HUGE Waves Hit Hawaii

by Erik Olsen on

Monster waves are hitting the Hawaiian coast and creating
surf conditions fit for only the most
couragous or crazy surfers. The AP is running a slide show of some of the waves, and the Quiksilver
Eddie Aikau Big Wave event in Haleiwa, Hawaii, including a
photo of Daryl Virotsko’s gnarly wipeout down the face of a 40-foot wave. He blew out his knee and had
to withdraw from the event.

Wave heights have been between 30 and 40 feet at Waimea Bay. That’s four-stories, folks. Four stories and
several monstrous tons of water coming down on top of your head. Gnarly, indeed.

 

 

Mystic – The Surf Movie

by Erik Olsen on

From Billygoat productions comes their newest surf film
“The Mystic“. Shot in film, “The Mystic” is rumored to have
some of the longest tubes ever caught on film. Directed by Bill Ballard the film is an account of killer surfing
from Chile to Indonesia.

Check out a trailer here.

Kitesurfing Pics – Lou Wainman

by Erik Olsen on

Here are some sweet kitesurfing
pictures, including
this one of kitesurfing legend Lou Wainman, one of the bona-fide
pioneers of the sport.  Also, here’s an
interview with Wainman, as he talks about some
of the innovations he’s made and where he thinks the sport is headed.

 

Surfrider Foundation

by Erik Olsen on

Earlier today, I mentioned
some of the work being done by the Nature Conservancy as it seeks to purchase and set off from development large chunks
of the American landscape. There are lots of groups out there like this, though most are less prominent, seeking to
promote outdoor activities and preserve the environment. One of the groups I’ve been wanting to mention for a while is
the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots organization run by surfers who are
actively protecting our coastlines and providing useful information on the condition that our beaches are in.

The surfrider Web site is a great place to see what the organization is up to and to offer support if protecting
beaches is important to you. The site is really excellent and taking a quick click tour through through it will open
your eyes to some of the problems facing the country’s beaches.

Of particular interest is the State of Our Beaches
section which provides the lowdown on the status of beaches across the country. They give a rating scale
to beaches everywhere, judging them for their access, water quality, and ecology, among other features. Take
a look.

Sandboarding Junkies

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s another article on the hot, literally, new sport of sandboarding, which is all the rage in Namibia where the dunes are tall and the safety regulations are, well, non-existent. One comapny running these trips is called Alter-Action. Created by Chris Jason and Beth Sarro in 1994, the company is the first professional sandboarding operation on the Namibian Coast. They say they have found the “perfect” sandboarding dune – a “star dune with six different faces and a towering height of 100 meters”. Sweet.

Besides supplying the equipment – including a helmet, gloves, elbow and knee pads – Alter Action provides transportation to and from local hotels, instruction, lunch and drinks for around $35 per person.

Sounds like a duneload of fun…but what about those nasty scrapes when you fall. Can you say raspberry?