Tracks August 2015

GO YOUR OWN WAY BEING A MISFIT MIGHT BE MORE FUN THAN FITTING IN Growing up I remember plenty of wave-chasing misfits at my local beach but I had two favourites. Concerto Pete taught piano as a regular gig but his musical gifts also leant themselves to intricate hand jiving and dazzling body-English on the board. As he glided across a wave his fingers danced like he was trying to tickle the ivories and every turn seemed made in time with the classical music riff that was running through his head. When the surf was bad it didn’t really bother him because he could always take off and start jamming to Mozart mid-wave. Then there was Guru Holland. The only time anyone ever beat him out for the early was…

I first heard of Brett Burcher a few years ago now. There was a photo of him in Tracks, showing him hurtling down a massive slab, all Bintang bottle green with turquoise highlights in the lip. I assumed it was one of the demonic south coast reefs that back then were still considered non-waves by most. He appeared calm and meditative in the midst of a very late drop. Despite my safe vantage point from a sofa, his poise exceeded mine. Since then, his name has appeared with increasing regularity in heavy water surfing circles. Despite my dislike of buzz words and catchy slogans (don't ever use words like "caramelised", "proactive" or, worst of all, "gifted" around me) I suppose you would call him a "slab hunter". I figured he…

When our Tracks inbox was hit with images of Shane Dorian cannon-balling through luminous, emerald pits in the land of leprechauns, Guinness and shamrocks we couldn't help but wonder if Shane was of Irish stock. The answer to our ancestral query was evident before we even read Lord Dorian's reply to our email. It wasn't "Shane" that came up in our inbox but rather "Patrick Dorian". Shane's full name is of course the very Irish-sounding Patrick Shane Dorian. Via email Shane explained that Ireland had been on his bucket list for a long time, but he was just waiting for the right moment to embrace his heritage. "I've heard so much about Ireland from friends that have been over the years. My father's family is originally from Ireland and I've…

PM WIPES OUT! IS HE A KOOK? A different letter for your consideration. Far be it from me to bring Politics into the mix. I mean social activism, awareness and environmental politics have been at the core of Tracks since its inception (considering the cover photo of the first issue) These days the only real politics discussed are surf politics and why not, sure the controversy surrounding Gabriel Medina dropping the F-Bomb after his spat with Glenn Hall and Kieran Perrow makes for good reading. I know surfers are environmentally conscious and care about the state of the nation. I know no one wants the see coal seam gas win, and I know no one wants to see dredge spoil dumped on one of the most beautiful natural wonders of…

Maroubra in Sydney’s east is experiencing a boom right now. People who have been driven out of Bondi and Bronte by high prices have resorted to blowing into the suburb in a last ditch attempt to clutch affordable property in the eastern suburbs – only a stones throw from the city. Meanwhile, there are certain parallels occurring in the ocean with a handful of locals beginning to make a name for themselves in junior events and on the web. Jackson Giles is one of them. The third generation Maroubra local has already carved out of a nice little chunk of coin from the Junior Series and is now - with the Junior Series age being reduced to 18 - focusing on grinding it out on the ’QS. And, like a…

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