The Surf Blog Spot

Highwater, the new Dana Brown surf documentary, will be having it’s world premiere at the Lido in Newport Beach on Friday July 24, 2009.

Highwater: Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, HIGHWATER, takes you to the truth of the North Shore’s heart-stopping action, tragedy, and triumph during the unparalleled events of the Vans Triple Crown of surfing.

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/HIGHWATER/135026656208
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Highwatermovie

Link to movie tickets

Who knows where Liberia is located? Did you guess Costa Rica? Indonesia? No, Liberia is located on Africa.  Go look it up and find out where this spot is located.

Liberia is located on Africa’s west coast and nestled in between Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire.  There are 579 km (360 miles) of semi-explored beaches.  Find out more with this BBC surfing Liberia article.

Liberia history and facts

Where will you surf next??

Here is a pretty cool California surfboard shaper!

New Kreation Surf Products

See what Kelly Slater has to say after getting off a plane.  Slater is caught by a TMZ reporter in a Whole Foods parking lot.  Find out what he had to say.

Great job Bobby! Bobby Martinez defeats the #2 ASP surfer in an epic Teahupoo barrel for barrel final.  Bobby Martinez (USA) 18.46 vs. Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.10.

 Watch the final heat at the 2009 Billabong Pro Tahiti

2009 ASP World Tour men’s rankings after 3 events

Past Billabong Pro Tahiti Champions:
2008: Bruno Santos (BRA)
2007: Damien Hobgood (USA)
2006: Bobby Martinez (USA)
2005: Kelly Slater (USA)
2004: CJ Hobgood (USA)
2003: Kelly Slater (USA)
2002: Andy Irons (HAW)
2001: Cory Lopez (USA)
2000: Kelly Slater (USA)
1999: Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
1998: Koby Abberton (AUS)
1997: Andy Irons (HAW)

The Billabong Pro Teahupoo -Tahiti started May 9 and the contest will end on May 20, 2009.  This is event 3 of 10 on the ASP world surfing tour.  The Teahupoo event has completed the first 14 heats of Round 1, but is on hold for right now.  The contest officials have called for lay days this week due to weak swell and poor surfing conditions.

Watch for these exciting Round 2 heats:

Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Heiarii Williams (PYF)
Heat 13: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Aritz Aranburu (EUK)

Other notables to watch in the 2009 Billabong Pro Teahupoo – Tahiti:

Former three-time ASP World Champion Andy Irons (HAW), 30, and Von Zipper Trials Winner Heiarii Williams (PYF) as wild-cards in the 2009 Billabong Pro Tahiti.

Watch the contest live and catch up on all the Billabong Pro Tahiti news

From the BBC South Pacific Series:

The South Pacific, known as the place where surfing originated, is home to over a quarter of the world’s water and approximately 20,000 islands. These isolated islands exist in some of the most pristine waters found anywhere in the world, harbouring life that is rarely seen.

Some of the biggest waves in the world break on south pacific islands. The storm swells that created the waves in this clip travel over 3000 miles to break on Pohnpei’s shorelines.

Useful Facts:

• The location of the surf shoot is Pohnpei (formerly known as Ponape), Caroline Islands in The Federated State of Micronesia, a place well known within the international surf community for it’s world class reef breaks.
• The $100,000 high speed camera used to film this surf sequence can operate in super slow motion and high definition at 20 times the speed of a normal HD camera. The camera is a TyphoonHD4 which has been specially modified by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, UK, and is similar the the one used on previous BBC landmark series such as Blue Planet and Planet Earth.  It required a special housing unit designed and built by German specialist high speed cameraman/technician Rudi Diesel. Until this film no one had ever tried using this type of camera underwater before
• The cameraman who filmed the clip is 27-year-old top surf Australian cameraman Bali Strickland. He’s filmed many of the world’s best surfers at the top surf destinations.
• The surfer who is featured in the clip is 33-year-old Australian world class surfer Dylan Longbottom. Dylan is a world renowned big wave surfer and surfboard shaper. Known for pushing the traditional limits of both aerial surfing and big wave tow in surfing, Dylan won the monster tube award in the 2005 Billabong XXL awards. These days Dylan is developing his board shaping business (Dylan Longbottom designs) and continues to track down and surf the biggest and deadliest waves he can find.

  Link to camera image

Information provided by Rubber Republic

Watch this monster wave and stoked surfer filmed in slow motion.

A huge ocean wave filmed in slow motion with never before seen images. 

This wave footage is part of the BBC Natural History Unit’s new series, South Pacific. The wave was filmed in super slow motion using a high-definition camera.

I wonder how many poundings the cameraman took before he got that perfect shot?

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all the surfers out there!

Congratulations to Joel Parkinson and his 2nd win on the 2009 ASP world surfing tour!!  Joel is still in first place overall.  He won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and he just won the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Great job Joel!!

Check out the contest results

 View the current ASP men’s world tour rankings

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
QF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
QF 3: Adam Robertson (AUS) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)
QF 4: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)

 Watch live action!

You might be wondering…is “Powersliding” serious? Most definitely not. Is this a sport? It’s ridiculous, totally undefined and up for interpretation. What is the event about? Powersliding made us think…what’s next? It’s something we found these creative kids doing that kind of makes people think about what’s possible. So we built them a massive course, setting the stage to see what they can do.

Check this video for a teaser of some powersliding that will go down next week.

Don’t forget to bring your camera and your surfboard!!

Event Listing:

WHAT:       Levi’s 3rd Annual Powersliding Championships – The event includes a sizable street course that will test the competitors’ freestyle skills with 40-foot, four-story rails and boxes, and a cool ocean breeze. Other event highlights include a performance from Brooklyn rockers Matt & Kim, complimentary treats from Mountain Dewand Kogi Korean BBQ taco trucks, and free custom screen-printed apparel, all surrounding the massive Powersliding course.

WHERE:     Santa Monica Pier parking lot off HWY 1, Santa Monica, CA

WHEN:       April 15, 2009 – 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Celebrity judges including Olympic Gold Medalist skier Jonny Moseley, Jason Acuña (“Wee-Man” from Jackass), and Kendra Wilkinson (the too hot to handle star of The Girl’s Next Door), sliders, Brooklyn rockers Matt and Kim, KROQ’s Psycho Mike, Catfish, and the public.

Round 1 of the 2009 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach is complete.  The event started on April 7 and runs through April 14, 2009.  Round 2 will start with a surf check at 7am (local Australian time) April 9, 2009.

Check all the action live at the Rip Curl Pro website

Rip Curl Pro Men’s and Women’s Contest Results

Who will win event #2 on the ASP world surfing tour?

Here is a funny quote I overheard Saturday after surfing Sunset Cliffs, CA.
“Dude, everybody is having fun! It must be surf Saturday!”

Where in the world are the Cook Islands?  Visit www.findthecookislands.com to find out!

U.S. residents have the chance to enter a sweepstakes to win the grand prize of a week-long trip for two people. To enter, visit the Find The Cook Islands website.  The sweepstakes runs now through June 16, 2009

Grand Prize:  A week long trip for two with round-trip, non-stop airfare from Los Angeles on Air New Zealand, three nights accommodation at The Crown Beach Resort in Rarotonga and two nights at the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa, breakfast for two each morning, inter-island flight on Air Rarotonga, an introductory dive and a special flower lei greeting upon arrival.

Check out the new 2009 ASP surfer rankings after the first ASP tour event.

 Guess which surfer is in first place??

More ASP rankings

Does anybody have a spring break anymore?

Is anybody traveling this spring break on a surfing trip?  Where are you going?