Island surfers dominate Indonesia, vintage boards
Friday - June 20, 2008
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Aloha, surfers and ocean enthusiasts!
How was that string of south swells? Our Father’s Day swell will be remembered for quite a few years to come. Now we may be in a bit of a lull ... but, there’s actually plenty fun still to be had. It’s the theory of surf relativity. The South Shore takes on a different look and feel when the surf is overhead. Now that there’s “only” waist-to-head high waves, we’re hungry for the “bigger” stuff. Now it’s too small, dude! You know how it is ... we humans can get spoiled rather quickly. I never thought surf was like cash before ... the more you get ... the more you use ... the more you want.
Hey, it’s International Surfing Day (ISD) on Aloha Friday (June 20). Not that we need more excuses to go surfing ... but I’ll take it ... how about you? ISD was established five years ago by the Surfrider Foundation and Surfing Magazine. It’s the one day a year where surfers from around the globe come together to celebrate the sport of surfing and to give back to our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. The tradition is to commemorate the day with various coastal clean-up and restoration events around the world. Now that’s what I call a good day of surfing. Log on to SURFINGTHEMAG.COM/ISD! Again, you don’t need to join a big group ... just go surf a few waves with a few friends and remember to pick up a few pieces of trash ... that’s all. You’ll be amazed how good that one simple act can make you feel.
Hawaii dominated the WQS recently. This grueling, pay-your-dues international series is for those pros aspiring to join the Dream World Tour. This is the place where guys like Andy Irons or Pancho Sullivan get to make a better living surfing better waves.
Hawaii’s Kekoa Bacalso just won the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime 6 star World Qualifying Series (WQS) Sri Lankan Airlines Pro. It was contested in perfect surf at Pasta Point in the Indian Ocean’s Maldives (Indonesia). For a long time, the Republic of Maldives was one of the world’s best-kept secrets, host to a beautiful string of low-lying coral islands. Well, you know what you get when you have reef and swell: Waves! ... the kind Hawaii’s locals love to tear apart.
Bacalso defeated Dustin Barca in the all-Hawaiian final while all their Hawaiian fellow competitors cheered them on. Barca opened the final with an excellent 8.17 point ride that included a clean tube ride followed by a series of excellent and precisely executed bottom-to-top turn combinations. Five Hawaiians out of eight surfers for the quarter finals is not a bad day representing the Aloha State.
Dustin exclaimed ...“So stoked to finally win at ASP Open level. After winning the ASP World Junior title a few years ago, the pressure’s been on me to perform at the open level, but it’s been really hard, the competition is so tough and to finally break through is such a relief. The waves have been amazing here and the Hawaiians have ripped every day - it’s a huge party for us here tonight.”
Last but not least on my weekly surf list is something a friend told me about. It’s called “Surf evolution ... 100 years of wood surf boards”. It’s all about the “pre-foam"era of our favorite toys. This art form has been going on for far longer than most realize or appreciate. This eight-week show will help you. Don’t miss this historical and cultural exhibit; it will feature a rare collection of more than three dozen classic, vintage, pre-foam surf boards from the 1800s up to the ‘50s. The place is 1132 Bishop St. and opening night is this Thursday (June 19). Come hang out with some of the legends of surf and the boards they once rode.
I’ll post more at SURFNEWSNETWORK.COM.
See you in the lineup and back here next week ... in MidWeek!
GQ, dropping in 4 U!
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