Adventure awaits!

Where was the last place you didn’t feel safe, comfortable? Of course there are the obvious: Superbank on a Saturday (or any day), Foodland in December, Peter Schroff’s Instagram.

About it, yeah?

Despite all the welcoming aspects of surf camps, there are few, if any, places where an LGBT person can truly be themselves in the surf ether.

But, that is changing.

Gay surf camps are on the rise.

Let’s examine.

Brazil

With all the passionfruits Brazil has to offer, from Carnival Capoeira hip-swings by gorgeous drag dolls, Brazil Eco Journeys offer of  “Gay Surf Brazil” could be the best.

Literature on the site promises the following:

Ever wanted to surf but was too afraid of not fitting in?

Gay Surf Brazil is THE LGBT Surf Camp of South America.

This annual event started in 2013 as a partnership between Brazil Ecojourneys and Gay Surfers, a social media platform for LGBTQ surfers that has been connecting the community and helping fight homophobia in surfing

Since then, we brought together aspiring and seasoned surfers from the LGBTQ community from all over the world for a week of “surfing and fun amongst friends”.

Gay Surf Brazil is open for all skill levels, from absolute beginners to more advanced surfers.All members of the community and allies are welcome!

Costa Rica has long been known as the Switzerland of Central America. The site Gay Costa Rica described their recent Pride parade thus,

“While Costa Rica may not lead the hemisphere in gay rights, the scene in San Jose over Pride weekend, July 2nd and 3rd, showed a different attitude towards the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered Community (LGBT). The streets of San Jose were filled with LGBT community members and supporters…..Drag queens, leather men, traditional dancers, and even puppies decorated in rainbow gear took to the streets to show how the attitude towards the LGBT community is changing.”

Iguana Surf Camp is based in Tamarindo.

According to their site, “Tamarindo gay nightlife is also becoming bigger and bigger. Glitters Fest in Tamarindo was held in April at a bar called Pacífico. It was a huge costume party with DJs, tarot, jugglers, drums, a drag performance, and of course plenty of glitter! The best costume also won a prize. The whole town of Tamarindo was sparkling that night! The next one is already being planned. The bar Rumors recently had a pride event with an awesome drag show and a top DJ. This is sure to repeat!”

If Costa is your chosen spot, keep an eye out for the salt-water crocs that skulk the river mouths. They are the original non-discriminatory social inclusionists and could care less if you’re gay, straight, bi or trans while their golf ball-sized incisors are grabbin’ your limbs and spinnin ’em like a half-beat piñata at a Quinceañera. 

Canary Islands

Before the Spanish decided to unsheathe their swords and poke their flag poles in the grounds across the Canaries, they were inhabited by by the North African Canarii who called the island Tamarán, or ‘Land of the Brave.’

The island of Gran Canaria is an awesome mix of Spanish buildings, streets, cafes and north African landscapes. 

Spain 7 degrees describes its gay surf camp in Gran Canaria as “a week of surfing, sun, energy and fun amongst friends in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. It’s time to learn and improve your surfing level with LGBT friends from all over the world in the super Gran Canaria coast. We offer different level course depending on your skills. From beginners to intermediates surfers, everyone will learn how to surf and enjoy the ride. For pros, we will need to drive about 30 minutes to catch proper waves.”

Book here.

Noosa Heads, Australia

In 2017, Safari Surf Adventures hosted an LGBT surf camp in Noosa with coaching by “LGBT advocate“ and two-time runner-up to the gal’s world title Serena Brooke.

“This 7 Night, all-inclusive instructional surf trip offers a unique opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender surfers to experience the highest standard of surf coaching by professional surfers at one of the most desirable surf breaks in the world. Noosa Heads, Australia is a world-famous adventure travel surf destination, known for its expansive beaches and colorful bays. This is the perfect place to advance your surf skills in the stunning crystalline waters fringed by a subtropical rainforest.”

The trip is not running this year but Safari Surf was quick to respond to a request:

“Our Costa Rica location is always open for our LBGTQ friends and we get a lot of traffic there. Or if you’d like to bring a group we can certainly create a cool vacation package that’s all inclusive for you!”

Conan James Hayes, from conquerer of Cloudbreak to toy merchant to self-appointed electoral detective bringing truth to truthers!

(Editor’s note: Two weeks ago, we wrote about Conan Hayes’ new role as a minor celebrity in election fraud conspiracy circles. Here, our pretty little lawyer boy Cedar Hobbs goes deeper.)

Since the election of Joe Biden, heralded as “the most secure in American history,” conspiracies have sprouted up across the nation to justify Donald Trump’s loss.

Dead men voting, buried mail-in ballots, Dominion Voting Systems etc.

A grand conspiracy orchestrated by the Democrats (who actually lost seats in the House of Representatives and greatly underperformed in the election) to keep Donald Trump out of office.

Coined the Stop the Steal movement, it has resulted in myriad conspiracies, lawsuits (that were ultimately dismissed), and result confirming audits.

And, it appears that one of the movement’s prominent players is Conan Hayes himself, former professional surfer and RVCA co-founder.

In November of 2020 a lawsuit was filed in Michigan state court challenging the electoral results of Antrim County, Michigan, where Donald Trump won almost 2/3 of the county. The lawsuit proffered a conspiracy that Dominion voting tabulators switched votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

As part of that litigation, Conan Hayes was designated as one of several expert witnesses on behalf of the plaintiff. According to filings, Hayes was expected to “testify as to application security, systems, process, generally accepted programming practices, standards of care, as it relates to application development of sensitive systems.”

The names of those experts, including Hayes, were not initially public.

Per The Record Eagle, the plaintiff in the case filed a motion for protective order to keep the names of the experts private, citing safety concerns, but the presiding judge denied that motion.

While in Michigan, Hayes, through his Twitter account @We_Have_Risen, reportedly (and improperly) tweeted photos of rolls of voter data.

Hayes would later contribute to a flawed report released by the Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG).

According to The Daily Beast, the lawyer for the plaintiff, Matthew DePerno, confirmed that Hayes had “helped with the collection of forensic information and the analysis of the info we put into the ASOG Report.”

That report asserted that the Dominion vote tabulators were “intentionally and purposefully designed with errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.”

The report was met with wide spread criticism, notably because it confused Minnesota precincts with Michigan precincts in its analysis.

That suit was dismissed in May of 2021.

(For what it’s worth, I voted at least three times in Michigan, and every time I visited my polling place everything appeared well above board.)

Conan Hayes has been involved an Arizona audit as well, where Donald Trump has claimed that voting fraud cost him Arizona’s electoral votes.

Despite two audits that confirmed the results in the area, state legislators began a review of the ballots in April.

That review has been led by Cyber Ninjas, a computer security firm with no election experience prior to the 2020 election.

Hayes apparently has connections to Cyber Ninjas.

In a statement from Dave Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, the “DePerno Team” was recognized as providing “operational support and advice pivotal in executing the audit.” This may implicate Hayes, as he worked with DePerno during the Michigan electoral challenge.

In May 2021, Garrett Archer, a data analyst for ABC15 Arizona, confirmed that Hayes was on the Arizona audit floor acting as a subcontractor.

Additional information from Cyber Ninjas, including records related to fundraisers and communications, is expected soon. According to AZCentral, the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee instructed Cyber Ninjas to produce certain records by Friday, August 27th.

Results of the Arizona audit were expected Monday, August 23rd, but have been delayed “because three of the five members of the auditing team have tested positive for coronavirus,” according to the Arizona Republican Senate leader.

And most recently, Hayes has been implicated in an election scandal in Mesa County, Colorado.

According to Vice, earlier this year, county clerk Tina Peters allowed an individual to steal election data from the county. That data would later be shared at Mike Lindell’s (the MyPillow guy and notable conspiracy theorist), Cyber Symposium conference.

During the breach, surveillance cameras monitoring the equipment were shut off at the prompting by Peters.

In a statement from Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Gerald Wood was penned as an “unauthorized individual” who accessed the hard drives and data.

But it appears that Gerald Wood is a pseudonym used by Hayes..

During the Cyber Symposium, Ron Watkins, a major player in QAnon and who has been rumored to be Q himself, specifically named Hayes as possessing the data.

https://twitter.com/get_innocuous/status/1425566065413607427

 

Watkins stated live during the symposium: “I just learned that Conan James Hayes may have taken, without authorization, the actual hard drives, from the Mesa County, er, Mesa Colorado County clerk, and he needs to produce those hard drives immediately and return them to the clerk.”

Ty Clevenger, Watkins’ attorney, confirmed to Vice News that Hayes had provided the sensitive data.

Data from the leak also showed that it was accessed by an individual with the username “cjh,” according to Twitter user @get_innocuous.

Following the breach, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, the Mesa County District Attorney, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have opened investigations.

According to a statement from FBI spokeswoman Courtney Bernal, “The FBI is working with the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office on the forensic review and analysis of county voting systems to determine if there was a potential federal criminal violation.”

Dan Rubinstein, the District Attorney for Mesa County, told CNN that he had been contacted by the Secretary of State’s Office and “was told that they believed that there were potential criminal matters which would be referred to my office for prosecution.”

Since the Cyber Symposium, Tina Peters is being housed in a safe house provided by Mike Lindell. Lindell told Vice News that Peters was “worried about her safety, these people are ruthless.”

There have not been any criminal charges filed.

Hayes’ Twitter account, @We_Have_Risen, has recently been deleted.

More as the story develops.

Shock elimination as catty superstar signs off with flair and verve, "Maybe I’ll be back, bitches!"

In this episode: There is a test that is very hard.

A big-wave surfer shows up to help. Everyone surfs backside. Some surf better than others. There is much plotting and hints of blood feuds.

Two surfers are eliminated in a dramatic surf-off.

Much nerves!

Welcome to the second glorious night of BeachGrit’s official coverage of The Ultimate Surfer. I realized just now that I do not know how many nights this thing runs. Not for the first time, I will almost certainly regret my life choices before we reach the end.

In the first episode, just last night, we met the fourteen surfers, and I use that term loosely, who are competing for prize money and wildcard slots on Championship Tour.

Kelly Slater appeared in holographic form on a television screen to offer advice and encouragement.

There was surfing, that was mostly bad, but sometimes good. Already we said goodbye to two surfers, both from Florida.

This was very sad, but we must carry on.

Anastasia Astley played the evil, conniving villainess with gusto, and it was most enjoyable. Malia Ward, looking angelic, forged a strategic alliance with Anastasia and proved quite cunning.

Also, the women mostly hate one another already. This is excellent.

The men seemed very stoked! Which is understandable. They are surfers. But also, maybe a little boring.

Perhaps this will all change tonight.

Episode 2! Caught up in Chick Drama! This sounds so promising right now.

Let’s dig in. Oh, I am too early! The Bachelor in Paradise is still on. There is so much smooching on my screen. I’m totally blushing.

Where is my wholesome surfing entertainment? Will it ever begin?

The lead-in has very Point Break (old version) style kick-outs and stuff. Very stylish. And woo-woo, surf guitars. I am so in the mood now!

We begin with talk about how Zeke and Malia are a total super team. Kai Barger admits that he is very nervous.

Sad Dad story again. Parkinsons, I think.

Julie is very cute and did not grow up with money to pursue her pro surfing dream! She loves sports. She has worked as a lifeguard, and now works for her local police department. She would like to surf full-time instead.

Everyone, so nervous!

There is a beach battle happening now.

A test!

There is a man in the pool. He is holding his breath very long. He is a big-wave surfer! Billy Kemper is here to join the party. He likes to run rocks underwater. Sounds super fun.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CS-tZDINOvM/

This is legit hard. They are carrying weights around underwater. A thing, that actual big-wave surfers do. I hope they are good at holding their breaths and maybe have done training in their spare time.

It is not that easy, actually.

Oh, also, there is going to be a wave in the pool at the same time. I am overwhelmed how radical this whole thing is becoming.

The hooter sounds! Everyone is running to their weights, all at the same time. The weights are connected to lifeguard buoys with lengthy ropes.

Chaos! So much tripping and stuff. With much difficulty, everyone gets in the water and heads toward the first buoy.

A race! Someone will win.

Koa is an expert. He explains how you lean forward and it projects you! So awesome. I am getting smarter.

Next time I have to carry weights underwater, I will know how to do it.

These straight-to-camera interviews are a recurring feature. Apparently, the producers filmed them in a dark hallway. I do not understand this aesthetic choice but I do now know how to make television!

The wave comes and everyone gets tangled what with the buoys and ropes and weights. Shit’s getting so real right now.

Julie has done this whole thing before! It is easier at the Surf Ranch, because usually she does her underwater runs with 150-pound weights. She is more badass than was apparent at first glance.

It’s madness, says Tia! Total madness. Everyone is drowning. Zeke’s goggles are falling off, it is super hard. Zeke is embarrassed, because he did not do good at this part.

Julie and Koa win! And they are not getting eliminated this week. They also get an extra surf session at night! And they are going to invite another team to join them for the night session. They do not even know who to pick!

Nerve-wracking.

Many jokes about bribery follow. Zeke offers to give Koa priority during the evening sesh. He’s just going to pick off the waves if Koa falls. So, Koa and Julie can get extra waves.

Omg, commercial!

Just as we are about to learn who gets to surf with Koa and Julie! And, if Zeke’s maneuvering actually has worked.

Luke, he wants it so bad and has known Koa forever. He is so hopeful and it will be sad if he gets kicked to the curb by his long-time bestie.

It is weird!

All the dudes are best friends. All the girls are like, I hate that bitch. I am hoping for a blood feud among the men soon!

Otherwise, I will be so sad. Don’t make me sad, Ultimate Surfer! Don’t do it!

Zeke and Malia get the nod! Luke, is very sad. Sometimes, you don’t know who your real friends are. This is very true and wise. I did not expect to learn so much watching reality television. Perhaps I should do it more often.

Who knows what else I could learn!

Koa feels very euphoric! He is programming the wave into his brain. He is very adept at finger-surfing and sound effects. It’s super cute. I think the world needs more finger-surfing.

The losers get to inflate blow-up toys to improve their lung strength. Kai realizes he must take these challenges more seriously. He is not wrong.

Now we are meeting Tia. She grew up a military brat, she says. She began competing at an early age! Many trophies! Now she lives in California.

Oh, backside challenge!

Erin Coscarelli is the lady with Joe. She makes a bad joke about checking out backsides. Her sense of humor is not that great, I’m afraid! She is famous for something, but I think she is not famous for making jokes.

I am confused now, because I thought Malia was on her backhand yesterday. But you know, life is confusing and there is so much to take in. It is all very fast becoming a blur.

Zeke and Malia are up first! The tension is so high! Malia: There is a new power couple in town! Malia, so confident.

I do not understand why they are wearing rashies. It is very contest and authentic. But I am a bored reality television watcher, it’s late at night, and I really want to see some abs right now. Lose the rashies! Show me some abs! I feel like this is not too much to ask, actually.

Malia is legit good at surfing, I think!

I actually didn’t know this, because I do not live in San Clemente. Maybe I should move there. Her confidence is perhaps not entirely misplaced. Malia and Zeke get like a seven or something. It is good and much excitement from Turpel!

Oh shit, Kai just fell on the first turn. Everyone is very sad for him. His partner, I forget who she is, in fact! She falls, too. They are fallers, unfortunately!

Hopefully, Anastasia can throw her teammate Luke a life-vest! Erin is full of jokes tonight. Luke fell in the barrel. Anastasia, also falling. No life-vest!

I am learning that backside barrel riding is very hard! There is very much falling.

Tia has a very cute bunhead! Everyone claps for her, because she did good at the surfing. Her turns, very nice! Her barrel, she made it! She blew the end section, but this is not a terrible failure, relatively speaking. Her partner Alejandro, he falls.

I would like to see some bikinis. Like legit fun, bright bikinis! The Ultimate Surfer tops are… modest. And not that stylish! Fashion seems not to be a priority, which makes my eyes very sad.

Zeke and Malia!

They win!

They get to choose who surfs in the elimination round. Maneuvering. Anastasia and Malia are plotting again. Tia and Alejandro got second.

Zeke says, I like to be in control. I like to be the puppet master! He is good at the psychological games. I do not know how he has not won more heats, actually. He is totally enjoying this whole thing so much.

Breanna, I’m not in high school, so I’m not descending to that level. So high-minded! Girl, it’s reality television.

Do you want to win?

Or get nothing.

Zeke and Malia pick Tia and Alejandro! Tia is totally taken by surprise. They do not know what to do. They scored so well! They did not think they would go to the elimination round. So stressful! Zeke and Malia are not here to play.

Now Alejandro and Tia don’t agree! Tia is so upset right now. I am not sure who wants what and why. I am losing track of the emerging blood feuds. I would like more of this drama, please! But I think I need a diagram or something to help me keep track.

Tia wants Anastasia and Luke. Alejandro wants Kai, because he is falling. Breanna goes to talk to Tia. And convinces her to stand her ground! And look after herself!

Luke is like, omg chick drama! I am getting caught up in chick drama! He is not stoked about the girls fighting. Tia and Breanna, so threatened by Anastasia!

It is so intense now.

I can’t even wait to see what happens next! Alejandro is fired up. He is from Puerto Rico and very proud. His Dad is a lawyer and thought surfing would turn Alejandro into a bum! Now he is on television! The world is so unexpected sometimes. Alejandro does a good wave, but falls on the end section.

Oh shit! Luke does not make the barrel. He did very nice turns, but fell in the barrel.

This is very bad for the plotting between Anastasia and Malia. What if Anastasia goes home? All that plotting for nothing. Also, I will be sad, because Anastasia is very fun. I like the plotting so much.

Now it is Tia’s turn and it goes very good. But no barrel! She falls in the barrel, too. Falling in the barrel is like, so a thing in this episode.

So much good barrel for Anastasia! But her turns, they were not that rad. Sorry, it’s true! I wanted more rad turns, not just barrel. Please try harder next time!

What will the judges decide? I can’t even begin to guess. This surfing thing, it is very complicated with many considerations. To barrel is very important! But also, the turning. It is good to do both, actually.

Malia looks worried. She wants her bestie Anastasia to stay! But she is worried that it will not work out.

Alejandro! He won the men’s surf-off! He can’t even believe it. It just gives me that much more confidence, he says. He is super happy and full of hopes!

Tia, she also survives! Breanna, so happy!

Sadface, Malia. She is so very sad. She is feeling like the outsider now. Malia vows revenge! She is coming for Breanna and Tia. So much blood feud, yes!

I can’t believe I got stuck in chick drama! Luke is very disgruntled and sad to be going home so early.

Maybe I’ll be back, bitches! Anastasia, signs off with flair and verve!

And, we’re done.

Next week! It is so long from now, and I don’t know how I will survive until then.

I am hoping there will be so much more blood feud. Also, there was no Kelly in this episode and I was very sad.

My life is not complete without Kelly.

Please come back, Kelly!

I will definitely be back, bitches!