore and potential innocent targets.

Some possible remedies: 1. The excellent few, in conjunction with the National Governing Body (have they got an NGB?) could run code of conduct / training camps to help make the water safer. 2. All novices / intermediates to attend these training camps and use soft boards until they are of a safe standard. 3. Mandatory insurance and registration scheme with local water safety team or NGB. 4. Zone areas off for SUKs on busy beaches or simply ban them on busy days altogether (like California’s black ball system).

Many of the above have been discussed before but it appears no-one wants to step forward and deal with the SUK issue. I fear that it will take a serious incident followed by a court case to get some form of momentum and controls to make it safe to SUK but more importantly safe for everyone else!

From: Norman Price, Pontypandy, Wales Subject: Nobel Peace Prize shock!

Bugger me, I can’t believe they gave the Nobel Peace Prize to Barrack Obama. I was certain Ben Mondy would get it for all his sterling work in CARVE promoting peace and love towards canoeists, SUP-ers, baggage handlers, airlines, kooks, wannabes, townies, fat people, Northerners, beginners, tourists...

Go Pro at Ours Go Pro video, filmed at Ours with Mark Mathews and mates. Worth a watch – beautiful day with deep barrels though it’s not that big. Can’t really see how close to the rocks they are ’til the end!

And do yourself a favour and turn off the gay music… www.carvemag.com/carve/blogs

Mad Mud Stunt A 4x4, a boat, loads of mud, a ramp and a nutty waterskier – looks fun. So, then – who’s going to try this with a Grinch? Or a snowboard?

You know you want to. Send us footage and we’ll subscribe you up for life (you’ll need something to read while you’re eating through a straw). www.carvemag.com/carve/blogs

He’s got the lot Not content with being the raddest surfer on tour, the next big thing and swooned after by anything in a skirt, Dane Reynolds now also has one of the coolest blogs on the web. Check it out for quirky blog posts, artsy photos and vid clips shot by his mate ‘Mini’. www.dane-reynolds.com

Beth Mason

Russ WInter

Mark Harris

COLDWATER SPECIALISTS

We are the Coldwater Specialists...

44-55째F / 7-12째C

35-48째F / 2-8째C

planet surf/20

Oscar Moncada

Puerto Escondido, Mexico The central coast of Mexico has had an amazing season this year, and the icing on the cake was this swell, a few weeks back. Puerto Escondido pumped for five straight days, as local photog Edwin Morales gleefully recalls.

“It was solid eight- to ten-feet for four days, then six- to eight-feet for a couple more. Swells normally last for two or three days, so this was something special. I think this swell and the big one in July were the two best swells of the year.

“As you’d expect, it was pretty crowded. We just had a WQS event the week before, and a lot of the Americans stayed on when they saw the swell coming. Timmy Reyes, Anthony Tashnick and Jamie Sterling were charging.

“I think about 40 boards got broken. So it was a busy week for the local shapers!”

Edwin Morales

planet surf/22

Solitude

Secret spot, Iceland Surf explorer Yazzy Ouhilal hit Iceland for a quick recce last month, accompanied by his mate Mike Fleming and US pro Mike Gleason. The aim of the trip was to scout out a bunch of breaks for future photoshoots.

“This wave was one of the best we surfed. It isn’t one of the well-known spots but it broke consistently while we were over there. It gets pretty big and heavy too.

This was one of the mellower days. The takeoff section is a full-on barrel, then it tapers down into a softer pointbreak type of wave.

“The guy walking down is a local called Robert. He’s a good surfer who grew up in Namibia, weirdly.

“The water temperature isn’t too bad in the summer, you should be okay in a 4/3 with boots from June to August.”

Yazzy reckons it’s a good time to head to Iceland as their currency, the Kroner, was devalued during the banking crisis last year and everything is half price. The boys’ biggest expense was a speeding ticket. “My buddy Mike Fleming got a gnarly fine for breaking the speed limit. The policeman even had a machine to take credit card payments on the spot! Mike still reckoned the trip was worth it though. It’s an amazing place.”

Yazzy

planet surf/24

Dylan Longbottom

The Zone, New South Wales, Australia The Zone is one of those gnarly spots that used to be the sole domain of deranged bodyboarders...until one or two deranged surfers started riding it. Justin ‘Jughead’ Allport led the way, soon followed by guys like Dylan Longbottom, Laurie Towner and Damien Wills.

“The waves come out of very deep water and hit this real shallow shelf,” says photog Tim Jones. “At low tide it goes from being about six foot deep on takeoff, to only a foot or two through the barrel section. There are two separate parts of the reef which cause the wave to mutate and warp. It’s real f--king hard to ride on a lid, let alone on a surfboard!

“On this day it was about five feet and pretty tame when we first went out, then the tide started to drop and the action heated up. The boys probably got as many beatings as they got barrels, but the barrels they got were sick. Dylan and Lozza both snapped boards, and Jug cut his head open and got his knuckles scraped across the reef. So, yeah, it’s a pretty gnarly place but the rewards are well worth the risk.”

tim jones

ALL PHOTOS MIKE SEARLE (UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED)

bulletin/26

Reubs

rocks!

NEW SCHOOL MOVES GALORE AS REUBYN ASH WINS THE BRITISH TITLE

It was the battle of the Reubs in the final of this year’s British Championships, held at Fistral Bleach under a blazing Indian summer sun. In the end victory went to 21-year-old Bude flyboy Reubyn Ash, who sealed it with a crowd pleasing air reverse punt that drew 10’s from the nonchalant judges.

Saffa transplant Reubin Pearce had earlier set the pace on a walling right that he annihilated with five massive backhand gouges...but he couldn’t back it up with a second big score.

Mark Harris and Andrew Griffin, the two other finalists, failed to find anything meaningful at the crucial moment, despite sterling runs through the earlier heats against an all-star field.

In the Women’s event, Beth Mason’s previous good form deserted her in the final, leaving Aussie transplant Sarah Beardmore a free run to collect her first British title.

Meanwhile Jed Stone, the Peter Pan of surfing, notched up an incredible 18th British title with a victory in the Veteran’s division.

It was like we’d all been transported back to the ‘90s for the Senior and Master’s finals, as the old boys took centre stage and unleashed some big moves. Spencer Hargraves (who was British champ in 1988, 20 years ago!) and Lanzarote resident Jof Owen took the titles, showing that their level of surfing has matured like a fine wine –Ester Spears

VOLKSWAGEN BRITISH SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH QUIKSILVER AND FISTRAL BEACH BAR

SEQUENCE: FREAKY

Open 1. Reubyn Ash 2. Reubin Pearce 3. Mark Harris 4.

Andrew Griffin. Seniors 1. Jon Owen 2. Lee Griffin 3. Lee Barlett 4. Sean Harris. Masters 1. Spencer Hargraves 2. Lee Bartlett 3. Jon Owen 4. Roger Knight. Veterans 1 Jed Stone 2. Gary Collins 3. Tony Good. Women 1.

Sarah Beardmore 2. Beth Mason 3. Jo Dennison 4. Nicole Morgan. SUP 1. Chris Griffiths 2. Tim Mellors 3. Adam Zervas 4. Gareth Grant.

BUSTING OUT

26 carve surfing magazine

EH? REUBYN WAS MOVES LIKE THIS THROUGHOUT THE EVENT. FAR LEFT: SARAH BEARDMORE ON HER WAY TO VICTORY. BOTTOM LEFT: JOSS ASH CAME OVER ALL NEW SCHOOL TOO.

Pacific quake and BA lifts ban on tsunami: you can help surfboards Surfers around the world are being urged to dig deep and pledge money to Surf Aid International, following the recent devastating earthquake in Sumatra and the tsunami in Samoa. Surf Aid International is one of the charities at the forefront of the relief efforts in both areas affected by this natural disasters. To find out how you can donate money, visit the Surf Aid website at: www. surfaidinternational.org.

STUFF FOR A CONTEST

Two years since British Airways announced a ban on surfboards on all its flights, the airline has done a u-turn, posting a statement on its website that boards up to a certain length (approximately 6’3”) will now be permitted on flights.

The British Surfing Association applauded the move but said that while it’s a step in the right direction, the restrictions are still too limited to allow the majority of

surfers to fly with their boards.

“We are delighted that BA is finally seeing sense and is at least loosening the restrictions that were unfairly imposed on the members of the global surf community,” said BSA spokesman Mark Wesson. “However a limit of 6’3” means that a large number of surfers still cannot fly on BA’s network. We would welcome the opportunity to talk to BA and explain the benefits they could reap if they extended the length of permissible boards.”

foam/28 jon carden

grom file

mike searle

Nathan Elms Age: 16 years old.

Where do you live: Jersey.

Favourite surf spot: La Piste, France: because it’s super fast and barrels.

Where have you been in the last 12 months? Morocco at Christmas, England for some of the UK tour stops, then Ireland (which was sick!), and then France in the summer.

Who do you surf with mostly? I mostly surf with the boys at The Splash.

Music? Mainly drum and bass (Chase and Status), Gallows and some rap.

If you could be anyone for a day who would it be?

Dane Reynolds so that I could pull off huge Kerrupts all day long!

frothbook 11.04 September 15.

Josh Hughes Is off to get on a train, then to Scotland to get some barrels.

18.07 September 15.

Josh Hughes Mr. Lazy Hughes

fell asleep on train. Rewind 15 stations! Nightmare.

18.30 September 15 Russ Mullins Seen the chart? Party

in Scotland.

19.30 September 15 Josh Hughes After being on a bus

or train since this morning. I now

What is the worst thing about being a grom? Having older kooks dropping in on you.

How’s it feel to be in the British Team?

Yeah, it’s good to be in the team and especially now the World’s are in New

Zealand. All the other guys surf really well in the UK so it’s hard to get in it.

What is your favourite food? Steak baguettes.

Now that you are doing well in contests and stuff are you getting more chicks?

Haha! So far it hasn’t made much difference. When I go out, sometimes the odd chick realises the potential!

If you were your dad, what advice would you give yourself? There’s 10 grand: go and live in Australia till it runs out!

The chart for Scotland during mid September was pretty much perfect. we followed the action through Facebook updates as surfers tried every trick in the book to get lifts, put each other off the scent and generally run amok.

have to go back home to pick up a board! Grrrr!

08.30 September 16 Richie Mullins I’m looking for a lift?

10.22 September 16 Mitch Corbett What beholds the

journey of the TR7 [the Newquay crew -ED]?

13.12 September 16 Joel Gray The chart has just gone really crap for anyone interested.

13.15 September 16 Lyndon Wake Totally agree.

bonus mini sequence

Alan Stokes reflects on the moments before he launched three massive air reverses in a row to win the Expression Session at the 5-Star WQS in Pantin in early September.

13.45 September 16 Mitch Corbett Tell everyone! Ha ha.

[Shortly after this update, it filtered through to CARVE that Mitch and his car load of Newquay surfers had got lost on their way to Scotland and found themselves in Barnstaple town centre].

17.40 September 16 Tony Plant There’s no one left in the

southwest, everyone’s gone north, north, north!

[Suddenly the updates stop for a couple of days…]

14. 55 September 19 Timmy Boydell Just been getting kegged off my face, Adam Griffiths massive arms out tube, Corbett got a 10 point ride, I’m gonna be soul arching 6ft kegs in 30 mins... gutted for you lot reading this!!!

19.12 September 19 Josh Hughes - 9 surfs in two days,

barrels with the boys, camping overlooking some of Britain’s best waves. Stoked 19.15 September 19 Danny Wells Ur gay.

I felt so ill I wasn’t planning on entering it, Then my girlfriend convinced me to go in. I was still eating a Magnum ice cream as I paddled out, maybe that’s the secret? photos: julianfotosurf.com

28 carve surfing magazine

SWILLY PHOTO.

T H E H ABI T SAN DAL

foam/30

Park Life

This month wandering Welshie Will Bailey - on a tough stint covering the Quik Pro – took some time out to hunt down a few van-dwelling feral Brits. photos: will bailey

Names: Hannah (35) and Shaun (35) Whiteman-Smith, and Mick Wood (36).

From: Bracknell and London.

On tour: A week. Then another week for me and Shaun, and then Mick’s here another two weeks.

Where: Mimizan and Bourdaines.

Costs: Not a lot. A bit of fuel, food and drink: 20 bucks?!

Party: We went to the Cream Cafe last night. Before that we were hanging out at our mate’s place in Mimizan.

Camp sites or car parks? Car parks!

Names: Sam Bailey (18) and Tom Worth (19).

From: Bridgend and Birmingham.

Home Spot: The Vale Reefs.

On tour: Two weeks with another

will bailey

week to go.

Where: Here in Hossegor most of the time; been surfing Estagnots and Le Penon most days.

Best session: It’s been pretty rubbish... Estagnots has been fun but really busy.

Who ripped: Dane Reynolds has been ripping on a fish, and we saw that Brazilian Grom Gabriel Madina in the King of the Groms yesterday. It was the best surfing we’ve ever seen!

Costs: Not a lot. We’ve been living off baguettes, cheese and cheap wine.

Party: We sneaked into a Quiksilver VIP party a few nights ago, and managed to get stuck into the champagne and canapés.

Where do you wash? In the sea... And we’ve been using

the showers on the beach.

Names: Rowan (27) and Lara Clifford (25), Ben (28) and Lauren Ringer (30).

From: St Ives, Aberporth, Noosa (Oz).

Home Spot: Porthmeor and ‘the Grog’.

On tour: Two weeks, another four to go.

Are all four sleeping in the van? Yes! Where: We’ve been sleeping by the lake quite a lot; it’s quieter and there’s no bongo playing hippies.

Best session: We’re waiting for a decent swell to doublearm into a few!

Who ripped: Rowan thinks he’s been ripping! Honestly though: Julian Wilson and the super grom Gabriel Madina have been killing it.

Costs: We seem to be spending a lot.

But we have been getting through six bottles of wine and a whole cheese board every night.

Party: Le Cafe de Paris at Estagnots

is a really cool place to hang out, and we went a bit mad last night in the Cream Cafe.

Is the van smelling yet? A bit. We have to air it out every day. Ben’s armpits are stinking at the moment; he hasn’t washed in four days...

Name: GreenDog (33).

From: Newquay.

Home Spot: Watergate corner.

On tour: Two weeks and I’m off to Spain next for another four weeks.

Where: All over. Every surf spot there is really wherever my mood takes me!

Best session: La Benne.

Who ripped: Matty Capel’s been down here ripping and I saw Slater free surf yesterday - it was f--king ridiculous.

Costs: Absolutely nothing. Until you factor in the piss, then it’s about 250 Euros a day.

Party: Safari, and also the Cream.

Has the van seen any action? You know it!

Butler Boshed at Baggies

After being the stand out of the session at Bagpipes during the epic September swell (check page 48 for the full story) in Scotland, Tom Butler came a cropper when he got knocked unconscious in a freak accident. Carve caught up with him.

We heard you were reef inspecting at Bagpipes, what happened? It was super low tide Baggies, I was on a wave that sucked dry in front of me so I tried jumpin’ through the back of it. I think my board smacked me on the way through, that’s all I know, it was weird.

The next thing you new you were face down breathing in water? Yeah no one pulled me out! All the

30 carve surfing magazine

boys were too slack! Cheers boys. Adam Griffiths was the only one who came to the end of the reef where I’d washed too just to check if i was alright.

So you came round and were totally dazed? I was just really dizzy and laid on my board getting dragged along by the current until I kind of ran aground on this dry slab straight off the end of the main reef. After a few

minutes I got my bearings and paddled back in.

That sounds hideous, must have fully spun you out? Nothing like that is scary for a top class water man like myself! Nah I did panic for a few seconds I had a bright white silvery flash go through my head when I first wiped out that’s the only bit that I remember. It was weird. Apart from that it was an amazing sesh.

competitions/32

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Email your answer to kat@orcasurf.co.uk by November 20. What you waiting for?

32 carve surfing magazine

THE SURFING TRIBE GIVEAWAY Now the nights have drawn in and we’ve entered the dark zone, cheer yourself up by reading surfing tales from yesteryear.

The Surfing Tribe documents the origins of surfing in the UK to the present day and introduces many a colourful character along the way. It’s an interesting read with some great retro pics. Grab yourself a copy – we’ve three to giveaway – just by answering this question: Which UK island celebrated 50 years of surfing this summer? Was it: a) Isle of Wight b) Canvey Island c) Jersey Email your answer to kat@orcasurf.co.uk by November 20 2009. The first three correct answers out of the bag wins.

The Surfing Tribe is available from www.orcasurf.co.uk

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Waves, boards, love, shelter

ph o t o g r a p h i c p r o f i l e o f To m Doid ge -Ha rri s o n

P h o t o s a n d i n t r o b y M i c k e y Sm i t h • C a p t i o n s b y t o m

These last three or four years I’ve pretty much lived for and on the West coast of Ireland.

It’s the longest I can remember staying planted into place without craving open road.

Maybe this stretch of land and sea conspired to creep into my bones and redefine my idea of home.

I rent a little shack on the south side of Lahinch with my missus, and we live a simple, mellow life; most of the time at least. If I walk up the lane from our house and look north across the bay, up above the town, on the crest of the highest hill I can see, there’s another little cottage staring straight back at me.

This joint must’ve been battered by the mighty sou’westerlies over the years, but against the odds, up close it’s one of the prettiest little pads you could conjure. It looks across the whole bay beaming a grin.

Inside is a man and his wife with laughs and hearts just as big as that grin. They are two of the most genuine folk you could hope to meet. This guy digs surfing, in fact he’s one of the best guys in the area. Ten minutes and a 1000ft drop directly west from his front door is Aileen’s.

This is where he cut his teeth and carved himself a reputation for smooth lines, smart positioning and heavy commitment in the spooky gear.

Ten seconds directly east from his front door is a little shed. This is where he spends most of his days, working on boards. His hands give old dogs a new lease of life, and bleed fresh blood into blanks.

They’re constantly busy, crafting wave-riding vehicles through creative sweat, mostly just for kicks and maybe a little coin. Shaping, sanding, thinking, fixing, honing his talent; slowing things down, ready for the next big day under the cliffs.

Looking at situations from a thousand different angles is both a trait and a method to his madness. At sea or on land, this lad has one helluva knack for solving puzzles. His method relies on patience and eventually finding the right perspective to figure shit out on his own terms.

This is the kind of simple ‘hands-on’ life he’s carved out for himself. Waves, boards, love, and shelter. It’s a life everyone could do with a bit of, but not many make the decision or have the savvy to commit to.

This man’s name is Tom Doidge-Harrison and he’s the man inside this issue’s Focus...

1 In case you can’t tell, I’m hanging on for dear life in this shot! I’d paddled out to Aileen’s thinking I might ‘snag a few of the smaller ones’ on my 7'8". Not this day. John Mac, Ferg, Grant Baker and Greg Long were whipping each other into just so many amazing waves and this is one that Twiggy put me on. Bad situation to try out someone else’s board though, one with strange, tiny fins. Didn’t seem to be slowing him and Greg down much though! Those boys have it so together.

2 I’ve been working with surfboards in Ireland for a few years and producing my own dh brand for the last two. I work for myself from home, so it can be hard to stay focused when there are waves.

Most of the people I make boards for are friends from within our small community, so they tend to be understanding.

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carve surfing magazine 35

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1 Shades by Lloyd. 2 Posing in the workshop. 3 Helping Fergal fix his ski after Corpsey drove it into some rocks last winter. 4 Party time at Pete Conroy's house! 5 My wife, Raquel and Riv having a cup of tea out the front of our lovely County Clare cottage - looks like early spring. 6 Roughing out the nose rocker on Dave Blount's new 7'6. 7 Evil jellyfish stings on my hands this autumn - I was in bed for two days after I got stung!

Above Drawing a line across the bowl at Aileen’s. Even on the smaller days I find this a really challenging place to even catch waves, let alone trying to actually surf them. I was lucky this day to have Rusty Long to show me his angle on things. The last few years in Clare have been an amazing time of exploring, learning and watching. Having people like Rusty and his friends spending time in the water here has had such a profound effect on the development of people’s attitudes towards the waves and wave riding in this area.

Below An empty slab waiting for a surfer or a victim? This ledge has become quite notorious of late. I don’t understand why it hasn’t injured more people than it has. I haven’t surfed it for over a year...

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top left: Parko and Occy watch on from the Mundaka gallery. top right: Fanning back to back podiums. middle left: An iphone moment. middle right: Quiksilver after party. bottom left: Misty Mundy. bottom right: Viva Espa単a - De Souza and Davo celebrate.

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Do you think he’s happy?

Fanning attacks, Parko bogs, the surf goes flat and the pro’s go a bit mad as the World Tour swings through France and Spain Quiksilver Pro France report by Ben Mondy • Billabong Pro Mundaka report by Steve England

‘‘O

h yeah, it’s back on. I’m pumped!” With those words, delivered moments after his Quiksilver Pro France victory, Mick Fanning told the surfing world that the title race is well and truly alive, kicking and intriguing.

In the the space of ten short days a seemingly one-horse race had suddenly and dramatically turned into a two-horse dash for the line in the last few furlongs.

Following Fanning’s two consecutive victories in California and France (and Parko’s two straight Round Two knockouts), the two best Aussie surfers of their generation were now only 150 points apart in the ratings. With the pair being the only two guys with a realistic chance of taking the title, it’s almost certain that the world title will be going back to the Gold Coast. The only question now is which pool room in Coolangatta will it find a home?

Fanning’s devasting backhand hack.

The event got underway on the the first day of the waiting period. It was four feet with a light onshore and the waves were breaking a decent bank providing bowly lefts at high tide and bigger faster rights at low. However, with this September masquerading as a typical June, the first day’s waves ended up being the best of the whole comp. Each day saw the sun burn brighter and swell decrease.

The biggest upset of the contest occurred in Round Three when Parko got KO’d by trials winner Patrick Beven. “The judges aren’t going to give Parko scores for that, he doesn’t even seem to be pushing it,” muttered one of the pro’s sitting next to me in the stands. I’m not sure if it was his sore ankle or complacency, but either way Parko seemed to be coasting while Beven (even with an inferior style) put everything, and then some, into his turns.

No-one got barrelled this day at the Quik Pro. There just weren’t any. Well not until Slaters heat.

The outcome: a second 17th in a row for Parkinson, and the world title race turned on its head.

Beven soldiered on to the semi’s, cheered on by the huge crowd on the beach. But Aussie battler Bede Durbidge eventually stopped his run. Another Euro surfer who made the semi’s was Portugal’s Tiago Pires. He took out Kelly Slater in the quarter’s.

In the end though, the best surfer won. Fanning’s mix of ruthlessness, flair, speed and variety ensured that he never once chased a score in the whole competition. The final was held in tricky, two-foot lefts, but the conditions didn’t concern Mick. He set about catching wave after wave in almost mechanical rhythm, each time building on his scores with looser, more radical moves. Bede was nowhere in sight, just like Taj (Mick’s opponent in the quarter’s) had been. Mick looked calm, happy, supremely confident... even menacing, if that’s possible on a two-foot left.

Throughout the Quiksilver Pro he

“In the end though, the best surfer won. Fanning’s mix of ruthlessness, flair, speed and variety ensured that he never once chased a score in the whole competition.

’’

looked calm and confident; he surfed with so much flair, explosiveness and variety that he never once looked to be in trouble.

Parko, meanwhile, was biting his lip about the ankle injury he’s been carrying since the summer. Only he knows how bad it is... but his early loss did nothing to quell the gossip that his world title shot looked to be unravelling. Mind you, Parko can obviously not be discounted. He’s worked too hard, done too many beach drills, sweated too many gym sessions, won too many events and has too much self belief to give it away. Well, maybe. After Mundaka there are just two events left to go, and already thoughts are turning to the last event at Pipe. “It looks like it’s going to come down to Pipe, unless something pretty weird happens,” reckons Mick. “But, you know, that’s every kid’s dream – if you’re going for a world title, you want it to be at Pipeline.”

After Parko’s great start to the season and the sudden change of fortune that occurred this autumn, I wondered if Parko shared the same dream scenario.

Either way, the race is back on, and for us

punters that’s a very good thing.

Exodus

The Quiksilver Pro finished early, a week before the waiting period had ended.

Uncharacteristically the North Atlantic was having a mid-September snooze. With the swell forecasts showing wave periods about as long as the average Sun reader’s attention span, the pro’s suddenly found themselves with time on their hands.

Unanimously deciding to make use of their huge disposable income and proximity to Europe’s great cities, the majority of the Top 45 stuck a pin in the map and got the hell out of Hossegor.

When Bede Durbidge tweeted, “Michelangelo is a freak, I dunno know how he painted the Sistine Chapel!” I cunningly worked out he was in Rome. Similarly, when Bobby Martinez twittered, “Just found out freddy and missy r coming with us 2 roma as well, hell yeah goin to be so much fun...yeeaaahhh maaaaattttteeeee,” I ignored the appalling punctuation and deduced that Bobby, Fred Patacchia and

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You know you’re in France when... …you go out for a quick dinner and a quiet night and get spat out of a dingy nightclub at 6.00am the following morning, blinking, dishevelled and perplexed. …you’re introduced to a stranger at four in the morning at the Rock Food, and you’re both completely nude, as happened to Matt Hoy [former Top 44 star and hellraiser]. “It was pretty late and everyone was nude – the staff, everyone. I had a dick like a Tic Tac, but what can you do! When in France...” …you get all your get gear nicked. CJ Hobgood had nine surfboards stolen from his pad, while South African Damien Fahrenfort had four swiped from his. And Mick Fanning chased off a thief who was about to leg it with his three boardbag quiver, all

As for me, well, I just moped around in Hossegor, surfing the one-foot shorey and wondering why I couldn’t get any bloody interviews.

Quick as lightening?

You’d have thought a sprinting match between 17-stone Aussie photographer Matt Kelson and his good mate Mick Fanning (the man they call ‘White Lightening’) was only ever going to have one winner. The pair had been arguing who could run the fastest for months, and the evening after Mick’s win the race was

finally arranged – conveniently, just outside the Cafe de Paris in central Hossegor.

(And, yes, a certain amount of beer had been consumed by this time.)

I had the privilege of starting this much anticipated grudge match race and I also had to ensure that a) a world champion didn’t get run over and b) Kelso didn’t take out a unsuspecting scooter rider going along the road. The competitors lined up. “ON YOUR MARKS...SET...GO!” I barked, and the race was underway.

Roughly five seconds later, Kelso had his shirt off and was dancing deliriously to the cheers of the souped-up crowd. His

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their partners had also joined Bede on his fine art tour of Italy.

Meanwhile, Taj and his missus bolted to Paris, the city of lurve.

Going in the opposite direction, Drew Courtney and Phil MacDonald drove the six hours to Barcelona where they found (according to Macca) “some pretty sick tricky little joints,” whatever that means.

Ace Buchan twittered that he was “off to see Bayern play Juve in the Champions League. Can’t wait!” The match was in Munich, and I guessed that the 0-0 draw hardly dampened the experience, especially since Ace’s travel partner was Jay ‘Bottle’ Thompson.

Finally, Mick Fanning almost scored a trip to Red Bull’s headquarters in Salzburg, Austria, in a private jet; annoyingly a diary clash scuppered the trip at the last moment. In fact the only surfer who didn’t bail was Josh Kerr, who spent every hour of every day of the week getting physio on the ankle injury that put him out of the event.

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right: Ben Howard plays to thousand of screaming fans in the Rockfood square. far right: Parko testing his ankle.

packed ready for Mundaka. …everyone tells you they know of a secret bank, that’s way, way better than all the other banks. It usually goes something like this: “Yeah, I can’t tell you too much about it ‘cos I’m sworn to secrecy, but it’s about 1.2 kilometres up from the third car park in the forest and it was best two hours after low tide...” …walking down to the beach you see couple who are not only nude but going hard at it, the dude going the growl, in broad daylight, without a care in the world. …you go for for the ‘French early’ at 10.00am. …you stagger along to a street party and witness Chris Ward putting his head underwater in a big bucket of iced water, going for the world record (35 seconds as it turned out) while crazed spectators chant in unison, “HEAD IN THE BUCKET! HEAD IN THE BUCKET!” – BM

much discussed ‘fast twitch fibres’ had pulled off a miraculous victory. Mick was gracious in defeat, however: “Well, I’m an albino monkey, as you know, and we don’t run. Let’s go for a tree climbing contest!”

His suggestion fell on deaf ears...but it was something I should definitely try to organise next year, I thought to myself.

The spectacle of the first race prompted another, this time won by Bede Durbidge ahead of Freddy Patacchia and a ball-tangling sack-whirring Dingo Morrison. “I’m so fast I couldn’t see myself!” proclaimed a startlingly naked Dingo to the stunned crowd, who most

carve surfing magazine 41

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Tiago Pires took out Kelly at the Quik Pro, and got cheered up the beach.

definitely could see every single part of him. I also started that race...but caught up in all the excitement I failed to take the opportunity to steal Dingo’s clothes – a missed opportunity that will haunt me ‘til the day I die.

The Spanish Inquisition will bailey

So, the famed rivermouth elected not to

come to town this year; refusing to make its majestical six-to-eight-foot-reelingbarrels-of-joy presence know: and that is a crying shame. But (and this is a big but) when it’s on, it is undisputedly one of the world’s best waves. And Mundaka, regardless of what’s rolling up the mouth of the River Gernika, is also a super cool place to hang out, with heaps of distractions when the surf isn't up to

Kelly always dangerous when the packs stacked against him.

“dream tour” expectations.

So it is must be with great chagrin that Billabong execs read posts bleating on about the “legitimacy” of this stop on the pro tour. Aside from the beauty of Mundaka, and the fact that – unlike other tour destinations – it makes no promises in terms of the surf, there is also another reason why you should love this stop: to watch the surfing and not the waves. As

much as everyone wants to watch the pro’s slot into some ridiculous pits, you should also enjoy watching their finesse as they attack B grade, C grade - and even G grade surf. The kind of surf we’re out in nine days out of ten!

It may be more fashionable to be a cynic, criticising everything, but Slater’s silky smooth linked manoeuvres over sloppy sections were poetry, Taj Burrow’s airs in ‘imperfect onshore surf’ were magical, and Chris Davidson’s charge through the higher-ranked competitors was simply the best in surfing entertainment.

Drew Courtney taking out Parko’s title hopes in his attempt to save his own CT skin was as dramatic as an end of season premiership game. And what’s more, to possibly 99 percent of the worlds surfing population this type of surfing is applicable.

We may not have got dreamy walls at Mundaka this year, but we did get a genuine exhibition of the skill and athleticism of the Top 44, and drama and intrigue from start to finish. The new overlapping heat format was probably a nightmare for the judges, but what a difference to spectate: fewer waves wasted and more action. So much better than sitting there watching waves go unridden, while competitors play cat-and-mouse for the best sets. Onshore Mundaka looked real fun, with plenty of ramps for the

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Ben Mondy caught up with Mick Fanning the day after his win at the Quiksilver Pro

far – ten grand at Huntington, and then 145 in the last ten days at Trestles and here in France. So yeah, it’s going alright!

In this situation, does it help that you’ve won a world title before?

Well, I guess you know you can do it, which is one thing. I reckon I’m in a good position. I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. If you start to think about the race and the world title, you start tightening up and don’t surf as well. And the other thing is that I know how to react to all the bullshit – all the people saying, ‘Yeah, you’re gonna win it!’ ‘cos I know it’s not going to happen unless I put in the hard work. But I’ve got the confidence in myself to know I can get there, and I know I’ve got to just keep doing what I’ve been doing and keep enjoying myself.

CARVE: So mate, it’s been a big couple of weeks...

Mick Fanning: Yeah, well, after J-Bay I knew I really had to put it all on the line if I was to have any chance of winning [the world title]. The thing is, up until now I haven’t even been that focused on the title, I’ve just been having fun and doing my own thing, just surfing the way I wanted to surf.

Trying to mix it up. You know, do an air and then a tailslide...just try make my surfing more exciting.

And what about the board you rode here in Hossegor – I’ve got nothing to was it the same one you rode lose and everything to gain. I’m at Trestles? not the one protecting a lead Yep, it’s the same board. and I’m just getting on a roll at A 5’11” DHD. I actually had the right time.” it made for [the US Open at] Huntington – I rode it there and Okay, final question. Getting back to it went insane, until the waves got bigger. the world title race, what if it all comes It’s weird...I mean it’s everything I would down to Pipe? never ride. It’s 5’11”, and never thought I’d Well, it looks like it’s going to come ride a 5’11” in a World Tour event. It has down to Pipe, unless something pretty FCS fins, and I haven’t ridden a board with weird happens. But, you know, that’s every those in 12 years. So it’s totally different. kid’s dream – if you’re going for a world But, you know, it’s working. The board is title, you want it to be at Pipeline. On the just magic. It’s just one of those things...it other hand, I’m trying not to think that far feels so connected. ahead - I’m thinking about having fun this It must be the board that’s racked up week and cruising France with my wife, and the most amount of coin in the shortest then I’ll switch back come Mundaka and period of time...

Portugal, and Pipe will have to wait.

Well, yeah, it’s earned 155 grand so

“I reckon I’m in a good position.

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Taj Burrow surfed amazingly in Europe, but again went down too early.

carve surfing magazine 43

sequence: Kia Otton was in devasting form in Europe so Reubyn Ash could have had a better draw for his wildcard appearance at Mundaka. Not that it mattered, Reubs just went out and starting busting these. He went down in a close heat, but at least he did it with style. below: Reub, Sophie and Joss, Mundaka.

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boosters; super-smooth CJ Hobgood punted a few, and our own Reubyn Ash nailed an oop and an air reverse in his wildcard appearance against Kai Otton!

And three burning questions were answered on the final day: “How bad is Parko’s injury?”, “Is Mick the new favourite?”, and “Will Kelly turn up?”.

Well…Drew Courtney took out a taped-up Parko…

Mick Fanning went on the rampage in his charge to close the gap with his Cooly mate…and then Kelly arrived and answered the third question with the day’s highest heat score against Jihad Khodr. Parko definitely looks out of sorts, but is definitely still in the closest title race since 2003: a loss of form after three wins shouldn’t be seen as the end of his year. The bloke still wants it.

Slater, meanwhile, is still making most of the headlines. If it ain’t his surfing, it’s the link with the ‘rebel tour’. Cue the ASP...

For the week running up to Mundaka, the surfing industry’s power brokers had been arriving en masse in Europe and ‘discussions’ had been taking place, the culmination of which was a full-on ASP meeting in the tiny Basque fishing village. Following the “threat” from the rival, Slater-endorsed “Champion’s Tour”, the great and the good decided to roll out three key changes for next year’s tour: 1. Increasing the prize money per event by $60,000 to $400,000. (Nice work if you can get it.)

2. The introduction of a “single ranking system” incorporating the QS and CT rankings. This will mean

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46 carve surfing magazine

or got roaring drunk and lairy: and some possibly both (one young pro showing some class by throwing-up with a high degree of commitment in Mundaka’s historic Basque square). Which - lay days done - brings us on to the final in which a young Brazilian, De Souza, took on one of the tour’s friendliest and most popular, er, “characters” shall we say: Chris Davidson. Davo likes a beer and a party and has been on and off the tour for a few years now, probably as a result of enjoying himself too much (a crime in some media circles, I know). His final’s berth, however, secured him a place on the tour next year. Good skills Davo.

Word from the cynics on the beach was that the final day was boring, but Davo’s performance was akin to Flintoff getting off the beer and smashing the Aussies this summer. And as for De Souza, well, his win against Kelly looked a bit controversial with possibly an overscore on the last decent ride of the heat. And that’s two closecalls going against Kelly in back-to-back comps.

After this year’s Mundaka stop on the tour, three things were for sure: De Souza won his first final with Brazilian small-wave mastery and the way this kid surfs (he can punt with the best), it won’t be his last; Fanning is in the tour’s driving seat; and the world title race is now wide open and guaranteed to be the most dramatic since 2003! At the time of writing (a day after the surfers packed their bags and headed off to Portugal), Fanning can take the title in Portugal, but it’s more likely that the world title showdown will be in Hawaii!

joli

that a win on the most prestigious QS event will be worth roundabout the same as a win on the CT. 3. Chopping back the World Tour from the 45 surfers and three wildcards, to 32 surfers and four wildcards. And then halfway through the 2010 season the highestrated WQS surfers will move up onto the dream tour, while the lowest ranking guys will drop back to the WQS. These promotion/ relegation cuts will introduce fresh blood onto the tour, keep the top guys looking over their shoulders, and as there are fewer competitors, events can be run in under three days, the duration of your average swell.

So, some of it makes a whole lot of sense, some less so, but the main thing is that the surfers and the event organisers are happy. Slater seemed to give it his blessing saying that they were ”popular decisions with the surfers”, and although the media deals still lie with the event sponsors, what all this means is that the surfers, brands and the ASP are apparently happily united in mapping out the future of professional surfing.

Still on Slater (how can we ignore him?), although he was ripping it was evident that he had a knee strain. A bit of a worry now that he has to win two events to take a world title, but the way he surfed to third place (being beaten by eventual winner De Souza) – and the fact that it’s Slater – means that you can’t write him off. Especially with his mastery of Pipe...

So what else happened? Well, on the lay days the pro’s headed off to the Guggenheim,

top: Slater in a heated moment with contest director Mike Parsons after his heat with De Souza at Sopolana. He was not a happy camper. above: De Souza claiming his first ASP victory. above right: asp boss brodie carr outlines the changes to next year’s tour.

“De Souza won his first final with Brazilian small-wave mastery and the way this kid surfs (he can punt with the best), it won’t be his last…

’’

ALDER SPORTSWEAR LIMITED LEWDOWN, OKEHAMPTON, DEVON, EX20 4PJ, UNITED KINGDOM TEL:01566 783444

ALDERSPORTSWEAR.COM

team rider : Sam Boex

’s lf of Britiain r a h t o g d an be rt for Scotl the end of Septem a h c ic s s at A cla right froth a in s r fe sur ill Bailey photos W d n a ry to S

Some Scottish gems are worth the drive.

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I

t was late September, and after a pretty lame couple of months for waves a decent low pressure finally appeared and scurried across the North Atlantic sending a long-period northwest swell down from the Arctic. Soon

half the country seemed to be talking about the swell, and every man and his dog was hatching a plan to head up to a certain little stretch of coast in Scotland. I was up for it too, keen as mustard to get some end-ofsummer action in the bag. Mark Vaughan and Nath Phillips were also amped, and Vaughanie said we could take his car.

Long-range surf forecasts have a lot to answer for. They’re brilliant and I’m all for them, but they don’t half cause hysteria sometimes. I was worried that this forecast (predicting four days of sunny four- to six-foot

“By about 11 I was dozing off, but I only managed about five minutes’ kip before Nate leaned back and shook me awake, saying, “Will, what the f--k’s wrong with you? Wake up! Where’s your stamina?” Naturally this went on for the next seven hours. ” perfection) would be another hoax, you know, the type of deal where everyone looks at the star rating instead of the pressure maps and swell direction. A few weeks earlier the forecasts had predicted solid waves at a certain reef on Cornwall’s south coast, prompting a minor invasion; but the promised swell didn’t materialise.

On this occasion the buzz turned into near hysteria in just a couple of days, and thanks to the wonder of FaceBurk several vanloads of surfers from the Southwest were soon preparing to set off.

Now, I’m as keen as anyone for a quick trip on a good chart, but running off to Scotland with the knowledge that half the Southwest is heading the same way is not my idea of a brilliant plan.

Soon my brain felt like it was melting from excessive mobile use. One minute it was, “Okay, we’re going.” Ten minutes later it was, “Well, let’s go and just hope that not too many of the others go.” Then, “Oh f--k it! Let’s not go, everyone’s going now!” Then, “Hang on, they might just be bluffing!” Then, “What if it’s a double bluff?”

Finally Vaughanie came to the conclusion that the swell might not even materialise, and the whole thing could be another hoax! In the end I turned my phone off.

The series of ‘Shall we? Shan't we?’ phone calls that started on the Friday were finally completed the following Wednesday morning when Vaughanie rang to say, "F--k this shit! If we don't go we'll never know, so we're f--king

Nate finally gets some shuteye.

When it’s breaking like this, Bagpipes is mesmerising.

going! Pack your shit up, I’ll meet you in Bridgend!"

It was ironic that we were embarking on a marathon journey to the far north on the same weekend as the Great North Run up in Newcastle. Like any long distance challenge, if you want to go the distance you need to prepare with months of training, and have a race day plan. You need to pace yourself, not charge off too fast too early. And you need to keep some juice in the tank for the part of the race marathon runner’s call ‘hitting the wall’; the part where your body's telling you to quit but your mind’s refusing to give into the pain.

Vaughanie picked me up at 8.30pm and we hit the road. From Wales, Thurso is a 10-hour drive if you go flat out all night. I had suggested that we fly up – it’s easier and you don’t miss a whole night of sleep. But Vaughanie being Vaughanie (an ever-ready driving machine), he insisted that we drive. He assured me I could get some sleep in the back, as long as Nate was awake and talking dirty to him. By about 11 I was dozing off, but I only managed about five minutes’ kip before Nate leaned back and shook me awake, saying, “Will, what the f--k’s wrong with you? Wake up! Where’s your stamina?”

Naturally this went on for the next seven hours.

We freewheeled into Thurso at 6am and went straight to check the waves. We were all feeling the effects of spending 10 hours in the warp zone. Nate looked redder than normal, and Vaughanie resembled the walking dead with pinholes for eyes.

It was at this point that things started to go weird.

Maybe it was the fatigue or maybe it was the sight of measly three-foot waves that started it, I don't know. But all of a sudden there was a funny atmosphere in the car.

dom “gooshlager” duquimin tucks in.

the sleep deprivation didn’t affect vaughanies’s sense of balance, Just his sense of humour.

“Having just spent ten hours in the car, amping for a wave, patience was short and tempers were frayed. So in hindsight it probably wasn’t such a good idea to spend the next four hours driving down countless farm tracks searching for new spots.”

carve surfing magazine 53

“finally things were looking up. The waves were six feet and the weather was sunny. With renewed enthusiasm we were up at 5.30 and frothing to bag some solid kegs.”

Grrrr.

“William Shakespeare walks into a pub. The landlord says: ‘Get out! You’re bard!’"

That joyous cricked-neck gritty-eyed 4am feeling.

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Nate gets into the swing of things.

“Somewhere will be firing right now,” I said.

“Let’s hit Brims,” suggested Vaughanie.

“Nah, let’s try Baggies,” said Nate.

“Oi! Hang on,” I said, “the whole idea was to come up and look for new spots!”

And so the disagreement and bickering started, and my two fellow countrymen turned into Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Having just spent ten hours in the car, amping for a wave, patience was short and tempers were frayed. So in hindsight it probably wasn’t such a good

idea to spend the next four hours driving down countless farm tracks and lanes, in the hope that one of them would lead us to a new slice of Scottish magic. In fairness, this really had been our plan – we’d had a good look around on previous trips, noting with optimism a slab of rock here and a little point there, and there was every possibility that with the right swell and tide, at least one of these would pump.

Now, with four days of (supposedly) favourable conditions to play with, we wanted to find something new. But luck wasn’t on our side that first day and we ended up surfing

familiar waves. It was fun, but not what we’d come for.

Day Two dawned, and to my horror the swell had yet to appear. It was three feet and clean but not what we wanted. Paris and Britney were still in whine mode and the bickering continued.

“We’re gonna get skunked!” spouted Nath. “It’s always the same whenever I come here – either clean but too small, or f--king howling and huge. I’m never coming here again.”

The mood darkened further when we bumped into Newquay boys Tom Butler, Mitch Corbett and Josh Hughes, who delightedly told us how they’d scored perfect Bagpipes the previous morning while we were pissing about looking for new spots. This made me even more adamant that we needed score a new wave. Again the marathon was on and we embarked on a driving mission around Scotland. Of course I now know that it’s not the best idea to go looking for waves when you’ve only had six hours sleep in 48 hours, and you’ve got two surfers about to pop. The usually mellow pair were now at war with me as we bickered and argued about where to go and what to do. Our Great North Run had consumed us, drained us, and we were now hitting the wall. Our race plan was in effect, but we were trundling along at the back of the pack when we’d expected to be the race leaders.

The tension reached breaking point as we abandoned our search for new spots and settled for a sesh at Brims Ness. Vaughanie was still banging on about me getting a few hours’ sleep on the way up, and in his haste to get his gear out of the boot he dislodged my telephoto lens case which fell with a thud onto the muddy concrete. I snapped and started shouting at him. Vaughanie shouted back.

Nath laughed. A free-for-all slanging match ensued – we cursed and shouted, traded insults, and vented all the ill feeling that had built up over two days of discomfort and frustration. We were too sober for things to get physical, but I remembered how Vaughanie got me in a headlock on a drunken night last year and I was ready to repay the deed, Bridgend style!

Just then, as if by divine intervention, a saviour appeared. It wasn’t Kelly Brook clad in tight Lycra begging us to sip champagne from her cleavage, but a South African legend called Richie Sills whose enthusiasm for surfing

“786...787...788...I had no idea there were so many road signs on the A9!”

Nate goes tunnelling.

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Saffa charger Richie Sills, who deserves a pat on the back for keeping three bickering Welshmen from bludgeoning each other to death with heavy camera equipment. That would have been terrible... the stuff costs a fortune.

Tom Butler had a storming session at Bagpipes the morning this shot was taken. But later that day he took off on a wave that sucked dry and he copped a rail in the noggin that knocked him out cold for a few seconds. Ouch.

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Nate again, enjoying the scenery.

“A seal walks into a bar. ‘What can I get you?’ asks the bartender. ‘Anything but a Canadian Club,’ says the seal.”

never wanes.

“Sillsy, my bru! How are ya?” said Vaughanie in bad Saffa accent, a smile back on his face for the first time in about three hours.

“Ahm lekker, my Welshie! What’s happening? Are we gonna score some sick waves or what!”

With Sillsy in tow the mood changed almost instantly.

It was as if the finish line was in sight and we were gaining

on the pack. We decided that we needed to get some surfing done and the call was made to follow the crowds and battle for a wave or two at Baggies.

We arrived at the fabled left slab and saw to our surprise there was virtually no-one there, just one guy, Don, and his dog.

It was completely the wrong tide but the waves looked good so boys went in anyway. Within 15 minutes everyone had racked up a decent tube. The relief was instant, it felt as if someone had deflated my head.

That night we looked over the shots in the pub. I thought I’d lost Paris and Britney but they decided to make a reappearance.

“That barrel’s crap, you didn’t even disappear for one

frame,” said Vaughanie to Nate. “Look at mine, I disappear for two.”

“You look shit though,” replied Nate, “it looks like you’re falling off in every shot.”

“Erm, this is a good one,” I chirped, trying to separate the two women before they started battering each other with their handbags.

“Nah, that’s shit as well,” said Nate. “Everyone’s seen that angle before, and he’s not even going to make it...”

In the end the general consensus was that the shots were shit and we needed to try harder.

Day Three, and finally things were looking up. The waves were six feet and the weather was sunny. Thank f--k for that. With renewed enthusiasm we were up at 5.30 and frothing to bag some solid kegs.

By breakfast time the parking area at Baggies was rammed. There was a full pack of Cornish, Geordie and

Welsh lads, not to mention the local Scottish rippers like Chris Noble.

The tide was wrong again but everyone piled in regardless. Normally no-one surfs it at that stage of tide but we couldn’t wait. The light was perfect and there was the odd makeable one. Newquay lad Tom Butler stole the show, impressing his peers by bagging a series of stand-up pits within about 20 minutes. Mitch Corbett pulled into some heavy ones and didn’t seem to care about the proximity of the dry reef.

Nate and Vaughanie were also frothing on the heavy lefts.

Sillsy was loving it too, he’s so amped on surfing; it’s great to have a character like that in your crew, it keeps everyone keen and reminds you that you do it because it’s fun. If he hadn’t showed up I think we might have ended up killing each other.

We spent the last evening in a pub huddled around my laptop, pulling apart the photos and ripping into each other’s styles and weaknesses.

“Mitch pulled into some heavy ones and didn’t seem to care about the proximity of the dry reef.”

Day Four was flat and the Great North Run had come to an end. For us the race hadn’t gone as planned, as

our quest to find new waves had failed. I wasn’t sure if we’d scored or got skunked. The four days were a blur of slanging matches, empty fields, the back seat, junk food, and jokes about Nate’s forehead and Vaughanie’s nose. It wasn’t until a few days later, after I’d calmed down and had a good look at the photos, that I realised we had actually scored. I gave Paris and Britney a call and told them that they’re shit.

Hold that belly in.

Local lad scott main gets a grinder.

Mitch Corbett and friends got lost for three hours in North Devon before they’d even left the Southwest, so the fact that they actually made it to Thurso was a minor miracle. here’s Mitch, celebrating with style.

The great carve

ShaperS' poll

text: steve england photos: mike searle (unless otherwise indicated)

Behind every great surfer there is a great shaper. they’re generally left penniless, exhausted and forgotten, lying in the foam dust whilst their riders hog the limelight. there are some pretty talented shapers out there in Britain and ireland: long-serving, foam mowers as well as a Bunch of new school designers getting into shaping machines. But who is the Best?

It's often debated in the pub and on the beach and we all have our favourites, but while we've run polls for Greatest Surfer, Peer Polls and the like we've never celebrated our homegrown shaping talent. Until now.

In putting together the poll we unearthed a mass of foam artists from Britain and Ireland (a full list is on our website) emailed them all for their opinions on their peers, and then asked the readers in internet land for their votes. It was a complicated process and a lot of hard work! I'm sure the results will spark controversy and lots of discussion, but as the first poll of its kind it’s a very worthwhile project. It got people talking and thinking about some of the hardest working guys in the industry, and that was the whole point of the exercise.

So firstly thank you to the shapers who took part for their honesty, integrity and participation, and thanks to the readers who took time to give us their opinions. Also we have to give a massive shout out to the glassers, sanders and tea boys, often beaten by their tyrannical bosses and usually stoned off their faces on fumes, who never receive any credit for their undervalued behind-thescenes work. Go get yourself another biscuit.

62 carve surfing magazine

WILL BAILEY

BeST FISh

1. JOOLS MATHEWS GULF STREAM it's hard to convey Jools’ passion for all things surf or how stoked he will be to have garnered the praise of his peers and you the readers. suffice to say he's probably shedding little tears of joy into the dust of his shaping bay. he's dedicated 15 years of his life into trying to perfect each and every one of the surfboards he has hand shaped. Fish are his passion; big fish, little fish, keel fins and the various glossy resin tints and finishes are what the guy lives for. he's also strongly passionate about the British surf industry and has enormous respect for his shaping peers. a little bloke with a big heart, if we had a trophy to give him it would take pride of place on his mantlepiece. But we don't so he'll just have to make do with a celebratory steak pasty on us. (medium, we ain't made of money!)

2. Nigel Semmens 3. Mark Neville 4. JP 5 Adrian Philips/ Paul Waters

RICHARD GREGORY

1. JOHN PURTON JP SURFBOARDS the welsh wizard has been knocking out cutting edge shapes for decades now. since rising from the ashes of the legendary wave graffiti, JP now has more top British surfers riding his boards than any other shaper. Johnny takes a strong interest in international developments and is often seen at comps, beer in hand, checking out pros’ boards and getting feedback from the boys. JP has always been a numbers man. he logs the spec of every board he makes, and mulls over the intricacies of his shaping programme on dark nights, literally tearing his hair out in the process!

2. Nigel Semmens 3. Matt Adams 4. Rob Vaughan 5. Chops Lascelles

WILL BAILEY

BeST perForMaNCe BoarDS

BeST YoUNG Shaper ALEX WILLIAMS

LUKE YOUNG LUKE YOUNG SHAPES here's a funny thing. when we asked the country’s top shapers, our finest gurus, to name the best young shaper they picked a 30-year-old who'd been shaping 13 years! talk about having to pay your dues to get a bit of respect! or maybe it's the resin fumes and long dark hours in the shaping bay, the years just fly by. anyway, not to say young luke doesn't deserve some props, he's been knocking out some blinding shapes from his Plymouth base over the last few years and has just been named as the uk's shaper for rawson. he's doesn't have a big team of pro's and still knocks out 95% of his shapes by hand, but he obviously hasn't gone unnoticed by his peers. luke started shaping at 16 for friends and family, and things have progressed organically until he now supplies four or five shops around the country.

2. Matt Adams 3. Steve Croft 4. Luke Hart 5. Rob Vaughan

BeST loNGBoarD Shaper

1. MARK NEVILLE QUIVER SURFBOARDS The first thing to say about Mark's win in this category is have a look at the guys he was up against, they are nothing short of legends, top rated shapers producing amazing quality logs and mals. The second thing to say is that he won the praise of pretty much all his peers, which is quite something. Yet it's probably fair to say most readers would be hard to put a face to his name. In fact he's almost anonymous, which for a 6'4" Scotsman living in Newquay shaping some of the country’s top shapes is an achievement in itself!

In his time Mark was the licensed Stewart Surfboard shaper for over 10 years in Europe, he's shaped for brands such as Hobie, Nine Plus, HIC, Rusty and Town & Country and he's now shaping for Quiver® and the Seabase's Seaflex™ programme. He's good all round, but logs, eggs and all manner of retro shapes, well, they are his thing.

2. Chops Lascelles 3. Tim Mellors 4. Chris Jones 5. Ben Skinner

64 carve surfing magazine

The The

great carve

ShaperS' poll

BeST all roUND Shaper

1. NIGEL SEMMENS NS SURFBOARDS "didn't he invent surfing?" was one witty response we received to our questionnaire. Funny how the truth can often be partly found in jest. Britain’s best all-round shaper has played an integral part of this country’s surfing history from British champion and aspiring young pro, and is now a stalwart of the British surfboard industry. he was runaway winner in this category and it was quite remarkable how many of the other shapers he had helped along in his career. these fine words of tribute from Jools mathews sum up nigel perfectly: "semmens gets my vote not just for his outstanding contribution to the British surf industry, but for his first rate dress sense. he's laughing now the 80's are back in fashion! there should be a statue of him in the middle of newquay!"

2. JP 3. Mark Neville 4. Jools Mathews 5. Chops Lascelles

CarVe'S hall oF FaMe

CHRIS JONES CJ SURFBOARDS chris is a true legend and has been making surfboards in newquay since 1965, learning his trade in the old Bilbo factory in the 1960s. in his youth he won the english, British and european titles in the same year. all his boards are hand made and the care he puts into his finishes is quite exemplorary. whatever type of board, whatever performance, regardless of skill level, chris just loves making surfboards. his mals are beautiful and he's a top bloke to boot so for carve's twopenneth we're sticking him in our hall of fame! so who do you thinK is Britain’s (or ireland’s) Best shaper? of course the very question is loaded and highly subjective in its nature with vagaries such personal preference, aesthetics, and the surfer’s own ability to translate what he wants to the shaper all coming into play. it's horses for courses, so in essence there is no definitve answer. the best shaper in the country is the one that put the magic board under your very own feet. go to carvemag.com for a full run down on voting and a list of all the uK and irish shapers involved. to find a shaper in your area go to thesurfdirectory.com.

Peeking behind

th3 Iron Curtain A six-man team set off to explore the Arctic border region of Norway and Russia Story and photos by Yassine Ouhilal

Californian wanderer Pat Millen smacks an arctic lip.

The Russian mining town of Zapolyarny.

It’s not twinned with Monte Carlo.

The Arctic is one of the final frontiers of surf exploration.

The wilderness coastline of areas like northern Norway and northwest Russia offer a sort of trip back in time where it’s still possible to discover perfect unridden waves and surf them with just your friends. But such thrills come at a price. Weather conditions in the Arctic Circle change constantly – it’s possible to experience all four seasons in a day, sometimes a morning. Winds can be hurricane force, and giant tides make good surf spots appear and disappear quickly. The water is bitterly cold – around 6°C in the spring, 10° in the autumn – and the air temperature often dips below freezing. But the coastline of Norway is extremely long with thousands of islands, fjords, nooks and crannies; it offers incredible potential for those willing to explore.

After several months of planning, six of us set off on a month-long trip to search for surf in this frigid but

often staggeringly beautiful Arctic realm. Our goal was to explore the coast of northern Norway, then cross the border into Russia and look for surf in the Barents Sea. The surfers – Christian Wach, Pat Millen and Cyrus Sutton – all hail from California. The camera crew – Matt Whitehead, Michel Jacobi and me – flew in from Australia, the US and Canada respectively.

We met up in Oslo and flew on to Leknes, a small town in the far north. The rocks that make up the mountain ranges and islands here are some of the oldest on earth. The scenery is breathtaking – massive valleys carved by glaciers, snow-capped peaks and pristine beaches with aquamarine water.

Our base camp was the historic fishing village of Kraemmervika. We stayed in a restored fisherman’s cabin called a rorbus, built on stilts above the water.

Just outside was a fleet of speedboats, available for us to use to reach inaccessible beaches. We arrived late at night and unpacked in the Arctic twilight. At such high

latitudes, within a week or two we’d be able to surf past midnight.

On the first day, we woke at 6am to bright sunshine and the sounds of seagulls. Unpacking our boards, we got ready to check out the waves. It’s always exciting to hit the water at a new place, and despite the relatively average surf conditions, the stoke level was high. Christian and Pat ended up surfing for hours.

By late afternoon we were all ready to head back to Kraemmervika to feast on some hot food – surfing in cold water burns extra calories as your body tries to stay warm.

After a few days spent acclimatising, we headed off on our first mission. We took a two-hour boat ride to a stretch of coast with no road access, then hiked over a ridge to reach a beautiful sandy beach nestled against an imposing mountain which the local’s call Hell’s Peak.

From the ridge we could see clean swell lines marching into the bay...but as we descended to sea level we realised to our disappointment that the waves were only shoulder-high. The boys piled in for a session anyway, and afterwards we made a campfire and hunkered down for the night in our tents. We fell asleep listening to the sounds of ice cracking in the mountains above us.

The waves were no bigger the next day, so I climbed back up the ridge (to get phone reception) and called our boatman, Harald, for a weather report. Harald said the high pressure system had shifted, and advised us to

head back as a storm was coming. We took his advice and hiked back to our rendezvous point with the boat.

The ride back was rough. There were chunks of ice in the water and the boat rocked about on the rising windswell.

We looked at each other and wondered what would have happened had we stayed at Hell’s Peak.

Back at Kraemmervika it howled and snowed for the next three days. Gale force winds blew down from the north and the surf was big and messy. Morale was a bit down. By this time we’d been in Norway for 10 days and we’d yet to score. So when the storm broke we decided to take a chance and drive several hours up the coast.

The roads were freshly ploughed but slippery and extremely narrow. We finally reached an area we’ll call ‘Glacier Bay’. With everyone itching to get in the water, we went for it, despite stormy surf conditions, snow and fog. Pat, Christian and Matt jumped in to get their saltwater fix. Pat was testing a Matuse ‘Geoprene’ wetsuit, manufactured using material derived from limestone. Geoprene is not only kinder to Mother Nature, but it hardly absorbs water so it’s lighter and warmer. We also experimented with Rip Curl’s H-Bomb heated wetsuit; powered by two streamlined batteries on the back, it uses heating elements embedded in the neoprene to warm the area around the lower back and kidneys. In the future, I wonder how many new cold-water frontiers might open up thanks to wetsuit developments like these.

Pat Millen warms up by the campfire at Hell’s beach.

Expedition sponsors Bombardier laid on a couple of ski-doo snowmobiles for the team to use in northern Norway.

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carve surfing magazine 69

Millen again, in flamboyant mood on a glassy left.

Overhead perfection...without a soul in sight.

How fun does that wave look? Pat Millen.

Longboard maestro Christian Wach.

millen in the slot.

From Glacier Bay we continued north, heading 700 kilometres up the coast to a place known as Troll Island.

The journey should have taken about 10 hours but due to the blizzard conditions it turned into an 18-hour rally.

When we arrived, I could see how the place got its name — the mountains have curious outlines that do look like trolls. Most of the crew went to bed, exhausted, but Matt and I were determined to scout out some waves, so we drove for another two hours around the island. The wind had dropped by this time and suddenly we stumbled on a surprise: clean waves. Matt suited up quickly. It was late – nearly midnight in fact – and snowing again. Matt caught a dozen waves or so, and named the spot Discos, after the glowing lights on the channel marker at the mouth of the harbour.

A couple of days later, on a different stretch of coast, we found a cobblestone point that was shoulder-high and peeling perfectly. Everyone went into a frenzy. For the second time it was Matt who caught the first wave and bagged the naming rights. He thought about it a bit and named the spot Broken Hearts. When I asked him why, he said that it would be a great place to come to surf and mend a broken heart. He couldn’t be more

right. The hardships of the previous days and the lack of great surf were quickly healed by our session at Broken Hearts. As we took turns riding the fun little waves, we noticed a small figure running along the road towards us. It was an 11-year-old boy called Hans, who lives in a house overlooking the point. He’d never seen surfers before, and his eyes were almost popping out of their sockets with excitement. He said the waves today were tiny compared to the waves that broke on bigger swells, especially in the winter. We wondered what the point would look like on a bigger swell. Possibly world class.

We spent the rest of the week surfing up and down the coast, back at Broken Hearts and several other breaks, before moving further north.

To travel up towards the border with Russia we took a few short flights on small planes. On the last flight, I got to ride in the cockpit with Captain Espen of Wideroe Airlines. He’s familiar with Norway’s far northern coastline, having flown this route for many years. On a map he showed me the places where he had most often seen waves.

For the next few days we explored the coast towards the Norway / Russian border, including the areas Captain

Base camp at Hell’s Peak.

carve surfing magazine 71

The crew scored the best waves of the trip on the very last day. Pat Millen was so amped he subconsciously decided to stay out ‘til the sun went down...forgetting that it doesn’t in the Land of the Midnight Sun! This shot was taken at 1am.

Espen had suggested. Thanks to one of our trip sponsors, Canadian company Bombardier, we had the use of a couple of Ski-Doo snowmobiles for a week; in this sort of territory such vehicles are the only way to access remote parts of the coast.

Approaching the border, the orientation of the coast changed and we eventually reached the Barents Sea. Here the terrain changed dramatically – with jagged rocks everywhere, the landscape looked something like Mordor from Lord of the Rings.

We counted a dozen potentially good setups for surfing, but the swell was tiny. Off in the distance we could see a snow-covered peninsula – Russia.

The northwest corner of Russia is a heavily militarised zone.

It was a major front during World War II, and today it’s the home of Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet. As you can guess, security is extremely tight. I wasn’t sure if heading there with a stack of gear that included heated wetsuits and long telephoto lenses was a great idea. To make matters worse, the permits we’d applied for (to visit the coast) hadn’t gone through. We decided to roll the dice and try our luck anyway.

Getting through the Norwegian border post was quick and easy, but the Russian customs was a different story. We were stuck there for several hours filling out forms for our equipment, vehicles and itinerary; but eventually they let us through. We headed for Murmansk, Russia’s main naval base and the largest city within the Arctic Circle. The highway cut a swathe through miles of pine forest and we passed countless watchtowers and bunkers. It felt like we were in a James Bond movie. Our progress was slowed by the number of checkpoints we had to stop at, where our passports were scrutinised at length. When

we eventually arrived in Murmansk it was too late to go hunting for visitor permits, and we hit the sack instead. The city was much bigger and more industrialised than I had imagined; a stark contrast to the pristine wilderness of northern Norway.

The next morning we awoke to discover that it was a national holiday. Apparently the whole place was gearing up for a week-long annual commemoration of the defeat of the Nazis, 60odd years ago. The bad news was that all Government buildings were closed for the week, meaning there was no way we could get permits here. Cursing our luck, we asked around to see if there was any other way we could obtain permits. We were given the name of a contact in another town, Zapolyarny.

So we drove on to Zapolyarny, which turned out to be one of the grimmest places on earth. It’s basically a dormitory town for a huge nickel mine nearby. The workers are housed in row after row of identical tower blocks, half of which seem to be crumbling. The air stinks. Black soot covers the streets.

The surrounding countryside is devoid of vegetation due to the pollution from the smelting works. We tracked down our contact, but the news wasn’t good. To our intense frustration, he told us that our quest to explore the coastline would have to “wait ‘til next time.” Furthermore, the border was closed due to the ongoing national holiday, so we’d have to spend the night in beautiful Zapolyarny.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of a drunken man screaming at the top of his lungs outside the hotel. There was a bitter metallic taste in my mouth from the poor air quality. It didn’t take much discussion among the crew to decide to leave Russia and head back to Kraemmervika. The bonus was that a decent

Christian gets expressive.

The beachie at Hell’s Peak – small but fun this particular day.

Wach whacks a lip at Hell’s Peak.

Cameraman Matt Whitehead was the first to ride this spot and named it Broken Hearts, saying “it would be a great place to come to surf and mend a broken heart.” Not sure we’d be feeling quite so sentimental in those kind of temperatures.

south swell was heading for that stretch of the coast.

At the border we were again held up for hours by the Russian customs officials. It was the same routine in reverse – more forms to fill out, more paperwork. We sighed with relief when we finally heard the sound of exit stamps hitting our passports.

Safely back in Norway, we hastily booked some flights and began packing our gear ready to head back south. We had several hours to kill before our flight so Matt and I went exploring.

We’d heard that a river formed the natural boundary along the border, and that there was a beach at its mouth. We set off to find it...only to have our hopes dashed once again when we discovered that the road to the beach was blocked by deep snow. Matt spoke to a Norwegian soldier, explaining that we were looking for surf, and asked when the road would reopen. The soldier replied, “Hey, is no problem, I take you to see beach in tank!” Matt and I grabbed our gear and hopped in the soldier’s troop transporter. About half-an-hour later we arrived at the rivermouth, and the waves looked surfable. We’d never seen a surf spot that breaks across a border before. On the right wave, it looked as though you could take off on the Russian side and ride a wave into Norway! The soldier advised us against going in the water however, as there was a Russian observation post just across the river and any attempt at surfing the beach would have

probably been met by objections from the border patrols on both sides.

When we made it back to Kraemmervika, the best part of a day later, the waves were something out of a dream. “It looks like Indonesia, stuffed into a freezer!” exclaimed Pat. Indeed, the left pointbreak on the west side was on fire. A solid swell was rolling in from the North Atlantic and we had sunny weather to boot.

Pat and Christian jumped into their suits and spent the next eight hours getting barrelled. Only two guys out, each hooting like kids after each ride. This was what we came to experience! None of us could have asked for a better end to the expedition – we scored the waves of the trip on the very last day.

All in all, we took more than a dozen flights and drove over 10,000 kilometres on the trip, and dealt with the most difficult bureaucrats I’ve ever encountered in our attempt to explore the Barents Sea coast of Russia. We must have spent hours and hours travelling for every wave we surfed. But in the end, it was completely worth it.

Yazzy and the crew would like to thank the Norwegian Tourist Board, Matuse wetsuits, Rip Curl, Eddie Bauer / First Ascent, Kraemmervika Rorbuer, Wideroe Airlines, Innovation Norway and Bombardier Recreational Products for their kind assistance with this trip.

The crew hitch a ride near the Russian border.

carve surfing magazine 75

Michel Velasco, Sopelana, Spain_

Victor Gonzales

_pure escapism

10 rocking winter refuges_Unadulterated wave porn to whet your appetite for adventure!

Jakes Point, Kalibarri_

Tungsten

Damian Wills, The Zone, New South Wales_

Tim Jones

Alex Williams russell ord

Lee Bartlett, sunny Sri Lanka_

82 carve surfing magazine

Victor Gonzales

Marquitos, La Izquierda de la Santa, Lanzarote_

carve surfing magazine 83

yazzy

Moroccan point_

Ricardo Bravo

Reuben Gonzales, The Reef, Portugal_

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Michel Velasco, Cantabria_

victor gonzalez

Happy traveller, Mentawai Islands_

Bosko

Stu Norton

Alan Stokes, Costa Rica_

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simon williams

bede durbidge, bali_ courtesy banyakislands.com

banyak islands, Indonesia_

carve surfing magazine 91

joli

_destinations

Okay, so you’ve seen the nice pics,you’ve worked out that by the time you read this article petrol will have gone up another 10p,and you know that you’ll have to start burning furniture to heat your house come January... there’s only one option: get the hell out of here.

alex williams

Easy to say, but for the first time traveller it can be a daunting prospect... Unknown lands, unknown waves... But fear not intrepid readers, for here is our guide to a few cool winter-getaways and a nod in the right direction of the friendly guys who will take the hassle out of your trip abroad and ensure you score the best waves this winter.

sri lanka

A classic winter getaway since the 60s, this tear-drop shaped island in the Indian Ocean is one of the most reliable surf holiday destinations in the world. You can surf year-round but come the winter months (and monsoon season on the east coast...) it’s the west side of the island that has the best surf and weather. The surf is a dependable three to four foot and clean pretty much every day, with occasional bigger swells, but rarely board snapping territory.

Hikkaduwa is a small town which has some decent breaks, and the town is fully equipped for the travelling surfer community. There are plenty of small cafes, bars and hang-outs here, all overlooking a fun peak so that you can whoop at your mates. If you feel more adventurous you can hire a driver and head down the coast to ‘The Rock’ and Midigama. Although be warned that the main road that runs down the coast is extremely hectic, and the standard of driving is possibly the worst in the world. Think ‘Maureen’ from ‘The Driving School’.

Fly into Colombo and get your camp guide to pick you up from the airport. Take your normal shortboard and some heavy duty sunscreen. Make sure you take time out to visit the elephant orphanage, and to head into the mountains for a day.

alex williams

Errant Surf Holidays have a fantastic beach-front hotel overlooking the surf at Hikkaduwa, with ‘full board week stays’ from £290 per person: Sri Lanka is an awesome winter getaway. Visit: www.errantsurf.com to chat live to one of their online surf travel specialists 24/7. Tel: 020 328 7330 Skype: errant-surf

dominican republic

The surf in Dominican Republic has long been the Caribbean’s best kept secret. The natural beauty of this island, with its variety of landscape and its excellent sandy beaches, combined with average year round temperatures of 28° and extremely friendly locals, ensure that the Dominican Republic is a hidden winter gem.

You’ll need your shortboard, and possibly something that will deal with a bit of size. Hire cars are pretty expensive, and many of the breaks are hidden behind holiday complexes or tucked away at the end of the surf-trip-standard ‘dusty track’; so a guided holiday can work out pretty good value in terms of money and time in the water.

Errant Surf Holidays offer a range of luxury and eco friendly accommodation to ensure that everyone can have their ‘paradise’ surf-trip: from single travellers, to family surf holidays. All inclusive accommodation with swimming pool, airport transfers, surf coaching or guide from £429 per person. Not bad.

Visit: www.errantsurf.com to chat live to one of their online surf travel specialists 24/7. Tel: 020 328 7330 Skype: errant-surf

92 carve surfing magazine

travel directory // 93 SURF SCHOOL LANZAROTE Surf School Lanzarote offers the most advanced beginner and intermediate coaching in Europe. We are the only ISA and BSA level 4 qualified school in the Canaries and all instructors are pro lifeguards.

Our private accommodation is excellent and the school and apartments are situated in the small and lovely fishing village of Famara. Transport from resorts is also available.

Warm water, wonderful scenery, and consistent surf make this without doubt the very best school in Europe for those serious about improvement.

Tel/Fax: 0034 928 528 623 www.surfschoolanzarote.com info@surfschoolanzarote.com

Check out Carvemag.com’s travel guide. Over 42 pages of surf travel tips, information and surfing destination guides around the world and closer to home in Europe.

CARVEMAG.COM

carve surfing magazine 93

ricardo bravo

portugal - the algarve

If long haul is out of your price range, and you don’t fancy Morocco or the Canaries, then have a look at the Algarve. Forget the rep of the ‘Brits Abroad’ Algarve – you’re further West than that golf-holiday-hell... Sure, it’s not tropical, but it is warm year round (hence its popularity with the Saga winter-holiday mob; they like a bit of sunshine to sooth their arthritic bones). The best thing about the Algarve is that it effectively has two coasts to choose from: the west which is open to the big Atlantic swells, and the south which can pack a punch but also offers some classic sheltered spots if winter-swell-double-overhead isn’t your bag. It’s still pretty uncrowded and there are some high quality breaks to explore, definitely worth getting a hire car, a map and heading out on your own. You can still find empty points and cranking beachies to share with your mates. Plus, especially around Sagres, there’s plenty to suit beginners and intermediates. You can get some bargain flights to Faro which is only three hours away, or drive down from Lisbon. Check the budget airlines and charter flights to turn up the best deals.

The Surf Experience is one of the original surf tour and surf school companies. Aside from getting you to the best breaks - and perhaps more importantly - they know the best eateries and bars in town and will fit in dawnies or lates whenever needed. Whether learning, improving or ripping: this is the perfect set up.

Web: www.surfexperience.com Tel: 00351 282761943 email: info@surf-experience.com

lanzarote

Historically an A1 fave with Brits escaping our isles’ dank and dreary months, Lanzo has become a tad unfashionable of late... Which is great, as it means fewer crowds! It is an awesome spot, with a good variety of waves. And with ever more heavy-duty spots being surfed over the years, the crowds around the traditional hot-spot, La Santa, are a bit mellower. As a Brits-abroad winter classic, Lanzo is one of the easiest surf-retreats to get to: there are plenty of flights; cheap accommodation, and there are some great surf schools for beginners and intermediates.

Surf School Lanzarote offers the most advanced beginner and intermediate coaching in Europe. They have ISA and BSA level 4 qualified instructors all of whom are pro lifeguards, and they can provide excellent private accommodation in the small fishing village of Famara (far away from the packaging crowds!). Warm water and consistent surf make this a great place to improve your surfing, head off on your first surf trip, or get into riding bigger waves. web: www. surfschoolanzarote.com Tel: 0034 928 528 623 email: info@ surfschoolanzarote.com

banyak islands

If you fancy something a little more exotic then how about this group of islands just north of Nias in Indonesia?! It used to be a real hike to get to but, due to the increase in cheap flights around the Indonesian islands, is just opening up to those of a less feral disposition. Made up of 99 islands, Indo gets its surf from the southern ocean, but also from cyclones in the Indian Ocean, thus extending its season. There is also the added bonus of fewer crowds than the more famous Mentawai Islands in the south...

simon williams

Banyak Islands Surf Charters run a 12 day surf charters on a 65ft motor cruiser. web: www.banyakislands.com email: Myles at: info@banyakislands.com

bali

The ‘Island of Gods’ is fast becoming the favourite winter getaway. Sure, it’s off season, but there is still plenty of surf on both sides of the Bukit Peninsula. Padang Padang surf camp is perfectly located for west, east and south Bali’s Bukit coast, so you can always get offshore surf, and it’s away from the mayhem of Kuta Legia strip.

Bingin, Impossibles, Dreamland, Padang Padang, Uluwatu, Balangan are all right there. And within 20 minutes of the camp are assorted classic right-handers; including Nyang-Nyang, Green Balls, Nusa Dua and Sri Lanka. Plus Kuta beach, Kuta reef, Airport left and rights, Sanur reef, Ketewel, Turtle Island and Keramas. There are heaps of waves!

Padang Padang Surf Camp offers high-quality accommodation, with outstanding local surf guides to get you to the best breaks each day - often without having to stray too far - where you’ll score classic uncrowded dawnies as the party crowd sleep off their hangovers. web: www.balisurfingcamp.com Tel: +628 1999 283549 / +628 1319 412470

94 carve surfing magazine

travel directory // 95 THESURFDIRECTORY •

S L E E P

•

S U R F

CHRIS POWER

E A T

Padang Padang Surf Camp

Don’t waste your surf trip getting lost, booking expensive hotels, eating at crap restaurants, and missing out on parties.

The Surf Directory has all the the info you’ll need on where to eat, drink, sleep and hang out in Britain and Ireland. Plus info on surf schools, hire equipment, buying boards and wetsuits, it’s all on-line.

There’s all the latest news, surf forecasting, and an extensive database of information on over 100 top surf breaks and destinations with a comprehensive event and gig guide.

Wherever you want to go in Britain and Ireland, check it out at For beginners, intermediate and advanced surfers. Luxury accomodation with tennis court and swimming pool. Best surfing location in Bali with internationally qualified surf instructors and surf guides.

www.balisurfingcamp.com +62 81 999 283549 / +62 81 319 412470

WWW.THESURFDIRECTORY.CO.UK YOU’LL SPEND MORE TIME IN THE WATER WITH THE SURF DIRECTORY.

114 carve surfing magazine carve surfing magazine 95

dale adams

morocco

dale adams

Morocco is one of very few destinations where advanced, intermediate and beginner surfers can all find something to get stuck in to. Most people head to Taghazout, just north of Agadir. If you want ridiculously long points, plenty of culture and adventure - all within a few hours of Baltic Britain - then this is your place.

The surf camp owners know the place inside out and have it wired, so can get you to uncrowded beaches, points and to the tube mongrel’s closely guarded secret slabs...! Agadir has plenty of bars and clubs for a bit of partying, and if you need some time out one afternoon, then there are some pretty idiosyncratic local activities to choose from: try a hammam (crazy steam-room) followed by a massage, or a camel ride, and check out some of the spices at the local markets – a visual treat!

Moroccan Surf Adventures have hosted some of the world’s top pros when on photo or film shoots and have vast experience and knowledge of the area. They also have great instructors for beginners. Free lessons and instruction with each holiday booked. web: www.morocsurf.com Tel: (UK) 0044 1323472844 email: info@morocsurf.com Surf Maroc have the best beachside accommodation imaginable: wake up and check the points whilst you’re tucking in to breakfast.

Their sole aim is to get you to the right spots to fill your boots with some of the best waves of your life. web: www.surfmaroc.co.uk Tel: 0044 (0)1794 322709 Maroc email: contact@surfmaroc.co.uk

ricardo bravo

portugal - peniche

Home of this year’s Rip Curl Search WCT, Peniche is a cool little fishing town on an ‘ex’ island (the sand moved in a few centuries ago and joined it onto the mainland). On the south side are Supertubos and Molhe Leste (Supertubos’ slightly friendlier cousin), and on the north side Baleal. Baleal has one huge sweeping beach which picks up swells from the west and has plenty of peaks and space to surf, and just around the corner it has the epic Baleal reef: you’ll find the Lost Surf Castle here, and heaps of travelling surfers parked up on the cliff edge car-park overlooking the generally pretty filthy left hander. As if this weren’t enough, there are also plenty of tucked away coves, and secret banks a short way up the coast... The best thing about this area is that there are breaks facing in literally every direction: no matter what the wind’s doing, you can get in the water. Supertubos does get world-class and pretty heavy, but there are plenty of options, and the area is generally less full on than Ericeira (with world-class breaks like Coxos) a few miles down the coast.

Baleal Surf Camp is a small family-run business, with a prime surf-side location on Baleal beach. The camp has a laid-back vibe and accommodation to suit all budgets, and welcomes everyone: from singles to families, and from experts to novices. web: www.balealsurfcamp.com email: info@balealsurfcamp.com Tel: 00351 262769277

victor gonzalez

fuerteventura

The north shore of Fuerte is a legendary winter getaway, and has hosted many a surfing Brit on their hols.... most of whom have scored absolutely epic surf and had a blast! Corallejo will probably be your base. It’s a small but growing holiday town with a cool little old school square at its centre.

There are heaps of waves to choose from, with some heavy barrels to be had at the Bubble and Spew Pits; a couple of all-time points - plus lots of good beachies for intermediates and beginners: Flag Beach or Cotillo being your best options. And all a quick hop from the UK. Happy Days!

Island Boarders, Fuerteventura. Open all year, we run a surf camp, school, guided tours and all kinds of other water sports like kitesurfing and windsurfing. We offer different accommodation depending on budget and prices start at 15 Euros/night. All staff are BSA qualified.

if you man-up then you’ll probably score the best surf of the year back home; and if you’ve been a bit sensible with the beer-tokens over the summer months, then you should be able to take yourself off for a winter trip (or two). And who knows: maybe they’ll finally make an electric car that goes more than 3mph, and maybe someone will mess up and knock a zero or two off the end of your leccy bill... Now – never mind winter kegs - wouldn’t that be something worth celebrating...? For top tips on travel and destinations, go to www.carvemag.com.

96 carve surfing magazine

bosko

So, maybe this winter lark isn’t so bad...

travel directory // 97

easjet now ying gatwick to agadir direct www.surfmaroc.co.uk T:+44(0)1794 322709 Untitled-1 1

11/08/2011 13:42

Peniche Portugal Surfcamp Packs Surfschool Surf Surfaris Accommodation

We take you there

surfgirl holidays

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f inal score/100 DAVE FERGUSON/COURTESY JASON JASON EUROSURF FEASTFEAST

Magnifique! team franCe triumPh OnCe again at the eurOPean ChamPiOnshiPs...but ben skinner dOes the Channel islands PrOud, winning the lOngbOard title

LEE BARTLETT

tom butler slices off the top. skindog sylin' on the nose.

the protest english surfing team, who placed fourth.

Oakley XPy PrO JuniOr

COURTESY OAKLEY

The sixth annual Oakley XPY event affiliated with the UKPST this year, and St Ives wonderkid Jayce Robinson

France proved too strong for the rest of Europe with some fantastic individual performances at this year’s European Championships, held in Jersey at the end of September. The Open title went to Vincent Duvignac while Alizé Arnaud took the Women’s title and Lucas Garcia the Master’s.

Small waves tormented the competitors throughout the week-long event causing upset after upset as riders found themselves wave starved by the unpredictable windchop.

In the Longboard final, Ben Skinner claimed a well-deserved victory over Frenchmen Remy Arauzo and Antoine Delpero. After his win Skindog was carried up the beach by some of the locals who first pushed him into waves more than 15 years ago. “I was so amped that it picked up to waist height for the final,” commented Ben, “I knew that I had to do something special to win so I concentrated on hanging ten for as long as possible before putting some turns in.” The friendly rivalry between Skinner and Delpero has seen them go head-to-head at top events in Japan and Costa Rica in 2009, with the Frenchman taking both victories. So it was about time Skindog got his revenge. “Oh yeah, I wanted to kick his ass more than anything!” he joked. England’s James Parry concluded a great season with a fourth place finish.

Podium finishes from Sarah Beardmore and Tyson Greenaway clocked up valuable points for the English team, who finished fourth overall. Alan Stokes performed brilliantly in the Open division throughout the event, averaging the highest heat scores each day; but he found himself out of position for all the set waves in his semi-final, and bowed out with a fifth place result.

Host nation the Channel Islands put in a great team performance to finish fifth overall thanks to Skinner’s victory, an excellent second place in the Master’s from Clayton Lidster, and a fourth from Sam George in the Seniors.

RESULTS Open 1. Vincent Duvignac 2. Mario Lopez 3. Alexandre Ferreira 4. Romain Laulhe (5.) Alan Stokes (13.) Reubyn Ash (17.) Oli Adams, Piers Gould. Senior 1. Lucas Garcia 2. Glenn Letoquin 3. Tyson Greenaway 4. Sam George (7.) Greg Owen, John M Carthy.

Masters 1. Dani Garcia 2. Clayton Lidster 3. Paulo Rodrigues 4. Olivier Salvaire (5.) Simon Tucker, Stevie Burns (7.) Lee Bartlett. Women 1. Alizé Arnaud 2. Joanne Defay 3. Adelina Taylor 4. Sarah Beardmore (7.) Nicole Morgan, Shelly McFarling (9.) Beth Mason, Jo Dennison. Longboard 1. Ben Skinner 2. Remy Arauzo 3. Antoine Delpero 4. James Parry (5.) Elliot Dudley, Michael Lay. Team 1. France 2. Spain 3. Portugal 4. England (5.) Channel Islands (7.) Wales (8.) Ireland.

RESULTS Pro Junior 1. Jayce Robinson 2. Lewis Clinton 3. Alex Baker 4. Harry Timson. Boys Under 16 1.

Leon Mansfield 2. Tom Good 3. Max Tucker 4. Beau Bromham. Girls Under 16 1. Lucy Campbell 2. Gabi Rowe 3. Jemima Knight 4. Jaide Lowe. Boys Under 12 1. Will Bailey 2. Alex Gibson 3. Angus Scotney 4. Max Payne.

Quiksilver king Of the grOms, grand final

lewis clinton.

showed off his progressive surfing to take the Pro Junior title. The contest was held in fun two- to three-foot waves at Fistral Beach in mid September. All the finalists walked away with spectacular Oakley XPY trophies, cheques, XBox 360's and bags of Oakley goodies. The Relentless money manoeuvre also went to Jayce Robinson, who added a £250 bonus to his haul.

Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina put on a mind-blowing display of futuristic surfing at the Grand Final of the Quiksilver King of the Groms series, held at Hossegor, France, in late September. The 15-year-old naturalfooter punted an array of perfect airs, two on each of his scoring waves. The judges gave him perfect scores, 20 out of 20. ASP head judge Perry Hachett called it, “The best heat of surfing I’ve seen in 20 years in the job.”

RESULTS 1. Gabriel Medina (Bra) 2. Caio Ibelli (Bra) 3. David Brand (SAf), Matt Banting (Aus)

enough to clinch him the series title in the Open division, and with it the British Longboard crown.

RESULTS Open 1. James Parry 2. Sam Bleakley 3. Ben Skinner. 4. Ben Howey. Junior 1. Matt Travis 2. Mike Lay 3. Trevellyan Garland 4. Max Welland. Women 1. Grace Davies 2. Marina Lee 3. Nicola Bunt 4. Becky Stanhope.

Masters 1. Paul Keenan 2. Adrian Howell 3. Minnow Green 4. Ray Lee. Boys U16 1. Louis Mavor 2. Keiren Fuzzle 3. Liam Curtis 4. Joe Hornbuckle. Girls U16 1.

Jenna Richards 2. Lucy Howell 3. Lucy Kent 4. Ashley Wright.

gwithian lOngbOard ClassiC The final round of the British Longboard Union contest series was held at Gwithian at the end of September, based at the Sunset Surf Cafe. The surf was very small to begin with, but picked up during the afternoon, giving the finalists clean two- to three-foot waves round the corner at South Godrevy. Ben Skinner’s third place result was blu diVision finalists.

100 carve surfing magazine

Keeping You in the Water Longer

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• Multi Layer Sole rubber reinforcement: ultimate grip and stick • LQS - Liquid seam system: 100% sealed = NO Flush + durable seams • New Lock Down ankle with internal seal • Ultra Stretch C-FLEX neoprene foot entry • 6mm Fire Core interior lining • Rubber reinforced foxing: achilles/ankle support and protection • Split toe for improved feel and balance: eliminates foot roll • Split Toe barrier - prevents leash snags • Double back arch strap for secure fit • Glued and blindstitched construction • Ease-on webbing heel tab

TH E I N D E P E N D E NT W E TS U IT C O M PA NY

surf • snow • fashion

+44

(0) 1 2 0 8

78845

info@c-skins.com

www.c-skins.com

christmas gift guide 2009 Christmas is heading our way faster than a freak set at Aileen’s, and we’re getting ready for it. So

take a look at these inspired gift ideas; get them onto your gran/mum/girlfriend/ wife/sister’s radar and start laying down some hefty hints. Make sure you’re not breaking out the Hugo Boss Shaving Kit this Crimbo...

Violate Clothing

Quiksilver

Deep X Pack

To say that the Deep X pack is an ‘impressive watch package’ is a bit like saying ‘Slater surfs quite well’. The Deep X comes with: digital compass, heat timer, digital thermometer, tide, sunset/sunrise and moon phase information and is water resistant to 100m. The pack also contains a USB Stick and a DVD with uploadable tide information for 2000 beaches and some Quiksilver movie clips. Plus it has wireless data transmission... Err, Miss Moneypenny... RRP: £280 Tel: 01392 877641 Email: liam-estacade@ quiksilver-tech.com

Surfers Against Sewage

Vandela T shirt and Christmas Promo Code!

Solid new label Violate Clothing’s stylin’ new collection of garments features the genre defining ‘Vandela’, with a slim fit, bespoke cut and full colour skull print with watercolour detailing: it’s a legendary tee… www.violateclothing.com Promo Code: carvebaby = 30% off Vandela. Don’t say we never do anything for you…

Recycled mug

Made from recycled plastic, these mugs feature the SAS watersports warriors. Great for the beach, and perfect for that “post February-dawnie” hot chocolate! RRP: £5 www.sas-org.co.uk

Men’s hemp beanies

Made from hardwearing and sustainable hemp, and available in a wide range of plain and stripey colours. Go on, do your bit. RRP: £15

Fistral Spa

‘Quiksilver Surfer’s Massage’

This is the ultimate pampering package! Ease the aches and pains of your session with a Quiksilver massage at Fistral Spa, Newquay. A deeply relaxing treatment to ‘rescue the whole body from the ravages of the sea’ (or to see off that post New Year’s Eve hangover) – a perfect Christmas gift! (55mins, £50). Give them a call on 01637 852 221. www. newquay-hotels.co.uk/fistralSpa/for-men.html

Bilbo Surf Shop

Bilbo has an awesome range of surf and snow gear and is a veritable surfer’s grotto this Christmas. How about Farking Deckgrip (keep your feet firmly on your stick), Ding All Board repair kits, or the full range of Lib-Tech Snowboards with the latest ‘banana’ technology. Fill ya stockings. www.bilbosurfshop.com Tel: 01637879033 Email: sales@bilbosurfshop.com

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NEW Surftech Channel Islands –

Icon

Accessories

Get yourself styled up this winter with some cool accessories from Aussie brand Icon. Perfect gifts for Christmas include this stylin’ Fedora, and their digital wallet. RRP: £15.99 www.orcashop.co.uk Tel: 01637 878074.

vans

Raglan Shoe

Keep your toes warm this winter with a pair of Vans fleecy shoes. These lightweight shoes have moisturewicking bamboo lining which is perfect for slipping on after a winter surf. The Raglan fleece shoe is £65. www.vans.com

Animal

Zephyr Watch

The launch of their 2009 range marked Animal’s 15th year in the ‘freesports’ watch industry.

Pretty mental hey. And to celebrate they’re producing their largest watch range ever.

This Christmas the Zephyr is probably the one that you want, it has all the features that you’d expect from such an experienced brand, and you can mix it up with different strap colours: from black to bright fluros – viva the ’80s!

RRP: £59.99 www.animal.co.uk

The Biscuit

A short and stubby tri-fin, the Biscuit rides free and easy in the smallest surf and catches waves like boards a foot or more longer. Being a Surftech, the board is super light and responsive. On general release from February 2010, but main Surftech dealers have limited stock available for Christmas. Best start queuing if you fancy a nibble...Check www. surftech.com

Skullcandy

The Agent Headphone

Hear me now! This year Skullcandy are introducing their most progressive line of audio delights for you to feast your ears on. Style, colour and technical innovation abound; reflecting Skullcandy’s commitment to envelope pushing of the highest order…The Agent headphone features hi-fidelity sound and a contour so sleek it’s virtually undetectable by enemy radar. Whether dictated by expedience or personal preference, sometimes you’ve got to keep a low profile and tread lightly. RRP: £49.99 www.inthe-shade.com Tel: 01792484905

Future Fins

Upgrade your fins and take your surfing up a new level. It’s scientifically proven: high performance fins can revolutionise your surfing.

FYU - A high performance fin for the fast, lighter rider. F4 Black Stix - An all around template for small to medium surf.

Controller Quad – High performance for retro quads. For more details go to www.surftech. com.

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christmas gift guide-2009 Etnies

RVL (Rap Vulc Low)

Drawing inspiration from Etnies skate heritage, the RVL features the classic Etnies Rap styling; with a slimmed down low-top silhouette on a vulcanized outsole. The RVL features STI System G2 gel in the heel of the outsole to absorb shock and prevent heel bruises, and it has the classic Etnies Rap logo stamped on the heel.

Nice. RRP: £55 www.etnies.com Tel: 08707 503 100

Zuma Jay Surf Shop

Speed Dialler Quad

The Black and White Super Quad from ZumaJay. As fast as a twin fin, but with the response of a thruster. Fitted with Lokbox Turbo Speed Dialler Quad fins, giving this board unbelievable drive and control. Face the future...

Demos available. www.zumajay. co.uk Tel: 01288 354956

Jimagination Creations

Surf Furniture

For a Christmas present with a difference, check out Jimagination’s bespoke surf furniture and put your passion for surfing in your living room (your girlfriend won’t mind). Jim creates amazing surf furniture and household items made from top quality birch plywood. The range includes coffee and dining tables, mirrors, clocks and coasters. From £60 Check out www.jimagination.net Tel: 07791796688.

Fat Face

Vert Watch

This awesome watch from Fat Face comes with a leather strap, digital stopwatch and stainless steel case. It is also water resistant to 100m, is practical, pretty cool and means that you’ll have no excuse for missing those sucky low tide barrels again. Put it straight on the list! RRP: £115 www.fatface.com

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Peeler Beanies

Winter’s arrived and what better way to keep the heat in than with a beanie from Peeler's re-knit range. Their beanies are 100% recycled and made by transforming pre-loved jumpers and cardi's into super comfy, cosy hats. Ahhh...! And you probably won’t see David Beckham in one for a while...

The beanies come in two styles - regular £14.99, or oversized £16.99. Available from peelersurf.co.uk

Etnies

Andora Collection

The stylish etnies Andora collection focuses on cozy winter pieces with workwear inspired detailing in warm autumnal colours. Featured here is their Okemo fleece with 100% cotton flannel and thermal jersey lining. RRP: £65 www.etnies.com Tel: 08707 503100

Zuma Jay Surf Shop

Hotsuits

The Animal Twister with a RIP (Rider Induced Power) system, marine grade stainless steel casing, screw down crown and scratch resistant antireflective glass; not only a high performance timekeeping device: but looks pretty fly too.

Available at ZumaJay. www. zumajay.co.uk Tel: 01288 354956

Give someone a real winter warmer this Christmas with a Hotsuits Heated Kidney Belt. The patented thruwetsuit activator button allows the wearer to benefit from an instant 60 minute heat boost when it's really needed, warming the core and making long winter sessions feel like a walk in the park. Simply boil in the bag to re-use for your next surf. RRP: £39.99 from www.hotsuits. co.uk.

Heated Kidney Belt

Animal Twister

freestyle watches

Shark Classic

Rock out with your clock out, Freestyle’s shark classic offers a functional retro watch available in a variety of colours.

RRP: £45. Email: info@ actionsportsdist.co.uk

Slut

Men’s Boxers

What better way to show your affection this Christmas than to treat your loved one to a pair of original designer boxers, from legendary Cornish fashion and debauchery outfit SLUT. £18 a pair, £30 for a giftset.

Buy online at slut.co.uk includes free P&P.

Resin8 Surfboards

This Christmas get yourself a 6’4 x 18 ½ x 2 ¼ pin tail Tokoro. It's hand-shaped, hand-glassed, ultra-strong, flexy, pro-surfer proven, shaped by world class shaper Wade Tokoro. It’s the ideal travel board for surfing larger hollow waves, combined with Resin8 technology to give you the performance and durability you will need to battle the world’s best waves. RRP: £570 www.resin8.com.au

Rip Curl ESF Surf School

Gift Vouchers

Every surfer wants to be Kelly Slater, so obviously the first step is to improve your surfing! These lessons are geared towards novice, intermediate and advanced surfers. They can be used for specialist weekends, video coaching or tuition with the English Champion Johnny Fryer.

Or give coasteering a go, it's the ultimate flat-day fun. Presentation vouchers in giftcards from £30. Check www. ripcurlesfsurfschool.com for further details or call 01637 879571

carve surfing magazine 105

essentials/106 survive the cold

protect yourself from the cold with some serious neoprene.

billabong Wetsuit Accessories

Stay in the water longer with Billabong’s Solution range of winter wetsuit accessories.

The Solution boot features Furnace Thermal Lining, welded seams, adjustable arch strap and closed split toe. RRP: £31 The Solution Hood. 100 percent Zero Gravity Superflex neoprene with EVA peak.

RRP: £20 Solution Glove 5mm glued and blindstitched made of Superflex G3 flex neoprene.

RRP: £25 Web: www.billabong.com

O’Neill Wetsuit Boots The introduction of the new PsychoFreak Split toe boot to the O’Neill range, including its UltraFlex XDS Air Firewall and new Deep Split Toe for improved balance, makes this the best boot line to date. The PsychoFreak Split Toe Boot RRP: 5.5mm: £45.00, 3.5mm: £40.00.

Three new boots in the Psycho winter ’09 boot line reflects the expertly designed features and attention to detail you have come to expect from O’Neill. The Psycho Split Toe Boot RRP: 4/3mm: £40.00, 3/2mm: £35.00 Web: www.oneill.com Tel: 01730 811460 Email: wetsuits.eu@oneillwetsuits.com

quiksilver

Wetsuit Accessories

Stay warm with the Heater II Short Sleeve 8 Oz Polypropylene UV tech Lycra. RRP: £32 This Quiksilver wetsuit bag is the perfect gift for Christmas. RRP: £35 Web: www.quiksilver.com

xcel 5mm S/T Drylock Boot This boot will be the warmest most comfortable boot you ever use. The drylock boots come with a bamboo lining which not only is warmer and more eco friendly but also more odour resistant, which we are sure everyone will appreciate! A gum sole will keep your feet stuck to the board and the drylock seal will stop the boot filling up and bagging out. A perfect stocking filler for the keen mid winter surfer. RRP: £50 Web: www.Xcelwetsuits. com

rip curl

H-Bomb Wetsuit

The world's first power heated wetsuit the Rip Curl H-Bomb is now a reality. It has conquered the extremes from the Arctic circle, backed by Rip Curl’s elite surf team and performance tested by Mick Fanning.

The H-Bomb uses two 7.4 volt batteries – each of them weighing 120g. The heating elements warm up your core and help to pump warm blood to your extremities and use carbon fibre technology to conduct the heat. The batteries are carried in internal pockets on the lower back, positioned so there’s minimal impact on flexibility. The H-Bomb is made 100% out of E3, the lightest, warmest and most flexible neoprene known to man. It also features double aquaban liquid taping on all seams to create a water tight and durable sealed seam. The Rip Curl HBOMB will be exclusively available in select surf shops from October 15th 2008. RRP: £750 Web: www.ripcurl.com

tiki

Performance Range

This is our Performance range of accessories - using the best stretch materials, features and road tested neoprene thicknesses, we have a range that keeps your extremities toasty warm without hindering your surf performance.

We believe these are the best there is.

Web: www.tikisurf.co.uk Tel: 01271 812442 Email: info@tikisurf.co.uk

106 carve surfing magazine

wetsuit guide

wetsuit retailers guide 1 Cornwall

Anns Cottage

Wetsuits @ Polzeath Beach, St Columb and Kingsley Village. (in order of priority) Tel: 01208 869333.

Email: info@annscottagesurf.co.uk Web: www.annscottagesurf.co.uk Wetsuit brands: Most major brands stocked.

Constantine Bay Surf Store

Constantine Bay, Padstow, Cornwall PL28 8JJ Tel: 01841 520250 Email: des@constantinesurf.com Web: www.constantinesurf.com Wetsuit Brands: O’Neill, Xcel, FCS and Alder wetsuits and accessories.

3 dorset

Wetsuit Centre

42 Sea Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset BH5 1BQ Tel: 01202 302943 Email: info@wetsuitcentre.co.uk Web: www.wetsuitcentre.co.uk Wetsuit Brands: O’Neill, Rip Curl, Billabong, Xcel, C-Skins, Gul, Animal

4 yorkshire

BAY SURF SCARBOROUGH

Visit CARVEmag.com and read all about the best winter wetsuits on the market.

8 Suffolk

Odyssey SurfSnowStyle

12 St John’s Street, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1SQ Tel: 01284 753322 Email: info@surfsnowstyle.com Web: www.surfsnowstyle.com wetsuit brands stocked: Rip Curl, Alder, Tiki

9 Sussex

Ocean Sports Boardriders

34 St Nicholas cliff, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 2ES Tel: 01723 503762 Web: www.vibesurfshop.co.uk Email: info@vibesurfshop.co.uk Wetsuit brands: Billabong, West, Circle One

368 Kingsway, Hove, East Sussex BN3 4QT Tel: 01273 420142 Email: info@boardriders.co.uk Web: www.boardridersguide.co.uk Wetsuit brands: O’Neill, Rip Curl, Billabong, Xcel, C-Skins

Secret Spot

Wittering Surf Shop

4 Pavilion Terrace, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 2JU Tel: 01723 500467 International Telephone: +44 1723 500467 Email: admin@secretspot.co.uk Wetsuit brands: Rip Curl, O’Neill, Xcel, Alder

13 Shore Road, East Wittering, West Sussex, PO20 8DY Tel: 01243 672292 Email: info@witteringsurfshop.com Web: www.witteringsurfshop.com Wetsuit brands: Xcel

www.CARVEmag.com

Piran Surf

38 St Pirans Road, Perranporth, Cornwall TR6 0BJ Tel: 01872 573242 Web: www.piransurf.com, www. hotrocketsurf.com Email: thorax@piransurf.com Wetsuit brands: O’Neill, Billabong, Gul, Animal Freeriders Surf Shop

The Moor, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 3PN Tel: 01326 313456 Email: team@freeriderssurfshop.com Web: www.freeriderssurfshop.com Wetsuit Brands: Bodyglove, C-Skins, West, Xcel Westcountry Watersports

5 wales

Hot Dog Surf shop

26 Pennard Road, Kittle, Gower, Swansea SA3 3JS Tel: 01792 234073 Web: www.hotdogsurf.com Email: sales@hotdogsurf.com Wetsuit brands: O’Neill, Billabong, C-Skins

63, Fairmantle Street, Truro, Cornwall TR1 6 ireland 2EG (Parking to rear of shop) The Board Room Tel: 01872 275342 Unit 8A, Watson & Johnson Center, Email: wcws@wcws.biz Church Road, Greystones, County Web: www.surfsale.co.uk Wicklow, Ireland.

Wetsuit Brands: O’Neill Tel: 00353 1 2010708 Web: www.theboardroom.ie Boardwalk Surf Ltd Email: info@theboardroom.ie 17 Cliff Road, Newquay, Cornwall Wetsuit brands: O’Neill and Xcel.

Tel: 01637 878880 Email: info@boardwalksurf.co.uk Web: www.boardwalksurf.co.uk Wetsuit brands: O’Neill, Billabong, Xcel, C-Skins, Alder, Rhino, West, Animal

2 devon

Tiki Surf Shop

Caen St, Braunton North Devon EX33 1AA Tel: 01271 816070 Fax: 01271 817202 Web: www.tikisurf.co.uk Email: info@tikisurf.co.uk Opening Hours All year round Monday - Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm Wetsuit brands: TIKI, Animal, O'Neill, Rip Curl.

7 4

6

Lahinch Surf Shop

8

5

Old Promenade, Lahinch, Co.Clare, Ireland Email: bear@iol.ie Web: www.lahinchsurfshop.com Wetsuit brands: O’Neill, Alder, Tiki, Rip Curl, C-Skins

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7 northern ireland Ocean Warriors

80 The Prom, Portstewart, Causeway Coast, N. Ireland Tel: 02870 836500 (UK) 04870 836500 (RoI) Email: info@oceanwarriors.co.uk Web: www.oceanwarriors.co.uk Wetsuit brands: Circle One, Rhino

TheSurfDirectory e a t

•

s l e e p

•

s u r f

Check out these surf shops, the surf breaks near them and more on The Surf Directory. Plus all the info you need for your surf break at the click of a mouse. www.thesurfdirectory.co.uk

carve surfing magazine 107

sussed/108 CARVE’s guide to

Backhand top turns Words: Joss Ash

Perform a decent backhand top turn on a nice steep section and you will race down the line one happy camper. They take a lot of practice to get right, but once you've nailed them they open up a whole new realm of moves, and make backhand surfing at a decent point break one of life’s little joys...

Backhand top turns feel best (and are probably easiest) when you perform them with speed, power and commitment. In terms of the best type of wave: a section that is wrapping at you a little makes life easier, as it will naturally push you back off the lip as you hit it. If you choose the right wave then you should manage a succession of top turns - by the second or third you’ll be nailing them and you’ll have plenty of speed and can get into a nice cruisey rhythm.

Pick your wave - it’s important that it has a nice transition to it. If the bottom half has a nice curve in it (like a skate ramp) then it makes it easier to maintain speed through the turn. These waves can be few and far between at our beach breaks, so make the most of them if you get one!

The best set-up for the turn is after you’ve raced past a section that has broken so you’re coming at it from behind the white water. Watch the lip all the time and focus on where you’re planning to hit it. The wider that you can arc your bottom turn the better; as this will give you more speed, and more space to get a better angle for you to turn back up the wave and to get your bodyweight really low. The more you can compress on your bottom turn the more torque you will be able to generate, and the more projection you will have going back up the face.

Where you look is where you will go, so pick a point on the lip that you want to hit and focus on it. Point your leading arm up towards the lip, this should open your body so that your shoulders are open. The more you can twist your torso, the more vertical you will get. Your back foot should be right on your tail pad and over your fins, and your foot should be angled across the stringer, not straight across it at a right angle. This will allow you to bend your knees further and turn your shoulders more.

Push off the bottom hard and direct your board up towards the lip with your front foot. Half way up put your weight on your back foot and think about timing your snap. The longer you delay it the more board you will get out of the top of the wave, but the more risk you stand of going over the back, getting stuck in the lip or mistiming it. This bit is all about practice.

At the apex of the turn snap your board back down the face hard with your front foot. A full 180 for a big snap in the pocket, or on a steep wave to get down the face, more shallow if you’re still bolting down the line.

As you go through your top turn and your board starts coming back round, refocus and look down the wave - this will naturally turn your head and your body will follow. If you’ve got it right, then the trunk of your body should twist through the top turn axis smoothly (but quite aggressively), to keep your speed and momentum.

If you didn’t seen Adriano De Souza winning at Mundaka, then hit up YouTube and keep watching: he has got the perfect technique for smallwave backhand bashes. He manages big bottom turns even when the waves are small, keeps heaps of power and speed, and always gets his board vertical by really pushing it up there.

As with most manoeuvres you need focus on a nice compressed bottom turn, having your back foot in the right place and looking where you aim to be going at all times. Remember to keep your shoulders wide open turn off the pitching lip with power and put it all together nice and smoothly with no jerkiness. Easy.

108 carve surfing magazine

This is a speedy off the lip so joss ash has gone shallower off his bottom turn and will come down at 45 o to maintain momentum into the next section.

alex williams

front foot snaps the board down

eyes focussed on where he wants to go

shoulders square

weight on back foot

carve surfing magazine 109

mickey smith

sussed/110

Staying paddle–fit with a bungee workout Words: Lee Stanbury. Photos: Mike Searle

Winter’s pretty much here and - for most of us the darkness means spending less time in the water. Stay paddle-fit and ready for that magical morning when it’s pumping AND daylight with the Power Stroke bungee.

Whatever your excuse: I have to work till 5; my 5/3’s two seasons old; the reality is that winter means surfing less and consequently losing some surf fitness. The irony is that when it’s on, it tends to be properly on: and you’ve got jelly arms after your first five duck-dives.

Keeping paddle fit is tough. It’s hard to simulate paddling without, well, paddling. A Power Stroke bungee gets pretty close though, and – slotted into the exercise

regimes of Ben Skinner and Oli Adams – gets a beefcake nod from the pros.

pretty much anywhere.

The Power Stroke bungee targets all the major muscle groups used in upper body surf movements and How does it work? in paddling: triceps, deltoids and lats. It improves muscle ‘Resistance bands’ have been around for years and play a strength and endurance, and also develops mobility and major role in many general fitness programmes, the beauty range of movement. Having attached your bungee of them is that 1) You can set your own agenda and push to something secure, there are three main exercise yourself as hard as you want, and 2) You can use them movements that you can have a crack at:

You can also adjust the level of resistance with the Power Stroke by adding or removing bungee cords: you can have between 1 and 3 (depending on whether your girlfriend’s watching or not).

Multi Directional Paddle.

Let you elbows come out and ‘push down’ as you move over the stroke, imagine your powering toward a bombieset (but keep your movements steady!). This works the whole spectrum of paddling muscles and is the closest you’ll get to paddling-out in your living room. Start off with 1 minute sets, and build up duration and intensity as you improve and become fitter.

Single Armed Paddle.

Still moving forward and back, alternate your arm movements: try to imagine you’re a cross-country skier (but cooler). Again, this is great for general mobility; for strengthening your shoulder and back muscles, and also for co-ordinating your arm movements when paddling.

Pro’s Question Corner mike searle

Having trouble smashing it on your backhand? Want to know where to paddle out at Brimms Ness? Want a life of endless chicks and free beer? Angle a surf related query at any Brit Pro and we’ll get an answer for you. This issue Alan Stokes’ brain is picked...

Parallel Arms.

Keeping your arms moving together, this is a great way to warm up and get into a rhythm. Keep your head down and move your arms through the full range of movement: from right out in front of you all the way through to behind your back. This exercise keeps your shoulder blades mobile, and helps to develop your back muscles.

Changing Chill From October onwards the early and late session is often pretty much freezing cold.

I’m fine once I’m in my wettie, it’s just actually getting in and out of it which is the freezing bit. You have any tips for beating the changing chill? Do you use one of those robe things? A changing mat? Get in to your suit at home? One guy even told me that you guys drive home naked with the heaters on in your vans? What happens if you break down?

Cheers, Davey-boy, St. Austell.

The best way to get in and out when it's freezing is just to keep your body temperature up. Down a cuppa before you leave home – coffee’s good because it gives you a little energy kick. And don’t forget to have your suit dry and the right way around before you get to the beach.

Don’t look at the surf when you get there, you will only um and ah, especially

110 carve surfing magazine

if it’s cold. Just jump straight outside and get your suit on really quickly. Grab your board that you waxed up at home and start running to the surf. This is what I do. If you stop the cold getting in you will actually stay pretty hot. The same goes for when you’re surfing. Keep your heart rate up by paddling continually for the whole surf, not just sitting out the back – keep the engine going.

When you’re knackered run back to your car fast so that you’re hot when you get there, get out of your suit fast as possible and jump around to keep hot. I’ve only got a short drive home so I chuck a towel around my waist and drive home then straight into the shower. I’ve forgotten my towel a few times tho and just drove home starkers. Try it, it’s kind of liberating! What would I do if I broke down? I don’t know, it’s a gamble and you just gotta roll those dice sometimes. – Stokesy.

directory // 111

carve surfing magazine

111

NEOPRENE NEOPRENE APPAREL APPAREL

5MM OR 7MM / LIQUID SEAL / FLEXIBLE SOLE / SPLIT TOE 5MM OR 7MM / LIQUID SEAL / FLEXIBLE SOLE / SPLIT TOE

directory // 112 LOOK HERE!

If you really want to show the surfing world your product or service then we can help.

Carve is Britain’s best selling surfing magazine with readership of 60,000.

Call 01637 878074 and speak to Steve or Louise for a cost effective way to reach your target market.

photo: Alex Williams

TRAVELLING THIS WINTER?

go to orcashop.co.uk for all your essentials.

112 112 carve carve surfing surfing magazine magazine

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Matt Renshaw, Perranporth.

Photo: Farscapes

Matt’s mate going the other way.

Photo: Farscapes

So, Autumn was a bit late, but since it arrived there has been no end to the glassy sessions right around the country, Two weeks worth in the southwest, a couple of A+ swells on the east coast, and Ireland pumping. At the time of going to print some pretty major lows were heading our way. The water is staying unseasonably warm too A balmy 16 degrees in Cornwall in late October. Happy days!

Oli Adams, Watergate. Photo: Mike Searle

Gower glory. Photo: Phil Holden

carve surfing magazine 113

directory // 114

THE ULTIMATE CHANGING ROBE Robie Robes would like to wish you a Merry Christmas Free delivery on orders over £40

www.robierobes.com Surf Hardware wholesale distribution for the UK & Ireland Wetsuits & Accessories Bodyboards & BSA Approved Soft Surfboards

Surfboard Wax Remover

UV Cure Ding Repair Kits Shortboards, Mini-Mals, Retros & Longboards

Leashes, Boardbags & Softracks Surf Wax & Accessories

Wetsuit & Watersports Repair Essentials Leashes & Accessories

CJB’s Surf Co Ltd Tel/Fax: +44 (0) 1208 78845 Hillfield, Copshorne Rd info@cjbsurf.co.uk Bodmin Cornwall PL31 2PA www.cjbsurf.co.uk *New trade enquiries welcome 114 114 carve carve surfing surfing magazine magazine

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115

Bit late on that one. The point of no return, Yorkshire.

Photo: Gill

Guts Griffiths rudely ignoring his mate’s high five attempt, east coast wonderland.

Photo: Gill

Andrew Douglas, the Temple, St Agnes.

Photo: Ben Howard

Ben Skinner, Watergate.

Photo: Mike Searle

5 from the carvemag.com online gallery

Empty // South Fistral, Cornwall Photo: geofftydeman

‘Sunset’ // France Photo: joshsandles

Unidentified // Hayle, Cornwall Photo: alldayphotography

upload your photos and you could win some great prizes!

‘Heavy’ // Perranporth, Cornwall Photo: wetdream

Unidentified // Porthleven, Cornwall Photo: butz1

carve surfing magazine 115

GREAT GIFT

<9I FCS AM2 FINS Al Merricks' original template known for exceptional drive and maneuvreability.

FCS K£59.99 2.1 Fin set £41

FCS Soul Arch Fin £45

FCS FG 3000 Fin Set £49

FCS TC Carbon Red Line Fin Set £51

FCS H2 Texallium Set £72

IKH<?D= C?I9 XCEL BAMBOO HOOD Insulation that's also kinder to the environment £27.99

Island Style F1 deckgrip £19.99

Lightweight Boardcover for shortboards 6’4” £42.49

Bubbleloc rashvest and key pouch £34.99

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out there/118 karin seelow

charity fashion show in September – showing that if the surfing doesn’t work out, then maybe the catwalk is calling. The event was a massive success and raised £1000 for cancer charity CLIC Sargent.

Luis Eyre and Jayce Robinson competed in the La Santa Pro Junior in Tenerife in early September. Luis went down in Round 2 but Jayce got on a bit of a roll before going down in Round 4. Even though the waves were small the standard was through the roof as usual. Charley Martin was on fire during the comp and placed first. PV Laborde was the stand out free surfer during the trip, punting all over the show.

Waveriders, Joel Conroy’s epic Irish surfing documentary (starring Gabe Davies, Richie Fitzgerald and a load of other top riders), has won ‘Best Documentary’ at the Surfer magazine Poll Awards. The team attended the awards ceremony in California, and were

pretty shocked when their number came up: “It was proper glitzy like,” said Gabe Davies. “Anyone who was anyone in the surfing world was there. We were just stoked to be nominated, so when they made the announcement we all pretty much fell off our chairs!”

O’Neill’s Psychofreak wetsuit has received the Surf Industry Manufacturers’ award for Wetsuit of the Year. The SIMA Image Awards identify the surf industry’s most influential companies and recognise their efforts to advance and develop the industry.

Billabong won Men’s Apparel Brand of the Year, Women’s Apparel Brand of the Year, and Environmental Product of the Year for their men’s recycled Boardshorts.

Meanwhile EuroSIMA awarded their Ecological Innovation Award to FCS for its Green Flex Ecological fin. FCS uses ‘post consumer material’ to develop its new green fins.

Movember kicks off on 1 November.

Movember is a charity campaign that runs throughout the month of ‘Movember’

118 carve surfing magazine

(formerly November), where people grow moustaches for the month. All the cash raised goes to the Prostate Cancer Charity. This is how it works: register at www.movember.com, and start 1 Movember with a clean shaven face. Mo’ bros then have the remainder of the month to grow (and groom) their mo’, whilst raising money and awareness for The Prostate Cancer Charity. The Sandsifter (Godrevy) will host one of the exclusive Movember Gala Parties on the 28 Movember!

Tickets are £10, available at www. uk.movember.com/events/gala-partes The Etnies ‘You Tube-rider’ comp is hotting up. There are some top contenders in from Scotland, and an epic one from the east coast - where the lads set up floodlights on a small pier one night last January, and proceeded to tuck into a few after-dark shacks!

Go to carvemag.com to check out the action. The winner gets 1000 notes – grab your Handycam and some cling film and get out there!

The Surf Awards 2009 in association with UK Pro Surf Tour, is back once again this time at a new venue, promising to be bigger and better than ever. The prestigious awards night, now in it's sixth year, will take place at Fistral Blu Restaurant and Beach Bar on Sunday November 15. The awards will be given for the best performers on the tour as well as individual achievements in all areas of surfing. This is a great opportunity to support and showcase the best of our surfing talent.

The doors are open to all with £5, £10 and £20 ticket options. Tickets will be available through the Rip Curl Pro Store in Newquay, check www.ukprosurf. com for other outlets as well as accommodation offers. See the UK Pro Surf Awards 2009 facebook group for updates.

C-Skins have re-launched their website with a host of new features. There’s a new ‘product interface’, which has more in-depth product reviews; a locator tool so you can find your local C-Skin merchant; more photo and video galleries, and blogs from their team riders - including Irish hellman Fergal Smith, Joss Ash and Reubin Pearce.

Check www.c-skins.com Andrew Cotton and ‘Big Red’ Al Mennie have been invited back to the Nelscott Reef Tow invitational in Oregeon. The holding period runs until 31 December - with 48 hours notice to get out there.

Other confirmed teams include: Ross Clarke Jones amd Tom Carroll; Greg Long and Twiggy Baker; Mike Parsons and Brad Gerlach; and Mark Healey and Rusty Long. Get to www.nelscottreef. com and follow the event.

Condolences go to friends and family of Will Hogg Snr: a long-standing member of the Tynemouth surfing community, head lifeguard on Longsands, chairman of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade, swimming instructor, longboarder, husband, father and friend to many. He died 2 September while taking part in a gruelling charity swim from St Mary’s Island to the North Tyne Pier. Over 70 people participated in a memorial paddle on 11 September at Longsands.

The ‘AXL / DOH Pro, will this year be sponsored by Billabong, Santa Cruz, The Realm, Sanuk and Carve Eyewear.

With the talented pool of surfers that now compete on the UK Pro Surf Tour, this event promises to be one to watch.

It’ll be held 31 October to 1 November at Rest Bay, Porthcawl.

Luke Hart at Quiver is looking for a grom team rider and a girl team rider. Send CVs, video links, begging letters and untraceable ten pound notes to quiver@ seabase.eu.

Newquay surfer Tom Butler was among the models strutting their stuff during a

Surfers Against Sewage’s Scottish representative Alasdair Steele was joined on Pease Bay beach by local surfers and MSP John Lamont, to warn waveriders of the potential increased health risk at Pease Bay as Scottish Water reduce the levels of sewage treatment from full tertiary treatment to secondary treatment in September.

The downgrade will result in a huge increase in potentially harmfully pathogens entering the sea.

For further information please contact SAS’s Andy Cummins on 01872 553001.

Fancy a hassle-free trip to Indo with top-class coaching, guides to take you to the right breaks for your ability, free Oakley gear for all participants and all at a super competitive price?! Thought so. Well, Big Friday has teamed up with the ESF Surf School and Oakley, to offer you the ultimate trip. Heading off to Indo from 24 April to 3 May, 2010, there’ll be BSA qualified surf coaches on hand to work with the group, whatever your standard. Price £649 (early booking offer of £599 for a limited period!)

Check out www.bigfriday.com for details. Not many spots so get on it!

The hugely successful charity A1surf.com Retro Board Challenge took place in East Wittering in October, with 50 fancy dressed surfers competing and hundreds of spectators watching on the beach. A weird and wonderful collection of fancy dress costumes were on display during the day, including Bart Simpson, a scarecrow, Pamela Anderson, James Bond and even Laird Hamilton. The finalists were the Silver Surfer (Olly Smith), the Ninja (Cliff Cox), Elton John (Peter Engelfield) and a Soldier (Matt Reed). In the end it was the Silver Surfer who was triumphant, with the Ninja in second place, Elton John in third and the Soldier taking the fourth spot.

Doctor’s patients will be encouraged to go for a walk on the beach as part of a ‘Blue Gym’ Government drive to get more people exercising near and in water. The ‘Enjoying Water’ strategy aims to get more people swimming outdoors or taking part in water sports as part of tackling obesity and improving mental health. Something that us as surfers have known for a long time – a surf seems to cure most known ailments! www. bluegym.org.uk

mickey smith

NEXT ISSUE

Heavy-duty action from the North Atlanticâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meanest waves On sale: early December

Given the number of wipeouts, collisions and catastrophes that have occupied this page over the last year, we’re thinking of renaming it ‘Pain, suffering and beatings’. Anyway, we know you love sequences of people getting smashed, so here’s another.

Yep, it’s our old friend Justin ‘Jughead’ Allport leaving it just a little bit too late at The Zone on Australia’s east coast. Photog Tim Jones says there were a lot of bad beatings that day but this was the heaviest.

“Yeah, that one where Jug went over the falls was nuts. It was solid six- to eight-foot. I sometimes wonder if that guy has a brain or if he’s just completely f--ked in the head. But he charges, and when I’m screaming from the channel to go, he goes! It’s so funny.”

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sequence: tim jones

and finally... /120