Innehållsförteckning för #341 TECHNIQUE från Surfing Life

Waves, they bring our tribe together. They mystify, they exhilarate, they frustrate. They provide release, they feed our stoke, they calm and they mesmerise. They take us around the planet; we search for them and we yearn for them. As surfers, we are really nothing without them. They bring us together, for better or for worse…and in any form; they are the playful antagonists of our passion as we try to tame them. Waves started my love affair with surfing. I remember watching them as a young kid while my dad went fishing on the rock shelves around home. Captivated, I wasn’t a surfer then, but little did I know that a fascination with the ocean would eventually take me across the country of my birth and plant me halfway…

What more can be said about Mick Fanning that hasn’t already been plastered across the internet and splashed across the pages of magazines the world over? Probably not much at all…and the media coverage and outpouring of support for Australia’s most famous surfer are a true testament to the popularity of the man that was born inland, in Penrith, NSW. Mick’s career and life quickly became public property after the infamous shark incident in Jeffreys Bay; it was one of those turning points that punctuated not only his career, but also impacted his life in a big way. In many ways it was a turning point. One of those moments that put life in perspective. Not many have endured what Mick has on a personal level – the loss of…

Is surfing on the verge of another revolution? Change in the surf industry hasn’t been this massive since the seventies with the huge transformation in board design. The ocean is a supreme metaphor for change. I expect the unexpected but am never fully prepared. Tim Winton. A surge of online clips and marketing campaigns are preparing us for a new surf frontier; one that lures us away from sandy coastlines and salty air. As surf tech rapidly progresses — Surf Ranches, Surf Lakes, Surf Parks — artificial wave pools are popping up all over the place, like fresh daises for some and others, unwanted zits. Predictable, consistent waves in a shark-free environment that’s available any time, any day, would cause any grom (or grom-at-heart) to froth. Right? It could potentially…

Here is a pretty typical checklist for today’s big wave charger. If you’re ready, then you already know all this, but beginners beware! EQUIPMENT SURFBOARD If it’s 25ft+ then you’ll typically see crew riding anything from 9’6” to 11’0”. Paddle powered beasts at least three inches thick and about 22 inches wide. A few peeps are getting into step-decks and experimenting with different construction methods. Order months in advance and expect to part with a minimum of US$1,200. Tell the shaper where you intend to use it as all breaks require subtle and sometimes, not-so-subtle, differences in design. Eg: three fins, or four? RUBBER If you’re heading to Northern Cali, Europe, southern Australia or anywhere similar, you’ll want to cover your body in rubber. Boots, gloves and a hood are…

The art of wave riding tunes us into the cyclical patterns of the planet – seasons and weather systems, swells and tides – that is essentially the earth’s natural pulse. And because of that we’re among the first to notice the changes first-hand, the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. One thing’s for sure, ask any surfer and they’ll tell you the weather patterns are changing. Seasons just aren’t as ‘seasonal’ as they used to be. Saying that we remember the surf being better when we were younger may no longer just be due to selective memory, it really probably was. And it’s all thanks to something called climate change, otherwise known as global warming. Climate change has long since ceased to be a scientific curiosity. It is the major,…

It’s a surreal experience, arriving at the scene of your finest hour and not being able to recognise it. Nikkos, a right-hand reef break, on Bali’s east coast, used to do a fair impression of Desert Point (in reverse) when the conditions aligned. An easy take-off lets you set your line for the first section, blowing you out with enough time to set up for the second, before the wave turned fully cylindrical on the third and final section. It was a dream. I’d been barrelled three times on my first wave there. Now, as I watch six to eight feet of long-period, offshore-fanned swell roll down the peninsula, I can’t even figure out if I’m in the right spot or not. There was now a beach where there wasn’t…

It’s a privilege to sit and chat with influential people. Sometimes they’re famous, most times they’re more knowledgeable than us, and often they give a glimpse into what’s up ahead… lines on the industry’s horizon. This issue, we caught up with Occy to find out what’s up with Wave Pools, and whether he thinks we’ll see the WSL run dual tours; in the pool and in the ocean. Wowee, wave pools, they’re all the rage at the moment aren’t they? Surf Lakes is the name of the pool I’m involved with and we’re hoping that it’s going to be the first one in Australia. Obviously it’s not the first one in the world, they’re popping up everywhere and they’ve been around for a while. I competed in my first one…

By the time you read this it might seem like old news, but the ramifications round the WSL cancelling the 2018 Margaret River Pro due to safety concerns might linger on for some time to come. Discussion is still rife around whether the decision was right or wrong after two shark attacks happened on the same day, some 15km’s from the main event site. The age-old morale debate around liability and safety-first resurfaced, while others say it’s the ocean, and surfers, especially in WA, are acutely aware of how alive it is over there. And with all the safety measures already in place by the WSL (jet ski’s, drones, sonar boats et al), many are saying the event should have continued – heck, it did after a large white cruised…

Unless you’ve tried it, floating face down on an empty lung, holding your breath for minutes at time, will be daunting, if not impossible. At least that’s what your mind might tell you. If you have achieved an ideal state where you’re almost devoid of thought, devoid of panic and ‘at one’ with your physical being, then you will know what a blissed out, cosmic experience it can be. With repetition and familiarity, you might even fantasize the need to ever breathe again, as if you’re floating in utero. It’s quite the opposite to the “fight” state just about every single one of us surfers can relate to; when after a long or unexpected hold down, you’re deep underwater, desperate for air, draining all your remaining resources as you wing…

What do two world championship tour surfers, a free surfer, a big wave charger, and a young QS warrior all have in common? Quite a lot we’d imagine, but if we had to narrow it down to one common denominator – they all ride waves for a living. Malia Manuel, Jordy Smith, Felicity Palmateer, Mark Matthews and Zahli Kelly all come from very unique backgrounds. Hawaiian, South African and three Aussies who all craft their living in different ways; whether it’s chasing championship tour points around the world for Malia and Jordy, or producing clips while surfing in exotic locations like Felicity (when she’s not surfing QS events or chasing monster swells). Or if you’re Mark Matthews and you’ve figured out how to conquer fear on multiple levels, or like…

We asked 4 of the world’s most highly respected surf photographers to pick one wave and reveal why it lights their respective artistic fires. Ray Collins One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my adult life was going snorkelling on a beautifully-flat morning at Pipeline. All of the imagery I grew up devouring: from line-up shots of people paddling for their lives over feathering, blue crests as tall as buildings, to images from brave, water photographers of silhouetted surfers standing triumphant in barrels, that I would never want a chance to be near; to Tom Carroll and ‘the snap’, A.I. going over the falls backwards, Greg Noll pre-paddle out, to Lopez, Ho, Johnny Boy, and the list goes on. Everything I’d known about Pipe, happened on that reef I…

The thought of cyclone season approaching conjures up a mixture of feelings in most surfers; from excitement to apprehension, even fear — to heightened feelings of FOMO, to I wish I had a jet-ski and how-the-hell-am-I-going-to-get-out-of-work-for-this-swell, kinda feelings. Many surfers have their own go-to spots when the cyclone swells roll into town – pre-meditated sandbars and points, a sneaky ledge, and even that novelty wave that only lights up when the direction and size hits a certain point – while others run and hide and make excuses that they have to mow the lawn…for the next three days. Regardless of our preferences, whether we are watching or participating, cyclone season always adds a bit of spice to our surfing lives. This season seemed to have it all. Was it just…

Jet-skis — are they acceptable in crowded, urban lineups? Or have they gone too far in modern day surfing. Recently, a couple of cyclones of note brought pumping swells into Queensland and Western Australia and the jet-skis swarmed. Experienced drivers, the not so experienced, people running water safety, photographers and of course a few pretenders were all involved in the mayhem. So here’s the crux of what went down. The internet lit up with keyboard warriors complaining about the jet-skis getting all the waves. Many were saying that it was only 6ft and it could have been paddled. There were guys paddling and they were complaining about not getting many, if any, waves. The funny thing is the only people who weren’t complaining were the boys being whipped in and…

Big wave surfing is not always about the glory and nailing the clip or the money shot. It’s not always about wrangling the bull successfully and being spat out into the channel giving you bragging rights to your mates. Sometimes things go wrong. A couple of years back things did go horribly wrong for Brooke Phillips during a session at his beloved Shipsterns Bluff in Tasmania; a terrifying wipeout that required a helicopter evacuation after a horror 45-minute jet-ski ride back to port. Fortunately for Brook, his good mate Jimmy Mckean was on hand to rescue him. The following is the pair’s first hand account of the harrowing tale of what happens when it all goes wrong… BROOKE PHILLIPS’ ACCOUNT It wasn’t a big day by Shippies standards, probably 8-10…

Capturing the fleeting moments of a wave’s journey to dissipation, Ray feels more at home floating in saltwater with his camera than anywhere on land – reads the opening line on Ray Collins’ website. Shooting for the relative short time of 11 years, Ray has captured a corner of surf photography that is unique and inspiring, one that has set him apart from the pack in many ways. It all started with buying some equipment to shoot his mates around his south coast home, but in a few short years he progressed to having brands like Apple, Nikon, Qantas, Patagonia, Red Bull and National Geographic using his work in their global campaigns. Ray has also bagged a boot load of photography awards over the years with his work being featured by…

In the great, early, 70’s, surf movie Big Wednesday, the film shows its provenance when the voice-over gravely intones that, “No one knew from where the big swells came.” Well, we all know now. Modern forecasting and modern understandings of storms, fetches, and swell generation means the old-fashioned, mysto swell is very much a historical relic. But still, there does seem some magical, mystical X-factor which makes swells behave in strange ways — pump in some spots open to the swell and be close to non-existent in others of similar aspect. There are swells that do weird things, unexpected things, and not just on the east coast of Australia but in Indonesia, the Pacific Islands, Western Australia, Vicco, Europe, and elsewhere. While it’s not always the case, quite often the…

Putting this issue on WAVES together was one crazy ride. There’s nothing quite like the process of pulling a magazine together; a million moving parts, all rapidly marching towards an immovable deadline. It’s like attempting to coordinate the tentacles of 30 drunken octopuses, but somehow it all works out in the end. Thank goodness for waves, eh? It’s the first place I dashed to after dropping the pen and signing off on these pages. In fact, it was the place I dashed to every time I needed a break, or when things felt a little overwhelming. And if I wasn’t surfing, I was flicking through the pages of previous mags, escaping, if just for a short time, to dream, to mind surf, and to wander…from the comfort of my couch.…