Seed by João Ervedosa

Nat Young, World Surfing Champion in 1996

QUIVER

OZZIE WRIGHT

He’s an all-around artist that creates through: surfing, painting, music, etc. A surf star by day and rock star by night. He has had art shows around the world, and is both loved and hated in the surf scene. His surfing is fast, raw and very aerial oriented. He has a wide stance and an even wider array of tricks, hence the name of his video “One Hundred and Fifty Six Tricks.” A good way to sum up Ozzie Wright is from an old Volcom add that says, “Ozzie Wrong Does Not Belong.”

RIDING GIANTS We all knew that the swell was coming - it had been forecast for days in advance. Every Tom, Dick, and Harriet would be out either trying to surf, trying to tow-in, or standing on the shore gawking. Since both of our rescue PWCs were in the shop, I had some trepidations knowing that we would be unable to initiate any water-borne surf rescue. With the buoys in the mid-twenties at 20 seconds, I knew that my Harbor Patrol vessels would be suicide to take out of the harbor.

THE OUTSIDERS The origins of the usage of the term “soul surfing” are rooted in the late ‘60s with the phrase most used in the mid- and late-’70s. In 1969 theologian Tom Blake, penned an article entitled Voice of the Wave, which examined the religious elements of surfing, by the early-‘70s, curious surfers began to experiment with various Eastern philosophies, such as yoga and meditation.

PHOTO BY: TOSTEE

PHOTO BY: SCOTT AICHNER

In 1963, Bruce Brown called the act of pulling under a little, foamy lip “getting all covered up” and proclaimed it “the ultimate” in surfing. Nearly 10 years later Jock Sutherland described Pipe’s barrel as so spacious it was “just like the Pope’s living room. Even with the bric-abrac, paintings, and big overstuffed chairs and sofas.” In today’s parlance, a select few surfers talk about “riding the foam hall.” Under never-ending curtains like this, however, Sean Moody proves that “the ultimate” continues to evolve. And so too has the art of capturing that evolution.

PHOTO BY: PAT STACY

SPIN THE GLOBE When flat-spells at home leave you out of the water for days, imagine you and your best friend could just pick a pont on the map and take off. Imagine having the entire world at your disposal - any swell, any coastline, any wave. For most people, that’s rare proposition, but for post-tour pros like Cory Lopez and Andy Irons, it’s a very real fact of life. “Andy was staying with me in California,” says Lopez of this shot, “and he was real itchy to surf. So we checked the maps and itlooked like Tahiti was going to be fun, 6- to 8-foot. It turned out just the way we expected, like the old days - me and Andy in a little house out on the point getting barreled for a week. It’s been almost five years since we’ve been to Teahuppo without the whole circus, so it was basically the best type of trip you can ask for.”

BIG WAVE SURFING AT MAVERICK’S MAY BE AT RISK

A proposal to protect marine life by banning tow-in surfers who zoom onto mountainous swells at the famous break Maverick’s has the international surfing community wondering if California has seen the last of its mega-wave riding. In a draft management plan released last month, managers at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which hugs 276 miles of coast from Marin to Cambria, proposed barring personal watercraft from Maverick’s, a spot near Half Moon Bay whose winter 40- to 60-foot waves draw surfers from around the world. Officials considering the plan to protect gray whales, sea lions and other marine life could opt for a permit process for tow-in surfers at Maverick’s. The proposal could also nix tow-in surfing at Ghost Tree near Pebble Beach.A series of public hearings in several Northern California coastal towns set to begin next week has inflamed the intra-surfing spat over tow-in surfing, a relatively new innovation in a sport whose origins stretch back centuries. Among the Monterey Bay sanctuary’s chief allies are surfing purists who grumble that surfers pulled into the waves by jet-propelled watercraft hog their swells and threaten harbor seals that rest near Maverick’s, named after a local surfer’s dog.” Jet Skis are a form of strip-mining a surf spot,” said Mark Renneker, a family practice doctor at UC San Francisco who has surfed Maverick’s for more than a decade. “They behave like the Wild Ones, whipping and spraying fumes.... I just find them so appalling and so disruptive to the near-shore environment and the peacefulness that I was out there for.” Beginning in the 1990s, surfers using personal watercraft to reach steep swells revolutionized big-wave riding.

Harrowing waves once deemed uncatchable and unridable were suddenly accessible — and the watercraft also allowed for quick rescues after wipeouts.” It’s virtually impossible to save a surfer in waves of that size without a Jet Ski,” said Bill Sharp, event director for Billabong’s big-wave contests. The 2002 award went to a Brazilian surfer for riding a 68-footer at Maverick’s. The safety argument has been brushed aside in the battle for Maverick’s, said Don Curry, a spokesman for the Assn. of Professional Towsurfers, because personal watercraft are saddled with “a bad reputation, like a motorcycle in the water. So they’re being dealt with in the form of ‘Let’s just ban them so that there are no conflicts.’ “ Check out the whole thing. The suggestion for tow permits sounds like a reasonable solution to the controversy, although I fully understand the concerns of the surfer purists. I was a big wave bodyboarder in high school. I used to go out with some of my buddies in 8-10 foot surf at “The Point” at Newport Beach, a spot known for a quick break and super steep faces, unlike Huntington Beach’s more rolling waves. I first heard about Maverick’s when I was in graduate school in Santa Barbara. I picked up a copy of Surfer Magazine, which had the story of the Maverick phenomenon, and especially the drowning of surf pro Mark Foo. (Foo’s last ride is discussed in this article by Jon Krakauer in Outside Magazine). Be sure to check out Dana Brown’s recent surf film classic, “Step Into Liquid,” which covers the Maverick’s phenomenon. I first saw it during its theatrical release, at The Lido Theater in Newport Beach, a cool 1950s-era movie house now showing both mainstream and cinema art productions.

PHOTO BY: TOSTEE

OSCAR “OZZIE” WRIGHT INTRODUCES HIMSELF AS “A 6-FOOT, ALCOHOLIC ATHLETE, WHO WON’T GET UP UNLESS I’M IN LOVE.” THAT’S FOR THE TONE– OZZIE GOES WAY BEYOND “MODERN”...FOR IN HIS CREATIVE APPROACH, THIS MAN IS CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE, WHETHER ITS SURFING, OR ON ANY SUPPORT–BRUSH IN HAND–THIS BOARD-RIDING GENIUS MAKES THE POWDER TALK: EXPLOSIVE! THAT’S PROBABLY THE BEST ADJECTIVE TO DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER. SELFTAUGHT, OZZIE COMPOSES HIS PAINTINGS WITH BIG CONTRASTING STROKES. WITH THEIR SIMPLE FORMS AND FLAT COLORS, HIS STYLE IS A REFERENCE FOR YOUTH SEEKING THE REVOLT OF PUNK ROCK AND ACCESS TO ARTISTIC CREATION. COMMITTED TO THE BRAND, VOLCOM, FOR OVER TEN YEARS, HIS WORK HAS ALSO BEEN RELAYED BY DOPE COMICS, SANTA CRUZ AND INSIGHT SURFBOARDS. FOR HIM, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SURFING AND PAINTING: “SAME SENSATION, DIFFERENT CANVAS”.

PHOTOS BY: JOHN WEED

Why are you so weird? Ozzie Wright: I’m not weird, you f-kin’ are. Where are you heading on this journey call life? Ethiopia. When did you realize that you had artistic talents? I have only a little bit. I have a lot. No how much? A little bit. Tell me about your bunny girl. We started out just drinkin’ beer. I thought she was real cute and tried to kiss her. She said no, so we went and started dancing on the street outside the pub-eventually we kissed. Later that week, I noticed every time she wore her hoody with ears she became irresistable super sexy lovely. Then Dashenka Prochazka became Bunny Girl, like Bruce Wayne becoming Batman, Peter Parker Spiderman, you know what I mean? How many pictures of her have you painted? Actual paintings? Maybe thirty or fifty, but hundreds of drawings and two sculpture things. I bite my nails, what bad habits do you have? Sweet tooth, laziness, paranoia, not stretching, reckless driving, neglecting loved ones-actually, those are good ones. Bad ones-drinkin’, smokin’, wrecking, breaking, punching, kinkin’, masturbating. Do people recognize you when you’re walking around? Occasionally. 17

Are you famous? My family knows who I am. What will happen if you get really, really famous? Nothing unusual. Wait-everything’s unusual. Do you make a lot of money? I forgot to tell you about my website for dope(c)omics. It’s not up now but hopefully when you read this it is. Anyway, you can buy products-useless ones like my single bunny girl killed the kit, which you will buy on vinyl for one hundred dollars and you don’t even have a record player. There, now I’m gonna make a lot of money. Have you ever ridden in a submarine and will people ever start surfing good switch-stance? No, and yes. Do you think people will ever start doing kickflips on surfboards? I think some dickhead will do one soon. I’m sure Parko could do one first try. Can you draw horses?How come we’re not at the beach? Great question. Apparently, Volcom’s motorhome is too big to fit on the street that winds around the streets of big Sur, but we do have band in back there. Do you do drugs? In Australia, we wouldn’t ask if you do drugs. We would ask, “Do you take drugs?” And if you said no you’d be lying. Do I look fat? You’re a fat cunt. 21

PHOTOS BY: TOSTEE

riding

GIANTS

PHOTOS BY: SID HART

The gladiators of big wave surfing took center stage in California last night for the ninth annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. Regarded as the Oscars of big wave surfing, the XXL awards recognize the biggest and ugliest waves ridden over the past twelve months as judged by a global panel of 250 surf industry, former pros and big wave specialists. Over 2000 people packed the Grove Theatre in Anaheim to witness mind-blowing rides from Chile, Europe, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, California and French Polynesia. Californian big wave surfer Greg Long, 26, took top honors at the gala ceremony and was handed $50,000 for winning the Ride Of The Year Category. Long’s entry came from a ride he conquered during the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event on July 26th 2008 at Dungeons, a renowned high surf location off Cape Town. Of all the entries in the Ride Of The Year Category, Long’s was the only wave ridden without the assistance of a PWC (Jet-Ski). Paddling into a monster Dungeons peak and banking off the bottom into a huge tube ride, Long walked a fine line between glory and the punishing of a lifetime, before being spat out into the channel. “I am glad to have won this as a paddle in wave and without a PWC, because most recognized big wave surfers will tell you this is the most difficult of the two,” said Long. “To catch a wave on your own power is an unbelievable feeling.” 34

The San Clemente local finished ahead of Ryan Hipwood (Gold Coast), James Holmer-Cross (Tasmania), Garrett McNamara (Hawaii) and Brian Conley (San Diego, CA) to take his fifth XXL award. He has now claimed the Ride Of The Year Category (08/09), the Biggest Wave Award (06/07), The Monster Paddle Award (07/08) and two Best Over All Performance Awards (07/08 & 03/04) further proving himself as one of the most dedicated big wave riders on the planet. “I am feeling great, it’s my fifth time and now it’s the big one,” said Long. “That is what is so amazing about this event, it brings everyone together at the end of the year. “When we are out there riding waves, this is the last thing on our mind, we are out there because we love it.” In a daily double for the State of California, San Diego resident Derek Dunfee took out the coveted Monster Paddle Award. Ridden during the giant session at Mavericks on November 30th 2008, which produced three of the five rides in the same category, Dunfee used perfect positioning to complete a classic big wave ride. He edged out Grant “Twiggy” Baker (ZAF), fellow Californian Nathan Fletcher, South African James Taylor and European charger Axi Muniain (Basque County – Northern Spain). “That day was the best day of my life and I wasn’t sure if I was getting nominated,” said Dunfee. “I am 26 and I feel pretty honored to win and be up here with guys I have been looking up to all my life.

I want to continue to work my way up and this could be a true turning point to the next stage of my big wave surfing career.” South African big wave pioneer Baker, 35, was awarded two category honors in the 08/09 award ceremony, taking out both the XXL Biggest Wave Award and the Surfline Men’s Best Overall Performance. The victories came as a long overdue reward for diminutive natural footer, who has been consistently nominated since the XXL awards’ inception but never taken out a win. “When you look at my eyes right now, you can see that I am pretty pumped,” said Baker. “Yeah, it is an amazing feeling, not just to myself but also to my family back home in South Africa.” Baker’s tow-in assisted ride which took out the Biggest Wave Award and was ridden at Tafelberg Reef in South Africa was judged to be 61 feet, some nine feet under last year’s record breaking ride by Californian Mike Parsons. The wave is claimed to be the biggest ever tackled in his home country of South Africa. “The whole experience is not just satisfying for me personally but to see South Africa up there, to see Dungeons up there, seeing James Taylor up there, overall to put South Africa on the map is most satisfying for me,” said Baker. The Best Overall Performance Award came from his 38

outstanding rides during big wave swell events in South Africa, California and Mexico over the past 12 months. For winning both divisions, Baker claimed $USD 20,000 in cash and a new Honda Aquatrax PWC. “It is an honor to win Best Overall Performance and to be the first South African to do it,” he said. Hawaiian Mark Healey, 28, cemented his big wave surfing reputation with a win in the $5,000 Monster Tube Category, his first ever Billabong XXL Award. During a swell run to a remote break in the Pacific Northwest, Healey towed into a crazy left slab at a break called Yeti. Unleashing on dry reef and virtually below sea level, the monster tube ride beat equally insane entries from Kerby Brown – WA Slab (Western Australia), Dylan Longbottom – Teahupoo (Central Coast, NSW), Garrett McNamara – Teahupoo (Hawaii) and Ryan Hipwood – Shiptern Bluff (Gold Coast). Maya Gabeira (Brazil) maintained her stranglehold on the $5,000 Billabong Girls Best Overall Performance Award by winning the category for a third consecutive year. The 22-year-old has continually pushed the boundaries of female big wave surfing over the past 12 months, basing herself in the Hawaiian islands and chasing swell events around the world with tow partner Carlos Burle. “Even though this is my third time winning, I still feel nervous and I am super stoked to be here every year, said

Gabeira. “This is very rewarding as all the other big wave riders are voting on it, so being here tonight and winning again means a lot to me.” The Verizon Wipe Out Award went to Australian surfer Ross Clarke-Jones for a near life-ending battering at Pedra Branca, located off the Tasmanian coast. The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented by Monster Energy Drinks. Verizon Wireless is the official communications provider, Surfline.com is the official surf forecast and Honda the official watercraft of the XXL. Additional support for the event comes from Air Tahiti Nui and Surfing Magazine. I want to continue to work my way up and this could be a true turning point to the next stage of my big wave surfing career.” BILLABONG XXL RIDE OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER $50,000: Greg Long (San Clemente, California, USA) at Dungeons, South Africa on July 26, 2008 ($5,000 Video by Fixerfilm/RedBull BWA) SECOND $5,000: Ryan Hipwood (Gold Coast, Australia) at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on October 11, 2008. (Video by Tim Bonython) THIRD $1500: James Holmer-Cross (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on October 11, 2008. (Video by Dave Otto) FOURTH $1500: Garrett McNamara (Sunset Beach, Hawaii, USA) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on April 8, 2008 (Video by

Simon Saffigna) FIFTH $1500: Brian Conley (San Diego, California) at Boca Grande, Mexico on October 22, 2008. (Video by Brian Conley) BILLABONG XXL BIGGEST WAVE AWARD (Surfer prize $15,000 and a Honda Aquatrax watercraft with HSA sled - Photo/video prize $4,000) Grant Baker (Durban, South Africa) at Tafelberg Reef, South Africa on August 9, 2008. (Photo by Brenton Geach) MONSTER PADDLE AWARD (Surfer prize $15,000 - Photo/video prize $4,000) Derek Dunfee (San Diego, California, USA) at Maverick’s, California on November 30, 2008. (Photo by Fred Pompermayer) MONSTER TUBE PHOTO AWARD NOMINEES (Surfer prize $5,000 - Photography prize $2,000) Mark Healey (Sunset Beach, Hawaii, USA) at Yeti, Oregon on September 24, 2008. (Photo by Jason Murray) SURFLINE OVERALL PERFORMANCE AWARD (Surfer prize $5,000) Grant Baker (Durban, South Africa)

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