Where functional sports gear becomes an aesthetic marvel.
19/02/2013
Surf's Up
The trend of surf art is reaching 'point break' in South Africa, as evidenced by items on sale at the upcoming Stephan Welz & Co. Decorative and Fine Arts Auction in Cape Town, 19th and 20th of February. Already creating waves amongst collectors are Surfers at Strandfontein, a painting by revered Cape Town artist Peter Clarke, and The Surfboard Table, designed by iconic mid-century furniture designer duo Charles and Ray Eames.
Surfers at Strandfontein, estimated at R180 000 - R200 000, looks likely to be one of the auction's stand-out sales, with another Clarke painting, Netball Players, fetching double its estimate at a recent Stephan Welz & Co. auction. Considered one of South Africa's most important living artists, Clarke was born and bred in Simonstown. His family were forcibly relocated to Ocean View, the community adjacent to Kommetjie, which came into existence through the Group Areas Act, and in spite of his great international reputation, Clarke still lives modestly in Ocean View. Besides the painting's financial value as a Clarke original, it also provides a rare glimpse on canvas of non-white Cape surf culture.
Surfers in Strandfontein is vintage Cape Town 1973, however, another surfing item in this auction harkens back to 1950's America, an era whose decor style South Africans have recently been exposed to, thanks to the popular TV series 'Mad Men'. The Surfboard Table, designed by Charles and Ray Eames (the team behind the classic Eames chair), is a low table topped with a surfboard-like top made of laminated seven-ply Baltic birch core. Also known as an Eames Elliptical Table, it is reputed to have earned its nickname because the surfboard was the inspiration behind the design. This unusual find has an estimate of R12 000 to R15 000.
"Like art, surfing's always been inarguably counterculture," said Anton Welz, Director of Stephan Welz & Co. "Even in recent years, with surf-wear becoming mass market, the link between surfing and culture has remained strong. Perhaps it's because both represent freedom - the freedom to explore, express and be at one, whether it's with nature or a blank canvas. In any case, we are seeing definite increased interest in art inspired by surfing and surf culture, both here and in the international market."
Welz isn't the only one who believes that art and surfing have converged in interesting as well as collectable ways in South Africa. VISI, the art and decor magazine, recently covered the Wavescape Artboard Exhibition, where stand-out surfboards created by top local artists like Brett The Spear Murray and photographer Guy Tillim, pushed the boundary for boards, fetching high prices as well as lots of attention at a charity auction (Murray's board sold for R42,000). In the current "Bright Ideas" issue of VISI magazine, there's a page featuring Cape Town-based Wawa, who are reviving the ancient Hawaiian craft of hand-shaped wooden surfboards, and in the process, "elevating functional sports gear into an aesthetic marvel," according to the magazine.
Also recently making waves on the pages of VISI is the Delft Collection of surfboards from Dutchman, which features 10 blue and white designs created by artists and designers on the classic 1975 Pipeline Gun board, as fashioned by master craftsman Spider Murphy.
Whether you are a diehard surfer or just someone who loves surfing's place in art and culture, the market for surf art has never been more epic.
The Stephan Welz & Co. Decorative and Fine Arts Auction will take place Tuesday, 19 February and Wednesday 20 February at The Great Cellar, Alphen Estate, Alphen Drive, Constantia, Cape Town. Pre-auction viewing open to the public at no charge, 15 February, 10h00 to 15h00, and 16 and 17 February, 10h00 until 17h00. For more information, 021-794-6461 or e-mail ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za. The auction catalogue can be viewed at www.stephanwelzandco.co.za.
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You can help the SA Masters bring back gold!
19/02/2013
PO BOX 127, RONDEBOSCH, 7701
TEL: 021 6838756 FAX: 0866166988
CELL: 0824541149
E MAIL: surfingsouthafrica@gmail.com
www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za
SOUTH AFRICAN MASTERS TEAM 2013
The S.A. Masters Team 2013 needs to raise R250 000 to travel to the World Masters Championships in Ecuador in April.
We are appealing to whoever has a spare R1000.00 to donate it towards our trip.
THE TEAM:
Heather Clark…..
7x S.A Ladies Surfing Champion
2x World Masters Ladies Surfing Champion 2008 + 2010 and Runner up 2011
World Tour Campaigner for 7 years. Highest world ranking 3rd
WQS tour 13 years with numerous victories and final placing’s.
Winner of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Hawaii. 2003.
Numerous Surfing South Africa event titles.
Chris "Ol Fox" Knutsen.....
4 Times SA Open Champion - 11 SA Caps - 5 Time succession SA Grand Kahuna Champ - 5 x Succession KZN Natal G Kahuna Champ
3 x Gold Medals & 1 x Silver Medal - ISA World Masters Championships.
David Malherbe.….
1 x SA Open Champ (1986)
SA University Champ (1984)
2 x European Pro/Am Champ (1990 & 1992)
ASP World Pro/Am Champ (1990)
10 x SA Grand Masters & Kahunas titles
2 x 3rd Place ISA World Masters - Kahunas division (2011 & 2010)
Andre Malherbe…..
Multiple SA Masters champ
3 x World Masters finalist
Multiple SA Team Caps
Wayne Monk….
U/14 SA Champ + SA Schools Champ 1994
Open SA Champ 1989,1991
Masters SA Champ 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008
SA Open Team: 1989, 1990, 1992, 2000
SA Masters Team 2010
Mr Price SA Open Champion 2009
Carl Roux…..
SA Open Champ - 90
World Open Champs 2nd - 92
ASP Africa Champ - 93
SA Open Team - 87, 89, 91, 92, 96
SA Masters Team - 09
Greg Emslie…..
World Tour Campaigner for 9 years + 5 years WQS
5 ASP WQS victories
Multiple SA Open Caps
3 x SA Open Champion
Current SA Masters Champion
Gary van Wieringen…..
SA Maters Champ 2011
PST Champ 2010
SA Maters Team 2009, 2011
3rd World Masters 2011
Please deposit your donation into the following account:
SURFING SOUTH AFRICA
FNB - RONDEBOSCH BRANCH CODE 201509
ACCOUNT NUMBER 50170019142
REFERENCE: NAME AND CELL NUMBER - SA MASTERS 2013
Thanks for your support.
THE SA MASTERS TEAM 2013
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Would you put cheap re-treads on a racing car, then why compromise on the fins for your surfboard?
18/02/2013
Check out the Kinetic Racing AI Forever Fins in the week’s retail promo.
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Twiggy WINS BWA Biggest Slab
14/02/2013
Tasmania’s king of big wave charging, Marti Paradisis, had a longtime dream come true last night when he won Biggest Wave at Surfing Life’s Oakley Big Wave Awards.
Over the Awards’ 10 years, Paradisis has collected every prize except the big one. He’s won the Paddle-in, the Slab, and Best Overall Surfer. But the $20,000 main prize had eluded his grasp until last night, when a colossal wall of water ridden by him off Pedra Branca Rock, south of Tassie, was deemed the largest wave ridden in Australasian waters in the past year.
“It’s a huge thrill,” Marti said of the Award and the ride that generated it. “I’m so stoked to be able to represent the (Tasmanian) crew up here. I wouldn’t get to ride waves like this without a lot of help so this isn’t just for me.”
Marti’s ride just got an edge over mate Danny Griffith, who got another huge ride that day at Pedra Branca. The rides tied in the first judging round, voted for by surfers registered for entry in the Awards, but were comfortably split by an expert panel of big surf maestros from the USA.
The pair were hailed by a stoked roomful of peers, including fellow finalists Paul “Antman” Paterson, Tyler Hollmer-Cross, and Jeff “Camel” Goulden, who earlier took out the increasingly prestigious $5000 Paddle-in Award – reserved for surfers who catch these titanic waves under their own power with no jet-ski assist.
Camel’s ride, off a notoriously fickle Western Australian deep water bombora reef, earned the rare honour of nomination in two categories. But the big dude from the West was casual about his win,
“Some of those other waves, like Pedra, are in a league of their own,” he said.
Biggest Slab and $5000 went to South Africa’s Grant “Twiggy” Baker for a horrendous beast of a ride at Western Oz’s The Right. Twiggy, who flew in especially from Hawaii for the presentation, remembers the day vividly: it almost resulted in the drowning of his tow partner, Antman.
The pair had just swapped roles after Twiggy’s winning ride, when another wave – at least as big – reared up. Antman went, wiped out in the bowels of the thing, and went down – way down.
“The water’s so deep inside the reef, it just surges around and around,” recalled Paterson. “I just remember two waves going over me, being in complete darkness, then looking for a patch of light. I couldn’t even swim toward it, just floated back up, trying to relax.”
Twiggy picked him up moments before an eight-metre wave struck the reef. “We came in after that,” he grinned.
In the Shooter Awards section, the main prize went to Tasmanian photographer Andrew Chisholm and surfer-filmer Mikey Brennan, both of whom captured Marti’s Biggest ride. They split $3000. Former three-time main award winner Jamie Scott and Awards perennial Russell Ord won $1000 each for the winning images of Camel and Twiggy respectively.
The Awards are already into next season’s waiting period, when these daredevils and their mates will try to top the amazing entry list from 2012/13. Awards season runs from Australia Day to Australia Day each year. All we can say is: look out.
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Tsunami kills 5 in Solomon Islands.
11/02/2013
Tsunami kills 5 in Solomon Islands. Surfersvillage reports.
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 10 February, 2013 : - - An 8.0 magnitude earthquake set off a tsunami that killed at least five people in a remote part of the Solomon Islands on Wednesday 6 Feb 2013, and triggered a tsunami alert. The quake struck 340 km east of Kira Kira in the Solomons, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued warnings for the Solomons and other South Pacific nations including Australia and New Zealand. It later cancelled the warnings for the outlying regions.
A tsunami measuring 0.9 metres hit near the town of Lata on the remote Santa Cruz island, swamping villages and the town's main airport. More than three dozen aftershocks up to magnitude 6.6 rocked the region in the hours after the quake. Disaster officials in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara believed six people were dead and that five villages had suffered damage.
The Solomons were hit by a devastating tsunami following an 8.1 magnitude quake in 2007. At least 50 people were killed then and dozens left missing and more than 13 villages destroyed.
Initial signs were that the tremor was a thrust quake, in which vertical movement in the continental plates generates higher risk of tsunami. Authorities in the Solomons, Fiji, Guam and elsewhere urged residents to higher ground before the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled its alerts.
If you need to buy anything surf related this week why don’t you check out www.swindle.co.za, SA’s largest online surf store with free delivery all over SA?
If you buy something online this week make sure to indicate that you are a BOMBsurf subscriber and you could go into the draw to win a R2000 voucher from swindle.
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Twig in with a shot at the Oz Big Wave Awards.
07/02/2013
BWA NEWS : Finalists Announced !!!
Australia’s most prestigious huge-surf challenge is once again up for grabs, along with $35,000 in prizemoney, as the finalists have been announced in Surfing Life’s Oakley Big Wave Awards.
Huge, crazy rides have been thrown into the mix from renowned big-wave chargers like former Awardees Tyler Hollmer-Cross and Marti Paradisis, South African international Big Wave hero, Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker and rising paddle-in star, Jeff Rowley. But these well-known watermen are facing stiff opposition from underground hell-men like the West Australian trio of Chris Shanahan, Chris Ross and Cale Grigson, not to mention a man who goes solely by the name of Camel!
Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, one of the world’s top mega-surf hunters, secured his Biggest Slab entry at the infamous break known only as The Right, miles off the South-West Australian Coast. “I flew in from South Africa just to try and surf this wave, but on the day, everyone else had pulled out, saying it was going to be too big and windy. When we arrived it looked massive and, to me, totally unsurfable, as I have never seen a wave like it before… but then that wave came through, a massive dark line on the ocean. It was pouring with rain by now but we knew immediately that it was by far the biggest set we had seen all day. The wave itself is a blur. All I could do was get as much speed as possible and aim for the shoulder. I was going so fast it took everything I had just to stay on the board and set a rail. The view for those few seconds in the barrel was almost comical. It's by far the biggest barrel I have ever looked out of and the heaviest single wave I have surfed.
“I fell on my next wave as I was coming out of the barrel at full speed and it felt like I had broken my neck and had both my arms ripped off. I had to pull the cord on my inflatable wetsuit to come up just before a two-wave hold down.”
Paul ‘Antman’ Paterson, Baker’s West Australian tow partner for this session, was the next to catch a wave. This wave would also thrust ‘Antman’ into contention for the Biggest Slab Award, but almost kill him in the process.
Baker explains, “Paul fell on the next wave I towed him into, which was even bigger than mine. The whole thing shut down on him. He didn't have an inflatable wetsuit and the wave following also broke directly on top of him before he could make it up. He only came up in the swell of the third wave. He was totally delirious and unable to swim or acknowledge me. I had to pull him onto the sled and repeatedly scream at him to hold on as we made for the channel. I firmly believe that if the third wave had been more than just a swell, he would have drowned out there in the middle of the ocean.”
From international flights, jet-ski trips to far-flung reef breaks and near drownings, to a man known solely as ‘Camel’ who has never tow-surfed in his life, yet has a monstrous nomination in both the Biggest Wave and Biggest Paddle-In categories for the same wave.
‘Camel,’ full name Jeffree Goulden, is a man who has put his whole existence into surfing. From year’s spent in the jungles of Indonesia hunting perfect tropical barrels, to living out of the back of his car chasing uncrowded, and notoriously sharky surf along Australia’s coast, to this solo session at a deep-sea bombie, far off the West Australian coast.
“It was only Jamie (photographer) and I out there, trying to get some waves before the wind came up. I like the isolated waves, things get a bit crazy if you’re in a crowded place. I wish I’d had a better shot at this spot though; I wanted to be deeper… I want to better it for sure!”
Considering the enormity of Camel’s entry and its strong presence in two of the three award’s categories, we can only wait with bated breath for him to better an entry as crazy as this.
This year’s finalists have again been decided through a surfer poll in which every surfer who’s ever registered for an Award entry was asked to vote for the top few rides in each of the three divisions: Biggest Wave, Biggest Slab, and Biggest Paddle-in Ride. This voting method is endemic to Surfing Life’s Oakley Big Wave Awards and provides the surfers with the power.
“We felt the surfers themselves were the best judges of each other’s performances,” explained event coordinator Nick Carroll. “They know these wild surf zones better than anyone else and they have a clear view of the challenge involved. We were stoked with the way they responded! They’ve come up with an epic group of finalists, that’s for sure.”
Biggest Wave, Biggest Slab, and Biggest Paddle-In rides are now in the hands of the finalist judges – an elite international panel of big wave maestros – and they’ll be stretched to pick the winners out of an unprecedented range of entries.
A number of impressive sessions in a year of consistent swell has seen a colossal total of 50 entries, which have now been whittled down to 14 entries between 13 surfers across the 3 categories.
The Awards have come to highlight a side of surfing that’s way beyond both the recreational mainstream and the professional competitive arena – a zone where seemingly normal people take seemingly outlandish risks, with seemingly little concern for fame or renown.
Surfing Life’s Oakley Big Wave Awards will be presented at a super, spectacular, celebrity-studded evening at Simmer on the Bay, Dawes Point, Sydney on February 13th, 2013.
FINALISTS
BIGGEST WAVE
Tyler Hollmer-Cross, Shipstern Bluff
* Video: Laif Johansan, Image: Andrew Chisholm, Image: Andrew Hoult, Image: Dave Otto
Marti Paradisis, Pedra Branca
* Video: Mikey Brennan, Image: Andrew Chisholm
Jeff ‘Camel’ Knight, Cow Bombie
* Image: Jamie Scott
Paul ‘Antman’ Paterson, Cow Bombie
* Image: Russell Ord
Danny Griffiths, Pedra Branca
* Image: Andrew Chisholm
BIGGEST SLAB
Paul ‘Antman’ Paterson, The Right
* Image: Russell Ord
Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, The Right
* Image: Russell Ord
Chris Ross, The Right
* Image: Spencer Hornby
Cale Grigson, The Right
* Image: Russell Ord
Chris Shanahan, The Right
* Image: Chris Ross
BIGGEST PADDLE-IN
Leroy Rust, Papatowai
* Video: Ted Whitaker
Jeff Rowley, Albatross
* Image/Video: Minnie Vuong
James Hick, Secret Spot South Australia
* Jacob Wooden
Paul Morgan, Cow Bombie
* Image: Russell Ord
Jeff ‘Camel’ Goulden, Cow Bombie
* Image: Jamie Scott
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Oakley Pro Bali at Keramas
05/02/2013
OAKLEY AND ASP INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCE THE ADDITION OF THE INAUGURAL OAKLEY PRO BALI TO THE 2013 WCT SCHEDULE
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Monday, February 4, 2013 – Oakley, Inc. is pleased to join the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) International in announcing the sanctioning of the Oakley Pro Bali at Keramas as the fifth of 10 events on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT). The inaugural Oakley Pro Bali marks the first elite tour event in Indonesia since the Rip Curl Pro Search in 2008.
“We are very excited about the addition of the Oakley Pro Bali to the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour schedule,” Renato Hickel, ASP WCT Manager, said. “This will be the first ASP World Title-deciding event at Keramas, an internationally-recognized venue of high-performance surfing, and we look forward to the ASP Top 34 doing battle there for years to come.”
While the righthand reef break of Keramas will serve as the primary venue, Oakley has secured the performance-oriented beachbreaks of nearby Canggu as a backup location. The Indonesian island paradise is a recognized host to a bevy of world-class breaks, making the Oakley Pro Bali one of the most anticipated events of the 2013 schedule.
“Keramas, to me, is the most high-performance wave on the planet,” Jordy Smith, current ASP WCT surfer, said. “Oakley have had their world junior event there for a few years and I’m glued to the computer every time it’s on. To have the Top 34 there, I don’t know how the judges will be able to judge it, the performances are going to be next level. This is really exciting.”
2013 ASP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOUR:
- Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast – March 2 – 13, 2013
- Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach – March 27 – April 7, 2013
- Billabong Rio Pro – May 8 – 19, 2013
- Volcom Pro Fiji – June 2 – 14, 2013
- Oakley Pro Bali – June 18 – 29, 2013
- Billabong Pro Teahupo’o – August 15 – 26, 2013
- Hurley Pro at Trestles – September 15 – 21, 2013
- Quiksilver Pro France – September 27 – October 7, 2013
- Rip Curl Pro Portugal – October 9 – 20, 2013
- Billabong Pipe Masters – December 8 – 20, 2013
Having previously hosted the Oakley World Junior Championships, the upgrade to an ASP WCT event represents the natural progression of Oakley’s commitment to supporting the growth of surfing internationally.
"Surfing has been deeply entrenched in Oakley’s heritage since the mid 1980's and we are proud of our legacy in the sport,” Scott Bowers, Oakley SVP Global Sports Marketing, said. “This evolution has been in the making for many years; preceded by a number of specialty surfing events in Bali from surf shop challenge and pro junior events to crowning the ASP World Junior Champion last year. We are eager to finally introduce a game-changing WCT event and showcase the sport’s top talent on the world stage with the inaugural Oakley Pro Bali.”
The Oakley Pro Bali will be Stop No. 5 of 10 on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour season and run from June 18 – 29, 2013. For event teaser and additional information visit www.oakleyprobali.com.
About Oakley, Inc.
Established in 1975 and headquartered in Southern California, Oakley is one of the leading sports brands in the world. The holder of more than 600 patents, Oakley is continually seeking problems, solving them with inventions and wrapping those inventions in art. This philosophy has made Oakley one of the most iconic and inimitable brands on the market, with innovations that world-class athletes around the globe depend on to compete at the highest level possible. Oakley is famed for its insuperable lens technologies such as High Definition Optics® (HDO®) which is incorporated into all Oakley sun and prescription eyewear, and goggles. Oakley has extended its leadership position as the world’s leading sports eyewear brand into apparel, footwear and accessories collections. Laser focused on the consumer, Oakley has both men’s and women’s product lines that target Sports Performance, Active and Lifestyle consumers. Oakley is a subsidiary of Luxottica Group. Additional information is available at www.oakley.com.
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