Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2015 i Tracks

You learn a lot about a man when you are driving a small, curved needle into the inside of his cheek. Chris Ward had wiped out at Bingin on Bali and smashed himself up and now I was suturing him up … again. The first time I did it was two years previous at G-land where he was surfing with a broken and badly infected lower jar. This from a drunken brawl a few nights previous. I had given Chris enough morphine to kill a rhino and he still almost won our G-land contest. It has been whispered, in all seriousness, that Chris Ward may be superhuman. Laced with scars, his bruised and battered body has survived far more brawls and reefs and car crashes than the human form was…

There's nothing quite like watching Ryan Burch surf in the flesh. I had the good fortune once at maxing Desert Point - what was also the biggest swell to hit Indonesia in seven years. He was the only man out, a lone Paddle Pop stick floating in the distance, as Lombok Strait sent churning bowl after churning bowl down the line. It was as dangerous as I've seen it. Each wave meeting a dramatic demise against the cliff at The Grower (Desert's infamously 'perfect' end section). One mistake and you were dead, I'd thought. Burch took to it on the strangest craft I'd ever seen, a 6'5" asymmetrical set-up, with a nose split down the middle like a snake's tongue, two fins against one rail, one against the other, and…

It was beers all round after Parko defeated his good mate, and fellow 'Coolie Kid' Mick Fanning, to win the 2001 Billabong World Junior Title at Phillip Island. The US$45,000 event had bought together surfers from seven nations, and showcased the Top 48 juniors from around the globe. The contest reached its finale with the mate vs mate showdown between Mick and Joel in the final. Ace Buchan and Kirk Flintoff both finished equal third after being knocked out in the semis, meaning the Aussies had dominated contest. At this stage in Parko's career, both he and Mick were riding Darren Handley surfboards. This meant DH had just gone one and two in the world, and probably also explains the beer in hand and grin on the face of all…

The storm had been approaching for three days. At least, it was three days since the Bureau had given it a name. I remembered seeing somewhere that hurricanes and cyclones are named after people that weathermen don’t like. I checked the rain radar and it looked about an hour away – maybe just enough time. I knew it was a risk. But if it came off, it’d be worth it. Once I was on the freeway, out of the city, the low engine hum set my mind adrift. And I imagined, as I always do, the perfect shot. This time it was the heaving sea crashing against an ancient timber pier. A small boy was out there in his yellow raincoat and hat, vainly casting a line into the monstrous…

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…

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…

Mason Ho is as much an entertainer as he is a surfer. Once he's having fun, he wants to make sure everyone else is enjoying the show he's putting on. He rides waves with a restless spontaneity, be-bopping across sections like an improvised jazz musician, wary of playing the same note twice and frequently throwing in brilliant, spontaneous riffs. The unbridled pursuit of fun extends to every facet of his life. Unlike many pros who shrug off their achievements and experiences with a stoic nonchalance, Mason isn't afraid to let you know he's having a good time and watching him seems to give you a green-light to make your own surfing experience more enjoyable. He also doesn't worry too much about saying the wrong thing, so he often says something…

It's been a weird old ride for Glenn Hall ever since he turned Irish. He made the switch with his 30th birthday and tenth year on the QS fast approaching. Contest surfing had become a war of attrition for the Umina-raised goofy. Glenn would make ground and get within sight of qualification only to be batted back by shadowy forces: luck, injury, the ocean, John Freaking John. Sponsors had come and gone. Visa cards had been ridden into exhaustion and still Glenn persisted, his long-held dream shared and energised by his wife Jemma. They saw the world together, toured Europe from a van and made a base in Ireland for a spell. The decision to surf under the Irish flag came as a bit of a whim. Change of scenery.…

Bryce Young is beholden to no particular surfing style, board-type or wave-riding approach. He rides what he wants the way he wants and somehow manages to blend all of surfing's forms into a seamless medley of striking manoeuvres. Classic long-board high-lines are followed by sky-scraping air-revs, alaias are thrown around like performance short-boards and asymmetricals are his new favourite thing. Witnessing him surf is like watching a time machine hurl across a wave – in an instant he can transport you into surfing's past or fling you into its future. His surfing isn't going unnoticed. When a well-respected surfing friend was recently passing through Angourie, he said that although Dane Reynolds and a host of other pros were in town, Bryce was by far and away the standout surfer. In…

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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…

Like him or not, Noa Deane is a surfer who elicits an opinion. This is a good thing because it means, at the very least, he's interesting enough to get a reaction; to get people talking, or for some, seething in vein-popping rage over two words and an acronym. More, in my opinion, than can be said for many in a sport that Noa sees as moving ever further away from its roots. It's time to move on however; to strip away the controversy of one statement that was slurred six months ago. Time to forget the misplaced bravado, the skin-full of liquid courage, a mistake and the shit-storm in a beer-can that followed. To take an objective look at Noa is to see one of the best progressive surfers…

NOT KILLING THE PIG Irish big wave surfer Fergal Smith has walked away from life as a professional surfer. He has turned his back on the fame, the fortune, the travel and the waves. He made a conscious decision to stop flying. Instead he turned his hand to the land. He is growing food and engaging his community. He has an idea that he can make his small patch, and therefore the world, a better place. Ben Mondy dons the gumboots to see if it's working. ON THE TURN "We're moving Holly," Fergal Smith says as he moves ancient papers, analog cameras, agricultural tools and jam jars of seeds and nuts to clear a space for me in the passenger seat of his van. The old Ford Transit rumbles into…

A few months back Clay had mentioned to me that he was heading to Nicaragua to log some footage for his new sponsor JSLV. We've spent a tonne of time shooting together in North-West WA over the last few years. We're both USA expats but I'm more the fast-talking, hyperbolic Seppo while Clay is the master of understatement. Imagine Joe Pesci hanging out with Clint Eastwood and you get an idea of the dynamic between us. Somehow the odd couple connection works on land and over time I've gotten better at anticipating Clay's freakish antics when it comes to shooting photos. After spending all summer in the West Australian desert and enduring a slow start to winter, a Central American sea change sounded like the ticket. It seemed a bit…

Creating a perfect wave is so very simple in theory. All you need is a chunk of swell-exposed coast, a barge to dump sand bags in a triangular formation, a deck chair to observe the horizon and some patience. So long as your angles are right the next ground swell will trip over your fantasy bank and spill crystal cylinders in either direction. All that’s left to do is to surf yourself numb and decide how you’re going to spend those royalty cheques. The reality is slightly more complex as anyone who has dabbled with the dark art of wave formation will tell you. While there have been numerous attempts to mimic nature around the globe so far the most notable curve produced has been a learning one. The most…