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April 2007 Issue
Blue Edge News/Wavelengths
Wavelengths
Words and Photo by Michael Kew
The Revolution Will Be Televised
What women’s pro surfing is today.
Cusp of twilight ushers the day’s biggest wave into a pastel Indonesian lineup. Positioned are three age-thirtysomething Basque men and Australia’s Chelsea Georgeson, 2005 female world champ. Quickly she out-paddles the men and snags the backless beast, air-dropping sideways into the front-lit pit — backside, no less — instantly vanishing from view for the entire wave, eventually gliding into the channel, greeted by hoots and laughter and arms held high from everyone in sight.
“I’ve never seen a girl get barreled like that!” yells a red-faced, grinning Aussie, watching from the bow of an anchored yacht.
Two waves later, Hawai’i’s Melanie Bartels thrusts herself into a feathering lip and boosts several feet above it, accented by a stylish double-grab.
The Aussie cocks his head toward his two friends: “F---, mate, how was that bloody air?” Doubly impressed, they clap and smile agreeably, shaking their heads, raising cold Bintangs in deference to what they had just witnessed: the state of the art in professional women’s surfing, live and direct, fast and fresh, all captured on film for you to see, because, yes, the revolution will be televised.
I must confess that, before alighting seaward last year with six of the world’s best young female surfers (Georgeson, 23; Bartels, 25; Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich, 23; Australia’s Rebecca Woods, 22; Brazil’s Silvana Lima, 22; and Kauai’s Alana Blanchard, 17), I was just as naïve as the next guy: Pro women’s surfing? You mean those dull contests we see in two-foot slop? Gidget? Cute, bikinied longboarders at Malibu? Brawling lesbians? Roxy-clad teens? The countless surf camps and silly Blue Crush wannabes?
Stereotypes can be horrific mistruths, especially when applied to today’s female pros, who have raised the bar in a big way. They charge Cloudbreak, lacerate Lance’s, get shacked at the Superbank and towed at Teahupo’o. Aerials are landed, fins are popping out, rails are set deeply and rigidly, poising the perfectly positioned arc of spray.
We’ve all heard the sexist expression, “She surfs well, for a girl.” Some would argue that it holds true. Others say it will never change. But applied today, it’s simple: these women surf extremely well. Period.
Better than most? Believe it. On the recent all-girl boat trip, Surfing magazine photographer Dustin Humphrey said he’d done several projects on the same boat with men who didn’t surf half as well.
“I’m baffled,” he said after bagging more than a week’s worth of benchmark women’s surf imagery.
From afar — on this anchored boat, say — an average viewer would perhaps not realize he or she was watching a woman surf, because, as popular opinion tells us, females surf nowhere near as well as men — never have, never will. Of course, this is untrue. Today it is hardly a matter of gender comparison, which has been usurped in recent times by the simplicity of natural progress, embraced by the surfers and the industry itself. Relative equality is only a matter of time.
Rochelle Ballard knows this to be true, too. A standout from the previous generation who competes against the aforementioned young stars, Ballard has witnessed and participated in the transition first-hand, since launching her WCT career in 1997, when the professional female surf world was a different place.
“My generation broke down a lot of barriers,” she said. “This new generation has amazing resources: insane boards, coaching, great endorsements and support. They’ve learned from our mistakes and were inspired by our success to take it to the next level even sooner than we did.”
Fifteen years ago, Ballard wanted to become world champion early, then attend college, get a job, and build a family. She never dreamt she where she would be today, owning a nice house on the North Shore, living well off of surfing into her mid-30s.
“The generation before mine didn’t really have that opportunity,” Ballard said. “But now, Sofia and Chelsea have both each their first home, their first world title, and a very healthy income at the age of 22. Stephanie Gilmore won her fist WCT event as a senior in high school, instantly becoming an icon in Australia. It will be amazing to see what girls like Carissa Moore and Coco Ho do in the next few years.”
Indeed it will. Today’s generation is a portal to the future, and with the proverbial snowball gaining girth with each new face, the fundamental shift of paradigm within professional women’s surfing can only perpetuate the brightness which abounds today.
To All Surfers
Mass produced bio surfboards – buy one now…There is no excuse!
On Sunday the 28th of January 2007 I went for a very special and historic surf. Porthtowan beach in Cornwall was about 3 foot and glassy. The air temp was a pleasant 8 degrees.(thats degrees C)
Sitting waiting for a set I looked down into clear blue water. Years ago this would have been off-brown and full of shit, panty liners and condoms. For 10 years I ran Surfers Against Sewage and the 5 million gallons of raw sewage that was discharged daily into this break has gone. It’s a good feeling.
The whole time we campaigned we had a dirty little secret of our own – the surfboard, petro-chemical plastic with as little thought to the environment as a shipwrecked oil tanker.
On the 28th of January I was on a very special board, one I could be proud to surf. A Homeblown 48% Biofoam blank laminated in fibreglass cloth and 98% plant resin laminate developed by Sustainable Composites. I had great waves, in fact the waves seemed to roll my way, I was always in the right slot. It felt great.
Not only is the board over 50% plant-based and therefore renewable. Importantly the foam is blown here in the UK and will be blown in California (We have been in production in CA since Feb. 1 and for us here in the US, Chuck Menzel of Wetsand was instumental in moving the project forward), South Africa, Hawaii and Australia. This is many times more environmentally sound than blowing foam in one country and then transporting large blocks of air half way round the world as was the case in the Clark Foam days and continues to be the case for many manufacturers.
For 3 years we have worked as a small team at the Eden Project with Homeblown and Sustainable Composites towards an eco surfboard. We have been clear that ultimately a sustainable board must be equal to or better than conventional boards both in terms of quality and performance. We have cracked it. The only question being voiced is that it isn’t pure white.(To date in CA, the color, a light creme color, hasn't been an issue after all natural coffee filters are not white either) Well hey if that’s your problem and you think the colour of your board affects your surfing then you’re on the wrong planet.
Both Biofoam blanks and plant based resin laminating systems are available. Demand them from your board manufacturer or surf shop and demand them in the water and on the beach. Environmentally we’re all in deep shit ad now as surfers we can do something positive about our impact.
I stated on CNN in September 2006 that: “In ten years time the phrase eco surfboards won’t be used because all surfboards will be eco boards.” I stand by that phrase and urge you all to get on board.
This board is the future and it is now.
Chris Hines
Founder and Director of Surfers Against Sewage – 1990-2000
Sustainability Director, Eden Project.
Joint winner of the Surfers Path Emerald Wave Award
http://www.edenproject.com/
www.cnn.com/specials/2007/skewed.view/hines
http://www.homeblown.co.uk/
http://www.sustainablecomposites.co.uk/
Free World or Sea World?
By Joey Racano
With that far-away feeling you get during a sudden emergency, I sat transfixed before the television. Kandu the Orca created a scarlet tornado, spiraling to her death at the bottom of a Sea World swimming pool. Baby Shamu -her baby- circled helplessly at the surface. Some images haunt you for the rest of your life.
"She did it to herself", was the official word from Sea World. How a magnificent creature like that captures and holds herself hostage in a swimming pool is certainly beyond me, but who am I to argue with Sea World? After all, Sea World is a registered trademark of Anhauser Busch, the people who bring you Budweiser beer. And they know Killer Whales. Well they should; in the 1970's, so many Orcas were captured for amusement parks it resulted in an entire generation being removed from the wild.
Despite rosy pictures painted by Sea World, up to 60% of Orcas don't survive their first month of captivity, survivors have to suddenly switch to eating dead fish, and the pods from which they are taken can spend months searching in confusion for their missing. Also, there are many instances of Orcas and Pilot Whales attempting suicide by repeatedly ramming the walls of their enclosures, some succeeding.
There is another image that will last me a lifetime. A yellowing newspaper photo on my wall shows several hundred kids lining a rocky cliff in Iceland watching the approach of a U.S. Air Force cargo plane. It carried Keiko, an Orca rescued from captivity, flown to Iceland, and eventually released. Keiko starred as the Orca in the 'Free Willy' movie and eventually died a free Whale, all paid for by pennies collected during a successful global effort by children.
Brad Andrews, then vice president of zoological operations for Sea World theme parks said predictably, "This is just another step in the fantasy. I hope it doesn't affect him adversely".
As a civilization newly awakened to our role in changing the planet, we must bring the practice of capturing, holding and tormenting these intelligent creatures to an end. Enforcing the Marine Mammal Protection Act at Casa Beach in San Diego would be a good place to start.
Joey Racano, Director
Ocean Outfall Group
StopTheWaiver.com and OOG (Oean Outfall Group) are part of a grass-roots diverse group of Citizens concerned about the rapid loss of wetlands, habitat, species and the unfettered march of developers. OOG gets results.
Reader's Letters
By L. Paul Mann
Okay, I am too old and out of shape to take on the role of enforcer, but I feigned the position while trying to get into a relaxing surf on a recent sunny weekend at Rincon. But I was thwarted in my attempt to repeat the pleasant surf I had the day before. Instead, I am embarrassed to admit that the veins stood up on my neck as I ranted and raved, until I felt myself nearing heart attack stage.
The first offender was a jet skier going back and forth across the beach break and top of Rincon point at the indicator, surfing and jumping waves. I screamed in vain at him as he came closer to the line-up, the onshore west winds blowing a steady stench of 2-stroke fuel across the entire beach. As far as I know, jet skies were banned from the Rincon over a dozen years ago.
If that weren’t bad enough my rage grew uncontrollable as a guy on a “GOON SPOON” paddled up the point and began riding waves at the indicator. The 'Goon Spoon' is the name I have coined for Laird Hamilton’s reintroduction of the ancient stand up paddleboard. Laird popularized this old contraption over the last few years, at Little Dume, near Malibu. Born out of his boredom from being stuck in an area with small waves, while he pursued a living in Hollywood, he experimented with this traditional precursor to surfing. The 'Goon Spoon' caught on like wildfire with the Hollywood set that never learned to surf and found it an easy way to sneak into the sport without any real skills. Soon there were as many as six or eight of these dinosaurs on the outer point of Little Dume on a sunny day. What had once been a consistently rippable wave had become ruined with these oversized dinosaurs crowding the line up.
So as I sat at the indicator with diesel fumes permeating the area, my blood was already boiling, as the guy on the GOON SPOON paddled towards me. As he approached I asked, “What are you thinking?--this is Rincon.” I explained that if he wanted to ride this dangerous device he should go up to the beach break or down to Mondos, away from regular board surfers. He indicated that I was the only one unnerved by his presence. A short time later I caught a wave and as I came up on the rivermouth, he lay struggling in the water with his paddle, his 14 foot long board laying across the line up. Having no where to go I ran straight in to him and proceeded to scream at him until red in the face for dinging my board.
Nobody wants to be the bad guy and the old enforcers have faded away in a New World of lawsuits and crowded chaotic conditions. But the old enforcers were not necessarily about being selfish or greedy. We all want the same thing when we are surfing--as many uninterrupted waves as we can get. What the Old School had in mind, was a set of rules based on respect. If someone screwed up, they were challenged for not showing respect.
I learned my lesson when I first went off to college in Hawaii. The first time I surfed Velzyland on a good day, I caught a great wave, and a young Hawaiian tried to drop in on me. I pushed the front of his board and he went over the falls as I tucked into a fat little barrel. When I paddled back out there was a crowd of locals waiting for me. They circled me as the young surfer came up and proceeded to slam his board into my face. I had two black eyes for a month, but I paddled back out the next day, at the same spot, and nobody ever bothered me again. I had learned my lesson of respect for the locals and I never gave them another reason to confront me.
Goon Spoons are just another sport and like tow surfing, is fine if it is done away from a crowd of regular surfers. But they are disrespectful and dangerous to anyone in a normal surf line up. It is impossible to control these Rhinoceros sized boards during a wipe out and they are literally life threatening to nearby surfers.
I think it is time for a new generation of locals to take on the role of water patrol enforcers and ensure our safety so we can all have more fun in the water.
Posted April 2007 Blue Edge Magazine. All rights reserved.
