You Won’t Get Eaten By A Shark

by Jonathon Morgan on

Despite whatever fears you may still harbor thanks to Jaws, Jaws – The Revenge, Jaws 2, or Jaws 3-D, chances are, you won’t be attacked by a shark during while on vacation.

This past year sharks killed only 4 people and bit 58 others around the world. According to George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, “The reality is, as a biologist, this is a non-problem. It’s a minor, minor thing.”

While no matter where you travel, shark attacks are highly unlikely, arguably your worst bet is Florida, which accounted for two-thirds of the 38 sharkbites in the United States. However, this is probably only due to the year-round swimming weather, and the subsequently high-number of people that use these waters for recreation. The four shark-related deaths were in the waters off Australia, Brazil, Reunion Island (in the Indian Ocean) and Tonga (in the South Pacific).

The research didn’t include what they considered to be provoked attacks — such as when fishermen catch sharks. But if you’re provoking a shark, you’re pretty much asking for it — right?

Surf Movie

by Erik Olsen on

When a major storm hits the coast and kicks up monster waves, most of us run for the hills. But for big wave surfers the allure of riding 40 foot monsters is just too hard to pass up. This was the case on January 28, 1998, when a freak weather system slammed into Oahu’s north shore. It was a situation the Coast Guard called a Condition Black, meaning, simply: get out of the water.

But surfers hear that as an invitation, and so what resulted was a program that aired on PBS called “Condition Black” back last year on May 22. An excellent piece that is said to be re-airing sometime soon. Stay tuned.

A Brokedown Melody

by Erik Olsen on

I don’t know how many of you out there are Jack Johnson fans; I suspect some of the surfers among us are. But I have to say that I love his music. I really do. At one point his cheery, bestubbled mug was everywhere. He was to surfing magazines what Lance Armstrong is to Outdoors/fitness magazines. And when anything becomes that popular, the hauteur sets in, and folks like me snootily reject the offerings of anything or anybody with such widespread appeal. And so it goes.

But as I say, Jack Johnson, for some reason, tends to be different. Even though some say his music all sounds the same, I still have an odd addiction to it. And I am also rather intrigued by Johnson’s efforts as a filmmaker, which is really the crux of this post. Even though it looks like it was produced a few years ago, I only recently stumbled upon this DVD of a film called A Brokedown Meoldy (also the title of a Johnson song) that Johnson worked on with such surfing luminaries as Kelly Slater, Tom Curren, Gerry Lopez, Rob Machado, and others. Of course, Johnson, an accomplished surfer himself, is featured too. The group, or various iterations among the list, find the best surf spots around the world including Jamaica, Indonesia, Tahiti, Hawaii, Mexico and South America. And yes, the film is sound tracked with music by Johnson. I mean, duh.

Anyhoodle, it sounds like a great film, and I rather enjoyed the clips available here.

Wend Magazine

by Erik Olsen on

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of outdoors/travel/adventure mags comes and go. At one point, when I was living in Seattle, two different friends tried to start outdoors magazines…and each failed. That said, it’s great to see new magazines try their hand at the genre, because there are a million great stories waiting to be told and a select few glossies (while strong) have long dominated the outdoor mag landscape. The fact is, when these new magazines are good, it behooves us to support them, because good writing/photography/adventure is hard to find.

And so let me now introduce you to a killer new magazine out of Portland, Oregon called Wend. I am reminded a bit of that salsa commercial when the true salsacionoados (inevitably dressed as cowboys) hear that the salsa they are about to be served comes from (add dripping disdain here) New York CITY?!. No, as we all know, the best salsa comes from the Southwest. Similarly, one can surmise that some of the best outdoors writing/shooting should come from the West, or the Northwest, in this case.

Wend is a wonderful new magazine that is now into its second issue. While the Web site is a bit sparse at the moment, the issue I have is filled with great stories and sumptuous photographs. A few of the stories available include Powder Lines in Pakistan, about two men who survive the first descent on skis on Pakistan’s Mt. Laila. And a story on Surfing Africa’s Zambezi River. Great stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. We’ll be checking back with them in the future, so keep an eye out.

Where’s Lizzy?

by Erik Olsen on

Over at Surfing Magazine they’ve been following the perengrinations of Del Mar surfer girl Elizabeth “Lizzy” Clark, who set out in her 40-foot sailboat on the adventure of a lifetime, sailing from San Diego to Baja, Baja to Mainland, Mainland to Central, Central to South American, South Pacific to New Zealand. And on she goes, looking for tasty waves, fine fishing, trees to climb and lots of adventure. She actually writes relatively well for a surfer (just kidding!), and I’ve quite enjoyed checking in on her travels. Take a look over at Surfer Magazine here.