Snowboarding's Todd Richards is the answer to WSL
commentary woes!
The World Surf League’s 2018 season will
commence next month and, before last night, I had completely given
up on any changes to the announcing crew. Oh you’ve read the gentle
prodding directed toward the booth here for years. Like when the
great surf historian Matt
Warshaw wrote: “Martin Potter’s jaw-grinding voice
sounds as if its been filtered through six espresso shots and a
migraine headache.” And “Turpel hurts me on a both a professional
and personal level.”
But what are we going to do? Every season the prodding gets less
and less and less because I’ve lost hope. Complete and utter hope.
The WSL is not going to change the lineup and, what’s even worse,
before last night I couldn’t even imagine who they
could/should introduce. Sal Masekela is too satisfied with
his pro surfer friendships, Wassel too hyped, Todd Kline has gone
fishing and Trippie Redd is busy leaning. Cote might be great but
as a color man not the anchor that holds it all down.
There is no anchor to hold it all down. No savior.
Until last night.
I was watching Olympic snowboarding, you see, and into my ears
flooded the velvety pipes of Todd Richards. He is NBC’s “man on the
mountain” and was knowledgeable, authoritative, intelligent. He
mixed the exact right amount of insider information with helpful
beginner explanation all in a rich baritone. He knew when to talk
and knew when to shut his mouth, letting the moment breathe.
And he’s handsome. Like, a more masculine/less pudgy Mexican
nativity cherub version of Joe Turpel.
“So what?” you say. “Todd Richards ain’t no surfer…”
And I almost lunge across the coffee table right at you because
yes he is. Todd Richards lives very near to me in bucolic North
County San Diego, surfs often and well. He knows all the grabs, he
knows all the jams off the top and squirts off the bottom. He knows
it all and I don’t know how this very obvious solution had not
become obvious to me before last night.
Todd Richards is the answer to all our surf commentary problems
and we should all email the World Surf League’s Santa Monica office
today and demand his inclusion. Maybe let’s try
[email protected] and if that doesn’t work I’ll give you
Dave Prodan’s phone number.
Loading comments...
Load Comments
0
No stressed sharks in Australia. There's a population
boom! | Photo: What Youth
12,000 Great Whites Off Oz East Coast!
By Derek Rielly
Glamorous apex predator bounces back from "near
extinction"!
Few things give me more pleasure than watching the
increasing abundance, the health as they say, of
Australia’s Great White population.
I remember in the late nineties when Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s
kid, Jean-Michel, the frumpy one and not the glamorous pilot
Philippe, came to South Australia, said “Oowee, ain’t no Whites
left”, put the government in a panic and shortly after, Whites were
off the fishing list.
Now, a one-and-a-half-million-dollar survey by the Australian
government agency the CSIRO puts the population of adult Great
Whites off the Australian east coast at 5460, give or take a few,
and you can add another seven thousand or so if you put the
juveniles in there.
Off Margs and so forth, there are 1460 adults and an
indeterminate number of juveniles.
From the Sydney Morning Herald,
The project is part of the federal government’s National
Environmental Science Programme Marine Biodiversity Hub.
In recent years, shark attacks off the north coast of NSW
prompted the deployment of “smart” drumlines and a shark net trial,
raising conservation fears.
Shark nets operate at more than 50 NSW beaches in the warmer
months, and have been known to kill great whites and other
species.
Queensland also deploys nets and drumlines covering 85
beaches.
In Western Australia in 2014, the former Liberal government
established “kill zones” near beaches and surf breaks, allowing
sharks to be caught and destroyed. The policy was dumped after a
public outcry and advice from environment officials.
Humane Society International marine scientist Jessica Morris
said up to a decade of research was needed to determine how white
sharks were being affected by overfishing, habitat degradation and
shark control programs before decisions could be made about
removing protections.
“Sharks are incredibly important for healthy ecosystems, and
our government needs to be informed about the nature and necessity
of these species,” she said.
“There are many studies showing killing sharks does not make
our beaches safer.”
West Australian senator Linda Reynolds said the larger west
coast white shark population meant “there must be an honest and
informed discussion about whether great whites still need to be
considered a protected species”.
She said sharks had killed 15 people in her state since
2000, compared to one death at protected beaches in NSW and
Queensland in 50 years.
A suite of measures including nets and drum lines should be
considered for the west coast, Senator Reynolds said.
“Environmental ideology has been allowed to take over …
Human lives must come before fish,” she said.
Now, this is a slight digression, but I’m not veering too far
off the topic. Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s first movie was called
Le Monde du Silence and it thrilled the world with its
sharks, dolphins etc.
But, watch! He dynamites fish, stabs sharks and so many other
fun things which are certainly not kosher today.
Watch here.
Loading comments...
Load Comments
0
Brave little Indonesian-Australian surfer Bronson Meidy
photographed some time ago at Riz's Java resort. He was eleven! |
Photo: @desalimasan
Gimme: $US1 Mill Hunk of Beachfront
Java!
By Derek Rielly
It fronts a perfect righthander!
Do you have one million dollars? I do, but
cannot access this windfall for seven-and-a-half years, which is
well into the sunset of my life. It’s a long story and typical of
financial decisions I make on a whim or while riven with guilt.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Anyway, if this money was available, which it isn’t
hence a post last week begging for
bar work, or if you had the money, do you think it
would be a good decision to buy one hectare of gorgeous beachfront
land in Java?
The question arose yesterday when a friend, who has a friend
with this land, told me about the sale. The parcel is next to the
surf resort Rizal Tanjung built with his father-in-law
in the East Javanese village of Watu
Kerung.
From Rizal’s resort’s website:
Rizal Tandjung first discovered the potential beauty of Watu
Karung back in 2009 when a friend took him surfing there. Rizal was
amazed and blown away by the pristine, serene beach with its
special landscape and rocks out in the ocean. One rock cliff in
particular, stood out because of its “Sphinx”-like features, or
depending on where you stand or how you look at it, it could
resemble a princess or a baby’s face.What really made an impression
to Rizal was its powerful waves, it reminded him of surfing in
Hawaii. These waves made his pro surfer friends such as Kelly
Slater, Bruce Irons and Josh Kerr (just to name a few) also come to
experience Watu Karung. A photo of Bruce Irons made it on the cover
of a surfing magazine and he mentioned it was “the last secret
spot”. Many other photo’s and stories about WaKa eventually
cicrulated in different surf mags which put it more on the spot.
The goal is to slowly build up the place over time to become the
beach retreat they dreamed of. Time is not a factor, they don’t
want to rush “art”.
Now, this hunk of land which is for sale sounds dreamy
enough.
From its owner:
Watukarung is an upcoming surfer village close to Pacitan,
East Java. Indonesian Surf Champion and mentor Rizal Tanjung was
the first to buy, we were the second, and so many followed. There
is no beachfront or just behind beachfront land left, the hype has
fully started. It is safe to say that this little spot there will
develop into something like Uluwatu or Padang Padang because the
waves are world class, people with the required networks have
invested and are promoting. Rizal has built a resort that he
naturally promotes with his name, Indonesian surf champions Marlon
Gerber and Pepen Hendrix also have their holiday homes. Its so
cool, from our house you paddle out to the right.
Or you just type in Watukarung in the search field of Google
earth. I am sending you the screenshot with property boundaries
attached. You see our land is straight in front of the righthander
and just another 5 minute paddle across the channel to the
lefthander. The beach belt of the peninsula belongs to Indonesia,
just as any beach.
Our property consists of a part A which is beachfront and a
part B which is adjacent to A just separated by a small public
walkway. The rate for A (beachfront ) currently is at IDR 2 million
per square meter, B (next row behind beachfront) is at IDR 1
million per square meter. Those prices are one tenth of Bali Canggu
prices as by 2017.
A: Prime beach front at the wave. Land pieces 5 (3.500m) and
6 (1.236m) which total to 4.736m. Price: 4.736 x 2 million = 9.5
billion IDR
B: Next row behind beachfront. Land pieces 1,2,3,4 total to
4.352m. Price: 4.352m x 1 million = 4.35 billion IDR. The back of
the property is a small hill from where you can overlook the whole
bay and see the righthander, if the wind blows the coconut trees to
the side you can also see the left.
The total property value would be 9.5 + 4.35 = 13.85 billion
IDR which is roughly one million dollars.
In case the buyer opts only for land A (pieces 1,2,3,4) it
is fine for us however land B (5,6) we only sell together with land
A all in one go.
USP: We have the IMB (building permit) and legal docs to run
a resort. Architectual plans are all ready. We do not charge
anything, this is the bonus for the buyer. FYI hardly any other
person in the village has the proper permits to build let alone run
an accommodation business. Note that the position of the houses in
the plan is more than 100m from the beach, so this IMB is
waterproof, it corresponds to Indonesian law.
This is what I would do with the land.
I would build an all-white (colour not race) cubist resort here
with chromium and leather Italian furniture, own only Pyzel Ghosts,
ship in a woman (‘en) with breasts like ski jumps from the
Pyeongchang Games, a basketball ass and a little round tummy and
hair that is dark at the roots but turns yellow towards the end and
die the happiest man. If I had the money. Which I don’t. Instead,
down and out in Bondi.
You? Would you buy?
(Email [email protected] if you want to get pointed at the
owner. Maybe I’ll get a little commission!)
Loading comments...
Load Comments
0
The permit granting committee on the island of Soqotra
ready to welcome the "World's best surfers." | Photo: Cole
Estrada
WSL: “Exploring all options” for 2019!
By Chas Smith
And may I make a suggestion?
You are certainly well aware, by now, of the
current stalemate on Oahu between Honolulu’s mayor Kirk Caldwell
and our own World Surf League. At issue is the current allotment of
permits. The WSL, which has traditionally held its Pipeline Masters
contest in December, wants to move the event to January and the
slot held by Volcom for its Pipe Pro. The mayor’s office denied the
WSL’s request leaving the league “very disappointed” and “exploring
all possible options for our schedule moving forward.”
Now, I don’t mean to poke my nose in other people’s business but
“all possible options” is a very exciting proposal and would it be
too bold of me to make a suggestion?
Yemen.
Oh bear with me here and please let me explain. Yemen has nearly
2000 miles of coastline, a good 1200 of it surfable, and this does
not include the nearby island of Soqotra. The climate, though
slightly warmer than most stops on tour, is pleasant enough
especially when enjoying a cheek full of qat on the veranda of an
old British outpost. The largest coastal town, Aden, is a very good
time and I think the surfers on tour would have fun shooting
Kalashnikovs into the air and cursing the Saudis and their rotund
children on their way in and out of the country.
The surf in Aden is not the best though and I think the World
Surf League would do well to explore the area around Mukalla and Al
Ghaydah. Mukalla has more infrastructure as well as a larger
population and I do think the imams would very much like watching
professional surfing but Al Ghaydah, shrouded in monsoonal mists,
sparks the imagination. Pirates often come to shore here,
offloading pilfered goods bound to points north, and sometimes
fight with local Al-Qaeda affiliates. I do think if one of these
fights happened during a heat it would get many views, maybe even
as many as a great white shark attacking Mick Fanning.
Qishn and Sayhut could be used as backup locations and if the
league would like another stop, it should consider Soqotra. The
island is very magical and has a history of hosting
semi-professional events. When I was last there with my two best
friends, a day’s walk from the nearest fishing huts, some locals
told us about the last time athletes dawned their shore. It was
some 30 years prior and a Soviet submarine unexpectedly surfaced.
The Russian submariners came ashore and played volleyball, or so it
was said.
Best of all, at time of writing, Yemen currently has no surf
contest scheduled for the 2018-2019 season and, thus, no permitting
issues. The WSL could pick any date on the calendar and I think
could have month long windows, if so desired.
I think this is a very good idea. It is called the “World” Surf
League after all.
Sayhut.
Loading comments...
Load Comments
0
Everyone at What Youth was terrified it might
jeopardize their chance by associating with me. It was not a
popular decision. | Photo: Scott Chenoweth
Meet: The Man Who Said No to Surf
Ranch!
By Derek Rielly
"It was not a popular decision…"
Last September, Travis Ferré, the thirty-something
co-founder of What Youth magazine, wrote an anti-Surf
Ranch piece in response to the WSL barring surf media from its
Future Classic event there.
“The way this whole wave-pool-WSL thing has been introduced
to the world feels slimy. Elitist and weird. And while I can’t
argue that riding it, watching it and the general excitement around
the whole thing is noteworthy, I get the same quesy feeling I get
around private golf courses and churches. Or when I hear the
awkward clop of flip flops. I just don’t think I can buy into this
cultish wave pool culture. I’m happy to stick to what I’ve got in
the ocean.”
BeachGrit‘s Chas Smith was equally pained.
“I hate it and
hate it honestly and truly and with everything in me. Seriously.
Much of what I write here flips between semi and hyper ironic but
that fucking wave pool. Ooooooh. I want, as I said on the Grit!
podcast, for Kim Jong Un to sic his hydrogen bombs
upon it.
Of course, virtue never tested is no virtue at all, as they
say.
So when the WSL’s Dave Prodan started sending text messages
inviting anyone with any sort of involvement in the surf media to
surf the pool, most critics made a swift switcharoo.
Everyone except Travis.
Yesterday I asked Travis to reflect upon his decision.
BeachGrit: Were you, or were you not, invited to play in
the Surf Ranch?
Travis: I was invited! At the time, I didn’t know it was a
full-blown media pool party, but I did get the invite from the
wonderful people at WSL who didn’t want me to feel left out and
offered an opportunity to scope it, despite my critical initial
take. I was personally invited by Dave Prodan. And I fucking love
Dave Prodan. He’s a dude who works for the WSL who still believes
in the “magic” of surfing — be it marketing magic or surf magic or
general surf lore magic. He understands it. And he’s a great guy to
surf with and share a beer with. He understands his job and does it
with passion but does not live with blinders on. He is the only
person maybe who speaks my language at WSL I think but I’m not
entirely sure. I thought it was very nice for him to reach out. My
initial reaction certainly didn’t warrant any special invites. I
actually did not know at the time, however, that I’d be joined by
the wonderful guest list that included lots of friends in the media
world, including you and Chas. Might have been worth the trip just
to have a drink with you guys and converse with some pals in
Lemoore, CA.
What was your response?
I said that I wasn’t going to surf it — but maybe I’d consider
checking it out or possibly send a proxy in my place, but I quickly
forgot and just didn’t follow up. (A few of the crew at What
Youth are psyched to check it out and I don’t wanna spoil
their chances, so hopefully they can go do the surfin’ slip ‘n’
slide if the opportunity presents itself.) I have my opinions of
it, and am obviously not as sold on it being the future of surfing
or anything. But that doesn’t mean someone at What Youth
isn’t psyched to tuck into one.
What was the WSL’s response to your
response?
They offered me to send someone else, but like I said, I didn’t
really follow up or think much about it after that.
Why did you dig your heels in? Weren’t you curious? Was
the thought of being seen as hypocritical to much to
bear?
I actually really want to throw a party there. There is
definitely fun to be had. I’m thinking bands and fireworks and
rails and ridiculous elements that make the lunacy of a wave pool
more bearable. My general curiosity has been quenched by watching
people ride it those first few days. It’s impressive for a few
waves, but once you’ve kind of seen most of the scenarios play out,
it gets a little old. One of my favorite parts of surfing is the
ceaseless wonder I get staring at the sea. Looking for peculiar
instances or situations or moments or sections pop up and then the
subsequent chase to find those things to stare at. Been doing it
since day one. I’m a dumb romantic. Just the other day I spoke with
Mason Ho and he said he loves rocks in the ocean because they
present unique situations around them for rebounds or waves or
opportunities. Things you can’t forecast. I like all the silly
stuff that happens before and after surfing more than standing on a
wave. The pursuit of new places or things. It all boils down to me
hating that human nature feels we have to harness and contain
everything. Surfing was pretty cool: a pursuit in nature that was
spontaneous and weird and free and you could travel and search out.
But you can also use it to dial in a certain location, learning
moods and nuances that only that spot has. I hate the idea of
mechanizing or harnessing it. Also, the pool has been pretty well
surfed out by now in my opinion. Can you get deeper? I’m sure there
will be some crazy tricks done in there. Will they get the same
credit? I dunno. If you listen to surfers talk about it, all they
wanna do now is “make it bigger” or “add sections” and you’re like,
“Duh, that’s what makes being a surfer so interesting!” All the
pursuits to find unique things to experience in the ocean! Now you
have to ride a skim board or do an Al Knost layback in the pit to
make it interesting. And we’ve only known it exists for a few
months now. I find the fact that it already takes gimmicks to make
it interesting should be noted. That once the initial shock and awe
of a cool man-made wave wears off, what are we left with? I really
hate gimmicky things.
While the rest of his surf media pals were being
torn to emotional pieces by Surf Ranch, Trav was in South Carolina
shooting guns and catching (little) man-eating sharks!
Do you really think surf pools are that
bad?
No, they’re not bad. They just take out every layer of
surfing that I love. The stuff you can’t explain. The
magic. I categorize it the same as a water slide. They’re
fun as hell, but it’s not something you base your life around. And
surfing can be that. It has enough weird nuance and culture and
magic in it that you can actually base a life around it. I’ve been
around this planet we got and most of the opportunities presented
themselves because back in my mind I was trying to surf somewhere.
Wave pools remind me of indoor skydiving, hunting in a pen, fishing
in a bucket or virtual porn or something. Maybe “fun” but it ain’t
the real thing. I hate the human nature that encourages us to
harness and control and contain the purest of pursuits. Wave pools
play into that same condition. I don’t doubt the fun and the
technology is amazing and I hope some people who maybe never would
surf can get some element of the thrill. But there is no chance it
replaces the daily struggle to wiggle at your homebreak or wander
the globe or chuck a duck dive or feel a current or chop hop a rock
and surf in new places in a new ocean or sea. That’s the jazz I
love.
Did friends, work pals support your
decision?
No not at all. They were terrified it might jeopardize their
chance by associating with me. It was not a popular decision.
What did you do on the day you were supposed to be
there?
I had to go back in my phone and see. But it appears it happened
around November 2 which is around the time I was in South Carolina
filming a piece on Cam Richards. Our most recent
Fairly Normal vid. Quite a fun trip. Shot
my first gun. Caught a shark. And dove
into southern culture head on. One of the
most fascinating trips I’ve ever been on.
Three months on, reading about it everywhere, what’s
your position now?
Sounds like it was a blast. Like hearing about someone going to
a fun wedding you didn’t attend. I won’t and didn’t lose any sleep
honestly though. I literally live next door to Chris Cote and he
showed me his very well-surfed backhand wave and barrel one morning
and it was cool! I was stoked to see him shred it, but I didn’t
feel any different. I love surfing shitty waves. I love surfing
good waves. But it’s the in-between it all that I love most.
