http://surfing.about.com/ Get the latest headlines from the About.com http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hh http://www.about.com/ 118 20 en-us 2012-05-06T15:35:51Z Sun, 06 May 2012 15:35:51 +0000 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/05/14/mcnamara-makes-it-official.htm <p>Garrett McNamara has been steadily etching out a cool nook in the surfing world. First broken open by Laird Hamilton, a career as a big wave surfer is a relatively new concept. Ross Clarke-Jones and Cheynne Horan traveled for years during the 90's and challenged giant surf to the delight of surf fans but with very little financial sustainability.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/05/14/mcnamara-makes-it-official.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/05/14/mcnamara-makes-it-official.htm Mon, 14 May 2012 19:31:31 +0000 2012-05-14T19:31:31Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/05/06/gabby-goes-gonzo-in-socal.htm <p>A very unlikely final in San Clemente at the Nike Pro. Ireland's Glenn Hall faced off against Brazilian Gabriel Medina. The match up is strange in a few ways. For one, Glenn Hall was a veritable unknown heading into&#160; the event, but his surfing was powerful and consistent, reminiscent of a young Tommy Carroll with big carves off the lip&#160; and deep gouging cutties. Although he came unglued in the final, there was no stopping the goofy footer from putting down all comers en route to a finals appearance. On the other end, there was Gabriel Medina who had rocketed into the spotlight last year and was being touted as the next Kelly Slater. Even the MC's at the Nike event were surmising if he was a good as Slater. I don't quite get the comparison because there is none...totally different surfers with styles that have no real comparable common denominator. But critics were writing Gabby off as a flash in the pan as we headed into&#160; the third event of the year, and there he stands as the victor in good, clean surf against the best in the world.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/05/06/gabby-goes-gonzo-in-socal.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/05/06/gabby-goes-gonzo-in-socal.htm Sun, 06 May 2012 15:35:51 +0000 2012-05-06T15:35:51Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/28/surf-history-in-retrospect-3.htm <p>As a young surfer, I spent all my time in the water focused on the here and now. Surfing's history meant nothing. It was all about the next wave and my next move. After all, surfing is a very transitory experience. The feeling is intense and unexpected and then it's gone, and we are left scrambling to replicate it. My mission was to dash the past and forge on to something new, neglecting the rich history of surfing and the insanely talented characters and athletes who made up the skeleton of a narrative in &#160;which I am merely an insignificant ghost. Today, I have gained the patience to sit still for a few moments and reflect on the path that ends at my back and being penciled in as I step forward.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/28/surf-history-in-retrospect-3.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/28/surf-history-in-retrospect-3.htm Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:33:13 +0000 2012-04-28T20:33:13Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/22/surfing-as-tragedy-2.htm <p>Miki Dora was a surf maniac. He bled and breathed the lifestyle and pulled hijinks and hoodwinks along the way from SoCal to South Africa to France to New Zealand to Chile and beyond. No job and no responsibility from day one to his death bed and with surfing at the top of his to-do list, Miki Dora lived life close to the bone and left burnt bridges and a trail of fake checks and passports in his wake. The book: <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/productreviews/fr/071308dora.htm">All for a Few Perfect Waves </a>highlights the problematic nature of the surfing lifestyle just as Dora's life epitomizes a blend of the surfing dream and the surfing tragedy. What do surfers have to give up to ride waves? I don't mean just hitting the waves once a month on a Sunday afternoon. I mean really committing to the salt, sand, and sun to be there whenever it's on. It takes sacrifice and ends up affecting others in your life. Your wife, your boss, your kids, maybe even your pets. Complex, confusing, tragic. It's Shakespearean almost...almost.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/22/surfing-as-tragedy-2.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/22/surfing-as-tragedy-2.htm Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:54:55 +0000 2012-04-22T15:54:55Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/15/the-asp-goes-to-korea.htm <p>Every sport goes through growing pains for sure. Surfing has had its share. Heck! Surfing was never supposed to be a sport, but from the world contests to the IPS to the ASP, surfing is getting its feet on the ground as a legitimate global sport. New communication and forecast technology make possible the feats of planning and broadcasting a surfing event held on an island in the middle of nowhere to Middle America and beyond.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/15/the-asp-goes-to-korea.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/15/the-asp-goes-to-korea.htm Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:57:20 +0000 2012-04-15T15:57:20Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/07/the-return-of-the-cutback.htm <p>As the Rip Curl Pro progressed, I watched every heat and was prepared to proclaim that cutbacks are back! After a generation of surfers have treated the wave face like a whipping-boy with slashes and hacks and gaffs and blow-tails and fin-reversals; performance has come back to basics and showing love to the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/intermediate/a/Roundhouse-Cutback.htm">roundhouse cutback</a>. Ah! The roundhouse faded away as surfers in the early 2000's either spun the tail or took to the air when given the opportunity, but watching the Rip Curl event, I realized modern surfers can still lay it on rail for an extended period of time with a committed trajectory back into the power pocket. Sure, the soft wave faces of Bells lend themselves perfectly to extended cutties.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/07/the-return-of-the-cutback.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/07/the-return-of-the-cutback.htm Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:13:48 +0000 2012-04-07T17:13:48Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/03/waves-a-love-story-2.htm <p>Reading Dr. Tony Butt's short piece on <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://www.savethewaves.org/wave_importance">the importance of waves</a>. I'm digging the whole thing. He hits on the obvious bits of how we love to ride <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/surfingfaq/f/parts_of_wave.htm">waves</a> and "steal" from them and essentially use them for our own pleasure, but waves are not meaningless lumps sent for our wanton desires. Instead, Dr Butt waxes scientific in his description of the wave's true meaning. A wave is a conductor of energy, a shaper of coasts, and one inescapable sprocket in the delicate chaos that is nature. Very cool Doc. Waves are unique snowflakes but many (e.g. <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/epicsurfspots/a/pipeline_hawaii.htm">Pipe</a>, <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/epicsurfspots/a/teahupo.htm">Teahupo</a>, Mavericks) are instantly identifiable in their menacing personality and beautiful curves that are shaped by sharp reefs and craggy rocks from the amorphous blob of salt water pulsing above. No doubt, Dr. Butt's little piece is the muse for this blog and should push us all to think about the limited life span that waves, beaches and nature in general hold in this world. Gone are many classic spots, killed by chemicals and dredging and jetties and high rise apartments. While everything tangible is limited, sometimes the intangible leaves us as well. The energy of waves that drives us from within and makes us feel young and excited seems an endless supply, but someday it will run out (and so will the medium through which it moves). Enjoy them while they last and enjoy them while YOU last because it's all finite.</p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/04/03/waves-a-love-story-2.htm Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:13:05 +0000 2012-04-03T15:13:05Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/26/surfing-in-sunglasses-the-only-treatment-for-pterygia.htm <p>As winter turns to spring and spring to summer, surfers are spending more and more time in the sun. For most folks, a good slathering of sunscreen and a Lycra shirt will suffice make for hours of free surfing fun, but for others, the sun poses other issues beyond the skin: specifically, a surfing related disease called a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/surfingrelatedailments/a/121307pteryg.htm">pterygium</a>. This is an eye condition that I, myself, have dealt with for years, but not until I wrote a piece about these annoying, red, progressive growths did I find how many others are affected and looking for help. Surfers are especially prone to this disease because although genetics is an important factor in their formation; exposure to wind, saltwater, and sun are the catalysts that spark its growth. &#160;Although science has offered very little in the way of alleviating (much less curing) the effects of pterygia on the body and psyche, wearing protective<a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/productreviews/a/Surf-Sun-Glasses-And-Goggles-Reviews.htm"> surf sunglasses</a> while in the water help keep them from getting worse. The problem is that wave and water power makes keeping glasses on while you surf almost impossible, and the fogging and glare of standard eye wear can be distracting when applied to the art of surfing. So I embarked on a mission to review some of today's newest <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/productreviews/a/Surf-Sun-Glasses-And-Goggles-Reviews.htm">surf sun glasses</a> made especially for use in the water and among the chaos of the impact zone. I found that most of these glasses offer what surfers need in the lineup, but each <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/productreviews/a/Surfing-Sun-Glasses-Reviews-Continued.htm">model</a> offers a different nuance for the discerning surfer to consider. If given the choice, none of us would choose to wear anything out in the water, but whether you are looking for style or function (or both), there looks to be a pair of glasses out there for you.</p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/26/surfing-in-sunglasses-the-only-treatment-for-pterygia.htm Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:29:50 +0000 2012-03-26T10:29:50Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/24/get-fit-for-spring.htm <p>Spending this spring "surfing" the Internet will give nothing but flabby arms and big old love handles, but surfing waves offers so much more. Surfing is so fun that many people overlook its great health benefits, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better (and more enjoyable) cross-training exercise for athletes of all ability levels. Surfing is essentially a blend of swimming, balance training, and jumping rope (with a splash of riding a roller coaster). Surfing offers many health benefits. I think you'll be surprised.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/24/get-fit-for-spring.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/24/get-fit-for-spring.htm Sat, 24 Mar 2012 13:46:21 +0000 2012-03-24T13:46:21Z http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/18/to-air-is-human-to-punt-is-new.htm <p>Sitting around after a multiple-day swell, I got to thinking about how the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/wordortheday/Surf_Slang_Dictionary.htm">surfing lexicon </a>(the language we use) has changed. Hodads have given way to kooks and Barnies, and the green room has become a shack. <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/od/intermediate/a/Roundhouse-Cutback.htm">Cut-backs</a> and slashes are now hacks and gaffs. But as you read the the latest mags, you probably noticed the oft used term "punt" as to mean to launch an air. Why choose a football term to describe a maneuver that is so obviously not related to football? Let's look at the difference between today's aerial tricks as opposed to the days of yore.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/18/to-air-is-human-to-punt-is-new.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://surfing.about.com/b/2012/03/18/to-air-is-human-to-punt-is-new.htm Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:19:14 +0000 2012-03-18T22:19:14Z