I am currently somewhere between Salt Lake
City, Utah on the way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming holed up with family
in a roadside hotel while a winter storm rages outside. All things
considered not a bad situation or not as bad as it could have
been.
A big storm hit Maui just a few days ago, for example. A huge
storm and created maybe the biggest Jaws ever. Unsurfable sure but
still a spectacle and people drove from near and far to see the
extra-large breakers.*
Maui police responded to reports this evening of multiple
parking violations at Hoʻokipa Beach Park with reports of hundreds
of vehicles at the location throughout the day.
High surf of up to 60 feet was being forecast for the north
shores of Maui, attracting spectators and “triggering a multitude
of illegal parking on the Hāna Highway” according to Nāpua Hūʻeu, a
Resident Volunteer Organizer with The Kua Hawaiʻi Project.
The organization website describes the group as a resident
volunteer program to enhance visitor safety and protect the sacred
sites of Hawaiʻi.
Group organizers say the motorists created delays and
hazards at various points along the scenic North Shore route. “High
winds and rains added to the fragility of the scene with visitors
traversing down the beach cliff side to, as one visitor noted,
‘photograph the surf up close,’” said Hūʻeu.
So see? My current situation could have been worse. I could have
gotten a parking ticket.
*How do you feel when folk refer to waves as “breakers?” Have
you ever used legitimately?
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Mark Richards, in the foreground, and Shaun
Tomson in Free Ride's most famous sequence. Bill Delaney
Warshaw on Bill Delaney (RIP): “It may be
shameful, but every time a famous surfer dies I get this initial
rush, almost like a fire alarm going off.”
In these instances, when a pivotal figure in the culture slips
into the loving hands of god, one must create some sort of
obituary, yes?
This interview took place an hour or so ago, between Bondi
Beach, Sydney, and Seattle, Washington, where Warshaw lives.
BeachGrit: How’d y’hear?
Warshaw: An EOS viewer emailed me day before yesterday. Randy
Rarick and PT confirmed. Bill had been in pretty poor health the
last few years.
Describe for me your first thoughts?
It may be shameful and wrong, but every time a famous surfer
dies I get this initial rush, almost like a fire alarm going off.
Can I bang out a video? Do I have an interview? How fast can I
post? Then when I dive into the material, like I did all day
yesterday and this morning with Delaney, I feel the loss. I knew
Bill, going back to when I worked a bit on Surfers: the
Movie. We stayed in touch over the years. He was all-in with
EOS, basically gave me the keys to his film library, which in turn
helped me leverage a bunch of other people to let me use their
stuff. So my memories of Bill have to do both with his movies, and
how good he made us all look, and also with him personally. When I
started playing the interview reels with Bill yesterday, to make
the edit, it became real and sad that this smart, generous, very
classy, very creative person was gone. Same thing when Bruce Brown died last
year.
A sweet man, yes?
Yes, mostly. But he took no bullshit, and let you know quick if
you put a foot wrong. About 10 years ago he lit me up for something
I wrote about Free Ride; I think I said he’d poached the
music and that was why the film never came out on DVD, which was
totally wrong. Bill and his wife worked really hard to clear rights
for all the songs, but apparently he didn’t have permission to
re-release outside of the theaters. Something like that. Which is
why Free Ride to this day is a black-market-only treasure.
But again, he didn’t burn the bridge, he took my call right after,
we talked it over, I apologized, he accepted, and we were good.
Flyer for Free Ride from 1977.
Free Ride, from 1977, defined a generation, a
time, as much as Morning of the Earth did a few years
earlier, yeah?
Absolutely. Where Earth was more impressionistic and
stoney, Free Ride was a bit more pointed. It had
narration. We got that great long loving look at Rabbit. Whereas
Alby made a choice not only to skip the narration, he didn’t even
bother to ID his surfers. I loved Earth as a kid, but when
Free Ride came out, we were so ready to move on from the
trippy stuff into something with harder edges, something we could
get a grip on. Which of course was MR’s top-turns, Rabbit’s
pinball-playing, and Shaun’s tuberiding. That said, the Free
Ride photography, especially Dan Merkel’s water shots, were as
mesmerizing and ethereal as anything in Morning of the
Earth.
Shaun Tomson owns Free Ride. MR and Rabbit were still
on the rise, but Shaun at Backdoor and OTW was life-changing,
beyond progressive. There’s a slow-mo shot of him at dusk, coming
out of a long tube, and his face just breaks into this huge grin as
he heads for the beach. What Shaun was doing right then, at that
very moment, inventing a better way to ride the tube, was new to
HIM, as well as us, and he just can’t help but smile at what’s
going on. MATT WARSHAW
Best moments: The pivotal scene of MR and Shaun weaving
an Off the Wall tube together, which was painted as a moment of
symphony when it was MR who had the shits with Shaun hence the drop
in, and Rabbit on the swing. Talk to me. Your best moments and
why.
Shaun Tomson owns Free Ride. MR and Rabbit were still
on the rise, but Shaun at Backdoor and OTW was life-changing,
beyond progressive. There’s a slow-mo shot of him at dusk, coming
out of a long tube, and his face just breaks into this huge grin as
he heads for the beach. What Shaun was doing right then, at that
very moment, inventing a better way to ride the tube, was new to
HIM, as well as us, and he just can’t help but smile at what’s
going on. Not in a claiming way. It’s just pure joy. He’s thought
about surfing a certain way, worked really hard at it, and here he
is making it happen, and it’s like waking up inside a dream. And
Bill Delaney caught it! Every time I see that shot it cheers me
up.
An undervalued film is Surfers: the Movie,
Bill’s film for Gotcha. The Miki Dora interview is still being used
in popular culture: on the Anderson Paak album Malibu, there’s a
couple of samples.
The Dora bit is for sure what Bill liked best about the movie.
He filmed it in his living room, just him and Miki, nobody else,
and I’m not sure that anybody but Bill could have pulled that rant
out of Dora. People trusted Bill, and felt comfortable around him.
But I don’t think he has totally happy overall with how
Surfers came out. He wasn’t specific, at least not on
record, but there may have been some creative differences during
the edit. I do know that he talked about making one last film, a
third film, before quitting altogether. But that never
happened.
Tell me how he’s going to be remembered.
Free Ride, obviously, is the signature work.
Surfers is great too, if for no other reason than the Dora
bit. I’m always so impressed by people who set and keep their
standards as high as Bill did. Which has nothing to do with output.
He made just the two features films, so you might think he left
something on the table. But I think just the opposite. I wouldn’t
be surprised if Bill, deep down, wished he hadn’t done
Surfers. Free Ride said everything he wanted to
say about surfing. For it’s time and place, it is perfect. Part of
being really good at something is knowing when to let it be.
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The haze of sour smoke clears and…Ron is
back!
Hot from the desk of WSL’s SVP of Global
Identity: “Ron still on team!”
Earlier today, a press release slip, Freudian or
otherwise, indicated that the world’s number one surf commentator,
Aaron “Ron” Blakey, had been cut from the WSL roster.
In a list of “current announcers”, the presser announced,
Longtime WSL play-by-play announcer Joe Turpel and former
World Champion Martin Potter call the action from some of the most
remote and exotic surfing locations in the world. Rosy Hodge
(former Championship Tour competitor) and Strider Wasliewski serve
as commentators reporting from the water. In addition, Ross
Williams and Big Wave Champion Peter Mel round out the commentary
team.
The response from fans was immediate.
The former pro Mike Lambresi, wrote: “I already spend half the
broadcast yelling at the computer. If the big dog is gone my
yelling time will probably go up as well. 🤯🤬😡”
From another fan of Blakey, “I’d rather clap my hands
in shit than listen to a full seppo team.”
Another, “How will I get the missus to let me watch more now ?
It was my trump card.”
Happily, a few moments ago, the WSL’s SVP of Global Brand
Identity, Mr David Prodan, released a three word text message.
“Ron still on team.”
The best news, yes?
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"Longtime WSL play-by-play announcer Joe Turpel and
former World Champion Martin Potter call the action from some of
the most remote and exotic surfing locations in the world. Rosy
Hodge (former Championship Tour competitor) and Strider Wasilewski
serve as commentators reporting from the water. In addition, Ross
Williams and Big Wave Champion Peter Mel round out the commentary
team." And Ron? Ronnie?
Breaking: World Surf League announcer Ron
Blakey mysteriously cut from the booth!
Imagine that you are Ron “dog” Blakey with me
for a moment. Imagine that you just woke up in your Byron* home,
put on the kettle to make some coffee. Everything around you is
clean and modern. Subtle elegance. Stainless steel where it’s
appropriate. Eggshell subway tile where it isn’t. The kettle
whistles, you pour over your Chemex, crafting a mug of perfect
second wave. Ahhhh. The taste of… dare you say success?
Oh of course you dare. Throughout this last World Surf League
Championship Tour season you became the consensus best commentator
on the World Surf League airwaves. Peter Mel never quite reached
his potential. Ross Williams went away. It was revealed months ago
that Martin Potter has actually been dead for a year and a
half.
Joe Turpel.
Your golden baritone, touched with broad Australian charm, has
become the standard. The stainless steel standard.
You take another sip of coffee, flip open your Apple MacBook
Pro’s lid and log onto [email protected] (password:
Attackdogtits36).
Email, email, email, press release from the World Surf League
that you haven’t seen before. Something about an upcoming Nazaré
Challenge and Jaws Challenge.
You click and read…
“Longtime WSL play-by-play announcer Joe Turpel and former World
Champion Martin Potter call the action from some of the most remote
and exotic surfing locations in the world. Rosy Hodge (former
Championship Tour competitor) and Strider Wasliewski serve as
commentators reporting from the water. In addition, Ross Williams
and Big Wave Champion Peter Mel round out the commentary team.”
Wait. Something’s not right. Something is clearly wrong. You
read again except the same problem sits there like terminal
cancer.
Your name is gone.
Evaporated.
You throw your Chemex against the nearest wall, shattering it
into a million pieces. The shards fall into the grout between the
eggshell subway tiles and you curse the universe. You told her wife
that everything should be stainless steel. You told her that
cleaning glass shards, spilled rice and quinoa from between the
tiles would be a total pain. Why didn’t she listen? Why doesn’t
anybody just listen for pity’s sake?
End scene.
Where did Ron Blakey go?
Why isn’t he included?
Fired?
Made redundant?
Quit?
Coaching John John?
Sad that even though he rules the WSL airwaves his brother
Vaughn is better at calling live surf action?
More to come!
*I don’t know where the Ronald Blakey’s actually live. They
might live in Byron but they might also live in Lemoore. Who’s to
say?
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Breaking: Australian Rules Football star
saves cousin from “surf rage sucker punch!”
And maybe saves surf culture from the "sea of
anger!"
Is everyone just getting more and more angry?
Just uncontrollably angry? Between aggressive leash
pulls, jumps across reclaimed wood coffee tables and
jumps very near but not
touching other surfers, between cropped yellow
beanies and hair tugs and cop-calling,
lawsuit-threatening, social media-blocking have we all just fallen
right off the edge into a sea of pure, nonstop anger?
Well, now we can add a deliberately broken surfboard, two black
eyes, a sucker punch (or king-hit) and one of Australia’s most
beloved sporting stars to the
list.
AFL superstar Patrick Dangerfield has been forced to step in
to save his cousin from a surf-rage attack which left him with two
black eyes.
The Brownlow Medallist rushed to the aid of the 29-year-old,
who was reportedly king-hit at Fairhaven Beach on Victoria’s famous
Great Ocean Road on February 2.
Dangerfield’s cousin is understood to have had his surfboard
deliberately broken during the altercation.
The Geelong star was in the water at the time and didn’t
witness the attack, but was involved in a non-violent confrontation
with the man on the sand, 3AW reported.
Witnesses told the Herald Sun the man behaved irrationally
throughout the incident, before police were called to the
scene.
Oh. A non-violent confrontation on the sand doesn’t sound so
bad. Sounds like a good time even. Like, I imagine it could easily
have lead to a post-surf rage BBQ in someone’s backyard. Ice-cold
Carlton Draughts being handed out and enjoyed. A few bags of cheese
Twisties to go along with and maybe even some jelly slices for
dessert?
Did Mr. Patrick Dangerfield just stop the madness for all of
us?
