Banner

Latest Surf News

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Surf

Drenched in Perfect

1180643715_empty_MLD4683Unless you've been living under a rock lately or have been on a total bender, you're wise to the fact that Town has been sprayed with two weeks straight of overhead swell. You name it—Bowls, Kewalos, Diamond Head—they've all been on a roll lately.

That said, the crew at FREESURF has been covering what's been the greatest June in Town that any of us can remember. Video, photos, editorial...we've been on it from all angles for the entire month. And yeah, we scored some goods. With any luck, we'll be able to come up for air long enough to put the next issue out. Rest assured, dear reader, that you'll be flooded with the Best of Honolulu in the next issue. Stay tuned.

Empty the Ashtray: Parking rates on the rise at Kapi‘olani Park

1180644749_ZachF_MLD4611City Bill 25 proposes a 600 percent increase at meters around Kapi‘olani Park in Waikiki for park and beach parking. The rates will rise from 25 cents for an hour to 25 cents for ten minutes, or $1.50 an hour. The rate increase is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2009.

Protests are in place to buck the hike in parking rates. Beginning on June 6, at 3 p.m., volunteers will be rallying with homemade signs and wearing red clothes at the Dillingham Fountain across from the Elk’s Club.

Concerned citizens can also submit written testimony opposing Bill 25 by noon on Tuesday, June 9 to all council members or even better, testify in person on Wednesday, June 10 at the city council meeting at City Hall for one to three minutes of personal testimony. Call 768-5011 to find out the time bill 25 will be heard, and show up en masse.

They’re Here: 2009 Surf into Summer

1180643045_BillyChoi_MLD4647Local Motion’s Surf Into Summer has been around a long time, decades, and has seen

As Long As It Floats

BBtubeMLD_MG_0698You’d be hard pressed to find a more amicable lot of people than those that call the wave-rich island of Tahiti home. Bonjours, and merics are the words of the day and a friendly smile and nod of the head are as common as the perfect peaks out to sea. Needless to say, we could all learn a lot from the Tahitian people.

But perhaps most interestingly, from what I humbly gathered in my two weeks at the Billabong Pro, the Tahitians are not picky about their quiver. As long as it floats (most of the time) they’re out there. Bodyboard, shortboard, taking turns with your friends—they do it all, as long as it keeps them in the surf.

My eyes were opened to this one afternoon as I sat out in the lineup at Teahupoo, my fingernails digging into the fiberglass on my board, adrenaline pumping through my every vein. But low and behold, out paddles a young crop of teenage bodyboarders and surfers who proceed to dominate the peak, pulling into waves in mere inches of water. After a while, the bodyboarders and surfers would switch out their respective crafts and continued ripping. It was a sight to see. It was unfiltered happiness and stoke. Bodyboard or shortboard, they were having the time of their lives and putting on quite the show in the process.

“I don’t really care if I have to bodyboard or surf. They’re both fun,” said one of the groms after deftly slotting himself a half-dozen times.

After watching these kids laugh and push the limits out at Teahupoo for more than two hours, you can’t really argue with them. As long as they’re stoked and dominating, does it really matter if they’re doing it standing up or lying down? Not in their eyes. —Jeff Mull

Teahupoo: Final Day

1180126138_EmptyMLD2747_1After more laydays than I can recall, the powers that be at the Billabong Pro Teahupoo decided to run the final. It was about time as the collective nerves among the 45 had been fried to the core. Too many laydays, and not enough surf = an irritable World Tour. But once the event got underway, you could almost feel the sigh of relief among the sleepy Tahitian village.

Game on.

In the final, Bobby Martinez—a past event champ—took on the likes of WA’s Taj Burrow. From the outset, it was clear that there was no stopping Martinez as the lad pulled into screaming barrel after screaming barrel to the tune of 8 and 9-point rides. Although Taj would attempt to claw his way back from comboland, his efforts would be futile and Bobby would take his second Tahitian crown. To boot, Bobby accomplished all of this while surfing on a borrowed board. A testament to his uncanny ability if there ever was one.

“I actually borrowed a board from Alain Riou,” he said immediately following his win. “He rides Darren Handley shapes and the board was the same dimensions and pretty much the same board I ride. It was great to find that yesterday, as I was a bit skeptical about today in terms of the conditions and my equipment, but everything worked out perfectly.”

In the end, the event may have been plagued by meager surf, but two weeks on Tahiti aint so bad. With that, here’s to many more years of Tahitian drama. —Jeff Mull

Check out extended coverage of Tahiti’s meanest wave in an upcoming issue of Freesurf Magazine.

More Articles...

Add Us on Facebook

Latest Video

Banner
readonline2

Can Carissa Moore win a world title this year?

Featured Articles

Nathan.-jpVanSwae_4942Louder Than Words
More than the cigarette-and-inadvertent-gunslinger stare, there’s a quiet and almost dangerous quality to Nathan Fletcher. As someone that’s been in the media’s spotlight frtom the moment he first stood up on a surfboard and, by all means, comes from one of surfing’s most enigmatic and sometimes controversial families, it’s hard to come to grips with the idea that most of us simply don’t know much about Nathan Fletcher. Soft-spoken and hard charging, his steely glare and nonchalant attitude have kept him mysterious to the masses. Unknown. After decades of sitting in the dark, we made the attempt to sit down and talk to Nathan, bring him in to the light. It wasn’t easy, and true to reputation, his actions have always spoken louder than his words. This is Nathan Fletcher.

Sion-Milosky_SurferEvan Valiere Looks Back On His Inaugural Event

This winter, at an outer reef with a name we dare not mutter, Sion Milosky had been bobbing in the lineup for nearly three hours when fate struck. His arms were heavy but his heart was light. Electrifying bolts of adrenaline shot through his body and kept his reactions sharp. From his vantage point, through the deep breaths that accompany paddling into waves that could kill, the smell of Jet-Ski exhaust swept into his nose and the sounds of exploding masses of water filled his ears. In a few minutes, staring down a mountain of water, Sion will snap to attention and hurl himself down the face of a wave that many hard-charging veterans deemed the biggest they’ve ever seen anyone paddle into. The wave, an eerily blue aquatic nightmare to the meek and a grin-spawning chance of a lifetime for others, quickly became the stuff of legends on the North Shore.

rioBy Beau Flemister
Last we talked, I was describing a day in the life in the city of Rio de Janeiro, coincidentally during the whirlwind days of Carnaval. And truthfully, what started as an experimental mission into Brazil, turned into a trip lasting a few months. I was seduced by the Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City as it is known) and caught in her net of beauty. But like a hostage with Stockholm syndrome, I didn¹t want to leave.

gromreportiangentilNickname: lhama
Birthday: February 12, 1996
Sponsors: Nike 6.0, Dakine and …Lost
School: CMA
Hometown: Pa-‘ia
Home Break: Ho‘okipa
Post-Session Grinds: Sandwich
Favorite Surf Movie: Days of the Strange
Favorite Music: I don’t really care

ciottibrosHealthy competition

By Noa Myers

Nainoa and Makana Ciotti are a great contemporary example of yin and yang. Makana is an all-time goof with Bobby Martinez-esque smooth, swooping shortboarding style. Nainoa has a more serious edge to him, evident in the fast, powerful cutbacks he does on his longboard. Nainoa is more prone to planing and Makana flows through life like it was a wave. But both have a laid-back approach to life and sport indomitably sunny dispositions that breathe an easygoing vibe into any situation.

tahitiFive things to stuff in your boardbag you shouldn’t be without

Traveling to Tahiti with a few big boards, non-chaffing boardshorts and an extra-large set of cojones is a given (oh yeah, and lots of sunscreen). But French Polynesia is more than just chucking barrels and it’s smart to be prepared for the down time. Here are some essentials to smash into the extra space in your boardbag:

nage.jpgEyes on the Prize
Nage Melamed gets to work with the tools for success

By Christen Vidanovic 

Fourteen-year-old Kaua‘i native Nage Melamed was made for the water. She was born in her parent’s bathtub after they returned home from a trip to Tahiti. Her dad immediately called her Nage, which means “to swim” in French. The name is a perfect reflection of the Hanalei ripper, and Nage has been gracefully swimming through life ever since, balancing obligations (school) with her passions (the ocean).    

Login



Get Our Newsletter!

All freesurf users


Receive HTML?

English Chinese (Simplified) Dutch Filipino French German Japanese Korean Russian Spanish