New TL2 shortboards just arrived!

TL2 shortboards, Rusty, Stretch, T&C, T.Patterson 5'11" and up.

New Tuflite shortboards Rusty, Stretch, T&C, T.Patterson 5'11" and up.

New clothing, boardshorts, T-shits, Rash vest, Oneill, Hawaiian Island Creations, Rusty, Rip Curl.

Come and have a look in store at the Dread Or Dead surf shop quick before they are all gone!

Life Is A Wave - May 22, 2008

Live Music / Surf Films / Silent Auction / Raffle

Save The Waves Coalition presents a sensational night of live music, art, film, silent auction, and environmental action at the second annual "Life Is A Wave" event, at 111 Minna Gallery in downtown San Francisco, Thursday, May 22, 6pm 'til Midnight.

The benefit party will feature the sounds of a very special musical guest. In addition, the evenings festivities will feature the "Guns For San Sebastian" and "The Dung Beetles," along with two of San Francisco's favorite DJs, "DJ Aaron Pope" and "DJ Paul," who will be mixing beats.

A silent auction and raffle will be featured during the evening, which will help raise funds for Save The Waves' environmental programs.

Sponsors of this years Life Is A Wave include Patagonia, Clif Bar, Zola Acai, Mavericks Surf Ventures, Surfline and New Leaf Paper. Additional sponsors will be announced closer to the event date.

Tickets are a donation of $20 general and $50 Green Package, which includes a one year Save The Waves membership and a goody bag.

For more information about sponsoring the event, donating raffle/silent auction items or volunteering, please contact Save The Waves at 831.426.6169 or email sky@savethewaves.org.

Click Here To Purchase Tickets Today

Click Here to view pictures from last years benefit party.

111 Minna Gallery is located at 111 Minna Street, between New Montgomery and Third Street. Click Here for directions.

PRESS RELEASE

2008 BRANDONS PRO

Thibault Breneol (GLP) is the 2008 Brandon’s Pro Men’s Champion. The Nike 6.0 team rider, who is also sponsored by Seven Shores and 69Slam, overcame a heavy locally contested final to emerge victorious on the second and final day in some classic 4-6 ft waves at Drill Hall Beach, on the south coast of the island of Barbados. Regional competitors representing Barbados, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Trinidad & Tobago as well as Aruba, eagerly contested the second stop on the 2008 Suzuki Caribbean Challenge Cup Tour, held March 22-23, 2008.

Competition began with a 5:30 am call to remain at the original spot of Drill Hall Beach by both Contest Director (Nicholas Donawa) and Event Organizer (Christopher Clarke). After seeing epic 4m north swells arriving 3 days prior to the event, which totally shut down Soup Bowl on the East Coast and light up the fickle west coast, everyone was uncertain which end of the island would produce the most consistent contestable conditions. Once again, the call was worth its’ weight in gold as Round One hit the water at around 9:30 am with 3-4ft waves appearing as the tide shifted to low. Making the top heat scores at the end of the first day and advancing straight though to Round Three were Bruce Mackie (BDS), Adrian Small (BDS), Brian Gooding (BDS) and Stuart Stoute (BDS).

Round Three began on Sunday morning with bigger and better conditions for the surfers hoping to either capture a title or at least make it to the money rounds. Wave size increased by 1-2ft as the day progressed and everyone was blessed with clear sunny skies and cool tropical breezes. After lunch, the first final of the day hit the water with a 3 man final in the Bodyboard Division. Matias Chayia (MAR) opened the final by displaying well linked maneuvers on his first two waves, giving him the lead with a score of 12.17 (6.0, 6.17) in the first half of the twenty minute final. Ian Jarvis (BDS) and Kwame Griffith (BDS), who placed second and third respectively, kept the score distance tight in the second half of the final ending with 10.76 and 10.0 respectively.

Up next were the ladies with a 5 women final. After a slow start, it looked like anybody’s title with four local girls competing against the lone Jamaican, Danielle Ohayon. Of the four girls, three of them will represent Barbados at the 2008 ISA World Junior Games in Hossegor, France in May (Ametza Nicholls, Chelsea Roett, and Chelsea Tuach). The final local girl is the 2007 Womens CSN Tour Champion – Jade Niccolls – so “Miss Jamaica” had her work cut out for her. By the midway point in the heat, Chelsea Roett was in a comfortable lead with a 5.3 and 5.5 and looking ready to win her first title. Slowly creeping up behind her were Chelsea Tuach with a 4.57 and 4.1 and Ametza Nicholls with a 3.5 and 5.43. As the heat climaxed, it would appear that Chelsea Tuach would overtake her rival by taking off on some excellent waves, but she just couldn’t make the connection to the inside to get the needed score. In the final minute of the heat, Ametza managed to locate the heat winning wave and ride it almost to the shore giving her a much needed score of 6.67 to win the Women’s Title. The final standings were Ametza first (12.1), Chelsea Roett second (10.83), Chelsea Tuach third (8.67), Danielle Ohayon fourth (5.9) and Jade Niccolls fifth (5.3).

The junior finalists were on deck next with three local kids battling the lone French West Indies rider from Martinique for the Junior Title. Bruce Mackie (BDS) dominated this final from start to finish by opening the heat with a 5.83 and 6.5 and securing a comfortable lead. Trying to keep close behind were Lewis St. John (BDS) (4.83, 7.17) and Jordan Heaselgrave (BDS) (5.33, 5.93), leaving Sean Millienne (MAR) in fourth with a 6.17 and in desperate need of a back up score. Bruce, seeing that the other guys were in striking distance to snatch glory from him, turned up the heat with a blistering display of smooth vertical re-entries on two back-to-back waves plus putting in a carving 360 to seal the deal. These two wave scores proved to be the highest heat scores plus the highest individual scores for the entire contest – 9.0 & 8.6. And to add more drama to this spectacular final, in the final seconds of the heat, Sean Milienne made his come back move by catching his final wave seconds before the horn to score a 7.1 and move from fourth position to second. In the end, the final results were Bruce Mackie (17.6), Sean Milienne (13.27), Lewis St. John (12.00), and Jordan Heaselgraves (11.27).

Each of the Open Mens Semis was like a final with some of the highest level of Caribbean surfing on display. The first semi was an all Barbadian affair which pitted the older generation (Mark Holder and Stuart Stoute) against the young guns (Lewis St. John and Jonathon Reece. At the sound of the opening horn, the old boys made their move with Mark Holder being first out of the blocks scoring 8.67. Immediately behind him was Stuart Stoute securing a solid 6.0. Lewis St. John quickly answered back with a 7.0 and then made it back to the line up to put pressure on the old boys while Jonathan Reece struggled to get an average score on his tally sheet. As the heat progressed, Mark secured his second scoring ride of 6.3 as well as Lewis – 5.67. Jonathan slowly closed the points gap between himself and Lewis by scoring 5.5 and 5.43, which would require just a 7.17 to take the second position form Lewis. With all the attention on the battle for second position, Stuart Stoute was left all alone to catch the wave of the heat in the closing seconds to score 8.83 and climb from fourth to second to the dismay of both Lewis and Jonathan.

The second semi got underway quite similarly to the first with Thibault Breneol (GLP) and Alan Davis (TNT) firing out of the blocks at the sound of the horn with a 7.33 and 7.67, respectively. Bruce Mackie (BDS) started out slow with 5.77 and Luke Williams (JAM) laboring to get a decent score on the board. At the midway point, Thibault and Alan were looking even more comfortable with back up scores of 6.6 and 6.43 respectively which left Luke and Bruce to battle for second spot. Just like in the prior semi, the final minutes of the heat decided the final outcome. With that said, Bruce Mackie must have made a deal with King Neptune for him to send two back to back waves directly in his path. Scoring a 7.27 and 7.83, Bruce was now in the lead with the final seconds elapsing. By the end of the heat, Bruce remained in first, while second place had to be decided through a tie-breaker which eventually saw Thibault edging out Alan by .5.

Now the scene was set for the finals, three Barbadians against the lone Guadeloupe rider. Once again the heat started slowly, with each competitor getting low scores for their opening ride. Then it happened, Thibault made him move on his third wave riding it all the way to the shore and scoring 8.83. Stepping off on the beach, and having the crowd cheer him on, Thibault jogged his way back up the beach to take advantage of the quick entrance back to the line up. As Thibault made his way up the beach, Stuart Stoute made good work of a set wave that rolled his way by scoring 7.67, to the dismay of Bruce Mackie and Mark Holder who waited in vain for that wave to allow them to catch up. By using the beach to return to the line up instead of paddling, served the Nike 6.0 rider very well, as he slotted himself into perfect position to catch his second scoring wave of 6.43 and move into a secure lead. This time, he would guard his position carefully against any late charges by either Stoute or Mackie as they had done in the previous heats. But Thibault couldn’t guard every wave, and Stoute managed to slip away in the final 10 seconds to destroy a couple lips on his way to the beach. Would it be enough to claim the number 1 spot? Fortunately for Thibault, Stoute’s final ride could only muster a score of 6.33 which was just shy of the needed score to dethrone him. The final results would read Thibault Breneol first (15.26), Stuart Stoute second (14.0), Bruce Mackie third (11.0) and Mark Holder fourth (8.17).

With this win, Thibault now leads the Suzuki Caribbean Challenge Cup Tour heading to Jamaica for the 2008 Makka Pro in July 19-20, 2008 in Yallahs, St. Thomas. See you there.

Missing surfers & boards cause a Quiksilver Pro lay day

Quiksilver Pro Durban

Men's 6 Star WQS Prime
New Pier Durban South Africa
13 - 20 April 2008

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

Board Delays and Missed Flights See Contest Organisers Give Competitors A Lay Day

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 14 April, 2008 : - - Durban – A glut of surfers leaving Margaret River in Australia simultaneously saw in excess of 30 competitors arrive in Durban for the Quiksilver Pro Durban without their surfboards. On top of this, a flight full of Brazilian surfers were delayed and haven’t arrived in Durban on time. These factors saw contest organisers decide to put the event on hold until tomorrow.

The waves at New Pier are looking good right now, but the long term forecast is for the waves to improve steadily over the next few days with excellent surf predicted for the final day.

“Not an easy decision to make with the waves looking good right now,” said contest director Matt Wilson. “We have decided to show the surfers some compassion and give them a day to sort out their equipment, and for late flights to arrive. We’re talking about people’s careers here, so it’s the right thing to do.”

Local surfboard shapers arrived at the beach with arrays of locally-made boards for the competitors to borrow or to ride in their heats, and with the whereabouts of the competitors boards still unknown, many of them may well take advantage of this generosity.

The eight surfers who made it through from the Virgin Mobile Trials event held yesterday, and will be competing in the Main Event, are Stan Badger (Cape St Francis), Halley Batista (Brazil), Frankie Oberholzer (Warner Beach), Shane Thorne (Durban), Klee Strachan (Amanzimtoti), Lyle Bottcher (Durban), Hilton Lawrence (Durban) and Quintin Jones from Cape Town.

Click for today's video report

For more details on the event check out the mini-site www.quikprodurban.com

Check the Live Action

Get Your Santa Cruz Surfboards

Sidewalk Surfer Surf Shop

For all those looking for longboards we are about to place a special order for Santa Cruz surfboards. If you are interested in getting a longboard or shortboard they will range from $1200-$1600.

To find out more about Santa Cruz and their boards visit:

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Four gold medals for South Africans at ISA World Masters

Team News

International Surfing Association
Punta Rocas, Peru
29 March - 6 April 2008

Four gold medals for triumphant Team SA in ISA World Masters Surfing Championships

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 April, 2008 : - - Team South Africa continued its reign as the undisputed champions of world masters surfing by trumping the world’s best 35-years and older surfers to win the overall teams crown at the 2008 ISA World Surfing Championships in perfect point break waves at Punta Rocas in Peru today.

Led by individual gold medalists Heather Clark (Masters Women), Marc Wright (Kahunas) and Chris Knutsen (Grand Kahunas), South Africa blew away the competition to take their second consecutive Team World Championship. South Africa finished on top with 10 500 points, 1 100 ahead of Australia in second, with Brazil (9 041) finishing in third and hosts Peru rounding out the top four with 8 766 points.

Saturday’s final day of competition offered solid one to 1.5 metre waves for the “Masters Olympics of Surfing”.

Former world tour surfer Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) got the ball rolling for the South African team, blasting her way to victory over Peru’s Rocio Larranaga, Sandra English (Australia) and Brigitte Mayer (Brazil)in the final of the Masters Women’s (Over 35) division.

South Africa’s most decorated female surfer was in a league of her own; netting 15.83 points in the final to end the event with the four highest heat tallies and the five highest single ride scores in the women’s event. “I’m absolutely ecstatic,” Clark said. “In 2003 I was in contention for the title on the World Tour, so it’s always been my dream to win a world title. I’m over the moon.”

Chris Knutsen (Durban) was the next winner for South Africa, mixing his trademark rail carves with a radical forehand approach to defeat Peru’s Paco Del Castillo, Australia’s Frank Hayter and Puerto Rico’s Rene Gonzalez in the Grand Kahunas (Over 50) division.

Knutsen (Durban) was crowned Kahunas (Over 45) World Champion in Puerto Rico last year and followed that up with the gold medal in the Grand Kahunas (Over 50) this year.

Durban’s Marc Wright completed the South Africa trifecta today, snatching a last minute victory over fellow countrymen Nick Pike to nab gold in the Kahunas (Over 45) division. Sitting in second place with a minute remaining in the 30-minute final, Wright snared a set wave and exploded a series of classy frontside manoeuvres to post a heat-winning 8.33.

Pike took the silver with Punta Rocas local Jorge Posso (Peru) getting bronze and Australia’s Rod Baldwin the copper.

1988 Pipeline Masters champion Rob Page (Australia) rekindled his competitive surfing career today by reaching the finals of both the Grand Masters (Over 40) and Masters (Over 35) divisions. In the Grand Masters, the Wollongong charger out pointed Magoo De La Rosa (Peru), Jo Jo Olivenca (Brazil) and South Africa’s Andre Malherbe to capture gold.

Puerto Rico’s Juan Ashton was the only Latin America title winner, netting his second successive Masters (Over 35) title. Ashton scored 17.50 out of 20, the highest of the day to defeat Ricardo Toledo (Brazil) and Australia’s pair of Rob Page and Jay Sharpe in the only final that did not feature a South African competitor.

ISA President Fernando Aguerre awarded the surfers their medals in the event’s closing ceremony. He was ecstatic about the success of this international event stating, “I would like to thank the Peruvian people and the Peruvian Surfing Federation for welcoming us with open arms.”

“This 160 visitors will be leaving the country with a Peruvian warmth tattooed in our hearts, we are new ambassadors for Peru. The proverbial fountain of youth is closer than we might think: Its the waves of the world...We don’t stop surfing because we get old, we get old because we stop surfing...So don’t stop!”

The location of the 2009 ISA World Masters Surfing Championships has not yet been chosen but locations in South Africa and Brazil are in the running. The South African Masters team is supported by Jeep Apparel, Sport and Recreation South Africa and the Lotto.

Previous reports:
# 1 : South African Team ready for ISA World Masters Champs
# 2 : South Africa team arrives in Peru for ISA World Masters
# 3 : South Africa on track to defend the ISA World Masters title
# 4 : Andre Malherbe leads the SA team at ISA World Masters