Rip Curl Pro Search Day 9

Wow! After massive unsurfable closeouts, fog, small junky surf, and multiple delays the Search in Peniche Portugal delivered. Today saw macking scary barrels that pushed the world's best surfers to their limit! These guys were absolutely throwing themselves over the falls and into the pit. Often there was no way out and at least 6 boards were broken and there were two significant injuries. But the Quarter Finals saw 3 10.0 rides and 9.5 in the course of the 4 heats. Check out the highlights and the finals tomorrow.

Rip Curl Search

The 2009 Rip Curl Search is being held in Peniche Portugal. It should start tomorrow and will go a long way toward determining the 2009 ASP Men's World Champion. Good surf is forecast! Follow it here:

Hurricane Rick update

Nathan Cool, the man behind the science at Wetsand.com has a video surf forecast as well. His latest includes an update on Hurricane Rick.
Swell Scan

Pacific Powerglide Longboard

My friend Jack Lester is a lifelong surfer and a true craftsman. Many people know of Jack’s Ventura Beach Surfboard Repairs. Anyone who has dealt with him will attest to the top quality of his work and his reasonable prices. But Jack actually makes custom boards as well. The project he is excited about now is his Pacific Powerglide Longboard. Any of the pictures in this story can be enlarged by clicking on them; hit the back button to return.

Jack completed his first Pacific Powerglide for himself. It is a beauty at 10’2” x 23.75” x 3.125” with a triple cedar stringer. The tail block is a work of art in itself with two layers of gorgeous wood sandwiching high density foam color matched to the fin. The board’s classic lines and clean style might make you want to hang it on your wall. But that is not why Jack built it.

The Pacific Powerglide Longboard is built to provide countless fast rides down the line for the lucky surfer who has one. With a double layer of 6oz glass on the top deck, 6oz glass on the bottom as well, wrapped over US Blank’s new higher density foam, the board will last forever. The new foam is lighter so despite the triple stringer and glass the board is only slightly heavier. Jack is especially pleased with how easily the Powerglide paddles and catches waves. A subtle nose rider’s scoop coupled with a subtle V channel give the Powerglide modern longboard performance.






Jack’s board in these photographs looks brand new, but he has been riding it for a few months. Riding the board turned out to be good advertising, because when his buddy Bob saw the board in action, he asked Jack to build one for him. Bob’s board will feature blue foam wood sandwiched in the tail block with a matching fin.

Jack and Bob with Bob's future Pacific Powerglide Longboard

Ask Jack about the Tiki

Anyone interested in talking to Jack about a Pacific Powerglide Longboard can give him a call at 805 794-4911 or drop him a note at jacklester7770@sbcglobal.net The current price is $800.

Bio Soup

To Surf or Not to Surf? ~Scat is the Question~
My wife thought of that. The good news is that I did not even have my board with me. It was a beautiful day in Ventura. When I rounded that bend in the 101 and saw C St firing, it hurt. I had to go get a better look and even found a front row spot in the free lot. I saw nice big meaty NW swell on nearly glassy water. Hard to tell much from my point and shoot picture, but the waves were well overhead and peeling. There is a rider up on the right side who had a great ride approaching that section. Mostly SUPs & longboards at C St but I am sure all the usual shortboard spots were probably on. The lineup was not too crowded, but there were a few hardy or fool-hardy out.

I can't remember the last time we had real rain, but I would guess around March. So 8 months of trash & turds, insecticides & fertilizers, oil & antifreeze just got douched into Mother Ocean by the nice three day rain Southern California just had. Seems best to me to give the ocean a few days to chew on it. So the boards and wetsuits stay in the garage for now, even if it hurts. I'm sure the guys that braved the lineup did not miss me. If they get pink eye or advanced crotch rot, I won't miss them in the lineup once the water settles.

World Champion Race Wide Open

Adriano de Souza won his first WCT event since qualifying for the World Championship Tour four years ago. He is hard working, humble, and gracious; a Brazilian national hero, everyone was happy to see him win. Truth be told, he is often overlooked and underrated, but that may be changing fast.

The most exciting thing (the surf itself was horrible) to come out of the Billabong Pro Mundaka was not Adriano's win. It was the shuffle of the 2009 race for World Champion. With two events left, the race is wide open.

Mick Fanning has taken the lead from Joel Parkinson, but only the difference between a 3rd and a win in a single event separate them. Farther back, but well within striking distance are in order of point totals Adriano de Souza, C.J. Hobgood, Bede Durbidge, & Kelly Slater. Sure Adriano, C.J. or Bede could do it, but everyone will be looking over their shoulders for Kelly. All are deserving, classy, ambassadors of the sport. It will be a lot of fun to watch.

Current ratings here.

Watch the Finals

The World Championship Tour will Survive with Changes

Some time back, I wrote of Kelly Slater's ESPN sponsored breakaway tour. Everybody has written about it. The thrust of the new tour was that a smaller, more elite group of surfers would chase bigger prizes with much better media exposure. The unanswered questions were both numerous and serious. So perhaps the "Breakaway Tour" lived up to its highest potential by forcing the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) into action. The ASP board has met and released the following:

MUNDAKA, Euskadi/Spain (Saturday, October 10, 2009) – The October 2009 ASP Board of Directors meeting has completed, with all surfers, events and administration uniting to activate landmark improvements that make the ASP World Tour bigger and better for 2010 and beyond.“On behalf of the Association of Surfing Professionals, I am pleased to reaffirm the commitment from both our surfers and events in progressing the sport in a unified and collaborative effort,” Brodie Carr, ASP International CEO, said. “We have just completed a period of intense discussion with the world’s best surfers and the world’s best events which culminated in the unanimous support of the ASP and the commitment to the continuation of crowning undisputed world champions, as we have done so for 30 years, for generations to come.”First and foremost amongst the historic changes is the transformation to a one-world rating and the trimming back of the ASP World Tour field. Beginning in 2010, the ASP will move from the current two-tier to an all-inclusive one-world rating where both ASP World Tour and ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) events will be used to determine a surfer’s rating.Halfway through the 2010 season, the ASP World Tour field will be reduced from the current 45-man plus three wildcards to a 32-man plus four wildcards field. The timing of this reduction in field is to allow everyone qualifying for next season’s Dream Tour ample opportunity to establish themselves in the Top 32.“By trimming back the current Top 45 field as well as instituting the one-world rating we ensure the ASP World Tour continues to be the most progressive and dynamic professional surfing tour on Earth,” Mick Fanning, ASP World Champion (2007) and Surfers’ Representative, said. “The ASP has been the home of the best surfers and the best waves for over 30 years and our commitment to instituting these changes is illustrative of our position at the forefront of surfing.”Prize money at the ASP World Tour and ASP Women’s World Tour level is set for a substantial increase in 2010. Base prize money for the ASP World Tour events will increase from the current US$340,000 to US$400,000 in 2010, taking the total prize pool on 10 events from $3,400,000 to $4,000,000 per annum. On the ASP Women’s World Tour, total prize pool will increase from US$630,000 to $800,000 in 2010.Along with the increase in event prize purse, an additional US$100,000 bonus will be awarded to the year-end ASP World Champion, as well as an additional US$30,000 bonus to the year-end ASP Women’s World Champion.“The surfers and events continue to work together with ASP Management to create a world class sport,” Rip Curl’s Neil Ridgway, ASP Events’ Council Chairman, said. “There are over one thousand ranked surfers from juniors to pros chasing an ASP World Title, and tens of thousands behind them dreaming of winning one themselves. Our tours provide sporting, economic, social and environmental benefits to almost every continent on the planet. We uphold the career pathway and continue to nurture the millions of fans who follow their heroes on the ASP World Tours.”In addition to the increase in prize money, the ASP will institute an increase in surfer benefits that include full insurance coverage as well as a pension plan.The third major change to be activated in 2010 is the evolution of the ASP Board structure. Transitioning from the current 5-person (1 chairman, 2 event and 2 surfer) model, the new ASP Board Structure will consist of three independents, two events and two surfers – including a women’s representative.“It’s fantastic that the women will become voting members of the ASP Board of Directors,” Jessi Miley-Dyer, ASP Women Surfers’ Representative, said. “The current board has done an incredible job in directing the tour and has been instrumental in providing career pathways and tours for both male and female surfers. Having a female representative on the board dovetails perfectly into the positive, global response we’re receiving on the ASP Women’s World Tour right now, and I look forward to seeing the benefits of such a shift in focus.”“We remain open to enhancements to our tours that reflect our core principles,” Carr said. “Our primary focus is in doing what is best for professional surfing.”

This taken from the ASP's website which is also where we are advised to check for more information. The good news is that prize money is supposed to be bumped up while the tour is streamlined. However, no mention is made of the ASP getting the media rights to all their events. Many, including Ian "Kanga" Cairns have said this is key to the evolution of the ASP.

I think it is great news. I like having a valid competition for a single World Champ. I like having a clear path to that world title. But better events with better media coverage would be a major improvement. We shall see.

Tsunami in Pago Pago

Hawaii Surf Session Reports' Tommy Stokes dug up a very interesting story about surfers who survived the Samoan tsunami. Hawaii Surf Session Reports is available on iTunes as a video podcast. It is a light, relaxing look at the the latest surf scene in Oahu, usually around town. Local bands support the show which is nice! Check it out on iTunes or here.

Here is the story about the guys surfing when the tsunami hit.

Tsunami in Pago Pago

I had the good fortune to visit Pago Pago and even get a surf in, so when I heard that they had suffered a tsunami, it caught my attention. Not much to say about a tragedy like that, but here is a security camera video the FBI released. The power is pretty stunning.