Zen and Zero

Zen and Zero runs a line somewhere between 'the far shore' and 'Fear and loathing in las vegas' as 6 Austrian surfers (yep Austria's landlocked) traveling from the usa down to Central America in search of their 'captain Zero' ..Surf writer Allan Weisbecker !
This DVD does sucessfully strip surfing back to the explorer/feral traveler roots that saw surfers become prolific wave finders throughout the 70's and 80's before surf camps and package tours.

What gives this film the extra drive to make it special is the narration that fits like a glove and a soundtrack thats inspired in delivering an end result that is a live vibrant feel despite a lack of pro surfers and spectacular surfing moves..

Personally i loved the great editing , sick camera angles some Zen ramblings and a glimpse of the surfing worlds greatest writer?!
How good is this dvd ? I've watched it 3 times in 9 days !

Running time: 90min
Rating : 4.5/5
It is no surprise this surf film is picking up loads of awards
Awards Won :BEST of FEST ADVENTURE FILM: Tahoe-Reno Int. Film Festival, BEST FILM: Surf Film Festival St Jean de Luz, France, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST STORY: X-Dance-Action Sports Film Festival, Park City, USA (Nominee: Best Film, Best Original Score) DIRECTOR'S AWARD: Santa Cruz Int. Film Festival, USA BEST PHOTOGRAPHY: II Festival Internacional de Cinema Surf, Brazil USA BEST PHOTOGRAPHY: Pichilemu Surf Film Festival, Chile.

From carving to carving

A brief time line history of how we got to where we are.
A wholly inaccurate explanation of our ancestors and how our past was shaped.

3000 B.C. The riding of reed rafts sitting or standing was practiced by Peruvians.

200 B.C sandwich islanders (Hawaii) are carving olo – a long wili- wili (balsa like) surfboard six inches thick through centre of board with a convex top and bottom shape so edges bevelled to ½ inch all round these boards were also shaped of koa (mahogany) but normally only for alii (chiefs).
The other type was the alaia surfboard about 12 foot long for an adult and 1 ½ inches thick through the centre bevelling off to ¼ inch on the edge.
Lightning bolts were a common deck symbol.

1900 first imported Californian redwood and iron tools used for shaping surfboards in Hawaii.

1926 Tom Blake carves first hollow ‘cigar board’ a hollowed out olo board.

1932 Blake starts manufacturing hollow paddleboards (toothpicks) he later goes on to invent windsurfing, patent the surfboard fin.

1934 hot curl boards ‘olo’s with their back hacked off’ get surfers in the power pocket for the first time.

1945 Gardner Chaplin (Miki Dora’s step dad) meets Bob Simmons an aircraft engineer injured in an accident and introduces him to surfing. Bob promises to be surfing’s first innovator.

1947 Pete Peterson builds a hollow fiberglass surfboard.

1948 Bob Simmons builds a balsa railed Styrofoam centered fiberglass covered surfboard. Surfers everywhere say “on ya bob”

1955 Dale Velzy and Hap Jacobs develop and use router jig for shaping. (Early CNC ‘computer numerical coding’ shaper)

1957 Dave sweet starts building polyurethane foam surfboards.
Dow chemical hooks Hobie Alter up a couple of free polystyrene blanks but he deemed to light when test ridden? What?


1962 Barry Bennett starts blowing blanks in Australia.
1963 Average board is 9 feet 6 inches
1968 The short board revolution is starting, in a year boards lose 2-3 feet in length and hanging ten is nearly extinct. Australians Nat Young and Bob Mctavish lead the charge.
George Greenough on his kneeboard spoon was a major influence as he could get right in the barrel and turn hard on the face of the wave. Thank you George!!!!
Surfers leave the “sport” in droves unable to handle the short boards and unwilling to be uncool enough to stay with longer boards.
Average board is 6 foot 3 inches.
1971 July 7th Tom Morey plays around with Insulite foam and poly-ethylene and calls it the “boogie board” which goes on to become the most popular surf craft ever. Speaking of popular, the ‘kook cord’ was introduced much to the soul surfers’ disgust for about 6 months, and then it was widely accepted by all.
Cue early 70’s surf boom.

1972 First honeycomb surfboard developed by aqua jet!! (Thirty years later Salomon reintroduced this as ‘new’ technology)
1975 Renny Yater uses a computer to analyse volumetric efficiency and efficiency of template arcs and curves on surfboard design.
1979 CNC shaping for surfboards is first used.
Also Mark Richards was influenced by a board Ben Apia lent him which launches the ‘twin fin’ era, with style.


1980’s Maybe the drugs ran out cos the ideas sure did.
Apart from surfer’s starting to being influenced by skateboard style manoeuvres.
And that inauspicious day when Simon Anderson introduced what many people would later refer to as the ‘leg rope of the 80’s’, the thruster surfboard. The thruster was a direct reaction to the inability of many surfers to ride the pivoty twin fin. Suddenly with this user friendly board, surfing became as popular as tits. Thanks Simon.
1990’s saw the introduction of close tolerance foam blanks saving shapers precious time.
1991 Randy French makes epoxy fibreglass prototype surfboards promising stronger lighter surfboards, but the conservative surfing public isn’t ready.
1996 Greg Loehr introduces epoxy fibreglass sandwich ‘syntech boards’, twenty times stronger than polyester boards.
2000 In this new millennium, we can conclude that construction of our surf craft hasn’t changed much in 35 years; we just have a wider variety of board shapes.
Long and Short boarding are now on level pegging in popularity and innovation and as the construction methods for our craft finally edge their way towards being less environmentally damaging. This has been made possible with the introduction of stronger sun cure resins, quality epoxy sandwich construction and more resources being put into maintaining flex and feel while retaining strength.

Like the ancients we try to spend as much time as possible in the ocean, we thank Huey for the waves, grab what we’ve been able to craft or trade our time to buy and head out back for that beautiful ride to the shore.
I don’t give a fig what it’s made of but I try to buy locally made if it’s competitively priced and good quality.
If one day I couldn’t afford a board I’m sure I’d just go out and bodysurf it because it’s the ocean and me not the craft that matters anyway.

First light

Last week the missus attended a premier
held by Otago surf adventure film maker Guy Ryan.

Fortunately for me she grabbed a copy of 'First Light' for my perusal,
Guy is a student at Otago uni and this is his second production
the first is included in the bonus section of this disc .

While short at just over 10 min this film is a sweet little nugget of refined Otago gold
Guy has injected style and originality into every second with soulful lineup shots and some froth inducing empty wave pans, which when combined with good performances by the local crew really sets this Dvd firmly in the dvd player for a quick blast before heading out for some peelers.
Special mention goes to the sick soundtrack by Oli Cameron who won Otago universities Mothra film award for his sweet sounds.

Rating; 4/5 great work but too short.
Running time; 10 min plus 30 min of extras inc 'lines of creation'
Watch when; you got 10mins before you hit it.

Is winter over early in 2007

Almost over night the water has warmed up and turned green. With summer comes longer sessions beautiful sunsets and crowds of townies. I love being a solar powered surfer.

Carver C7....... Ultimate Trucks ..?

The "Feel" when driving down the line or turning when surfing or snowboarding is utterly unique and many surfers and snowboarders have tried to replicate that feel on the land with boards like the "freeboard " or "Tierney rides" and to some extent they've succeeded in snowboard style turns but surf feel was harder to replicate .
A couple of months ago i got the chance to try the latest innovation in surf style skate trucks and at $160 NZ it felt a bit of a risk i mean throwing the flowboard into the creek cos it reeked cost me half that !!

So loving a risk..... a ? fool? and his money were soon parted !!
and a few days later a new set of trucks and an inch of riser pads arrived ? so i fit half of em...
15 minutes later the decks setup and I'm off for a pre-work skate the trucks took about 5 mins to push to their limit and for me to realize the rest of the riser pads were needed .

Who'd know it... i'm no Fool (in this purchase anyway)
these trucks blow minds .. drop and grab rail for a cranking turn and you better be hanging off the board cos she'll turn on the spot
They're amazing !! suddenly small spaces are so much fun and hills are screaming at you too carve them up BUT a word of warning these trucks will cause problems....
you'll wear out wheels ,
get kicked out of the corner dairy for sk8ing over to the bread racks
and the missus will leave you cos you can't stop skating in the house.

Rating : 5.5/5 too good to be true.
Use when : The surfs flat (or you just wanna skate more than you wanna surf)
Warning : wear safety gear so you can push your limits and sk8 safe,
Also : Don't lend trucks to friends as it will cause them to have moral dilemmas as to giving them back.
Recommended setup : 36-38" concave double kick deck ,Skf bearings , Abec 11 no skools 65mm 81a duro wheels.
Watch: Concrete skate

Make you smile >>>

Seldom does real innovation and creativity bust it's way out of the background and into the foreground.
This dvd really shakes the longboard skateboard establishment...
so if the melting snow is driving you to get your "fix" elsewhere then look no further than the longboard revival .
Featuring a series of small films on diffrent themes ranging from Adam Coultons skate across America to the art of ?? skate "dancing" .
"Damn i need to be drunk to dance " may be what your thinking ... but that ain't so ,
It's all style and rhythm as you roll down the street and it's fantastic balance training blended with stand up slides and sweet glides.
And the chance you've seen these skills before is slim.
All that said the real filth of this dvd is the fantastic composition of the films..
just check this out... trailer
Favorite section: Adam picks up his "girlfriend" for a skate date .
Running time: 150 mins .
Rating: 4.5/5.
Watch when: Your style need to come out!

Freakside

The greatest thing to happen to surf dvds in recent times is they're free with surf magazines so we get them "free' and surfers get their skills out to more people quicker than if we had to pay for the pleasure.
This offering is produced/directed/editing and staring Jamie O'brian which begs the question "was he taking on too much ?" well jamie loves to charge !
Freakside showcases some charging in jamie's "backyard" and also surf heaven ..bali so obviously some heaving barrels and skillful drops are going down and while jamie has indisputable skills the best styles are strangely claimed in the section starring Betet, Kerr, Chapman, Syrana and john john.
overall a good amping dvd with good music but would it have been sweeter if jamie shared the job around ?
Rating:3.5/5
Best section :Jamie learns to surf at Bali surf school,Catto's sik start segment.
Running time :30 min
Watch when : your local Hawaii is going off.
P.S STAB was a great magazine

Salani Surf Resort- Are Surf Resorts the Go

So are you sick of winter and want to break out of the winter Dero habits that set in when the onshores blow and sun ain't shinning. Well we did and this is what we found. Non of the nine crew had ever been to Samoa so it was the obvious choice to check out. The budget was set at $2000 for an all in package. The boys did some research and thanks to the ever traveled Pete Head at Island Holidays the job was done with ease. With most of us on the strictest of budgets and very little time off work we just needed the closest flight with ease of surfing everyday, Salani was by far the standout spot.

Situated on the mouth of a river is 8 Fales that all look out towards the very fast hollow left reef of Salani. It was the perfect location, with great surroundings and lots of stuff for the crew to do on the down time. I liked the beer, Marty liked the Banana Blasters, but some of the guys actually git active and went fishing but only caught the power lines while others paddled their kayaks upo the river. Mind you wew were up at 6:30 eveyrday and in the boat to head straight out for a wave. Except me, Iliked getting another hours sleep, having a coffee and waiting to hear what it was like. After the coffe one of the Boatman would ask if I was ready and I would nod and head out. No need to rush with boats at your disposal.

The Boatman were all good guys, typical surfers, not much to say unless they were talking about themselves. Daniel came from Hawaii, JP from South Africa (he had never surfed there) and a kiwi from the Mount James Mitchell. The guys were buzzing about the eagerness of our crew. To be honest we never scored the reef epic but we did score waves and the guys surfed at least twice a day on the 7 day adventure. I am a bit more picky and selective but I almost surfed at least once a day.
The Resort had a long hollow left that I never got to surf and on the other side of the pass a short hollow right that packed a shit load of power. There were many trips to the bottom of the reef and many battle stories being told. Every now and then one rouge wave would show the true potential of Salani Rights and rifle down the reef with a gapping chasm.

Like I said we never scored it but we were taken to one of the most beautiful surf spots I have ever been to. Known as a secret spot I won't go in to it as the first American with money would be all over it. The Package we paid for covered everything, 3 square meals a day, boat tramsfers, flights and even all the little tourist things we did. I told you I was on a budget so I watched my money carefully and after a week I had spent $260 on alchol and $4o on Poker. Not bad in my thinking, all that fun surf and sleep for $2000.00.


I know you are probably thinking you can do it cheaper, and you can, but why bother when you can switch your brain off and just go with the flow. No worries just a bunch of mates having fun.
I rate Salani 7/10, it missed a pool to hang out in but the food was amazing. Best time to go according to Nick the manager is In Feb when the winds are settled and the swell comes from the south and the north opening up all of Samoa tobe surfed. We got the nasty trades but we still scored some good waves. Good luck searching.

Riki Mitchell

Winter in Dunnos June - July

Winter 2007 in the Far South, often forgotten.. thankfully, the land of stickerless boards & bad light selfishly basks in tranquil 8-9 degree water. The feature of the 2007 midwinter swell consisted of a series of intense South East swells which gouged out massive bites of our coastline. Bizarre banks have formed, and some have disappeared, but waves were aplenty if you knew where to go.

Above: a fave spot up the peninsular somewhere late on a winters afternoon.
Below 4: Blackhead pumps



Below left: un-named spot past Brighton. Right: just another day in the lineup at St Clair

Below 4: Early morning light up north a bit.




Above 2: St Clair on the inside.

This winter the Otago beaches suffered great change with incredible losses of sand on our beaches up and down the coast. Most dramatically along the sand dunes of St Clair to St Kilda when on the 3rd of July a beach emergency was declared after 6 weeks of South East swells ate out tens of thousands of cubic metres of frontal dunes threatening to inundate the area of South Dunedin. Check out a short video of stills of the 6 week window of devastation.

Samoa and the Bigger ones that packed the goodies

Sucks to be you - Samoa

Redg trying to avoid the lip but ended up visiting the reef and the inside lagoon

Sorry Redg- 1st one to go over the falls

I thought he was going to make this for some silly reason

The Nine Riders of Aotearoa

At the beginning of the year a few of us had decided that this was the year that we headed back to the tropics for some perfect Polynesian waves. As time grew closer so did the amount of people going. What started as 4 ended up to be an instant crowd of 9. The 9 consisted mainly of Auckland surfers with a couple of imports from the Waikato chucked in for good luck. All levels of surfers were represented amongst this crew, even a token Maori longboarder to keep the line up in check.

Mark

Cam

Richard

Ian

Marcus

Todd

Matariki

Tim

Home Sweet Home

7 Days 9 Surfers and no grommets, the riders crew make it home in one piece and have over 200 photos to wade through. Stay tuned as The Boss reviews Salani Surf Resort and we talk Samoan Waves. Its good to be home... maybe?

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