Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2016 i Tracks

The North Shore looms large in the imaginations of surfers who have never been there but truth be told it’s just a small town where everyone seems connected to surfing in some way. A day before writing this I went to get my hair trimmed in Haleiwa, the cosy, pseudo-bohemian village that sits on the western fringe of the North Shore. ‘Kenny’s’ was a typical, old-school barber shop with a rickety ceiling fan, a dog-eared calendar on the wall and a single leather chair. Kenny’s only luxury was a small, flatscreen TV that let him keep an eye on the NFL games while he was adding the finishing touches to the Beckham quiffs. While the clippers gently hummed through my now standard all over number one cut, Kenny and I…

“Growing up I was always passionate about surfing but I didn’t set my sights on winning contests, surfing Pipeline or on anything really. I was just a kid from Maroubra. I idolised Gerry Lopez, Rory Russell and Wayne Lynch but I had no plans to surf against them. I surfed in club contests and junior events but the doors opened up for me when I won the first pro event I entered, the Surfabout Contest on the Northern Beaches. After that I was invited into the Pipe Masters. Surfing Pipeline came pretty naturally. The waves were so perfect, I had a big board and I was skinny back then and it seemed to suit the way I surfed. I was feeling pretty confident after the Surfabout win and I gave…

Our small crew from Tracks arrives on the North Shore during interesting times. Tiger sharks have been roaming the seven-mile stretch tearing off legs like a greedy diner with his chicken dinner. Meanwhile the Hells Angels have bought a property right next door to the famed Foodland supermarket. Everyone is waiting anxiously to see how much bikie gang muscle moves in on surfing's hallowed stretch and what happens when the Hells Angel's chief runs into Eddie Rothman in aisle three at Foodland. There's a world title to be decided and Australia's claims to surfing supremacy are seriously under threat from a trio of Brazilians who torment Mick Fanning like The Three Musketeers attacking Rob Roy. There's also a group of surfers fighting to secure or reclaim their position in the…

It’s finals day at the Pipe Masters and surfing’s glamorous old dame looks desperately in need of a facelift. Yesterday’s ledging, ten foot teepees with just the right touch of trade wind blush have been replaced by three-foot ocean chunks with faces pockmarked by wind-chop. Pipe looks like a D’Bah peak on a bad onshore day. Perhaps this should reduce it to an even playing field given Mick’s Gold Coast roots, but the dog fight conditions are always going to suit Adriano De Souza, the kid who grew up poor in Guaruja on the coastal fringes of San Paolo. It’s certainly not the setting anyone wants to see a world title decided in, but the day still has its inherent drama. Whether by design or accident the two rival camps…

MARK MATHEWS - JAWS WORDS ANTHONY PANCIA PHOTO BRIAN BIELMANN This horrifying and ridiculous drop, taken right before the contest to end all contests kicked off at Jaws, kicked up a whirlwind of publicity for Mark Mathews. It also cost him the use of his left shoulder for an indeterminate period, after he wore every cubic centimetre of this 70-foot wave on the head. But you can't keep a good man down. Mathews was booked in to present one of his rousing keynote motivational speeches in Dallas, which is exactly where he found himself soon after, busted wing and all. "I actually think it turned out pretty well," Mathews told the ABC of his performance. "I had footage of the wipe out and gave them a demonstration of how the…

The Motivation: We grew up in Santa Barbara surfing poly boards and they dinged and broke all the time and we thought ‘there’s got to be something better’. I went to engineering school and one of the introductory classes was all about the materials that go into really high tech bicycles. It got me thinking that if they use all these high tech materials in bikes why can’t you make a surfboard with better materials? First we used Varial foam in the rail of the board. Then we thought, ‘let’s make something shapers can shape and the Varial foam that we’ve adapted from an aerospace formula will go insane as a core in the board.’ Making Surfboards Better: We figured out that one way to make surfboard better is to…

The first thing I do after dumping my bags is head to Rocky Point to check the surf. In the modern era Rocky Point lefts is the wave where the world’s best flyers show up to try and pull the biggest aerial of their lives. The warbly lefts jack and double up over a combination of sand and reef, sling-shotting surfers into crumbly-lipped sidewinders that transform into trampolines in the cross-shore trades. It seems like every wave at Rockies lefts is an opportunity to redefine surfing and when a few specialists paddle out together, the Rocky Point air show can be one of the most spectacular free surfing events in surfing. Aware that they may capture a manoeuvre at the zeitgeist of aerial surfing, the photographers congregate at Rocky’s, usually…

When big swells roll through in Hawaii surfing becomes a spectator sport. On the morning of Big Sunday, Waimea is probably only fifteen foot by North Shore standards but it’s still enough to draw a solid crowd in and out of the water. The bend on the eastern side of the Bay, just across the road from the church, is one of the most popular viewing spots. From here the photogs, professional and amateur, snap away, non-surfing tourists let fly with a lot of ‘gee-golly-gosh’ outbursts and surfers scratch their heads wondering whether they should grab their 10’0” or feign injury. On this morning there are at least fifty to sixty guys sitting in a tight pack waiting for sets. En masse the colourful nine foot-plus guns make quite a…

If Sunset is an event with a little soul, the Pipe Masters is pure exhibitionism on all levels. Every time someone comes out of a good barrel it’s like a Super Bowl touch down moment. The wave is so intense and breaks so close to shore that the crowd instinctively goes crazy when someone bullets out of a big Pipe chamber. There’s no other surf break in the world where the live viewers and surfers enjoy such a symbiotic relationship. Incentivised by the possibility of instant audience feedback, surfers feel compelled to take more risks and put on a show – there are few things more addictive in life than a bunch of people cheering for you. However, if you get over-amped on the crowd reaction there’s a chance you…

In the helter skelter race for WCT qualification a single moment can change the course of your life. Surfing in the Vans World Cup at Sunset, Ryan Callinan was on course to qualify for the world tour on his own steam. Ryan had led his round 3 heat for most of the way but in the gasping seconds Gabriel Medina tiled the roof of an inside bowl at Sunset, pulled the hail-mary free-fall and simultaneously shattered the dreams of Ryan Callinan and fellow Australian, Connor O’Leary. It was the cruelest of moments, as if the kid with everything had come to the playground to rip off everyone else’s lunch. Medina’s Houdini floater set Callinan up for one of the most nerve-wracking days of his life. On the final day of…

As the final event on the WQS tour leg, The Vans World Cup of Surfing always produces drama. There are usually at least half a dozen guys in contention to qualify for the WCT, where you get your own numbered jersey, better waves, hopefully a bigger pay packet, and maybe a few more chicks. The fates of those chasing a spot in surfing’s premiere league are hedged upon the shifting moods of one of the world’s most fickle waves. With its expansive take off zone and exposure to peaks from distinctly different angles, learning to read Sunset can require a lifetime of study. These guys generally have a few weeks to work it out and several Hawaiian specialists standing in their way. Eager to witness the last ditch dog fight…

If the WSL Banquet is the Oscars of pro surfing then the Surfer Poll awards is perhaps the Golden Globes. Held annually at the Turtle Bay Hilton on the North Shore, it’s considered one of surfing’s biggest nights and amidst the swaggering pros, industry opportunists and stiletto strutting girls the event has a reputation for controversy. Last year Noa Deane’s infamous acceptance speech which included the line ‘Fuck the WSL’ didn’t wash well at all with the Hawaiian community or the establishment. Noa has obviously paid his dues because I see him confidently working the room when I arrive. He does however, have his Dad, surfing legend Wayne Dean, in town just in case things go south. As they slug back beers and cocktails, most of the industry is still…

The big wave season in Hawaii is in full swing, with the most holy of surfing events, the Pipe Masters, having closed the year in competitive surfing. The divinely green and mountainous archipelago has an enduring native culture and a long sea-based history, and thus possesses a spiritual undercurrent all of its own. The paddle-out ceremony is one of many traditions that originated here, and is embraced across the world by even the most secular of surfers. With the 5-year anniversary of Andy Irons’ death on November 2nd 2014, followed by the Eddie Aikau opening ceremony in early December, the memorial paddle-out seems an interesting subject to pick apart. In 2010, paddle-outs in honour of Andy Irons happened simultaneously across the globe in four different continents. With the sea connecting…

She comes home late, not that late, just late enough to make him worry. He says, ‘I don't know why you hang around with those derelicts.’ He's not usually like this. He's come off his board stupid and sliced his heel and she had the car and didn't answer her phone even though I tried calling it about a million times. We ended up having to get Mark to drive us to the clinic and Dad had to sit in the tray of Mark’s truck and he didn't have any pants to wear, only his wetsuit. That's why he’s pissed. It's not about Nic and Juan and Emma at all. Emma says, ‘What happened to your foot?’ as she goes into the kitchen to make a start on dinner. I…