Tri Bay Sports Blog

The New York Times just came out with an article talking about the negative environmental impact of surfing. The article states: “About 316,000 surfboards were sold in the United States in 2008, generating about $150 million in revenue, according to the Surf Industry Manufacturing Association…”and that  “’Every day in Southern California, about 800 boards are being shaped and as much as 40 percent of each blank, which contains toxic materials, ends up being put into landfills…” (Click here to read the whole story.)

Sounds pretty bad, no?

But then, Surfline.com comes out with a somewhat contradictory story.  It posts an article about a UC Berkeley Grad Student/Surfer that did an analysis arguing that the true environmental impact of conventional surfboard production is relatively minor. He claims that “UPR surfboards result in the emission of 380 pounds of CO2, while epoxy constructed boards result in 545 pounds of CO2 emissions.”

Sounds bad, but what do these numbers mean?  The article explains that a single 10,000-mile airline trip to your favorite surf spot would produce 4,600 pounds of CO2 and a single 1,000-mile car trip to your next favorite surf spot would produce 2,800 pounds of CO2. (Click here to read the whole article.)

So what is it: Is the pollution caused by surfboard production a big deal or a relatively not-so-big deal? I don’t know. But what I do know is that The Times article focuses on a San Clemente-based surfboard company, Green Foam Planks, that uses recycled boards and refurbishes them. They collect polyurethane cuttings, which come from the foam core boards, and mix them with virgin foam to create a board with 65 percent recycled waste.

Whether the pollution caused by surfboard manufacturing is a big deal or not, we are hypocrites if we don’t support any effort to keep our world, our environment and our waves clean. As surfers we should do our best to support all eco-friendly efforts.

Darryl ‘Flea’ Virostko has packed a lot into his relatively short life. He’s won three of the last 6 Mavericks Surf Contests - The big wave contest held every year near Half Moon Bay. Its five-month contest window opened Nov. 1, meaning Mavericks can be held the next time giant swells roll in. And “Flea” will be ready to charge - more ready than he has been in a while. Turns out that “Flea” was pretty challenged by alcohol and is now into recovery.  Read more about his inspiring story. Click here.

I confess, I’ve never surfed on the East Coast and I don’t much like territorial-ism of any kind, but I found this blog entry, comparing East Coast surfing to West Coast surfing, to be very funny and clever. Click here.

Kudos to DailyStoke.com for running it and Hot Wahine for her witty writing.

The fourth annual World Skin Cancer Foundation’s Slater Brothers Invitational takes place Friday through Sunday at Coconuts on the Beach in Florida, featuring nine-time world champion Kelly Slater, the contest’s defending champion.

There will be 36 shortboard competitors and 24 longboard surfers in the two contests, which — if waves are good enough — will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Depending on wave conditions, this event likely will push back the annual Quiksilver King of the Peak contest at Sebastian Inlet to Monday.

“We have a good time,” said Kelly’s older brother, Sean, the chief contest organizer. “Everyone who has surfed in it always tells me how it is the ‘funnest’ event they’ve ever been in. Some are upset they have to miss it.”

For the full story, go to FloridaToday.com: Click here.

Maybe it’s because it’s the biggest, baddest, best surf contest near the headquarters of Tri Bay Sports. Maybe it’s because it showcases one of our best local breaks. Maybe it’s because it shows the rest of the world that you have to be bad ass to surf the cold waters of Nor Cal. Whatever the reason, we here at Tri Bay Sports LOVE the O’Neill Cold Water Classic.

The competition started today and has been everything that we hoped for. The top seeds took to the water in clean four-foot conditions at Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz today and the premier surfers crushed the event’s highest scores while the local favorites fell early.

If you want to see some of the best surfers in the world at their competitive best, head on out to the Lane. The weather conditions are supposed to be good and the swell forecast for Saturday and Sunday is “HUGE”. Check it out.

Footwear brand Kustom is again offering a $50,000 cash reward to the surfer that lands the best and most innovative aerial move between January 1 and August 31, 2010. This contest will once again be surfing’s richest single-manoeuver event. Watch a short video here.

Last year the event was won by the Hawaiian teenage prodigy Dusty Payne, who overcame entries from many of the world’s greatest aerial surfers, including Jay Davies, Mitch Colborne, Ry Craike, Clay Marzo and Chris “Chippa” Wilson to claim the winner-take-all $50,000 prize.

“Kustom’s mission with the Airstrike remains to produce surfing that is so inspired and revolutionary that it breaks all the rules, ultimately changing the face of surfing as we know it,” said Harry Truscott, General Manager of Kustom footwear.

The Kustom Airstrike concept has won support from some of the world’s best surfers, including three-time world champion Andy Irons and 2009 world title contender Joel Parkinson, both Kustom team riders.

November 1st was the first official racing day of the 2009 Lüderitz Speed Challenge but nature wasn’t in a co-operative mood. The wind was light, the tide was in and the chop was high. Most riders were using their larger kites (10 to 11m2), but still managed to get well over 40 knots (which was a major achievement in perfect conditions only a few short years ago). Alex Caizergues, Rob Douglas and Christophe Prin Guenon led the field with 43.11, 42.92 and 42.10kt respectively. Way to go guys!

The Telegraph, one of England’s more colorful newspapers, reports today that Europe’s first artificial surf reef is being opened in a place called Boscombe, which is on England’s southern shore. The telegraph reports that “The reef has spiralled in costs from £1.35 million in 2006 to £2.68 million”, and that “sandbags covering roughly the size of a football pitch are fixed to the seabed, nearly 250 yards (225m) from the shore east of Boscombe pier. (Click here to read entire article.)

Interestingly, Wikipedia reports that Boscombe is not considered the most upmarket area in the Bournemouth area however the area has improved significantly over the past 5 years. Previously, the presence of drug dealers and high crime rates, along with mainly small and pokey houses have deemed most of the area as unsophisticated. However, with the on-going regeneration plans and new housing developments these problems are diminishing at a considerable pace. Support and interest in the town is likely to improve over the next year, leading into September 2009, with the completion of Boscombe Surf Reef. Citation.

It has been a looong time!

Sometimes life gets in the way of even those things that you are the most passionate about. So between traveling, starting a new business and training for the Big Kahuna Half Ironman Triathlon, it seemed like there was always something that got in the way of my blogging. But I am back and more energized than ever. And it feels great.

You may have noticed some huge changes to the site. During my hiatus I’ve managed to get the site in order and it’s now it’s running better than ever. Now we have dozens of the best board sports-related coupons and discount available anywhere on our Coupons page. Check it out.

Also, we have a couple of very cool things coming soon! I don’t want to spoil the surprise so check back soon!

One of the things that continues to be a source of pain for many surfers/paddleboarders/surf kayakers is right of way. We, as a community, desperately need to figure out how to get along on the waves. Paddleboarders and surf kayakers have a huge advantage when it comes to catching waves because they can go way beyond the break point and keep up with the wave while paddling.

I came across the below article and thought that I would share. It was adapted from Surf Ski Quarterly vol. 2 no. 4. The original article was written by Robert Saunde.

Right of Way

Even experienced surfers have differing beliefs about dropping-in. Newcomers to surfing rely on friends to explain the rule. There is no readily available document nor is there frequent publicity to ensure one has a common understanding. Fortunately common sense prevails by and large. Most surfers do develop a similar concept of dropping-in. However the greater variety of surf craft sharing our beaches nowadays is causing some conflict. This is mostly a result of frustration on the part of those on slower paddling boards. The problem is magnified by vague right of way rules. It would benefit all surfers for a logical and easy to understand rule or set of rules was developed and publicized.

The following are proposed right of way rules for surfers. They are put forward as a starting point for further consideration and discussion. The rules were developed with free surfing in mind. Obviously specialized rules may be required in competitions. It would be ideal if a set of rules could be endorsed by the majority of international amateur and professional surfing associations. Most surfers would comply if such rules were well publicized. Self regulation should work quite well as long as everyone knows and understands that the same rules apply to everybody. Primary considerations must be safety and a sense of fair play. The following guidelines account for all types of waves: peak, point, close-outs, sectioning, reformed waves and white water. They are designed to apply to craft that ride waves mainly due to the action of gravity.

A Surfer Who First Catches or Rides onto an Unbroken Section or Wave Has Right of Way on That Unbroken Section

* A wave that is partially broken or just starting to break should he considered to be unbroken for the purpose of these rules.
* Usually when more than one surfer attempts to catch a wave at the same time, the one closest to the point where the wave first breaks (the critical point) will catch it first and have right of way.
* Once a surfer has caught a wave, another surfer may not paddle inside and take-off in a more critical section.
* The point when a surfer can be considered to have caught a wave is when he/she stops paddling, kicking or stroking and continues to move down or along the wave under the force of gravity.

A Surfer Has No Right of Way If Taking-off in a Completely Broken Wave Section.

* The surfer can ride from a completely broken section to a unbroken section that is not already being ridden, they will then be entitled to right of way.

A Surfer Riding a Completely Broken Wave Section Such That Progress Toward the Shoulder Has Ceased, Has No Entitlement to Any Unbroken Part of the Wave.

* A surfer can gain right of way by riding out of the white water onto a unoccupied, unbroken wave section.

A Surfer Taking-off on One Side of a Peak Has No Right of Way over a Surfer Who Has Already Caught or Is Riding the Other Shoulder.

* This means a surfer cannot cross under the peak to the opposite shoulder if is already occupied.

A Wave Rider must Avoid All Other Swimmers or Surfers Who Are Either Stationary or Paddling out.