Oahu’s North Shore

by Erik Olsen on

We posted recently about Laird Hamilton’s concern that epic surf spot Jaws is
getting overcrowded, and that seemed to raise a bit of controversy. Well, forget about that for now. Let’s just take a
look at the sport of surfing in a cool, relaxed way, shall we?

 

This piece in
the SF Chronicle about the North Shore of Oahu is a delightful primer on what you can expect if you visit this
legendary surf spot. The writer discusses his love for the island and tells a sad story about watching a Japanese
surfer die after a particularly gruesome wipeout.  

Laird Hamilton on Protecting Jaws

by Erik Olsen on

Uber-surfer, pectoral personage, Amex ad hunk Laird Hamilton is speaking out. In
this Outside Magazine piece Hamilton
says that the whole tow-in scene at the mega-wave surf spot
Peahi (a.k.a. Jaws), is becoming
increasingly over-crowded, and increasingly dangerous as a result.

Comparing the situation to the crowding problems at Everest (remember Into Thin Air) Hamilton says that new measures
like requiring Jet Ski licenses are not enough, and that someone is going to get hurt if something is not done to
control the crowds at the now-legendary surf spot. The problems are discusses in
another article in Outside whereby
several dangerous collisions have occurred due to the presence of surfers, photographers and observers in boats and
aboard jet skis, crowding the area. He’s right. This is dangerous stuff, folks. The waves at Jaws can reach a
mind-blowing, bone-crushing 60 feet. Someone needs to step in and assume control of the situation.

September by the Shore: Sea Isle City

by Kelly Amabile on

I promise not to rave about sleepy little beach towns too
frequently here at Gadling, but this Jersey Girl is headed to the shore for the next few weekends and wants to spread
some Garden State love. Jersey gets such a bad rap, so I feel compelled to do my part to try and change that. In my
opinion, as summer winds down, the best time to visit the shore actually begins. Each week this month, I’ll mention one
favorite NJ shore town worth visiting this fall.

First up is Sea Isle City. I spent last weekend relaxing at a
friend’s beach condo two blocks from the water. Sea Isle is a big draw for Philly folk on summer vacation.
Surprisingly, the place was really quiet. College kids are all back at school, so things usually start to empty out in
late August. (This means no lines for ice cream :-) It seemed quieter than usual, but I’m not complaining. We had a
great time listening to live acoustic at the Dead Dog Saloon (Calmer and cleaner than the clubby Ocean Drive and La
Costa), dining on fresh seafood at Braca Cafe (Be sure to try their famous 302
frozen cocktail) and sipping ice coffee at Coffee.Comedy (Bonus: they
have free wireless!) Breakfast at Vince’s and pizza from Angelo’s rounded out the eating activities and kept us more
than nourished all weekend long.

The beach in Sea Isle is very nice, but we headed south slightly to
Avalon, where the sand stretches much farther from the dunes to the ocean.
There are plenty of waverunners, kayacking and parasailing activities available in both towns. Or, you can save the
active water sports for another time and stick to my favorite beach routine: swim, read, sleep, eat, swim again. Oh,
and a few rounds of skee ball at the arcade. Friends of ours also took advantage of the close proximity to
Atlantic City and headed north (about a 40 minute drive) to play the
slots. Sea Isle is only about an hour and a half from downtown Philly and is a great central shore spot for beachgoers
from Maryland to New York. The town’s Fall Family Weekend begins September 16.

Surf Safari for Women

by Kelly Amabile on

We love surfing here at Gadling, and here’s a
cool trip we discovered, designed just for the ladies. Founded in 1997 by board sports pioneer Bev Sanders,
Las Olas Surf Camp in Mexico offers week long, all inclusive
retreats specifically for women who want to learn to surf in the company of other women. At the age of 44, after 18
years in the snowboard industry, Bev took some surf lessons and soon after formed La Olas near Puerto Vallarta. The
history of this enterprising adventure business can be read
here. I noticed that some of their instructors are affiliated
with Surf Diva, which Erik
mentioned last year.

One of these days I know I’m going to wake up with a strong urge to ride some waves, and I’d seriously consider
splurging on a week at La Olas to get me started. The packages may seem hefty for only a week (they start at $2,250)
but the list of what’s included is impressive: six night
accommodation in an oceanfront villa, daily surf lessons, meals, yoga sessions and safaris to secret surf spots.
Besides surf school, there are classes and activities for massage, salsa dancing, ocean fishing, margarita making and
native Mexican Huichol Beading.

It looks like this year they have also introduced a line of Rediscovery Safaris, which explore the concept that
surfing develops a lasting friendship with the living ocean. Specialty safaris include: Sea Turtle Discovery, Whale
Watching and Mexican Culture Week. The company has also branched out with
Artistia, which offers more in-depth creative experiences, for those of
you who’ve already mastered the art of surfing. The season runs from November to early June, so now is the time to
consider one of these seaside excursions. They recommend booking four months in advance, since they limit the number of
attendees for each safari.

One Orange in New Zealand

by Adrienne Wilson on

HotelChatter is probably one of the better
hotel blogs out there if not the best. They continuously
keep me informed, enlightened and in-the-know about hotels worthy of all our attention and
those where the bed bugs bite, a lot. Ouch. Today’s
find from their awesome little space on the web is a place called
One Orange in Gisborne, New Zealand. As one of the
first cities on Earth to see the sunrise, HotelChatter calls One Orange sort of a sunrise tribute hotel
where the One Orange web site notes the experience as raw untouched beauty at the edge of the world. Breathless
yet?

When I saw the picture of the digs I thought it looked like a colorful recreation center set against a very dry
mountainside, but the closer you look the high design hotel is really a comfortable and luxurious hotel. Silly me,
right? Activities aren’t hard to come by though. They are conveniently located next to some of the best
surfing beaches in New Zealand and offer trout fishing trips with a local expert on the sport. Other things to
note about One Orange is the opportunity to become a real piece of caged shark bait, but I’ll let you find out
more about that one on your own.