Apartheid and human solidarity
With the passing of anti-Apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, it is worth thinking about some of ways in which the surfing world has been entangled in apartheid.
With the passing of anti-Apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, it is worth thinking about some of ways in which the surfing world has been entangled in apartheid.
"What would you do? You've got a brother, are you gonna fuck him over for your own journalistic ambitions? What would you do..?"
The race to build the first wavepool specifically designed for surfers is heating up. Less than a month after Kelly Slater's Gold Coast project was aborted, Wavegarden, the European-based company, are about to unveil a demonstration lagoon that will, according to their Australian partner, "blow you away."
It was the defining moment of the Quiksilver Pro final: Joel Parkinson, standing tall in a clean Kirra barrel, sticking his middle finger up at Kelly Slater who was just about to drop in on him.
Of course the photo has a back story...
Recently Surfing Australia held its annual awards night. As it was their 50th anniversary Surfing Australia marked the milestone with a special presentation, 'Australia's Ten Most Influential Surfers.' Bob McTavish was deemed Australia's tenth most influential surfer, and, as they were announced in reverse order, he was the first to accept his award. Bob began his speech by opening up on an old topic: Is surfing a sport or an art? As the speech progressed it felt like we were heading toward an awkward faux pas, a black mark on a black tie night.
This morning the Storm Surfers team is intercepting a swell 75 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia. The wave they'll be surfing has never been ridden before and lies just inside the continental shelf.
We'll hopefully have photos of that expedition soon, but for now here is a previous Storm Surfer mission, this one on the opposite side of the continent to a relatively well-known bommie off the NSW coast.
Surfing by Paul Morgan, Brett Burcher, Tom Carroll, Ross Clarke-Jones and Maya Gabeira.
All photos by Dean Dampney/Storm Surfers.// STU NETTLE
This morning the Storm Surfers team is intercepting a swell 75 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia. The wave they'll be surfing has never been ridden before and lies just inside the continental shelf.
We'll hopefully have photos of that expedition soon, but for now here is a previous Storm Surfer mission, this one on the opposite side of the continent to a relatively well-known bommie off the NSW coast.
Surfing by Paul Morgan, Brett Burcher, Tom Carroll, Ross Clarke-Jones and Maya Gabeira.
All photos by Dean Dampney/Storm Surfers.// STU NETTLE