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The Ugly Face Of North Shore Surfing…: TWC recently posted an item (click and scroll down to Tuesday’s posts) about a gang of vigilantes enforcing surfing etiquette with their fists at Pipeline on Oahu’s North Shore. The surfing establishment took an ambivalent attitude about this ugly practice, rationalizing the violence with the argument that it was necessary for the greater good: to keep Pipeline surfing safe. Well, now there are some videos of this goonery in action. They document the savage beatdown of a guy who apparently breaks the “rules” during a surfing competition, and then tries to defy the enforcers. This long version puts the confrontation in context, listing the victim’s etiquette infractions. And this shorter version just shows the assault and battery. I don’t know enough about surfing to know how egregious the victim’s infractions are. But I do know enough to know that no matter how punkish his behavior these videos depict a crime. Plain and simple. And I defy any surfer, or member of the surfing media, to watch this beatdown and defend it. Is this really the image they want surfing to have? It made me sick…



“What? You want me to police the beaches?

Update: Here’s a response from my surfing buddy Wyatt. I still don’t agree that violence is justified (think of the riot the outdoor world would become if bikers, climbers, paddlers, sailors, and divers also responded to novices crowding the best spots with their fists…). But it’s interesting to get the surfer perspective:

“Settle down! Listen, you gotta understand what’s happened to surfing and surfing culture. It has been inundated by popular culture, especially Hawaiian and Australian surfing. It used to be that someone that was interested in trying to surf learned through the watch and try method. No one got or gave lessons, that would be for Barneys and kooks. As a greme (beginner) you got yourself a board and went off somewhere alone and struggled until you got it to the extent you could venture into a lineup where the waves were better. You wouldn’t go to the BEST spot but to a spot a little better than where you were before. Eventually you would work your way through the pecking order of spots and would then be allowed to hang with the big boys. Attrition thinned out the wannabees and every now and then some kook would show up at a premiere break without the necessary skills or local knowledge and often they would not show the proper respect and get their ass kicked. As a kid I often got my ass kicked but not at the beach and I always showed respect to the top of the pecking order because they would give hints (under their breath, where no one was around) to improve my surfing. Now every wannabee in the world, from Kansas to DC wants to surf and the real CREW is culturally assaulted by these people, who don’t have the interest or desire to treat surfing and real surfers with the respect they deserve—and have earned. Bottom line this guy from who knows where, goes to one of the WORLD’s best breaks, during a contest, and when asked to do the right thing and leave, refuses!….Hell yeah, that’s justification for an ass kicking. He didn’t get it that bad either. It is all about respect for the old ways…”

“He didn’t get it that bad either.” I love it…

Transatlantic Beach Cat Record–Homann Holds Up: The Canaries is a busy place right now. But one sailor who apparently won’t be joining the action is beach cat sailor Greg Homann, who was on the verge of setting out to try and break the transatlantic beach cat record. No real explanation is given for this decision, and his web site says that the voyage is only “suspended.” But it doesn’t sound good. The decision to “review his program” followed his trial sail to the Canaries. Must have been a very nasty voyage…



Beach Cat Revelation: “Hmmm. Twenty days of this will turn me into one big salt water sore…”

Francis Joyon Transatlantic Record Update: Solo sailor Joyon is into the second day of his east/west transatlantic record run, and is right now weaving his way through the Canary Islands (hope he doesn’t hit any of the Vendee Globe racers…). Check out his position reports here. The big man is doing okay, sailing over 700 miles in 36 hours, for an average speed north of 19 knots (he needs to average about 17 knots to break PlayStation’s record of 9 days and 13 hours). But things get trickier as he makes the transition to the Trade winds. And its downwind from there. I’m almost willing to say that I’ll eat my laptop if Joyon breaks PlayStation’s record. Almost…



“What? Zimmermann said he’d eat his laptop? That I’d like to see. Sheet on…”

(Photo: F. Van Malleghem / Mer & Média)

Wetass Video Of The Week Follow Up…: This mountain biker really DID go over the side of a cliff. Check it ouch. Key piece of dialogue: “Look at the penalty for failure, Dude.” Reaction 1: poor riding, Dude. Reaction 2: nice of your friend to keep filming. Reaction 3: he’s aliiive!…



Is that all…?

Vendee Update–Canaries Ho’: The lead boats will be in amongst the Canary Islands tonight, setting a Vendee record of just 5 days to get there (in 2000 it took the leaders six days). Check out the leaderboard here. The big change is that Wetass favorite Mike Golding has climbed into third place. How did he do it? From his website:

“I didn’t do anything special,” says Golding. “All the special stuff was done about two days ago when we chose to gybe. Obviously delaying that gybe cost me some positions and I’ve just got them back again.” To the west there has been more wind and a more easterly wind angle that allows them to sail faster than boats out to the east.

Being further west has also kept Ecover out of the worst of the window shadow of Madeira, the Portugese islands the leaders passed in the early hours today.

“I wanted to be well clear of Madeira,” says Golding. “It is always a problem and invariably it is on your track and there is a great temptation to cut it close and fall into the flat water behind it. I was trying to respect a cone shaped area on the back of the islands.” The wind shadow of Madeira, as with all the islands down the African coast such as the Canaries and Cape Verdes, can affect the winds up to 150-200 miles to leeward of them.

Yesterday Golding recorded the highest speed of the passage so far – 29 knots thundering down a wave. As conditions got a little lighter at 0400am today he changed up to his larger Code 5 reacher and full mainsail and he says he is still regularly accelerating up to 24 knots.

Although the boats’ record breaking speed south is impressive, Golding does not feel the pace is excessive. “It is hard work, but this is the Vendee Globe – what do you expect? I wouldn’t say we are pushing any harder than normal. Look at the attrition rate – there hasn’t been much breakage. We are so much faster because we have had such a favourable weather system since the start. Since we started we’ve been on a roll.”

Admittedly race leader Vincent Riou is more than 50 miles ahead but Golding thinks he can reel him in. The forecast shows the rapid run south drawing to a close for a while tomorrow before the Trade Winds re-establish themselves on Saturday.

“He’ll run out of these breeze first and we’ll compress back up. So I am concerned by it, but I don’t think it is a killer lead. What is concerning me more is that he is able to do that in these conditions which are roughly Southern Ocean conditions. While I haven’t absolutely had my foot to the floor for the whole time, I hope not to have to sail the race like that. Then it becomes a gamble over who breaks.”

Already, there are some fascinating story lines shaping up in this Vendee: the surprising pace of darkhorse Vincent Riou on older generation PRB; the obvious talent–and obvious inexperience (he got stuck in the wind shadow of Madeira)–of lightning fast Alex Thomson; and the old Vendee lions, Golding and Roland Jourdain on Sill, making all the right moves and patiently waiting for the boats around them to either blow up or make tactical mistakes in the pressure of the chase. If they do neither, it’s going to be a hell of a drag race across the Southern Ocean…



Ecover From Above: Stalking the leaders…

The Wetass Life–Tim McKenna: This dude has it wired. McKenna started life in Australia, but wandered the world until he ended up in Tahiti, as a sports photographer. Now he travels non-stop and cranks out stunning photos and portraits, covering surfing, snowboarding, windsurfing and rockclimbing. And in his spare time he photographs the beauty of Polynesia, including not very modest Vahines. McKenna’s work is stunning, and you can check it all out at his first-rate website. Here’s a taste of it. Bastard…

Warren Miller Blowout…: It’s almost ski season so it’s time to start slobbering over big air and big powder. And who better to get you off, than Warren Miller, longtime wildman of ski films. Miller is celebrating 55 years of following the snow, with the release of a new movie, IMPACT. Check out the trailer here. It’ll bring a smile to your face. Guaranteed…



“Okay, Warren, you geezer. I’m getting tired of landing on my head to make you look good, so this is the last take…”

(Photo: Dan Hudson via Skiing magazine)

Vendee Globe Update: Not much has changed as the boats rocket south toward the Canaries in strong northeasterlies (which will slowly fade, but not before they give Francis Joyon a solid push; see below). Roland Jourdain has racked up a 385 mile day, the best 24-hour run of the race so far. And Vincent Riou on PRB is still leading the pack. Update here. Position table here. Some of the sailors are starting to suggest that Riou is pushing too hard, and setting a pace that will eventually blow the fleet up. But to hear Riou tell it, he’s having a pretty relaxing time:

“All’s well, gliding along. I haven’t been helming much, it’s wet outside and I don’t like the water! I almost have to force myself to go on deck and helm just to check that everything’s balanced as the boat really just sails itself in these conditions. Managing sleep is easy right now and I’m getting 5/6 hours a day in 30 minute chunks and I’ve still got fresh food for a few days.”

If Riou is telling the truth, instead of trying to play with everyone’s head, he could turn out to be a formidable dark horse in this race. He certainly knows his boat PRB well: Riou was responsible for preparing it for winner Michael Desjoyeaux during the last Vendee Globe…



Race-leader Riou: “Heh-heh. They all think I’m sleeping, but instead I’m out here helming my ass off…”

Wetass Video Of The Week…: Today, TWC brings you mountain bike-madness. Click here to watch the thrills and spills. All I can say is the last guy is lucky to have fallen off where he did, because if he had been with his bike for the next few seconds he would have needed a Medevac…



“Dude, how about we make a hard left and huck this cliff…”

Francis Joyon Hits The Route Of Discovery: Supersailor Joyon got underway from Cadiz this morning. He’s got 3884 miles to go, and 9 days, 13 hours to get there. That means an average speed north of 16.92 knots. Along the way Joyon hopes to take a crack at the solo 24-hour record, which stands at 540 miles. You can follow Joyon’s progress on this position table. Once Joyon’s on the western side of the Atlantic, there’ll be nothing left for him to do except take a crack at the west/east record from Ambrose Light to the Lizard. I love this guy…



Flying Francis Joyon: “Why do I sail? Well, it’s obvious I wasn’t going to be a movie star…”

(Photo: Fabrice Thomazeau)