The Origin of Surf in Europe : Part 2

Thanks to Antony « Yep » Colas
« The World Stormrider Guide » autor and J.d.Rosnay

1960-1965

1960: the year of the first competitions

It is July 24 being held in the beach the first international competition before several thousand spectators. Then the 11 first place septembreont Championships in France. 1st: Joel de Rosnay. 2nd: Michel Barland. 3rd: André Plumcoq. The jury is composed of Dedieu, Hiriart, Giese and Viertel. If competitions are organized with relay races train surfing technique is simple, well clear of what's happening in California.



1961: Rott and Moraiz in Peru
In February 1961 an international competition held in Lima in Peru and is Jacky Rott and Jo Moraiz who are invited by Carlos Dogny and his bunch of billionaires. The tournament was won by the Peruvian Hector Velarde and awards would be in the presence of the Head of State. Take place in September in Biarritz the first European Championships. 1st: Jacques Rott. 2nd: Pierre Laharague. 3rd: André Plumcocq. 4th: Joel de Rosnay. 5th: Michel Barland.




1962: France in Surfer Magazine

Following a match between Joel de Rosnay and John Severson, founder of Surfer and future father of Jenna (De Rosnay), the first article on the waves appeared in France in the first surf magazine created in California in 1960 with photos of Jacky Rott, Gerard Philippe and Eddie Ladd. This explains the many Californians come from the'60s. At a family trip to Mauritius in which they originate, Arnaud and Joel de Rosnay discovered Tamarin Bay in August. Take place as the European Championships won by Michel Barland and International Europe won by Michael Hickey of Australia. In September, a group of surfers in Jersey where surfing began recently, is on the Basque Coast.

1963: The "Barre" becomes Ze Spot

At the mouth of the Adour river, where sand is extracted from a gravel pit a wave swept ideal, especially for the boards of the time. A powerful pointbreak hollow and easily that bypasses the channel of the Adour. This is that place on September 28 international championships won by Australian Peter Troy, before Hawaiian Jan Lee and Australians Bob Keenan and Michael Hickey. The champions of the day were not only the time of the race, they came to France several weeks or months, allowing local emulate. The Surfclub is multiplientnotamment with the creation of the House of Love opened by Deborah Kerr and Dr Lacroix, mayor of Anglet. There is 4 clubs with USB, the Kostakoak Bidart and Waikiki. Then comes that the French Federation of Surf Riding under the leadership of Joel de Rosnay. Surfing continues its breakthrough in the media with 2 TV, multiple subjects in the general press and a song from Franck Alamo where surfing becomes a dance.



1964: The War of the federations

The Surf Club of the House of Love is the Surf Club de France, which competes with the Waikiki of Côte des Basques. At each spot the club, at the Grande Plage was born on Biarritz Surf Club. On 20 August reunification takes place clubs under the chairmanship of Guy Petit, mayor of Biarritz. The day was held at 20:30 on the only television channel "behind the scenes of the writ," a story dedicated to surfing. The Surf Club of France made its first acquisition of a surfmobile for transporting groups of surfers to the various spots: it will be a Peugeot, Volkswagen and a bus rider before the Paris-Biarritz.



A car Americans arrived this month for the European Surfing Championships Holiday won by Don Southern, before Bruce Woods, Steve Perrin and Jim Fitzpatrick. A traffic around planks U.S. because there is a big shortage of boards despite the efforts of Barland / Rott. It is also an opportunity to acquire all the news coming from across the Atlantic: tee-shirts, bermudas, frisbee, disco (skimboard round) ... Patou Cup, sponsored by the famous perfumer, was won by Eddy Ladd ahead of Jean-Marie Lartigau and Yves Dumon. As for the French championships, it is always at the bar and Philippe Gérard is climbing on top. The 2nd is Joël de Rosnay, the 3rd, Eddy Ladd. This year it was held the first world championships at Manly in Sydney. Faced with tens of thousands of spectators, Midget Farrelly became the first world champion to Mike Doyle and Joey Cabell. Joël de Rosnay made the trip and returns the first skateboard that offered him Phil Edwards.

1965: Surf and Surf School



For the 2nd World Championships in Peru in February, Gerard Philippe and Joel de Rosnay representing France. A first surf magazine is launched with Surf Atlantic. A new article appears on Surfer Magazine: "The fabulous french Surf. Following the initiative of Jo Moraiz import products from California and English and distribute a first born surfshop on place Ste-Eugénie, ideal for testing skateboards, and the first surf school. It is the first commercially suggest surfing business and investing for surfing.

READ MORE - The Origin of Surf in Europe : Part 2

Funny Memory

I come back on the last post made by Franksider, 

When I look at this picture, I see only one thing:

the house between the two surfers, my grandparents used to live on the third floor of this building... And I looked whole afternoons with binoculars those guys below on the waves with great "Boabab" boards.

I was impatient to make one day the same thing.

  

READ MORE - Funny Memory

The Origin of Surf in Europe Part 1

Thanks to Antony « Yep » Colas
« The World Stormrider Guide » autor and J.d.Rosnay

1956-1959
Despite rumors of a certain Jan Willem Coenraads Nederven having surfed the Netherlands in 30 years and attempts by Pedro Martins de Lima in 1953 on the beach of Caparica in Portugal that ended with a broken leg, it is commonly accepted that the birthplace of surfing in Europe is at Biarritz.



If September 1956 is the date of the beginnings of Viertel and Hennebutte, we tend to regard 1957 as the base year when a group started bubbling surfing on the road to posterity. If one often hears about the Tontons Surfers is more often to discuss the 60 years that actually the first years of its infancy surfing away from major California and Australia, forcing a handful of lovers of the Ocean compete ingenuity and courage to compensate for a lack physics (compared to athletes beaches Anglo-Saxon) related to non-professional sports and already advanced age (except for Joel de Rosnay). It is albums by Joel de Rosnay, meticulously labeled and illustrated recently scanned, that opens the pan still the most exciting in the history of surfing in France.

Before 1956: It was already playing in the waves
Before a surfboard not arrived in Biarritz, we had already realized that the waves could be useful and enjoyable. Because Biarritz was a fishing village, including whaling until the sixteenth century, we saw boats (and traînières) use foam to return to the board. Secondly, because Biarritz was in vogue des Bains de Mer from the nineteenth, bathers were quickly realized the fun side of swimming in the waves, known as the bodysurf. Then, some swimmers have built a "planky", a clipboard (90 cm x 40 cm) on the curved nose, to improve their slip on the wave. At that time, the spot of choice for planky is the Miramar.

The attempt nearest surf before the official date came from Jacky Rott in 1952, maker of plankys distributed in bazaars beach. After seeing a documentary on Pearl Harbor in 1952, Jacky lives a few seconds of surfing in Hawaii and tried to build a board and test it in the waves in Anglet and Ilbarritz. Unfortunately, can not imagine that there was a spoiler below and that of paraffin to prevent slippage, he had a sort of "planky long, perfectly smooth. Unable to control the equipment in the waves, let alone stand up, the board assomma one of his cronies and to split the force of hitting the rocks. Around 1935, the brothers have Uresti brought a plate of California but there were no indications to confirm this information.



1956: The surfers get up too.
It was during the filming of "The Sun also rises" from the novel by Hemingway, that Californians Peter Viertel and Dick Zanuck, filsdu famous theater director Darryl come to Biarritz. Dick is surf, brought to the knowledge of Peter, a surfboard with a striped black nose, which is imported from California in the boxes that carry cameras. When the plate arrived, Dick left in California and French customs demanded 170% tax. Peter trick with the Spanish border to avoid the tax and then into the water in front of Hemingway himself, with this plate made "illegally" without paraffin and without knowing how to use them. It is in the rocks that the board finishes its inexorable

course without being surf.


It Hennebutte Georges Peter Viertel said the repair and the next day, Hennebutte, 47 years and Viertel, 37, surf the waves in the Côte des Basques. At the same time, Hennebutte, the local Géotrouvetou, tries to develop a board inflatable Zodiac style bunches on both sides of a rigid structure. Perhaps he recalled qu'Hennebutte tried to develop in 1925 a plank in agglomerated cork, which broke in two under the weight of its user.

1957: The 4 musketeers!
Jacky Rott, returning from the war in Tunisia, took the ratings (3.40mx 65 cm x 7 cm) of the board of Viertel and two replica balsa. Before stratification, they weigh 15 kgs. and 25 kgs after! In the spring, without combination, the Jacky tries to head north of Hossegor and a wave takes place, the ecstasy! In June, Peter Viertel back quite a few sessions in California, with a board and 2nd, when he went to work in Spain, gives Joel de Rosnay, the first "Grommet" of the time, who at 19 years, made rapid progress. At the end of summer, the Basque Coast surfers now assiduous 4: Peter Viertel, Georges Hennebutte, Jacky Rott and Joel de Rosnay. Joel makes other followers, starting with Michel Barland of contructions mechanical engineer, who will soon to take measures and develop the "floating bidet," in which Henry Etcheparre only takes a standing wave the candle in Socoa. This is the 11 September 1957, the Journal of Biarritz publishes the first newspaper article on the surf.

1958: The first wave Australian



Peter Viertel brought in 3 boards Hobie Balsa from California. Park boards increasing the number of surfers can evolve. Young people who play to recover the lost boards have the right to make an attempt, that's how you begin surfing. Thus was born the first generation of what would later the Tonton Surfers: André Plumcoq, Robert Bergeruc, Pierre Laharrague, Joseph and Jo Moraïz and Bruno Reinhardt. Jacky Rott launches Neptune, the former mark of plates in France. He built a kind of airplane wing, planks against hollow-plated covered with varnish plasticoque. After the anti-skid gauze hard to stomach, cork drinking water is finally paraffin which becomes the ideal product for not drag on the top of the board. Then Barland Rott and combine to produce the first French models' serial plastic. As for Bruno Reinhardt, he made him a wooden plank varnished surfaces that time a wave before the break in two. In September a team of Australian Lifesavers comes to Biarritz and rescue demonstrations. The team came without planks swell and is non-existent for the duration of their stay except the last day when the Australians like Mike Hall, show what they can do: start drifting forward, up to two on a plate The premises ... turns discover that surfing is not to do than the wave length.

1959: The first surf club, the Waikiki



It is thanks to the Peruvian billionaire Carlos Dogny, founding president of the Waikiki Surf Club Lima, Peru was born September 16 Surfclub the first in France of the same name. The founding members are: Carlos Dogny, Peter Viertel, Jacques Rott, Georges Hennebutte, Joël de Rosnay and Michel Barland. Club members are: André Plumcocq Robert Bergeruc Pierre Laharague, Joseph and Jo Moraiz Paul Pondepeyre, Henri and Claude Durcudoy Etchepare. The moves to Waikiki institutions des Bains de la Côte des Basques, with a rack of thirty plates. At this time of Hennebutte develops the ankle, "then called" over the leg "that only his nephew, Claude Durcudoy, ends up adopting. It is ten years later that the U.S. patent Clark model "leash" The duo Barland / Rott produced the first polyurethane foam boards with polyester and fiberglass. Many unsuccessful attempts to mark the use of foam purchased from Rhone Poulenc.

READ MORE - The Origin of Surf in Europe Part 1

Good Vibes,Good Waves, and Funny new Year

READ MORE - Good Vibes,Good Waves, and Funny new Year

Off The Wall (Hossegor fr )

READ MORE - Off The Wall (Hossegor fr )

Fish n' Ships

today, a little bit of surf gear visuals, an eye refreshment !

READ MORE - Fish n' Ships

World Surf Spot 5 : Mundaka (Euzkadi)

A Famous Wave Returns to Spain


One of Europe's most famous waves disappeared three years ago, delivering a shock to the international surf community as well as a blow to tourism in the Basque village of Mundaka. But now the waves are rolling again.

The last Sunday of September in this Basque town on the Spanish coast wallows in an idyllic, late-summer quiet. Fitness-happy old men take their sagging bellies for a walk in the mirror-like sea. "Twenty times back and forth, then I'll be done," one of them says, while his wife, having planted a parasol in the sand, attends to the lives of the rich and famous in her magazine.

Mudaka, Spain, about forty kilometers northeast of Bilbao, isn't known as a haven for senior citizens. It's a famous surf Mecca, featuring Europe's best left-breaking wave. Surfers used to gather here every autumn for a professional contest -- until three years ago, when the wave simply disappeared, leaving Mundaka and its beaches to the retirees.

But now the wave is back, and so is the contest. The world-class "Billabong Pro Mundaka" runs this year from October 3-14, bringing flocks of surfers and tourists to the former fishing village.
The wave disappeared in the winter of 2003, after a local shipyard company called Murueta S.A. dredged the Guernica estuary at the mouth of the Oka River, ruining what turned out to be a very important sandbar. The dredging changed the flow of the river so drastically that the coastal seawater just blubbered and swayed where it used to rear up into a speeding curl. It was a catastrophe, not just for surfers but also for tourism in Mundaka -- not to mention the local hip clothing shops that had thrived in the area's bustling surf culture.
Thanks to : Sören Meschede

3feet of clean surf in Bilbao and Mundaka last week end

READ MORE - World Surf Spot 5 : Mundaka (Euzkadi)

The Silver Board Project

The Silver Surfer (or Norrin Radd) is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc fans and historians call "The Galactus Trilogy".



Originally a young astronomer of the planet Zenn-La, Norrin Radd made a bargain with a being, pledging himself to serve as his herald in order to save his home-world from destruction by the fearsome cosmic entity known as Galactus. Imbued in return with a tiny portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic, Radd acquired great powers and a new version of his original appearance. Galactus also created for Radd a surfboard-like craft — modeled after a childhood fantasy of his — on which he would travel at speeds beyond that of light.



Known from then on as the Silver Surfer, Radd began to roam the cosmos searching for new planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels finally took him to Earth, the Surfer came face-to-face with the Fantastic Four, a team of powerful superheroes that helped him to rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, the Surfer saved Earth but was punished in return by being exiled there.



The Chanel " Silver Board " Project :
A couple years ago and as every summer season Chanel ask me to design a new surfboard
the theme of the collection was the Silver Surfer...


This was the first season where i used a truster instead of a longboard and i ask my friend Philippe Barland to shape it as he knows how to do.
The grey color was matching with the grey of the collection but it was pretty hard to obtain this kind of color on a board so we had to paint it... Momo from Toulouse did it.



I like this board so much 'cause it looks like a gun or a sword. Frank

pics by Benoit Guerry aka Zecombi

READ MORE - The Silver Board Project

World Surf Spot 4 : Jeffrey's Bay

Thanks to surfline.com
The surf zone known as "J-Bay" to virtually every surfer on the planet is as complex as its name is simple. Not only has it been a perennial contender for world's-best-wave status; it's seen extraordinary social development in recent decades, with massive growth of its tourist industry matched by similar growth in the importance of surfing to the local economy.



Jeffreys Bay lies on the southern South African coastline, around 45 miles west of Port Elizabeth and several hours' drive east of Capetown. The township and most of the surf sits on the western tip of the bay, which stretches off to the east in a massive 15-mile arc of sand and rock- and fish-filled ocean -- strangely similar in dimensions and character to Grajagan Bay, its great Indonesian rival.

J-Bay's surf demands analysis. It relies on a long, curving lava reef that begins as a jagged south-facing outcrop and continues for at least a mile down the inside edge of the bay. Gaps in the reef line are supplanted by sand flow from beaches to the west, occasionally altering the character of some of the sections. From the top, J-Bay consists of Magnatubes, a peaky right and semi-left, more exposed to swell than most of the stretch, yet never linking to the major lineup, instead fizzling into a small sandy bay between it and the next section; Boneyards, a quick hollow right reef that predominates on smaller days and an occasional left, begins to close out toward the start of J-Bay's splendid premier section; Supertubes, an aptly named long slabby powerful wall, drawing larger swell energy from the upper reefs and funneling it for around 200 yards, letting the skilled surfer dictate the terms of a ride without ever seeming weak or unchallenging; Impossibles, often also aptly named, a series of shallow lava beds with long deepwater holes interrupting the wave, except during times of unusual sand buildup when the whole 150-yard section can become an extended barrel; Tubes, where the wave begins to slow and ease into the final connected section of wave; the Point, a mellow, playful wall flowing down into a final closeout across weed-softened reef and Albatross, farther across the bay, which is another piece of reef featuring a quick right. Some diehard J-Bay surfers claim that Albatross operates as the end section on extremely rare giant days.



J-Bay's main sections are not open to everyday swells. A strong storm from the southwest, or the unusual southeast, is needed to push waves into the bay. Such storms are almost always accompanied by offshore southwest winds.

The christening is thought to have occurred around Easter of 1964 when a crew of Capetown surfers, in route to a contest in Port Elizabeth, stopped for fish and chips at Coetzee's Fish Shop and stumbled on The Point. By then Jeffreys Bay was also a town, but a pretty sleepy little one - just a hotel, a few stores, and some vacation houses built by wealthy inland farmers who'd come down to the coast for Christmas. Aside from the harsh dusty township on the northern fringes, where apartheid held the black African population in check, it must've looked a bit like some little coastal town north of San Francisco, or maybe Lennox Head in Australia. In other words, a perfect escape zone for South African surf hippies looking for a way out, and as J-Bay's reputation grew, down they came; guys like "Shorty" Bronkhorst, Bruce Gold, Ant Van Den Heuvel, and others who decided that if being a surfer in 1960s South Africa meant going feral, then feral they would go.



In 1978, the Santa Barbara filmmaker Greg Huglin released his great surf movie Fantasea, complete with perhaps the best Jeffreys ever shot: roaring 6- to 10-foot walls being massacred by a classic lineup of the day's champions, who'd raced down from the Gunston 500 event 700 miles north in Durban. The movie cemented J-Bay as one of the must-visits on the steadily growing world good-wave adventure tour, coincidentally just as Grajagan was slowly coming to public light.



J-Bay's remote aspect and lack of development made it a favored escape route for a new kind of surfer: the shady expatriate. Miki Dora and Mike Tabeling were just two Americans who decided they'd found somewhere with two key attributes -- excellent right-breaking waves and no U.S. Embassy for thousands of miles. But Jeffreys today is a somewhat far cry from Hippie Central. The point is lined with houses and well-maintained parking lots, and literally thousands of big holiday apartments and summer homes have sprung up all over the place in the past 15 years. Surfers are important citizens in J-Bay. Cheron Kraak -- owner of Country Feeling Clothing and Billabong South Africa and the only female senior surf industry owner operator in the world --employs more than 200 people and runs the biggest business in town. If you surf on good days, you'll run into members of the Jeffreys Bay Underground, the heavy locals, who wear white rash vests with their insignia over their full suits. And if you go surfing on smaller days, you'll run into a pack of incredible pint-size grommets, soon to be leaving arguably the world's best wave in search of validity on the WQS. -- Nick Carroll, January 2001

READ MORE - World Surf Spot 4 : Jeffrey's Bay

Longboard world championship San Clemente (CAL)

...And the winner is "Booooonnga Perkins" !

The final and whole world title was done the wire – the iconic Hawaiian against the young Frenchman. Antoine Delpero is a natural stylist. Even in contests Antoine’s rides form an elegant whole, not a set of disconnected, isolated moves. He constantly flows from turn to turn, walk to noseride, shifting weight with immense subtlety and nuance. His sinuous noserides and soul-arch hang tens, mixed with big manoeuvres, were well suited to the cobble groomed peelers at San O. But it was magnanimous Hawaiian Bonga Perkins who took a long overdue second World Title, winning the Oxbow WLT. The gregarious Bonga proved how hyper talented he is, scoring a quiver of insane rides in the final, hanging ten with poise, and then exploding into power turns. Bonga is the best waterman in the field. He surfed with focus and flair all week, tattering the sets at San O with beyond vertical turns and a display of uncanny timing and anticipation. Oahu legends Rusty Keaulana and Dino Miranda dominated the World Longboard crown between 1993 and 1997. Now the legend Bonga adds another World title in 2008 to the one he won ten years ago in Guethary, France.



What if the world longboard renewal came from the Mediterranean ? And most precisely from the city of Marseille ? Antoine Delpero, proudly representing the famous city, has engraved his step into longboarding for a few year now. Fully loaded with his petanque bowls, his constant smile and unique style, he's patiently made his spath through the world elite. Living in the Basque Country for many years now, Antoine has raised the bar of his surfing by riding the Atlantic waves and finaly winning the famous Biarritz Surf Festival in 2005. Despite the fact that the contest didn't crown a world champ that year, winning such a prestigious and unique event was considered as winning a major title. A premiere for a french surfer. Antoine will enter the Oxbow Pro as a local and Oxbow wildcard and will aim the world crown with the highest motivation and support from his fan. This young man could be THE next big thing of world longboarding.

READ MORE - Longboard world championship San Clemente (CAL)

World Surf Spot 3 : Mavericks (Half Moon Bay)

On the road to Half Moon Bay

"The first time that I heard the name Mavericks was in 1968, when I surfed inside the rocks there with Walt Von Hauffe and a couple of friends," explains Mavericks surfing pioneer and legend Jeff Clark. "At that time Walt owned the Von's Cinema in Half Moon Bay, a popular hangout for the kids in the neighborhood. This was a time when you could drive to the end of Pillar Point and park right at the beach, then walk up the hill to see past Sail Rock where the big waves would break.


"The first time that I heard the name Maverick's or Mavericks is a world-famous, but for some a notorious and deadly, surfing location in Northern California. It is located approximately one-half mile (0.8 km) from shore in Pillar Point Harbor, just north of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea. After a strong winter storm has occurred in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet (8m) and top out at over 50 feet (15m). The break is caused by an unusually-shaped underwater rock formation.

Mavericks is a winter destination for some of the world's premier big wave surfers. Very few riders become big wave surfers; and of those, only a select few are willing to risk the hazardous conditions at Maverick's. An invitation-only contest is held there every winter, depending on wave conditions.



The Origin of the Name
In early March 1961, three surfers, Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, and Dick Knottmeyer, decided to try the distant waves off Pillar Point. With them was a white-haired German Shepherd named Maverick, owned by a roommate of Matienzo. Maverick was used to swimming out with his owner, or with Matienzo, while they were out surfing.
The trio left Maverick on shore, but he swam out and caught up with them. Finding the conditions too unsafe for the dog, Matienzo paddled back in and tied Maverick to the car bumper, before rejoining the others. The riders had limited success that day, surfing the tail end of the break and generally deeming the conditions too dangerous.

They decided to name the point after Maverick, who seemed to have gotten the most out of the experience. It became known as "Maverick's Point", and later simply "Maverick's".

In the Special Features section of Riding Giants, Jeff Clark is said to be the next person to surf Mavericks (1975) mentioning that his junior high teacher used to refer to this distant break as Mavericks.


Jeff Clark's Discovery
Jeff Clark, having grown up near Half Moon Bay, learned about Maverick's at an early age. At that time the location was deemed too dangerous to surf. He spent time watching the break, and conceived the possibility of riding Hawaii-sized waves right there in Northern California. One day in 1975, with the waves topping out at 10 to 12 feet, Clark paddled out alone to face Maverick's. He was successful, catching a number of left-breaking waves, thereby becoming the first person to tackle Maverick's head-on.

For the next 15 years, Clark continued surfing Maverick's alone. It was Clark's secret winter 'giant north shore-sized surf' surfing spot. Other than a few close friends who had paddled out and seen Maverick's themselves, no one believed in its existence. The popular opinion of the time was that there simply were no large, Hawaii-sized waves in California.

The next two people to surf at Maverick's, on January 22, 1990, in the company of Clark, were Dave Schmidt (brother of big wave legend Richard Schmidt) and Tom Powers, both from Santa Cruz. John Raymond, from Pacifica, and Mark Renneker, from San Francisco, surfed Maverick's a few days later.





Sea floor mapping
Sea-floor maps released by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2007 revealed why Maverick's waves form where they do. A long, sloping ramp leads up to the surface under the wavebreak. The presence of this ramp slows the propagation of the ocean wavefront over it. The wavefront in the deep water troughs on each side of the ramp continues at full speed forming two angles in the wavefront centered over each of the boundaries between the ramp and the two troughs. The result of this is a V-shaped wavefront on the ramp that contains the energy from the full width of the ramp. This V-shaped wave then collapses into a small area in the center at the top of the ramp with tremendous force.




Popular Discovery of Maverick's
In 1990, a photo of Maverick's taken by Steve Tadin, a friend of Clark, was published in Surfer magazine. This event triggered a flood of interest in Maverick's as surfers realized that world-class big waves could be found in California. Over the next couple years, more photos of Maverick's began showing up in surfing magazines, and before long, filmmaker Gary Mederios released a movie about Maverick's, Waves of Adventure in the Red Triangle. As news of Maverick's spread, many big-wave surfers came and surfed the new break.


The Death of Mark Foo at Maverick's
The next major event occurred on December 23, 1994. During a week of huge swells Mark Foo, Ken Bradshaw, Brock Little, Mike Parsons, and Evan Slater came from Oahu, Hawaii's north shore to surf the big surf of Maverick's. Such was a major event in the history of Maverick's for reputable Hawaiian big wave riders to travel to the U.S. mainland to sample the waves of this little-known big wave riding beach. Unfortunately, the joyous occasion is remembered for its tragic outcome. One of the visitors, the popular and famed Hawaiian big-wave rider Mark Foo, would die while surfing Maverick's with the other Hawaiian visitors and local riders.

Foo's fatal ride occurred in late morning of the first day (December 23, 1994) of riding when (as revealed later on video film), on a late takeoff into an 18-foot wave, Foo caught the edge of his surfboard on the surface of a routine sized big wave and fell into a 'wipe out'. No one knows whether Foo may have been knocked unconscious by his surfboard in the thrashing whitewater of the 'wipe out', got tangled in his 'leash' (the cord that keeps the surfboard attached to the surfer), the leash may have tangled into the rock beneath the ocean, or Foo may have gotten confused in the darkness underwater and failed to float or swim in the correct direction to the surface for air. After a short period of time, fellow surfers became aware that they hadn't seen Foo riding waves anymore, and began urgently searching for him and his surfboard all around the Maverick's beach, nearby parking lots, and surfing water. Sadly, a few hours later Foo's drowned body was found washed toward the shore, floating just under the water surface, with a piece of his surfboard still attached by the leash to his ankle. News of Foo's death instantly traveled to the far reaches of the surfing sport around the globe. Newspapers and watersports magazines extensively covered the loss. The citizens of the Hawaiian Islands (Foo's home) and the surfing world mourned his passing. The unfortunate loss gave Maverick's deadly surf a new warranted, but unwanted notoriety, but also prompted the formation of the Maverick's Water Patrol to protect big wave surfers when they are performing in the dangerous winter surf.



In the surfing sport, Mark Foo's death has brought about a continuing discourse regarding the safe use on extreme size waves of surfboard 'leashes' (a flexible plastic cord which connects, by an ankle belt, surfboards to the ankle of the trailing leg of the surfer when he's riding his surfboard). Many in the surfing sport believe that Foo's surfboard leash may have caused or contributed to his death. The leash proponents defend the leash as a useful convenience and as insurance against losing the surfboard, a form of flotation device, in case of a 'wipe out', and the leash is a means for the fallen surfer to find their way to the surface air by following the leash cord to the floating surfboard above them on the water surface. Opponents of surfboard leashes in big surf state that a leash can cause the surfrider to collide with his board in a 'wipe out', causing head injuries, and the leash can also loop around arms, legs or the surfer's neck when underwater, and thus dangerously restrict movement to safety or, worse, strangle the surfer with his own leash. Quick-release velcro tear-open-collared leashes have since become standard surfing equipment to address some, but not all, of these dangers. The debates and concerns continue unresolved to this date, and these worthwhile discussions of water safety are, perhaps, the legacy of Foo's unfortunate demise.


Current Popularity
The first big-wave surfing contest at Maverick's was held in 1999. The competition resulted in Darryl Virostko ("Flea"), Richard Schmidt, Ross Clarke-Jones, and Peter Mel taking first, second, third, and fourth places, respectively. The second competition was held the following year and put Darryl Virostko, Kelly Slater, Tony Ray, Peter Mel, Zach Wormhoudt, and Matt Ambrose in first through sixth places. In 2004, with Darryl Virostko, Matt Ambrose, Evan Slater, Anthony Tashnick, Peter Mel, and Grant Washburn placing in spots first through sixth. The 2005 winner was Anthony Tashnick. In 2006, Grant Baker, from South Africa, won first place, with Tyler Smith (Santa Cruz) and Brock Little (Hawai'i) in second and third places. The 2007 contest was called off by organizers because unusually mild weather resulted in no days with suitable waves by the end of March, the usual cutoff time for holding the competition. In 2008, Greg Long, from San Clemente, was crowned Maverick's Champion, Grant Baker (South Africa) won second place and Jamie Sterling (Hawai'i) won third place, followed by Tyler Smith in fourth, Grant Washburn in fifth, and Evan Slater in sixth.

In October 2006, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary proposed barring personal watercraft from Maverick's, which led to disputes within the sport.

Alonzo Wiemers




Maverick's in film
The first video images were shot by Eric W. Nelson in February 1990. On that sunny day Jeff Clark paddled out with Dave Schmidt and Tom Powers. Eric was shooting for his community access television show 'Powerlines Surf-Spots'. This would be the genesis of the Powerlines Productions company that showcases big wave surfing around the Globe.

Eric's first movie was 'High Noon at Low Tide' 1994/2005. In 1998 he produced another big wave documentary 'Twenty Feet Under'. Meanwhile Curt Myers, another local filmmaker, had produced 'Shifting Peaks' and 'Heavy Water' 94/95.

On December 11, 1998, during a big Northwest open ocean swell reaching 20-25 feet, Curt Myers was shooting from the water and Eric was shooting from land. On this memorable swell they joined forces and produced the mini documentary 'twelveleven'. On this day Powerlines Productions was born.

Jeff Clark and Maverick's are featured in the 1998 documentary Maverick's, a one hour PBS film that chronicles the break's early years, and the 2004 film Riding Giants, which documents the history of big wave surfing. Directed by skateboarder turned documentary producer Stacey Peralta (best known for the skating documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys), Riding Giants includes interviews and commentary materials with many of the surfers mentioned in this article.

In the film Zoolander, Owen Wilson's character's retinue includes a big wave surfer from Maverick's.

READ MORE - World Surf Spot 3 : Mavericks (Half Moon Bay)

World Surf Spot 2 : Baja (Mexico)

Baja Norte

When Surfing Baja you can leave your problems at the border. Just imagine Surfing in Baja you and your friends Surfing almost perfect waves with No Crowds! Surfing Baja California has everything you could want relaxed environment, cool people, cheap tasty tacos and cold Cervezas, just make sure you get MEXICAN INSURANCE. In "Baja Norte" or to us gringos Northern Baja the Baja surfing is amazing. Northern Baja California has some of the best Baja Surfing, particularly on a south or southwest swell. When Surfing In Baja the conditions are somewhat similar to Southern California. When Surfing in Baja during the months of October to April the water temperature ranges between 50 and 60 degrees, so it is always best to wear a full suit and booties when Surfing Baja California. Swells during the winter period typically come from the West to Northwest and are fairly consistent. During the winter months with the exception of Hawaii, the waves at Islas Todos Santos off the coast of Ensenada are said to be the biggest waves in the Pacific. Summer months offer the best of Baja Surfing with spring suit to trunk conditions with temperatures ranging from high 60's to mid 70's. Swells during this time period typically range from south to southwest. Bajasurfbreaks.com has put together a comprehensive guide to Surfing in Baja California.

Baja Sur



In “Baja Sur” or to us gringos Southern Baja the surfing is amazing. Southern Baja California has some of the best Baja Surf, particularly on a South or Southwest swell. When Surfing In Baja the conditions are somewhat similar to Southern California. When Surfing In Baja during the months of October to April the water temperature is warmer than it is in Northern Baja, but you still might want to wear a full suit. Swells during the winter period typically come from the West to Northwest and are fairly consistent. Summer months offer the best of Surfing in Baja with trunk conditions. Swells during this time period typically range from South to Southwest.

READ MORE - World Surf Spot 2 : Baja (Mexico)

Extreme Surf ... its Wild

By Benjamin Marcus
Offering a history of extreme surf's evolution, this book takes readers to the most remote, most popular, and most dangerous surfing spots. It features images of the longest, fastest, coldest and warmest waves.

Ranking of the World's biggest Wave :

1) Jaws, Maui, Hawaii
2) Todos Santos, Mexico
3) Mavericks, California
4) Cortes Bank, Mexico/California
5) Puerto Escondido, Mexico
6) Dungeons, South Africa
7) Wimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii
8) Punta Lobos, Chile
9) Ghost Trees, California
10) Belharra, Euzkadi/France
11) Teahupoo, Tahiti
12) Outer Bommie, Western Australia
13) Playa Gris, Spain
14) El Buey, Chile



Extreme Surf illustrates the most extreme surfing behaviour. It explores the candidates for the world's gnarliest wave and the fastest. It journeys up the Amazone to reveal the fearsome pororoca and travels to England for a surf ride that can last over an hour and where the major hazards are dead sheep, trees and old refrigerators...

READ MORE - Extreme Surf ... its Wild

World Surf Spot 1 : Hawaii

For all of u guys who are surfers, big or small wave riders we are going to make a best spots world trip ...
Of course i'm waiting ' your comments, secret spots ..., etc
As i have to start somewhere out of my beloved Basque country, lets go to Hawaii



Surf enthusiast out there are always looking to catch the perfect wave. During one’s surf career, he or she might experience any combination of a variety of waves and rides while surfing, but some of the best surfing by far takes place in the island state of Hawaii.
The home of surfing. Pipeline, Sunset Beach, Waimea, Jaws. Big big waves. World class surf.

Pipeline


The above pretty much sums up Hawaii. You have not made it as a world class surfer if you have not made it on the North Shore. Look in any international surfing magazine and it will not take you too long to find a picture of a Hawaiian wave. It is a place truly blessed with top quality waves and swell.

Oahu


Each of the Hawaiian islands gets its share of the huge swells generated from October to March, but undoubtedly the North Shore is the place that receives the most attention. The location of its breaks makes surfing a fantastic spectator sport. Pipeline seems to breaks right off the beach, its almost like you are in the line up.

Jaws


Hawaii receives numerous swells from October to March, generated from deep lows tracking across the North Pacific. The swells can be anywhere in the region of 10-30ft - now that is big surf. That said, the North Shore is often flat, but when it is going off there are large crowds, huge crowd pressure and localism. Respect has to be earned. A surf trip to Hawaii will be better spent away from the North Shore as there are no shortage of spots and less crowding elsewhere. The other side of the islands see frequent 3-8ft waves so you will not be missing out too badly.



It is a fantastic place for a surf vacation or regular holiday, and although not the place for the novice surfer it is still a great place to visit just for the spectacle of surfing.
A big thanks to : globalsurfers

READ MORE - World Surf Spot 1 : Hawaii

Royal Single Trophy (Biarritz)

Joel Tudor Longboard Icon, (my personal surf idol!)

READ MORE - Royal Single Trophy (Biarritz)

surf photography

I like these pics especially for their incomparable water colors and clean conditions of shoot 

great job Stephane!

check the Website from this south man

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my homespot

my homespot on a clean off-shore november afternoon, i remember clearly this day, my friends too...

READ MORE - my homespot