Adriano De Souza claim

Adriano De Souza will win Pipe (and title)!

Rory Parker

By

ADS will be Brazil's second surfing world champion and first-ever Pipe Master!

Is there anything better than the title coming down to Pipe? Such a singular wave, so close to shore, all that power slamming into the inside bowl.

The greatest show on Earth. Really.

Not so much fun if you live on the North Shore. Constant gridlock during the waiting period. Basically the reason I ruined my shoulder. Hopped the bus to the beachpark with a pair of flippers on a lay day, got humbled real bad by a slightly overhead wave. No car, no phone, my wife had to drive out from Bishop Street to get me to the ER. Might make for a solidly frivolous suit, should the WSL fail to learn the meaning of fair use and we need some future leverage.

Pipe’s got a lot to look forward to. Always the local drama, never enough wildcards. The contest only exists in its current form because of a series of variances the Parks Dept has no right issuing. Bunch of people pretty upset with that.

Last year’s application claimed the Triple Crown, of which  Pipe is a part, provides a billion dollars, with a b, worth of exposure for Hawaii. It must be nice to just make shit up and have it taken as truth.  Who am I kidding, I know it is. I do it myself, occasionally.

Derek sent me the world title race breakdown (scroll to bottom), which I assume is true. It’s not that I can’t do the math, it’s that I’m too lazy. And in the grand scheme of things, it’s not like it matters.

 

Smart money’s on Mick, he’s been here before. But my heart goes out to sweet Adriano. Love to hate him, but no one works harder.

I just realized, I’ve never seen ADS free surf. That’s crazy.

I adore an underdog, and so de Souza’s my boy, and here’s how I see it playing out…

A series of unreal semi early season swells blow the sand off the reef, epic sessions go down as the circus trickles into town. Lei Lei’s sees our sport’s best and brightest dining on overpriced mediocrity masquerading as quality. The Surfer Bar continues to be lame, but guys go because they’re horny and that’s where the trim is. Instagram explodes with lifestyle shots and asses and quivers and pictures of poke.

Swell hype spreads, it’ll be insane on the 14th.

Lay day, hype, lay day, hype.

The contest runs on Wednesday at glorified Gums. ADS works his way through the early rounds.  Swell finally shows, but it’s a day late. No contests on Sunday!

Fanning goes out in round three, then heavy trades and rain show up for work.

Perrow plays chicken with the waiting period. A bump shows and they’re in the water!  Six foot, windy, whompy backwash.

But, “There’s some gems out there, Joe!”

It’ll be a Llama/de Souza final, and Adriano will put on a majestic display of tactical hassling. Poor Filipe won’t withstand.

And so the season closes.

Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Which one of these two is most popular? Wrong! (unless you said Dane)
Which one of these two is most popular? Wrong! (unless you said Dane) | Photo: Morgan Maassen

Rumor: Craig Ando to leave Quik!

Chas Smith

By

Read here today! Or on Stab tomorrow!

BeachGrit‘s Cardiff-by-the-Sea desk traded T-Mobile service for Coconut Wireless over the weekend and things are jamming off the top because guess what? (Allegedly) Craig Anderson, the Craig Anderson, is trying to climb out of his freshly signed Quiksilver contract and join ex-stablemate Dane Reynolds in the great wide open!

The wind was howling into my source’s coconut, somewhere across the sea, so details were muddled, at best, but it was suggested that young Ando was interested in (purportedly) starting his own line. As you may, or may not, know the boy rides for HUF as well, an upstart skateboarding label with an eye toward stylish minimalism. (look here!) He is the only surfer on the team unless Joey Pepper is also a surfer. Might HUF be broadening into the surf-wear market? Might Ando be the next John Galliano and design a fabulous line of very chic newspaper boardshorts?

And what, if true, does this mean for the proud Quiksilver? I think neither doom nor gloom. Wouldn’t a fresh start be nice? Unburdened by kids at the popular table? Free to explore a budding sexuality? In my professional opinion, the horizon is bright for my favorite brand and I would buy more stock if it wasn’t frozen due to bankruptcy. Cool is dead (RIP) and Quiksilver will come through this wrinkle stronger than ever.

Yes, I am pleased with Coconut Wireless’s service. T-Mobile didn’t work on the best of days. Over to you Stab!

Mr. Galliano and Mr. Anderson bear such a striking resemblance, no?
Mr. Galliano and Mr. Anderson bear such a striking resemblance, no?
Quiksilver Bankrupt

Official: Dane Reynolds leaves Quik!

Chas Smith

By

Goodnight, sweet prince...

As reported here circa three weeks ago, Dane Reynolds was rumored to be walking away from a few years and a few million dollars on his Quiksilver deal. It has now been confirmed.

This string of stunning accuracy on reporting rumor (hello Twiggy! you too Kelly + Firewire! hi Stab!) has, indeed, put BeachGrit at the front of the line to receive surfing’s first Pulitzer prize. Our open hands tremble as we trust the dean of Columbia’s graduate school of journalism will appreciate what we do. Accolades aside, how do you feel about this move? Do you care?

Dane did certainly come of age with the Mountain and Wave on his nose. Remember how he used to hand draw it so cutely? But before that he absolutely thrilled in Young Guns, etc. He was everyone’s favorite surfer and he was Quiksilver’s actual surfer.

And now he is older. Still electric. Still such a wonderful personality but older. Will he ride for Vans head to toe? It seems like a natural fit but what will he actually do? This is the more important question. Will he decide that the tour is his place and compete, head down, for the next five years? Will he watch View from a Blue Moon and decide to knock John John off the perch by making the better best surf film ever? Will he become a recluse?

Only time will tell.

But do you want to know what is a virtual sure bet? BeachGrit’s Pulitzer.

 

Just in: Swamis’ surfer body identified

Chas Smith

By

Local shaper and longtime local dies under a full moon.

Two days ago a wetsuited surfer was discovered lying face down on the beach at North County San Diego point Swamis with a broken board still attached. He was pronounced dead when paramedics reached his body.

Today the body was identified as local shaper, longtime Swamis local Kenny Mann. Fox News reports:

“Kenny’s been surfing that area since he was about 10. He even made his own boards before he could drive. Swami’s was his spot. A lot of people even called that inside section ‘Kenny’s,’” lifelong friend J.P. St. Pierre said of 61-year-old Kenneth “Kenny” Mann of Encinitas.

St. Pierre said Mann had no medical condition and was in great shape. Mann was believed to have been night surfing Thursday night, which friends said he did often.

During the week, the National Weather Service put out a coastal flood advisory due to high tides and strong rip currents.

Mann and St. Pierre’s father were founding members of the surfboard company Moonlight Glassing. Now a stable among surfers around the world, the company opened in 1979.

“In the surfboard industry, [Kenny’s] a legend. I don’t think anyone has sanded more surfboards than him. He’s made surfboards for some of the biggest surfers in the world,” St. Pierre said.

St. Pierre can’t imagine was the first day back at the factory will be like.

“It’s going to be horrible. Just horrible. Our whole universe has shifted.”

So far, no plans have been made for his memorial.  He leaves behind no wife or children. 

Cause of death is still unknown.

Chuck Patterson skis on the ocean
"When I was surfing on the wave and wanted to make a turn I instinctively used my sticks which is basically silly but I instantly had the feeling that it was much easier," says the Maui-based surfer-skier-kite-guy Chuck Patterson. "That was pretty much an aha-experience."

Gimmicks: The never-ending saga!

Derek Rielly

By

Man surfs on skis; man snowboards on surfboard. It's extraordinarily fascinating!

If you wanted a word to define the current trend in surf, maybe absurd would fit. If this seems odd or exaggerated, let’s examine the evidence.

So far this year, we’ve seen the Hawaiian Jamie O’Brien set on fire at Teahupoo, Robbie Maddison ride the same place on a motorcycle and, as you’ll soon see, Chuck Patterson surf on a pair of skis and Quirin Rohleder surf powder snow on his regular surfboard.

The German label Bogner, who make civilised, if slightly pricey, sportswear, are behind this surf vs snow jam. Chuck Patterson is a SUP, ski, kite, snowboard guy and he is filmed surfing on snow skis. To compound our awe, Chuck appears unnaturally at ease in the waves.

The greatest challenge he said, “was the fact that my feet were steadily tied to the skis and the binding wouldn’t open up after a fall in the water…”

But!

“When I was surfing on the wave and wanted to make a turn I instinctively used my sticks which is basically silly but I instantly had the feeling that it was much easier. That was pretty much an aha-experience.”

Watch!

Quirin Rohleder is a Bavarian who learned to surf in Munich’s river wave. An old pal of mine, I can, and will, personally attest to Quirin’s skill in the ocean. My earliest etchings of memory are his frontside spins defecating symbolically on my Gold Coast-honed cutbacks when we both lived in Hossegor, France.

Here, Quirin greases good powder on his regular shortboard.

“It was almost like snowboarding,” he reports, “but with a less firm stand and a totally different drive.”

Do you like gimmicks? Is it restorative? Does it add something necessarily… unserious… to surfing?

Photo: Jack English
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