Kelly Slater set to open “private surf
community” in Austin, Texas
By Chas Smith
(Slater) continued to amass land holdings that now
total more than 190 acres...
I thought that dreams belonged to other men
’cause each time I got close they’d fall apart again. I feared my
heart would beat in secrecy. I faced the nights alone. Oh, how
could I have known, that all my life I only needed you? Oh almost
paradise. We’re knockin’ on heaven’s door.
And, friends, it just so happens to be in hotter-than-hippo-tank
Austin, Texas, that door.
But you certainly recall the NLand tank from many years ago. One
of the first public surf pools to debut, and featuring Wavegarden
technology, the facility harkened a bold, new world. The final
realization of Herbert Hoover’s 1928 promise for American families
to have a chicken in every pot and a wave-generating pond in every
neighborhood.
Alas, I can’t really remember what happened, but it fell upon
hard time and shuttered, only to be purchased by the Kelly Slater
Wave Company and remained… shuttered.
Austonia, a favorite local
website, opined three years ago that, “Austin’s surf
park made a splash when it opened in 2016, astounding the city’s
land-locked surf-lovers with new artificial wave technology. Two
years after a company led by the world’s most famous surfer took
over, an Austonia drone photo survey shows a desolate site where
there once was a thriving attraction that brought surfers from both
coasts, and beyond. Surf pools drained and empty, wave generating
equipment apparently dismantled, parking lots empty, surf shop and
pub closed. Mud, weeds, and only the sound of prairie wind, where
once big waves broke to the sounds of joy from excited
surfers.”
Well, I suppose the locals with much excess cash on hand can
rejoice as the property is being turned into a private
“surf-and-condominium community.”
Over the last several months, details have trickled out
regarding what’s being called Austin Surf Club. It’s a partnership
between Arizona-based Discovery Land Co. and Kelly Slater — perhaps
the most famous surfer in the world — and it’s located not too far
from the airport along Navarro Creek Road off State Highway 71,
about 15 miles from downtown Austin.
NLand closed for good in November 2018, and companies tied
to Slater subsequently purchased the site in southeastern Travis
County. Slater had been working to turn the project into a
world-class surf destination, similar to a Surf Ranch community
operated by his company in Lemoore, California. But the project
appeared to be in limbo since then — even as he continued to amass
land holdings that now total more than 190 acres, according to
Travis County property records.
Are you titillated? Tempted to hop on a waiting list?
While we’re in Austin, did you watch Trump and Rogan’s three
hour chat last eve?
Thoughts?
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Women’s surf tour rocked by arrival of
teenage surf prodigies Bella Kenworthy and Erin Brooks
By Jen See
Five women advance to the 2025 Championship Tour.
Five is not enough women, but life has a way of dealing out
numerous disappointments…
Last Wednesday, the women’s Challenger Series came to an
end in Brazil. Were you watching? I was not.
At the time, I was in Moreno Valley, California, which seems
like a perfectly fine place except for its location very far from
where I live.
I wrote the freeway numbers on my arm and actually made it. This
felt good! And, I made it back to the coast with just enough time
to run out and jump in the ocean at sunset. This also felt very
good.
Five women advance to the 2025 Championship Tour, which begins
at Pipeline in January. Five is not enough women, but life has a
way of dealing out numerous disappointments and we must soldier on
despite them. Three women are almost entirely new. The other two,
we have seen on Tour previously. On the subject of women we have
seen previously, Lakey Peterson has a wildcard for the first seven
events.
Let’s get to know the five new girls. It’ll be fun — or at
least, more fun than driving all the freeways I could find and a
few I couldn’t. Just about anything must surely be better than
that.
5. Vahine Fierro
There was a pretty damn fierce battle for this final qualifying
slot among Yolanda Hopkins, Luana Silva, Nadia Erostarbe, and
Vahine. A second-place finish in Brazil sealed it for Vahine. Now
24, Vahine’s the queen of Tahiti and
won last year’s Shiseido Tahiti Pro, where her semifinal against
Tati West was one of the best women’s heats of the year. She’s been
trying for a few years now to get on Tour, and the rights on the
beach-break heavy Challenger Series hasn’t suited her super
well.
She’s made it at last, and I’m looking forward to seeing Vahine
mixing it up at Pipeline. The rest of the pre-cut schedule, though,
is not super goofyfoot friendly. She’ll get to go left in Abu
Dhabi, but otherwise, it’s one open face right after another until
the cut. Though she’s improved her backhand significantly in recent
years, I think Vahine will have a hard time staying above the line.
Hopefully, there’s a wildcard ready for Tahiti with her name on it,
because she sure does surf Teahupo’o beautifully.
Oh hey, I guess we all know who Erin Brooks is, don’t we. In
2024, Erin, 17, won the Corona Fiji Pro at Cloudbreak, her first
victory at a Championship Tour event. I doubt very much it will be
the last.
All the same, the Challenger Series turned into a bit of a
nail-biter for her. Erin picked up a second in Sydney, then
struggled through a series of early round exits. Qualifying fourth,
her CT spot wasn’t secure until Brazil, where she left the door
open with a ninth. But she did make it, just not with the emphatic
performance that Snapper suggested she might bring to the
project.
At Pipeline, Erin’s a potential winner, but she won’t have it
easy. The veterans will bring the confidence that comes from
competing there for the past three years. The importance of last
year’s finals day for women’s surfing at Pipe can’t be overstated.
Erin is very good, but so, finally, are many of her competitors. If
she takes to the air at the wave pool, it will certainly liven
things up. I’d love to see it. Otherwise, though, Erin faces a
similar challenge to Vahine. The Tour has a hell of a lot of open
face rights, where Erin’s style could use some fine-tuning, and not
a ton of juice, where she seems to thrive.
3. Isabella Nichols
Not really a new girl, Isabella, 27, has bounced between the
Tour and the Challengers for the past two years. She’s had some
notable results, but too often goes out in the early rounds to stay
on Tour. She’s at her best on long rights and at the beach breaks,
so she’ll enjoy this year’s Tour schedule. In 2022 Isabella won
Margaret River and she’s been third at Bells. She just has to get
through Pipe, where she’s never finished higher than ninth.
Isabella’s a stylish surfer, but she doesn’t seem to have that
one magic thing that would make her stand out. I think she belongs
on Tour, and I’d love to see her notch up some results at Bells or
Snapper. She has a knack for beach break surfing that served her
well during the 2020 Covid-shortened Tour year and on the
Challenger series. This year’s schedule offers her a better chance
to make the cut, but the women’s field is now crowded with talent.
If this whole surfing thing doesn’t work out for Isabella, she’s
also got an engineering degree.
After qualifying in Portugal, Bella, 17, skipped the final
Challengers event in Brazil. Instead, she went to to Indo, where
she’s been busy chasing barrels with Sierra Kerr and Sawyer
Lindblad. All of which is to say, Bella is making some excellent
life choices. A San Clemente girl, Bella originally caught the eye
of Vans as a park skateboarder, so she isn’t exactly what you’d
call a shrinking violet. Sure, she grew up surfing T Street and
Trestles, but she also charges. I am a fan of this sort of
thing.
On the way to qualifying, Bella won the Balito Pro and she
finished a painful second at the US Open to Sally Fitzgibbons.
She’s made it on Tour, though, and she’s got a good shot at staying
there. Like the rest of the younger crew, Bella’s a well-rounded
surfer. She can get barreled in heavy lefts, she can surf beach
breaks, and she’s got an air game. She’s also pretty obviously been
working to refine her style on the open faces Trestles offers.
Relative to some of the other women coming on Tour, Bella’s
superpower is her strength. Girl works out hard, and it should
serve her well.
Sally Fitzgibbons
Growing up, Sally always wanted to be a professional athlete.
She didn’t really know what sport she would pursue, but she knew
what she wanted. So, it should come as no surprise that she’s still
competing at 33. Sal has boundless energy, and made it back on Tour
after winning the US Open and the Ericiera Pro. She’s been
outspoken in her criticism of the limited spots for women on Tour
and has called for its expansion. I doubt it’ll happen in time to
help her, but she’s right, especially with the horde of talented
girls coming up.
In recent years, Sal’s evolved her surfing to be more dynamic
and progressive, but I think her days on Tour are numbered. There’s
just no way she’s keeping up with the likes of Caity, Erin, and
Molly as they grow in skill and confidence. Pipeline still
confounds Sal and she’s never placed higher than ninth at the
Tour’s opening event. The right-heavy schedule will suit her, and
she might squeak through the cut. But there’s only so many more
times she can play this game. To her credit, she seems to be making
the most of it and there’s nothing to hate in that.
Fears grow Pipeline to fall off WSL tour
after Bahrain unveils plan for “Club Hawaii Experience” surf
park!
By Chas Smith
Bye bye Banzai.
The World Surf League’s 2025 Championship Tour
is still months from its debut but surf fans are already tittering
with the various and sundry storylines. There is, of course, the
return of J-Bay and Snapper, Finals Day being moved from Lower
Trestles to Cloudbreak but mostly there is Abu Dhabi and its
gleaming Kelly Slater surf tank.
Our heroes and heroines will fly directly to the oil rich Middle
East petro kingdom from Oahu’s North Shore, after launching the
season at the iconic Banzai Pipeline but will all of them fly?
Two-time champ Tyler Wright’s family has raised multiple red flags,
openly wondering if their bisexual sister, married to a woman,
might receive the death penalty in the land where same sex
relationships can lead to criminal penalty. Will others follow,
signing on to a petition being circulated by the famously
anti-woman advocacy group Surf Equity?
Will the World Surf League decide that the Banzai Pipeline is
finally redundant and no longer necessary?
An unforeseen twist!
But you are certainly aware of the enmity felt by the “global
home of surfing” for the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
Pipeline, of course, used to end the season and crown champions.
Now it begins the season and is meaningless. Gone altogether in
2026?
For the petro kingdom of Bahrain, just north of the UAE has just
unveiled plans for its own surf tank called “Bahrain Surf Park –
Club Hawaii Experience.”
Set to open in two years, the development is a partnership
between Edmah, the real estate branch of Bahrain’s soverign wealth
fund, and GFH Financial Group. It will include shops, luxury
hotels, residences and a Wavegarden Cove.
HE Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of Mumtalakat and
chairman of Edamah, declared the venue “will be transformational
for the tourism and recreation sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain,”
continuing, “This pioneering project reflects Edamah’s commitment
to innovation and our focus on investing in local initiatives that
will strengthen the tourism infrastructure in the kingdom, while
also enhancing Bahrain’s attractiveness as a tourist
destination.”
And also a World Surf League Championship Tour destination.
Soz Wrights.
Back to Club Hawaii, though. Will Bahrain seek to recreate more
of the North Shore, like Spam Musubi and cracks to the head or
satisfy itself with deadly waves breaking over shallow reef
alone?
More, certainly, as the story develops.
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Dolphin takes one in the guts and, inset, Will Webber
back when he almost drowned at Spooks in 2022.
Surfers warned of “expected” shark attack
after dolphin found bitten in half at popular surfing reserve
By Derek Rielly
“For a shark to do that it would have to be a Great
White and twelve-to-fifteen feet at least…”
It ain’t no secret that Australia’s east coast is a hive of
frantic shark activity as whales and their vulnerable babies
return from the far North Coast, Byron etc, back down towards their
summer hangs in Antarctica.
One week ago, two surfers, pals of mine as it happened, were
chased out of the water by a juvenile Great White at Lighthouse
Beach in Seal Rocks, the familiar white belly of the fish visible
in the azure water, its fins flared and ready for
action. One of the surfers had the foresight to paddle
up to his pal and wrap his arm around him to create one, big solid
figure. The Great White hesitated, they caught waves. Got ‘emselves
a fine, if increasingly common, fireside story.
Dolphin bitten in half by large shark, likely a
Great White, and washed ashore at Angourie, Australia’s third
surfing reserve.
BeachGrit consulted a local shark fisherman, unnamed ’cause
oowee that particular game is fraught with politics, who said it
was, a, definitely a Great White and, b, bigger than four metres or
fifteen-feet on that beautiful imperial scale still used in the
US.
Surfers are being warned an attack is “expected” up from
“probable” from earlier in the year.
Surfers along Australia’s north-east coastline are acutely aware
of the danger the area brings, with Great Whites regularly
hitting surfers.
Controversial Kelly Slater Abu Dhabi surf
pool opens to public at doorbuster prices!
By Chas Smith
How much will 90 glorious minutes in the tub cost?
Come find out!
Kelly Slater’s Abu Dhabi Surf Ranch has had
quite the run, lately, as far as newsworthiness goes. The gleaming
new facility, largest Kelly Slater Surf Ranch in the world,
conjured into existence via the hands of “aggressively-priced”
Pakistani workers is stunning by any measure. The World Surf League
was so moved that it added Abu Dhabi as the second stop on the 2025
Championship Tour leading Mikey Wright, once recipient of many
World Surf League Championship Tour wildcards, to become angry on
behalf of his sister Tyler.
The United Arab Emirates where Abu Dhabi finds itself is not as
progressive as some European states, you see, and Mikey wondered if
Tyler’s open bisexuality, being married to a woman etc., might get
her into capital trouble.
“You have no business putting on an event at a location where my
sister can be sentenced by law with the death penalty,” he penned
in an open comment. “So much for equality and equal rights, only
when it’s convenient to wsl. You have supported the LGBTQ flag on
her shoulder but now you want to strip it and be hush hush to get
her to a location that she’s at risk of this punishment. You have
the responsibility to protect your athletes, interested to see how
you think you can protect her against the law.”
Thus began the pile on with calls for a boycott growing
extremely loud.
Well, all that aside, Abu Dhabi appears ready to open to
non-Championship Tour surfers as well. In an overnight email blast,
the PR mavens declared:
The wait has been long, and we truly appreciate your
patience and excitement for Surf Abu Dhabi. As a member of our
community, we wanted you to be the first to know that bookings are
officially open!
We’ve been working hard to bring you the best surf
experience, and we’re thrilled to announce that Surf Abu Dhabi will
open its doors to the public on October 25. Now’s your chance to
secure your session and be among the one of the first to share this
amazing wave but also the full Surf Abu Dhabi experience!
Our friendly and professional team is here to assist you
with any questions and make sure your visit is
unforgettable.
The question, I suppose, is how much a session will cost.
What if I told you it was $3500 USD for 90 mins? Would you jump
an Emirates flight straight away?
Then get booking because it is not $3500 USD but rather $3500
UAE which is, roughly, $950 USD.