Come feel the wind in your hair!

And can we talk about the incredible Jaws event once more before our attention swings to Pipeline and today’s crowning of both its Master and the Championship Tour Champion? I almost can’t wait but… Jaws. It was just so much fun. The amount of waves ridden, the boldness of the competitors, the daring jet-ski rescues, that iconic yellow helicopter swirling overhead.

But have you ever ridden in a helicopter? I have a small handful of times in Papua New Guinea, backcountry Wyoming and Canada. The way those whirly birds raise straight from the ground, the way they dip, dodge, dive and duck is incredible.

Well, a very lucky young man, a university student from Humboldt State University just north of San Francisco’s Bay Area, got to play Jaws rescue and go for a ride and let’s read the thrilling tale Kris Nagel from a very well-written Coast Guard press release.

The Coast Guard and a California State Park Lifeguard rescued a 20-year-old Humboldt State University student from being swept into a rocky shoreline near Moonstone Beach, Sunday afternoon.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay received a 911-dispatch call reporting a surfer being swept toward a rocky shoreline due to a combination of rough seas and the surfer’s exhaustion.

Sector Humboldt Bay dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and issued an urgent marine information broadcast via VHF-FM channel 16.

The Dolphin crew arrived on-scene at approximately 2:00 p.m. and found California State Park Lifeguard, Keven Harder, was in the water and had established contact with the distressed surfer.

After it was determined that the swimmer was too fatigued to make it back to shore, Harder signaled the Dolphin crew to deploy their rescue swimmer to hoist the surfer. Once the surfer was hoisted, the Dolphin crew remained on scene until Harder was able to swim back to the beach.

The fatigued surfer, Kris Nagel, was taken to the California Redwood Coast – Humboldt County Airport and transferred to emergency medical services personnel who evaluated and released him.

I wish our World Surf League would also employ the Coast Guard press release writer for its own. I can taste the salt. Feel the wind.

And have you ever been rescued anywhere? Skiing? Snowboarding? Mountain biking, hiking, street luge?

Describe!

"Introducing Bob."

This has been filed under the “opinion” category but only because the biggest surf website in the entire world doesn’t have a “Demand:…” header. Or, we probably do but it wasn’t well received. Which brings us to Hurley. I only just learned yesterday that the brand’s visionary founder, and sons, have been drummed out by new owner Bluestar Alliance. That the entire family was “transitioned” to where there is only much wailing and gnashing of teeth but let us go first to a more reputable source, to the very famous Shop-Eat-Surf which turned Julia Roberts’ Eat-Pray-Love on its very head, mortifying single north of 43-years-old yogis from North County, San Diego who regard that film/book as holy literature.

Hurley family members who held key executive positions at the company are no longer at the brand under the new ownership of Bluestar Alliance.

Founder and Brand Ambassador Bob Hurley, Creative Director Ryan Hurley, Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Hurley, and Head of Product Chance King, Bob’s son-in-law, have all departed.

We have asked Bluestar several questions over the course of a few days including about who is leading the company now but have not received a reply.

Etc. but not really.

And the savvy amongst us will remember how Mr. Bob Hurley pulled the rug out from under Billabong in creating Hurley. Spectacularly. Richly. Gorgeously.

For certain he has more tricks up his sleeve. For certain he has “Bob.” The next hot super now surf brand that will undoubtedly pull the rug out from under Bluestar Alliance.

Bob.

I would buy anything they produced today.

Would buy anything literally anything.

I believe.

You do too.

Bob.

The brand that shatters our Surf Industry Apocalypse.

More as the story develops/when you see “Bob” wrapping BeachGrit.

Baby shark chop, chop, chop, chop the head...

I’ve warned you all, for months now, to stay out of the water for it is the sharks’ domain, Great White, Tiger and Bull, and they are evolving at a ruthlessly terrifying pace. Learning to keep their fins below the water in order to dodge detection. Learning to prefer men over women and not just for grossly sexist reasons but because physiology. Body mass, meat on the bones etc.

Well, some sick, twisted pervert in Cape Town, South Africa somehow dreamed that his human evolution was greater than the mighty Great White’s and took the detente there to serially kill and decapitate many of babies/juveniles but don’t take my word for it. Let us read directly from Cape Town’s own News24.

Dozens of headless sharks were found dumped on Strandfontein beach in Cape Town on Sunday morning.

According to Cape of Good Hope SPCA, the sharks were found with their heads, dorsal fins and tails severely injured. The SPCA said it had received a call to respond to the area from Law Enforcement and City of Cape Town officials earlier in the day.

The team’s inspectors arrived on scene and found the sharks laying on the shore, SPCA said in a Facebook post.

It added that the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated.

Now, my worry, our worry, is how the vicious Great White parents of these murdered minors will evolve yet again to deal with this ill-thought spree.

Could Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil’s prophecy not be far off?

Sharks with lasers?

More as the story develops.