"So good to be back surfing..."
Our favorite pastime spreading far and wide is nothing new. For decades now, outliers see a surf film, or surfers themselves playing the sport of kings off some beach, and think “I want to try.” A glorious cycle though maybe somewhat dulled by today’s ease of entry. Abundant surf schools, squishy soft tops, evaporated rules have, each, left a sort of vacuum where “cool” once hovered, vaguely defined.
All that aside, wonder and amazement spread overnight when images of Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc began spreading online depicting the 26-year-old Monegasque dropping into a terrifying triple up. A wave that would send shivers into the spines of all but the hardest Shipsterns‘ natives. A wave that would current World Surf League champion Filipe Toledo into emotional hospice care.
You, of course, remember when the timid Brazilian failed to paddle at lightly plus-sized Pipeline earlier this year, tantrum’d that he owned nobody nothing then went on a mental health break.
“So good to be back surfing. No photoshop at all in the 2nd picture of course, all talent,” the Team Ferrari driver, anyhow, penned to X.
Wow.
Now, surfing and Formula 1 are not strange bedfellows. Lewis Hamilton, who now also happens to drive for Ferrari after leaving longtime Mercedes, is a known aficionado even counting father-to-be-again Kelly Slater amongst his best of friends.
As talented as Hamilton may be, his barrel nowhere close to Leclerc’s devil send.
Back to Toledo, though. Do you think he would be equally scared behind the open wheel, zooming this way and that, or do you think he should take his talents elsewhere?
Also, we never got to discuss Hamilton to Ferrari. Are you a yay or nay there? I wish I could spoil his gender reveal but there’s only so much time in the day.
Until next time.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Is race-car driving a sport?
It is a brutal sport on the back.
Only one way back for Toledo. Spending the entire year with Nathan Florence surfing…
Not sure Toledo can stomach his Team’s jack crew members dropping him in the pit.
VALs look so cool at the pool.
Did I mention the time I saw, my fwend Phillipe Toledo there at the pool, I just realised I should be sticking up for my wavetub fwend Phillipe against your torrent of abuses! How you dare you attack my fwend Phillipe he’s a wonderful fwend and ordered Guzman Y Gomez to the pool to enjoy some post surf mexican food for himself while everyone else starved. There was a young lady with a heap of facial piercings delivering his food, from memory. I couldn’t be sure if she was part of his Brazzo entourage or a local lass. I’ll never know unless you do an article on his entourage with pictures. That is how I remember the time I spent with my fwend Phillipe.
Funny little side note, there are multiple surfers in the line up for each tub session, anyway the next day I went for a surf at Woolies and one of the lucky punters who shared Phillipe’s session was waxing up his board in the carpark as I was leaving. He was probably thinking about the time spent with Phillipe or even perhaps yearning for… takeaway Mexican food.
EDIT: decided to add all the wavetub fwend crap about Phillipe, as it feels relevant to the article.
Gotta hand it to him, thats a pretty solid collage.
Even has a faint element of laird/millennium wave.
can’t wait to see the new Ferrari F1 surfboards
And now, for your regularly scheduled break in the Kelly is having a baby with his Girlfriend programming.
I’ve driven onto ferries with less deck space than those sleds. Yeesh.
LOL
Just read Dangerous Summer by Hemingway! It’s an account of old Ernest’s traveling around Spain with two rival matadors, who incidentally are brothers in law! The established matador wows the crowd with cheap tricks that appear difficult and dangerous, the other takes a pure and traditional approach to the vicious art. Either way, eventually the older matador can no longer hide behind his tricks and must put himself in harms way to establish who is the best! Why do I mention this? Well Hemingway once said there are only three sports – bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering, the rest are merely games! I think surfing could also be included. And our sitting champion will have to confront his own bull at the “end of the road” without his tricks if he is to assume greatness!
Don’t have to do any of the hard yards now, Jim.
Have a dance-off and claim-off afterwards. Everyone’s a winner !
epic stuff!
Yessss!!!
And now to balance out Hemingway with Smith.
There was an introduction by James Mitchner who referenced Hemingway’s admiration of the open cowardice shown by some notable matador – probably in Death in the Afternoon! Reminded me of Smith’s worship of Toledo’s performances at Chopes!
How could parallels not be drawn!?
That book has been on my list for ages. Thanks for reminding me!
Can a Beach Gritter that lives in Ventura check the local hospitals. I’m thinking Dane Salsa went too hard on St Patrick’s day.
Did he get band, Negs? Or better yet, maybe an intervention team was dispatched?
He was on a two day ban then was back. Seemed more coherent.
Coherence is important!!
incoherent
I would check but I think if I asked if someone named DSS was admitted they would admit me.
Are you sure he didn’t just change his name to tim_nelsen?
Yea that’s his original name before used before DSS.
Pretty sure he changed it back recently.
Not exactly hard to find his address and phone number. You should stop by or give him a call sometime.
Lives in infamous house at a good point break.
Will see him for sure
You talking about the porn pad at Rincon or about 7 miles south?
Lewis still races for Mercedes, he will be driving for Ferari next season.
HEY give Chas a break as he is lost in the haze of surf bro so how could he be expected to know anything about F1?
Google is only a click away
I think he’s lost in the haze of trying to tank BG for some new reason. This shit is getting pretty lame at this point. That or he has stepped up the level of alcoholism to the point of needing rehab badly.
Will Chas diminish this thread or respond with a biblical wrath?
Must be too busy drinking.
I’ll drink to that!