Do you love your significant other? He/she may
leave you soon!
Do you watch Vikings on television/Amazon? Oh
it is the grandest show on earth! I usually loathe when my wife
finds other men cute, writing vicious articles defaming their characters in
response, but the lead character, Ragnar Lothbrok
played by Australian Travis Fimmel, is so dreamy that if given the
chance I might leave her for him.
In any case, did you know there was surf in Norway? Of course
you did. There is surf everywhere now even Austin, Texas but if you
have a woman or a man you should be very worried about viking
surfers. If Ragnar Lothbrok is any indication of how they look our
entire structure is set to collapse. The New York
Times did a piece on these Northmen. Should we read a
little?
This was all new to Tim Matley, a thin and boyishly blond
Australian, who found himself above the Arctic Circle for the first
time in this remote village with as many surf shops (two) as sheep
farms.
His usual itinerary was six months of surfing in Australia,
then six months in Indonesia. If the waves were high, that was
great, as long as the temperature was higher. He had never before
worn a hood, gloves and boots in a competition. In fact, he had
seldom worn a wet suit.
“I like to feel my toes in the wax,” Matley, 34, said. “In
boots, I can’t feel anything.”
His girlfriend, Guro Aanestad, a three-time Norwegian
surfing champion, had just won the women’s title at the Lofoten
Masters on Oct. 8. It is billed as the world’s northernmost surfing
competition. Now Matley awaited the men’s final.
The valley at his back rose to a mountainous amphitheater. A
crescent bay opened before him, its exposed, rocky points known for
catching North Atlantic swells the way a net catches fish.
“It’s unreal how many people surf in conditions like this,”
Matley said. “It’s beautiful, but it’s so cold. At least I got to
see my first northern lights. That was good.”
Wait. I’m super bored! And Australian viking Tim Matley
sounds….. Inertia-like. If you ain’t read the rest here but while I have you… Do
you believe in the concept of “hall passes?” That your significant
other can stray for a decided upon choice?
I don’t. If you are mine than you are mine and all others can go
to hell.
(Unless Travis Fimmel is around)
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The desire to always be busy goes beyond passion and
the need to make a living. In many ways it's a defense mechanism
for dealing with harder things. Adjusting to the fact that I chose
my career over friends at a young age and lost touch with people
that meant a lot to me. The feelings of being an inadequate father
since I didn't know mine. | Photo: Chris Burkard
The noted photographer searches for higher meaning
through work…
Everything comes at a cost. It’s not a secret
that at times in my life I have put work first. A workaholic? Yeah,
maybe.
I’ve often tried to make sense of my need to continually create
art and travel. The desire to always be busy. It goes beyond
passion and often the need to make a living.
In many ways it’s a defense mechanism for dealing with
harder things. Adjusting to the fact that I chose my career over
friends at a young age and lost touch with people that meant a lot
to me. The feelings of being an inadequate father since I didn’t
know mine.
I burnt bridges and during the process of traveling
lost who I was hoping that if I looked deep enough
and traveled far enough I would find myself again. This isn’t
fun to write. It hurts to think about. All along I have had this
feeling that maybe I could work my way out of it all… that all it
would take is a little more effort.. so I kept pushing. And If I
got to a certain point.. a certain level.. maybe I would end up
with a fresh start.
So why share this ? Well, is everything on social media meant to
be picture perfect? What is joy without pain? What have I
learned?
Maybe nothing.
I struggle with this every time I step onto a plane or grab my
packed bags by the door. I’m learning more and more how to find
balance and separation between work and life.
Constantly trying to decide internally what my intentions are.
Am I running from something or am I going to bring back something
worthwhile? If everything you experience…everything you internalize
and feel way out there in the world isn’t shared with those you
love then who does it serve?
If you choose this path as a career. These are questions you
might want to ask yourself. You might want to consider what you
really hope to find.. out there.
(This story first appeared on Chris’ excellent Instagram account. I liked
its electricity, it’s openness. Hence it appearing on
BeachGrit.)
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Your pal gets hit? Grab that leash and staunch the
bleeding. | Photo: @mattmeola
Matt Meola responds to shark attack on Friday with
a leash as a tourniquet. Effective!
Shark attacks on Maui ain’t exactly a
hypothetical. Six attacks so far this year, and two this
week. Late on Friday, a thirty-six-year-old surfer and pal of Maui
jibber Matt Meola, Frederico H. Jaime, got hit by a five-foot shark
at Hookipa Beach, bites to the arm and leg. Nasty as anything.
Make the blood run cold, oowee don’t look at the photo etc.
Maui News reports,
At about 5 p.m., a surfer looked over after hearing
a man scream and saw a 5-foot reef shark biting the surfer’s left
arm, Fire Services Chief Edward Taomoto said Friday evening. The
shark let go and then bit the man again in the left leg.
Other surfers came to the victim’s aid and helped
paddle the man to shore. He was taken to Maui Memorial Medical
Center in serious condition, said Taomoto, adding that the arm
injury was the more serious injury.
Beaches were closed along a 2-mile stretch from
Maliko Bay to Tavares Bay, Taomoto said. Firefighters and
conservation officers from the state Department of Land and Natural
Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement
cleared the ocean of surfers at the beach park and will warn people
against entering the water until an assessment is made this
morning.
This is the sixth shark attack this year on Maui
and the second in a week. A 66-year-old woman, a part-time Kihei
resident from Washington state, was the apparent victim of a shark
attack Oct. 14 off Charley Young Beach in Kihei. She suffered
severe injuries to her lower left leg and was
hospitalized.
The woman was swimming about 20 to 30 yards
offshore between Charley Young Beach and Cove Park in about 7 feet
of water at the time of the attack, according to fire officials.
The ocean was calm but murky.
What’s interesting about this attack is how the surfers
responded to the injuries. A leash is used as a tourniquet,
while Matt Meola uses an iPhone to film the treatment. Modern, yes,
but helpful as a training video on what to do if a pal gets
hit.
Jeremy Flores to sweat it out in round five against
Conner Coffin. But, says Parker, it don't matter. He'll final!
Against the father of four with a fat wife… | Photo:
WSL
From the mist of early morning, day four of the Portugal
Pro greeted the world. Sloppy stormy surf blew its spray
skyward. Into this nightmare twelve brave men would embark.
Battling each other, proud warriors, each hell bent on claiming
victory.
Ugh, that was terrible.
It’s well overhead at Point Fabril, looks mushy and lumpy. But
the moment the camera swings a couple degrees away from head on you
can tell it’s not mushy at all. Lumpy and powerful. Some sections
are heaving, some are dribbling. Makes for a challenging surf.
Sometimes a top turn will see you bog and flop, sometimes that lip
will kick straight out and blow you off your feet.
It’ll get better, Turpel and Pottz promise. But it doesn’t
really look too bad. We’ll see a ton of swooping carves. Gorgeous
in some hands, not so much in others. A few guys will probably find
tubes. Maybe we’ll get lucky, the tide will bottom out, and it’ll
turn into gnarly scary barrels.
If John John makes the final, and Jordy doesn’t win the event,
Florence takes the crown. A simpler way to put that is Florence
wins if he makes the final but Jordy doesn’t. Is that actually
simpler? Or even correct?
Parko, Andino, and Julian to kick things off. In this sort of
big open wall I give the advantage to Parkinson.
But, shit, Chloe is surfing good! Goes straight up on his first
turn of the heat, air drops a hefty distance back down. Follows
with a snap, a carve, and a cutty. 7.38 seems fair.
Parko’s right behind him. Slightly smaller, cleaner face. He
looks a little off. Still pretty Parko steez, but Andino will get
the nod on this exchange. 6.0 for Parko.
Dang, I’m no Kolohe fan, but I’m calling him and Flores in the
final. It’s what my gut’s telling me.
Julian’s already caught two waves. Fell on one, the other wasn’t
so good. Number three ain’t great neither. One very good vert bash
to start, couldn’t follow up with much more. Standard turns you do
on a shitty section.
Kolohe’s third wave is a heat killer. Nine point zero. High, I
think. Not really that much better than his first. Pottz seemed to
agree. But solid, and better than what the other two managed in the
same set.
Parko found a frothy almost-barrel. I’d count it. You would too.
But he’s better than us. An eagle among pigeons, beak and all.
Three nine three.
Wilson’s… oh man, I wish there was a channel angle. Good tube
ride. Bucking bronco style. But it pinched and he went down and it
doesn’t count for anything. 1.8.
Wilson goes balls to the wall off the bottom. Gnarly turn, lip
lands on his head but he keeps his feet and rides it out. Only a
4.93. But cool as kittens, nonetheless.
Wave catching flurry in the final minutes, only Joel betters his
early score. Finds the foamy brown room through multiple sections,
comes out and does a big swooping roundhouse. Very good wave, but
he never really disappeared from view and that’s what the judges
want to see, I guess. 7.1 that maybe could’ve gone higher but
wouldn’t make a difference anyway. He gets out of combo, but can’t
win the heat.
Kolohe is through to the quarters. Parko and Wilson into the
losers bracket.
John John Florence, Michel Bourez, and Adriano de Souza should
be a screamer of a heat. Each is damn good in this type of surf.
Florence is Florence, maybe he’ll do an air off a double overhead
section. Bourez has the muscle to obliterate some lips. De Souza
plays it smart and does well in surf like this.
Except life rarely cooperates with our expectations.
Not much happens in the first ten minutes. Bourez fails to make
a barrel. Adriano gets caught and blown off his feet while bottom
turning slightly too high around a section. Jay Jay Eff gets the
first real wave of the heat, a low effort turn to floater combo the
judges think deserves a 5.17.
Kolohe’s goatee/mustache, Oakley, Red Bull hat look works. If he
were a father of four with a fat wife who spends his weekends at
the river hooking catfish.
Then follows up with a “diamond in the rough” drainer, finishes
it with a high speed kinda-almost-upside-down-for-a-split-second
re-entry. Eight point five. Gonna be hard to beat that.
Kolohe’s goatee/mustache, Oakley, Red Bull hat look works. If he
were a father of four with a fat wife who spends his weekends at
the river hooking catfish.
Michel and Adriano struggled to catch up to Florence, and
failed. Double John on a snap snap snap. Pushing hard off the
bottom, displaces so much water it looks like he’s got an offshore
assist. It’s a 7.83. Combos the other two with five minutes
left.
John John running up the beach after his heat was amusing.
Security guard looking super serious. Waving his hands like a loon.
“Out of the way, motherfuckers!”
Only the beach is near empty. No one is getting in the way.
Wanna bet he’s an off-duty cop? He’s got that “I’m a total
asshole” look they love to rock.
Flores/Pupo/Seabass. Surf’s getting worse, not better. Surface
picking up some ripple. Uh oh.
John John says, “Potagee,” during his post heat interview with
the most beautiful woman alive. Corrects himself. Classic.
Low scores and wipeouts for the first twenty minutes. Flores
grabs the first keeper with a little over sixteen minutes left. Two
turn combination, second of which is a glorified speed check. 5.83.
Seabass behind him with one good turn, then the wave comes apart at
the seams. Three something, I think.
The next set’s looking good. All three surfers find a keeper
score. Pupo fades the takeoff, hits the brakes, finds a nice barrel
then half-carve airdrops below the end section. 7.5.
Flores gets the next one, does three not-great turns, but does
them in the right spot. 7.33.
Seabass on number three, gets a better barrel than Pupo, but
doesn’t do a turn at the end. 7.47. I think it should have been a
7.6. Pupo’s turn wasn’t really anything. No reason he should get an
edge.
But Pupo’s next one is the best looking wave of the heat. Open
wall, does some good turns. Judges gift him an 8.93. So his win is
locked in. Not likely Seabass or Flores will find something
better.
They don’t, and they’re both surfing Round Four.
Wilko’s hanging around the event. He’s on some Kafka shit,
looking more and more like Filipe Toledo with every pound he
sheds.
As Matt Wilkinson woke one morning from uneasy dreams he found
himself transformed in his bed into a Flying Llama.
Final heat of the round. Stu Kennedy/ Conner Coffin/ Jordy
Smith.
Kennedy’s the weak link in this one. Should come down to a fight
between Jordy and Conner.
Coffin grabbed the lead early with a pair of decent waves.
Kennedy found a square looking tube for his first wave. Jordy sat
out the first half, waited for something good.
Doesn’t find it on his first wave. Just milks the thing to the
beach, fails to impress. But the judges think it deserves a 5.83.
They’re completely wrong.
Conner falls on one, StuKen does two turns for a
low-as-you-can-go four.
Jordy grabs the last wave of the heat, does three turns and
claims it. Gross.
But the judges buy what he’s selling, give him a mind boggling
8.83.
I have no clue what’s going on. Stu Kennedy won that heat. Jordy
doesn’t think so, but he’s wrong.
Parko and ADS are up for the first heat of Round Five. Surf’s
not great. Starting to close out. Travis Logie knows, says they’re
going heat by heat.
Parko falls on his first. ADS does one very good turn, one okay
turn, and finishes with a solid reo. Takes the lead early with
6.5.
Parko followed with a long barrel, can’t make it out of the end
section. Only gets a 3.07. Would’ve been a heat winner if the lip
hadn’t caught him.
ADS’s next one sucked, but he needed a back-up. Found it in the
form of a 2.5 for two terrible turns. This one’s a wave catching
contest.
He betters that on his next wave. Does a quick backside floater,
rides the whitewater until it reforms as a right on the inside.
Milk man cutback, frontside floater. 3.4.
Joel needs a 6.83 to take the lead, uses his priority to keep
ADS off an okay looking left. Does a few turns, wave doesn’t really
cooperate. He only gets a 4.5.
One minute left, Parko gets one more shot. But it’s a shitty
head-high closeout. He pulls the ripcord off the bottom, and
Adriano wins.
Shitty heat, wrong call. Should’ve ended after the last one. Bad
luck for Logie.
That’s it for the day. Hopefully tomorrow will bring something
better.
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) 16.83, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.10,
Julian Wilson (AUS) 9.43
Heat 2: John John Florence (HAW) 16.33, Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.70,
Adriano de Souza (BRA) 5.70
Heat 3: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 16.43, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.16,
Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 11.20
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.66, Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 10.86, Conner
Coffin (USA) 10.84
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal Round 5 Results:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.90 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
7.57
Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal Remaining Round 5
Match-Ups:
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Conner Coffin (USA)
Heat 4: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
Upcoming Meo Rip Curl Pro Portugal Quarterfinal
Match-Ups:
QF 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
QF 2: John John Florence (HAW) vs. TBD
QF 3: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. TBD
QF 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. TBD
And did you happen to catch John John
Florence’s round 4 heat vs. Adriano de Souza and Michel Bourez in
the early/late hours (depending on where you live)?
Did you?
John John crushed his competition! Decapitated them and early by
dragging his bulbous bottom into a tube and across ADS and Michel’s
outstretched necks. Pottz declared, “He’s on fire!” with that
trademark growl that has been missing as of late.
He loves John John very much as does the rest of our surfing
world and hopes for a first of many grand championship.
Even Brazil stands and cheers the Blonde Ambition. “Ir Jon Jon
ir!” The country shouts in unison! Vanquish us! Destroy us
please!
There will be wonderful analysis from our dear Rory Parker later
in the day but just watch this heat right here in full and without
distraction.
