Surfers race to catch massive waves across Southland

 

Mike Lucas charged into the surf at Newport Beach's legendary Wedge, 

paddling out to brave waves so big they seemed to fill the sky.

"You quickly realize you could be dead in a second if you don't know what you're doing," 

said Lucas, 26, of Huntington Beach.

From Santa Barbara to San Diego, the pounding surf

 — unleashed by Hurricane Marie circulating off the Baja coast — 

whipped up a quintessential Southern 

California scene: surfers and body-boarders scrambling to the beach 

to ride the monster waves while thousands of spectators arrived

 — where a rock jetty thrust into the ocean amplifies waves' height and force —

 lifeguards and surfers estimated the waves were reaching heights of 25 feet. 

Lucas said he hadn't seen breakers so large in years, 

and it filled him with nervous excitement.

 to bear witness, clogging the roadways and lining the seashore.

At the Wedge 

— where a rock jetty thrust into the ocean amplifies waves' height and force — 

lifeguards and surfers estimated the waves were reaching heights of 25 feet. 

Lucas said he hadn't seen breakers so large in years, 

and it filled him with nervous excitement.

But "once you get out there, you get in ...more

2014 Acer British Interclub Surfing Championships

 

The long wait is over. The Acer Interclubs is around the corner and will be bigger and better than ever!

 For those unfamiliar with this unique event, Surf clubs from throughout the UK 

put forward teams to represent their home breaks in Open, Women & Junior divisions. 

The teams often vary in skill level and seem to be made up 

of the more social specimen of humans. 

This family friendly, weekend of joy and surfing

 focuses around a celebration of the 

UK’s thriving surf club scene with a joust of ...more

WSIA Surf Expo 2014 Auction

Posted on unleashedwakemag.com/

Jamaica: An unlikely surf destination

 

Jamaica is a country mostly known for its music, Rastafarian roots, and Usain Bolt,

 but did you know that there are incredible waves in Jamaica, as well? 

Dylan Graves just recently returned from a trip to Jamaica, where his crew 

consisted of surfers Dane and Tanner Gudauskas, Dylan’s brother, Josie Graves, 

and photographers and videographers from Surfer magazine. 

They all met up with the legendary Billy Mystic and his family for an epic surf trip. 

On this episode of Cote’s Cube, Chris Cote and ...more

Massive summer swells bring out surf legends, gawkers, destruction

 

 NEWPORT BEACH - Nature put on a surf display for the ages Wednesday, and much of Southern California detoured to enjoy the stoke.

It was the kind of day that prompted people to ditch work and school, or stop whatever they were doing, to line the beaches and piers, just to be a part of it. For years, people who care about surf will reminisce about the day … “Remember that hurricane swell in summer of 2014?”

At the same time, Orange County Fire Authority workers hustled to stop flooding and save homes in Seal Beach, where a high tide and rising swell late Tuesday put three feet of seawater on some ...more

Day three at the best surf contest ever run (the Billabong Pro, Tahiti)

  

Well, that was really something. Day three of competition at the Billabong Pro, Tahiti saw round two wrap up and steam into an amazing round three amongst a rapidly growing swell and near-perfect conditions. Highlights? Where to even begin! With seven gents finishing on 18 (and above) combined totals, plus Kelly Slater’s 19.44 total and John John Florence’s 19.93 totals… if you didn’t watch this live, then you really must go get lost in the Heats On Demand for a stretch.

“I just went for it out there today, I’m really stoked it picked up and I’m so happy to get some waves,” said John John after beating fellow Hawaiian Sea Bass with a painfully close to perfect total. “The last few heats I’ve had I haven’t really got too many waves. The ten-point wave I got was crazy, I just hoped for the best and it worked ...more

THE UNDERTOW SURF DOCUMENTARY SET TO ENTER GLOBAL FILM COMPETITION

 

A unique surfing documentary set in Newcastle, England is in the running to win a global documentary film competition run by Talenthouse, Prime & Fire - Factory Media, and the British Film Institute.

Written and Directed by the writer of the multi award-winning surf feature documentary Waveriders, Lauren Davies of North East UK-based film company, Lola Cove Films and Produced by co-founder, Gabe Davies, Veitch will tell the inspiring and ultimately tragic true story of an outsider from Newcastle who dived into the hostile waters of the North Sea in the 1980s and defied the odds to chase a distant dream of becoming a professional surfer.

An online vote will decide their fate, with the top ten finalists going before a panel of esteemed judges. Lauren and Gabe are hoping the surf community will get behind their project in order to help them realise their goal of bringing this incredible human story of passion and determination to the screen. The teaser also ...more

2014 Champions Trophy in review

 

For the photos visit xgames.espn.go.com

5 of surfing’s deadliest surf spots

 

Allow us to preface this article with this: Surfing is not a particularly dangerous sport. You’re much more likely to die on the freeway than while pursuing the passion of wave riding. That said, tragedy strikes the tight-knit surf community more often than we would like, and there are a handful of surf spots where dying is more likely than at others. Regardless, surfers flock to these deadly waves in droves. It’s the rush, the danger, and the sheer joy one gets from flying down the face of an incredibly large mountain of water that keep us coming back for more despite the ...more

Sub-Zero surfing: Chasing waves in the Arctic

 

Whiteout blizzards, icy water that rarely tops 40 degrees and numb fingers and toes aren’t exactly synonymous with surfing.

But for a growing niche of hardy wave-seekers, those daunting conditions are part of a less-traveled journey to surfing nirvana: scoring that perfect, never-surfed-before swell in a remote cold-water place like Norway, Iceland, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Alaska or Russia.

“As a culture, surfing has always been rooted in the idea of going further and deeper and getting farther away.”- Chris Burkard, surf photographer

“It’s so rare in this day and age that you’re able to ...more

Surf film festival heading to Charleston this fall

 

With Charleston’s beach town rep, you’d think we’d already have an event dedicated to surfing flicks but somehow we didn’t — until now. Local non-profits Charleston WaterKeeper and Charleston Surfrider teamed up with Triple9Music, a music supervision company based out of Beverly Hills specializing in action sports media, to bring Chucktown its inaugural Carolina Surf Film Festival (CSFF). From Oct. 16 to 18 at the Brickhouse Party Plantation, Charleston will be showcasing a collection of surfing and water sports-themed movies from around the world. Film submissions can be done through the website and the official screening lineup will be released in mid-August. Chad Davis, general manager of Triple9Music, is pleased with the submissions received so far. “We’ve got a lot of really good submissions that we can’t wait to share. Hopefully these films will help people understand the surf culture not only here in Charleston but around the world,” he says.
Along with the films the festival will have live music, a DJ, and vendors such as Westbrook Brewing, Mex 1, Brickhouse, and food trucks as well as an artists corner that will have works by surf artists like photographer Chris Kemp, along with paintings, murals, and other art. There will be a Q&A segment at the festival where patrons can ...more

Taj Burrow, Mark Mathews and the most dangerous surf photo ever

 

Mark Matthews and Taj Burrow attempt to 

reinvent surf photography and nearly die in the process.

 Towing two people into one of the heaviest

 waves in the world, 'The Right' is ...more

AUSTRALIAN SURF FESTIVAL DAY 4

 

Conditions were kind to surfers at Emerald Beach today for day four of the Australian Surf Festival.

In the Surf Masters competition, New South Welshman Christian Cook dominated his heat in the over 35′s against Daniel Haggarty and Trevor Gleave, taking two cracking waves to claim scores of 9.8 and 8.15.

The Surf Masters titles will continue tomorrow with the over 35 men’s semi finals.

Swell is predicted to reach up to ...more

Shrinking surf club fights for new access

 

Karekare lifesaving officials say the deepening lagoon in front of their base makes rescues difficult and is eroding membership. 

The surf club guarding one of the country's most dangerous rip-torn beaches says it is losing efficiency and members, because they must wade through a waist-deep lagoon to reach their base.

In a plea to Auckland Council, Karekare Surf Life Saving Club says it has pushed for a new access way to the club for 35 years to counter a deepening stream.

The black sand beach on Auckland's west coast is a visitor drawcard, and featured in the film The Piano, but is also prized for its natural beauty and for being quieter than Piha to the north.

Club chairman Stephen Pye said a formed driveway at the northern end of the beach would go easier on the environment than vehicles making two crossings of the stream on each trip.

"In 35 years there have been over 200 meetings, workshops and public consultations between the council, club and community involving thousands of hours of club members' time," he said.

"The club has had to watch as ...more

Seal surfs! (or comfuses the boards with floes ? )

A young seal shocked two surfers by joining them for a session in the waves in Northumberland.

Matt Stanley and Andrew Flounders were surfing off Amble when the seal swam up and got on board, even chasing them as they surfed.

The seal was with the duo for almost an hour, although it found balancing a bit of a problem.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Stanley, 23.

"We had been in for about 45 minutes when the seal came along. I've seen them there before but they are usually far away.

"This one nudged Andrew's foot in the water and started getting curious."

The seal climbed on their boards but struggled to stay on for long.

"It kept sliding off, but every time you caught a wave it would surf in on the white water," said Stanley.

"I admit we lost interest in the surfing for a bit. I've never seen a seal that close up, never mind one sitting on board.

"When we left it followed us, but the waves were not too bad so ...more(plus video)