Tracks October 2015

“Most people go to a place, discover a place for themselves; it’s really nice, really beautiful, and their reaction is, ‘I want to build a fence around it,’ and keep it like that for themselves. However that’s not the nature of life. Everything changes, and unless you change with it, or accept that change, you’re gonna have a lot of disappointment. The last time I went to Kuta I was pretty amazed that sleepy little village under the coconut trees that Jack McCoy and I went to in 1974 was no more, and now it was pretty bustling. There was some sadness, which often happens when you look back on the past, and nostalgia makes you sad. But on the other hand, Bali is a beautiful place – it still…

Seven young Australian surfers are poised on a threshold. No longer can they rest on their reps as junior over-achievers. They must now become WQS warriors and world-class free surfers. If Kalani Ball, Monty Tait, Cody Robinson, Jared Hickel, Quinn Bruce, Shaun Manners and Reef Heazlewood want to keep the pro surfing dream alive this is the challenge they face. Tracks sends them on their maiden trip to the Mentawai Islands to get an insight into the crew who are striving to carry a torch that has been passed through several generations of Australian surfing. From the likes of Peter Townend and Rabbit Bartholomew to Mark Richards and Cheyne Horan to Tom Carroll, Occy and Damian Hardman to Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, Dean Morrison and Joel Parkinson and finally Owen…

For most of the 318 million US citizens the 4th of July, or Independence Day, is all about flag waving, fireworks and ostentatious displays of patriotism. However, while his compatriots were busy shouting God Bless America, New York-based goofy footer Balaram Stack was getting barrelled at Cloudbreak. "The 4th of July is America's birthday and I celebrated with one of the best days of surfing I've ever encountered. No wind, good people and great f$%*ing waves," exclaimed the spindly goofy footer. Some of you may remember Balaram from the Quiksilver Pro New York, 2011. He was the local kid from Long Beach who was awarded the wild card slot into the contest, which still holds the record as surfing's richest ever event ($1 million in total prize money). Although Slater…

It’s really hard to explain to someone who hasn’t grown up here,” says Tasmanian surfer James McKean. “You basically might surf two or three times a week on an average beachie for two or three months and then Shippies will break. And if you’re not surfing Shippies you’re just not getting barreled.” James grew up watching Shipsterns legends Andy Campbell, Marti Paradisis and James Hollmer-Cross take on mean, demented, mutant slabs at the hellraising right and wanted nothing more than to get a piece of the action for himself. “The feeling you get when you get a good one out there while pushing the limits of what’s possible is incredible. I think out there when you’re towing Shippies anyone can potentially get the wave of a day. When it all…

SNAPPING SENIORITA/////////////////////////// Hey fellas, attached is a shot my wife took of Letty Mortensen down on the south coast of NSW. I gave her my camera to take a few snaps while I headed out with my housing. Not a bad result I thought. It’s good having a wife with the same interests ;-) Simon Punch WEB FEEDBACK ONLINE REACTIONS TO THE MICK FANNING SHARK ENCOUNTER ... Here in Northeast of Brazil we have a lot of deaths by shark attack, and no one cares about … Uhzibu Cristo Great Job by the water patrol for being there so fast. And a lot of respect for Julian for not thinking about himself and paddling out to Mick. Most people would turn to the beach and give it a "once in…

A month or so before Owen Wright set the world on fire in Fiji with his perfect 20-point heat totals, a 14-year-old Central Coast surfer named Macy Callaghan was busy achieving the same feat. Granted, Macy was in Coffs Harbour and she was in the Billabong Oz Grom event, but still, perfect heat totals aren’t something you see at every event. In fact, it's never happened on the Women’s World Tour. So what did this 14-year-old girl do that was so damn good? According to judges on the panel, the turns would have been perfectly suited to the World Tour, or at the very least a high level QS event. Just to affirm she can mix it with an older crowd, Macy went on to win the Open division of…