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Dale Staples Wave of the Day yesterday at Sunset.
29/11/2011
 It really is cool to see a South African representing on The North Shore. Yesterday Dale Staples scooped the ‘wave of the day’ at Sunset, which is a notoriously tricky and fickle wave to ride.

We got hold of Spider Murphy who shaped the board he was riding to find out what was happening under his feet with that board while the ride took place.


TBS: Hi Spider can you tell us a little bit about the board that Dale was riding on that wave?

Spider:  It is a GEO2, which is a model I worked on extensively with Greg Emslie over the last 6-7 seasons in Hawaii. It’s a step up board that is designed for maximum performance in powerful waves. That particular board is 6’6” X 18 ½ X 2 5/16.

TBS: Ok so can you talk us through the ride from a technical perspective?

Spider: Dale is a very powerful surfer. You can see as soon as he takes off he has his foot flat on the accelerator. He is using his weight and strength to generate maximum speed. Sunset is a notoriously tricky wave to ride and making the barrel sections at that size is very difficult. If you watch carefully he pumps the board so hard it almost leaves the water before he enters the tube. What is important here is acceleration and speed so he can pull into the upcoming barrel section with confidence. What you can see here is that the flow of water around the board releases allowing for that acceleration.

TBS: OK so now he sees the barrel section and pulls in, what happens next?

Spider: Well he has to get under that lip and navigate the wavering lip inside the tube. Previously guys would have ridden 6’10”s or even 7’0”s in waves like that, because of the power and all the water that moves at Sunset. By shortening the length down to 6’6” he can squeeze under the lip more easily and he has more manoeuvrability in the tube to weave the board. Also at this point he is pressing really hard on his inside rail and the concave under his front foot will be fully engaged giving him maximum speed and hold.

TBS: What do you think of the exit?

Spider: He exits with a lot of speed, which is good, but remember he is in a heat and trying to maximise the scoring potential of that wave. Now he has to redirect to squeeze in that last manoeuvre. I think he probably had to go further out onto the face than he would have liked to bleed off some of that speed before he jammed the cutback. You’ll notice the water flow catches his front foot but he recovers quickly as the rocker of the board holds him through the turn and the softer rails give him a bit of leeway. Then he is able to rebound. Great wave! I’m stoked they called it the wave of the day. I’m also glad to see the younger generation picking up from where guys like Greg left off.

TBS: Thanks Spider.

Spider: Thanks John and I’d just like to wish all the South African’s in Hawaii well for the events.
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I have taken notice that in digital cameras, special receptors help to maintain focus automatically. The actual sensors connected with some cameras change in contrast, while others work with a beam of infra-red (IR) light, particularly in low lumination. Higher spec cameras oftentimes use a mix of both systems and could have Face Priority AF where the dslr camera can 'See' any face while focusing only upon that. Thanks for sharing your thinking on this blog site.
 

Au Revoire to The Swindler
28/11/2011

So this is the final post for the Swindler blog, this most classic year of traveling and surfing I could imagine now drawing to a close. The final article in theBOMBsurf magazine has gone to print and should be arriving in your mailboxes soon (if it hasn’t already), and so I won’t give away too much of that story here. Read it, and check out some fantastic Mentawai images courtesy of Brazilian photographer Bruno Veiga.

This genuinely has been the most incredible experience of my life. Winning the Swindler trip turned 2011 into nothing short of a dream year. The waves and the people around the world – wow. From stepping out the airport in El Salvador for the first leg of the trip, paddling out into the empty chocolate brown lineup at Punto Roca and staring back at the shore thinking to myself, in utter amazement, ‘it has begun’, through to that final tired and hungover check-in at Denpasar Airport after a last blowout night in Kuta, making my way back to London, having fully circled the globe and visited 13 countries of my choosing with the sole purpose of surfing as many epic waves and having as many good times as possible. What a year, hey.


This was a landmark, global-first initiative dreamed up by a handful of people via a modest surfing magazine in one of the world’s less affluent surfing nations. This trip, preceded only by Hurley’s Win A Trip To California competition last year, has now changed the game for what the surf industry can offer in terms of awesome prizes - and congratulations to Justin Devos, who I travelled with through G-Land, Bali and Sumbawa, for recently winning himself a trip to Morocco in Zigzag’s promo.  (I’m not going to pretend there isn’t another surfing magazine in South Africa). What John and Iain of theBOMB managed to pull off here has changed what is possible in terms of one person’s lifechanging experience, plus more practically what it means for surf media creation and delivery. Moreover, I’m stoked that a trip overseas is now the benchmark for what someone can win through a magazine or surf label. A pair of boardies and a few blocks of wax won’t cut it anymore.

I want to finish off by giving a huge thanks to the sponsors and suppliers that have supported me this year. First off is Greg Bertish and the team at True Blue Travel who opened up so many doors and hooked me up with incredible accommodation and connections at some of the best surf spots I’ve ever seen. Also through True Blue’s introductions I’ve met a span of people around the world who have now become good friends, which really is as priceless as the experiences and memories of the perfect surf they provided me.
Robin Olivier of Apple distributors Digicape handed me products that I now use literally every day, and were essential in making this year possible. The MacBook and the iPhone allowed me to upload photos and email stories from the remote jungles of South Sumatra, on an overnight bus on Java, and anchored off the Mentawai Islands struggling with just one bar of GPRS signal getting me online.

RVCA have hooked me up with awesome clothing the entire year, from a huge box of clothes to start the trip, letting me run wild in their warehouse in Costa Mesa, California, and sending another package as I arrived in the UK after my stint in Indo. Arno and Chio, thanks loads guys.

Spider Murphy, Lonnie Tiegs and the rest of the crew at Safari gave me a quiver of excellent boards that saw me around the world. I’m still riding two of the original three boards they shaped me before I left South Africa (Macaronis in the Mentawais was the only wave that managed snap one, despite some serious thrashings in Nicaragua and G-Land). Shot Spider, been so, so stoked on your equipment.


Dustin and the crew at Skullcandy fully opened up their catalogue for me at the beginning of the trip and let me choose what I want, providing me with a sick range of earphones and headphones for different needs. Their equipment kept me sane on the many, many, many hours spent in airports, planes, buses, taxis, ferries and all other moments of waiting, including sitting inside during a near week-long storm on Rarotonga where I could do very little except consume media and wait for the winds and rain to pass.

Nikon gave me a D5000 camera with two lenses that have captured over 9000 photographs totalling more than 60gbs safely stored online in my Dropbox account (a must for any traveller). The camera survived the entire year without giving me even the slightest hassles, has been a good enough kit to allow an absolute amateur photographer to learn the basics and get shots published online and in print, and has allowed me to immortalise the trip through digital images that will never fade or weather.


Tim at Ocean Minded jumped on board literally the day before I left and stocked me up with shoes for my trip. Of the original package I’ve only got a handful of pairs left due to trading them for accommodation, transport, surf guides, and having them stolen along the way (take it as a compliment, Tim!).


Thanks to all the people along the way who made this year what it was, from Jethro and Moritz both letting me a spend a month on their respective couches in California and Australia, to Xpression on the Beach for a free high def GoPro camera, to Ricardo for driving me around Ecuador and hooking me up in the Galapagos, to Frank for three weeks’ accommodation in Nicaragua, to Baja Bill and Jorge for the week in El Salvador, to Ricki for the free stay at Bingin, and the crew of the Jordan charter for the highlight of the year: a free Mentawais boat trip with a classic crew of South Africans and one undercover Brazilian cop. Facebook, email, cheap flights and co-ordinated holidays are going nowhere… we’ll do it all again sometime, guys.

For the last time in 2011: Swindler out.

 
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Posted by Warwick H on the 28/11/2011 09:43
Well what a year Mr Swindler ! Stoked for you, actually so jealous of the memories you must have ! Ha Ha... See you in SA sometime bru !
Posted by Justin "Crusty" Devos on the 28/11/2011 09:53
awesome bru, flippen amazing, a feather in SA's cap on what is achievable. nice one swindler and to all those that helped make this happen. looking forward to the article in the mag..
Posted by Preets on the 28/11/2011 10:10
Nice one, bru- awesome year, great blogs, and great to be part of the travels with you, Justin and Chad for the G-land/ Kuta chaos... fun memories of David, William and also Henry Lee... See you very soon! Well done Iain and John for holding the comp- hope you do something similar again...
Posted by Jody on the 17/12/2011 20:04
Your particular style of swindlery will be sorely missed sir, sorely indeed.
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It's great to read something that's both enyjoable and provides pragmatisdc solutions.
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Posted by Undertakerxz on the 21/02/2012 00:19
Anonymous - These are phtoos from my wedding, and I just want to thank you, Heather, again, for doing an amazing job of capturing the day! It truly was the most magical day of my life, and I am so happy that you were there to document it. You are an amazing photographer!
Posted by Chastityi Padavanob on the 08/07/2012 19:11
Some really quality posts on this web site , saved to my bookmarks .
 

Aloha dispatch 3
26/11/2011
 
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Posted by Edyta on the 22/02/2012 09:20
Keep up the good blogs Zander .look fowrard to you updating us on Gabe's progress too Also, tell SS to do a spell check on their sign out front
 

The future of Zululand surfing
24/11/2011

Chris Koen – A product of development in Zululand surfing
(Photo courtesy of Lester Sweetman - Sweetpix)

Zululand surfing is reaching a critical point. Born from the ashes of a skeleton long ago, the Zululand Surfing Association was brought back to life just 2 years ago. Since its rebirth, ZSA has found it feet and 2011 was the first year, the Zululanders were represented at every major national event. The SA development, juniors, opens and masters. Not to mentioned, national team selections, south african champion finals and contest wins, throughout the year has been staple diets in the ZSA ranks.

Having been at 2 of the national events this year (juniors & opens), I witnessed how the other regions have accepted us a “team” and welcomed us back to south africa surfing arena. This was very clear during this years events, and a personal highlight for me as chairman.

What is not perhaps clear, is that the resurrection of ZSA was not a simple task. The seed was originally planted around 4 years ago, by a few Alkantstrand Skollies. Anton Knoetze and myself, got together with Jonathan Erasmus from the Fever and ran the first Alkanstrand Fever Challenge.

If I remember correctly, the first fever contest hosted 12 local surfers. The next, surfboards and enough prize money to get Anton Knoetze smiling ear to ear. The last Fever contest played host to the country’s top surfers, such as Beyrick De Vries, Chris Leppan, Klee Strachan and Casey Grant. Not to mention the ladies, that absolutely ripped.
 

Vaughan Weyer – Going from strength to strength
(Photo Courtesy of Rudi Stadler)

But where to now?
As I bid farewell as chair to ZSA, I realise although we have achieved tremendous results in a relatively short period of time, there is much work to be done.
  • ZSA needs greater involvement from its senior surfers and parents. If you compare each of the other regions surfing committee’s these are primarily made up of 40+ year individuals, whom have the experience in administration, finances and organisational skills.  
    •  
  • In order to secure sponsorship and involvement from local organisations, ZSA need to clearly map out their plans and requirements. Allowing organisations and individuals to get involved where they see opportunities to assist.
    •  
  • ZSA is not the committee, rather ZSA is all its members and therefore each member need to understand that their contributions are essential to the success of the entire team.
    •  
  • Here is a couple head’s up for the next chairman and committee members.
  1. Understand this is a thankless undertaking. If your in it for the glory, than this is going to be a long ride, with little applause.
    2.  
  2. People will let you down, but its ok cause there are plenty of others that are willing to help if you approach them.
    3.  
  3. Understand that its an organisation, not a surfing get together. So you’ll need skills in the above mentioned areas.
    4.  
  4. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a young stoked surfer, and that’s what keeps you going.
    5.  
  5. So here’s to everyone that helped realise the dream of bringing ZSA back. We’ve done it people! Watch the press for my details on our AGM and end of year event.  
By Malcolm Mersham
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Posted by Gerri on the 20/12/2011 05:38
That insihgt's just what I've been looking for. Thanks!
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Posted by Ashish on the 22/02/2012 13:09
JeffI've had an Archos 10.1 for a lttlie over a month. It lacks the cellular connectivity that the Tab has but has Wi-Fi and will happily tether to my phone so the lack of the cell connection is no big deal. I echo pretty much every comment that you make [it runs Android just like the Tab] although i team mine up with a wired keyboard because it has a full size, full function USB port. It even supports a USB hub for mouse and keyboard which is great when I use the HDMI connection to output video and the web through a TV. Have you thought of using a Bluetooth keyboard with the Tab? It might just overcome that lttlie niggle that I sense about usability.I have a PC, laptop, netbook, tablet and smartphone. If I were to start again, I'd forgo the desktop PC and use a laptop and 2nd screen, I'd use a tablet for portability and a dumb phone so long as it can tether to the tablet
 

Sneak preview of the latest issue of theBOMBsurf!
23/11/2011
"Print in" - That's what it's called folks. The day you hand over the entire magazine to the printers. 3 months of scouring the globe for the best images in surfing, protracted discussions with our creative writers on all topics under the sun (and often not even related to the content!) and literally traversing the country rallying up advertising support , resulting in many more editorial pages for you readers, )  - and finally, it all boils down to today - the final check before they start the press and put ink to paper.

John doing the final checking of the proofs.

I'm so excited about this issue - not just because it's a whopping 116 pager to fill your Christmas stocking - but because the level of the editorial is the best I've ever seen since John and I started theBOMBsurf  3 years and 12 issues ago. I've just read through the final (final, final!) proofs and all I want to do is call up my mates, plan an epic surf adventure and go get lost in the world's waves - that's how psyched I got reading through the final layouts!

There is everything in this mag from crazy high performance surfing from the 5 most exciting surfing in the world right now...



to surfers fighting off bears in the Canadian outback,



to swindling (getting caught & escaping again) in Indo,



some of the most impressive Watermen of all time,


and some very insightful interviews with South Africa surfers who are doing extraordinary things.



If you haven't subscribed yet, there's still time, but you better hurry as subscriptions are limited. This issue will be delivered to paying subscribers on the 2nd December, so if you haven't paid for your subscription yet, then then follow the secure payment options to purchase by clicking here - it's only R160 for an annual subscription, delivered to your door 4 times a year.

If you are and exisitng subscriber don't forget to verify your details, in case you've moved house or business to ensure that theBOMBsurf lands with a resounding THUD in your postbox in early December.

Enjoy!

iain
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Posted by Salty on the 24/11/2011 15:59
Can't wait to check it ous. The last one was sick - this one sounds even better!
Posted by Tyanne on the 20/12/2011 17:31
I'm out of league here. Too much brain power on dsiplay!
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Posted by Juan on the 20/02/2012 11:06
GNARLY!!!! Another sokmin good article Lavae. I shared it with my cousin who is coming for 2 week's in Dec. who surf's & will put some of the info. to good use when he get's here. Muchas Gracias Amiga!
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