Beachbum Beachblog

Wow, but Jordy Smith really is riding a huge wave of success at the moment and that wave doesn’t appear set to come crashing down on the rocks any time soon.

If he doesn’t let up, this entire blog runs the risk of becoming all about him – but we won’t mind all that much. Just last week, we told you how the 22-year old South African professional surfer, who is ranked number two in the world after legendary Kelly Slater,  is nominated for Men’s Health Magazine’s “Best Men of 2010″ awards and how he is using his name and fame to get involved in environmental issues.

On Sunday night, Jordy received the highest honour at the 2010 South African Surfing Awards when he was crowned South Africa’s Surfer of the Year. As Sports24 reports, the rapturous applause this announcement was greeted with solidifies “his growing reputation as one of the world’s most exciting surfers, as well as South Africa’s reputation as one of the leaders in world surfing.”

Another of the night’s honorees was Cape Town’s big wave rider Chris Bertish, who received the ‘Pushing the Boundaries’ title.

Three more surfers were inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame. They are Peers Pittard, Christine Petrucci (1942-2009) and Hugh Roe. The late Christine’s children were there to accept the award on her behalf.

The Surf Photographer of the Year award was given to Durban’s Greg Ewing, whose prolific and skillfully executed body of work has established him as one of the country’s leading surfing photographers.

Umhlanga’s Beyrick de Vries received The Blowing Up Performer Award, given to the country’s most exciting up and coming junior surfer under the age of 20.

Cecil Solomon from Cape Town received the Agent of Change award for “spreading the stoke of surfing among all communities and at all levels”  – which is a fitting description for the man who founded South Africa’s first non-racial surf club.

For a full list of the evening’s award recipients and honorees, read Sport24′s coverage of the event.

Tags: Beyrick de Vries, Cecil Solomon, Chris Bertish, Christine Petrucci, Greg Ewing, Hugh Roe, Jordy Smith, Peers Pittard, South Africa's Surfer of the Year, South African Surfing Awards 2010, Surfing South Africa
Posted in Industry News, South African surfers, Surfing Events, Surfing Media | | No Comments »

After taking a bit of a hiatus and undergoing a revamp, the Havealooksurf.com website has relaunched.

The innovative website now features a South African Video Surf Report service as well as a Surf Video Webzine.

As the name suggests, the Video Surf Report/Weather Forecast service uses live streaming web cams to allow surfers and ocean lovers alike to check out up-to-date weather and wave conditions along many of the major surf breaks along South Africa’s coastline from the comfort of their own home computers and cell phones.

The Surf Video Webzine is a fusion of a traditional online surfing mag and a surfing video show, featuring interviews with famous local and international surfers, information about events, surfer profiles, pictures and video of the Have a Look Babe sexy beach babe and much more.

All features and services offered on the site remain free and require no sign-up or registration, but right now the site is hosting a cool competition in which people who sign up for the newsletter stand a chance to win great prizes, including a Baron surfboard and free accommodation in the Transkei with Swell Tours.

New a host of new features are still being developed for the site, so check it out frequently.

In the mean time, we say, welcome back to the web, Havealooksurf!

Tags: Baron Surfboard, Havealooksurf.com, South African Surfing Conditions, South African Surfing Website, Surfing South Africa, Surfing Website
Posted in Surfing Media | | No Comments »

Billabong has recently announced that it is re-signing one of South Africa’s most talented young female surfers.

Tarryn Chudleigh, the 20-year old surfer from Kommetjie in the Western Cape, has been with the brand’s Girls’ Surf team since she was a tender twelve years old and she is thrilled to have their continued support. “I’m super excited to have re-signed with Billabong again this year. I feel confident going into the New Year backed by such a supportive and strong company.”

Apart from backing her surfing, the former women’s surfing champion has also collaborated with Billabong’s design department to design a co-op signature t-shirt. The shirt will form part of Billabong’s 2010 range and will be available in November. “I’ve had so much fun working on my signature tee,” Tarryn said. “It’s been a dream of mine to have something I designed from Billabong and I can’t wait to see it in store.”

Starting on the 4th of March, Tarryn will also grace our television screens in the reality series Billabong Girls Get Out There Tour. The show, which debuts on 4 March on the Vuzu channel on DStv, details Tarryn’s road trip with seven other Billabong ambassadors as they travelled from South Africa’s surfing Mecca Jeffreys Bay to Durban and on to Cape Town all along the South African coastline in a bright pink bus.

However, Tarryn won’t be hanging about on the couch to watch herself on TV. Come mid-March, she’ll be jetting off to West Australia to compete in the first World Qualifying Series contest. “My goals for 2010 are to make the Top 6 on the ‘Q.S and qualify for the 2011 world circuit.”

Go, girl! If anyone can meet those goals, you can!

Tags: Billabong, Billabong Girls Get Out There Tour, DStv, South African women's surfing champions, Surfing South Africa, Tarryn Chudleigh, Vuzu, WQS
Posted in Industry News, South African surfers, Surfing Events, Surfing Media | | No Comments »

Wetsuits were exchanged for more formal wear at the third annual South African Surfing Awards.

The event, proudly presented by Zigzag Magazine in association with Paarl Web, took place at Suncoast Casino in Durban last Saturday night, 25 April 2009.

Local legend and big wave rider Grant “Twiggy” Baker walked away with the evening’s most prestigious award, Surfer of the Year, which looks to recognise the surfer who exceeded all surfing expectations in the twelve months gone by.

Baker scooped top honours for his undeniable rise to the forefront of big wave surfing across the globe after winning the 2008 Red Bull Big Wave Africa and a Billabong XXL Award for the largest wave ridden in the last 12 months.

” 2008 was a phenomenal year. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, but this evening and this award all starts here, with being a South African surfer. We owe everything we have to the SA surf legends who are here tonight, and i want to pay tribute to them. But most of all, this award goes to all the surfers in South Africa. Thank you, it’s an honour.” said winner Twiggy.

Other awards of the evening included :

1.        Pro Junior Champ 2008 : Bianca Buitendag (George)
2.        Pro Junior Champ 2008: Klee Strachan (Amanzimtoti)
3.        PST Champ 2008: Tammy Lee Smith (Ballito)
4.        PST Champ 2008: Devyn Mattheys (East London)
5.        ASP Africa Pro Junior Champ 2008: (Amanzimtoti)
6.        ASP Africa Champ: David Weare  (Durban North)
7.        Blowing Up Performer: Dale Staples  (St Francis Bay)
8.        Contribution to surfing: Louis Wulff  (East London)
9.        Photographer of the Year: Alan Van Gysen (Cape Town)
10.        Pushing The Boundaries: Red Bull Big Wave Africa
11.        World Tour Qualifier: Roseanne Hodge (East London)
12.        World Tour Qualifier: Jordy Smith (Durban)
13.        World Tour Qualifier: David Weare (Durban North)
14.        World Tour Qualifier: Greg Emslie (East London)

Will Bendix, editor of Zigzag, comments; “We’re honoured and extremely stoked to be able to host an evening like this that pays homage to the rich culture and legacy of South African surfing. And as you can see, there’s a lot to celebrate. It’s just an awesome reminder of how lucky we are to be surfers in this country.”

Highlights of the evening included the induction of surfing legends into the Hall of Fame, which honoured an elite group of surfers who have paved the way for South African Surfing. Current members include Max Wetteland, Mike Larmont, Spider Murphy, Graham Hynes and Shaun Tomson amongst others. The new inductees announced on the evening were Errol Hickman, and Michael Ginsburg.

1989 World Champion and surfing legend Martin “Pottz” Potter  was guest speaker. When the awards ended, 1st Project went on to being the roof down with their phenomenal drumming act to round off an epic evening.

Be sure to get your June/July edition of Zigzag to check out all the latest surfing news and highlights of the awards.

Picture Courtesy of Al Nicoll

Story source: Rox-ann Govender, Olivia Jones Communications

Tags: Alan van Gysen, Bianca Buitendag, Dale Staples, David Weare, Devyn Mattheys, Errol Hickman, Graham Hynes, Grant "Twiggy" Baker, Greg Emslie, Jordy Smith, Klee Strachan, Louis Wulff, Martin "Pottz" Potter, Max Wetteland, Michael Ginsburg, Mike Larmont, Roseanne Hodge, Shaun Tomson, South African Surfing, South African Surfing Awards, Spider Murphy, Tammy Lee Smith, Will Bendix, Zigzag Magazine
Posted in Industry News, Surfing Events, Surfing Media | | No Comments »

While he continues to rip his way across the surf of the world, Jordy Smith has decided to finally make his presence felt in the world of virtual surfing as well.

Just days ago, he launched the official Jordy Smith website.

The slick site features video clips of Jordy in action as well as photos and a blog. There is also a news section that will keep interested parties in the loop about where in the world Jordy is and what he is up to. (Currently he is taking part in the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by LG Mobile in Australia.)

Find Jordy’s profile, biography, as well as his growing list of sponsors on the site, all to the sound of some his favourite tunes.

Impressive, Jordy! We’ll definitely make a point of including it in our list of stops on our daily virtual surfing session of the web!

Tags: Jordy Smith, Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, South African Surfer, Surfing Websites
Posted in Surfing Events, Surfing Media | | No Comments »

A new South African magazine aimed specifically at local surfers have seen the light, just in time to usher in 2009. It’s called BOMBsurf Mag and one major way in which it is bound to surely make a splash in these trying economic times is that subscription to its quarterly print edition is free to South Africans! Readers only have to pay for the postage it will cost to get it delivered to them.

The magazine is published by Big Ocean Media Bros, a start up media business with a focus on innovative and relevant content delivery to the South African surf and beach culture niche. The company co-founders and owners are John McCarthy and Iain Evans, two South Africans who, between them, have wracked up a lot of experience in the world of surf and publishing. Both were instrumental in the rebirth of the highly acclaimed SA Paddler magazine and the subsequent publication of the ‘Reflections – Paddling in South Africa’ Coffee Table book. They have played an instrumental role in the creation of events and media platforms that cater to the youth and action sports markets in South Africa.

They founded the magazine and its accompanying website (on which the contents of the entire magazine can be read in full and also for free) because they have always felt that the surfing industry requires a legitimate, relevant and credible series of media platforms to assist in both the growth of the sport of surfing as well as the lifestyle that is associated with it. South African surfers and those interested in surf and beach culture want specialised and relevant local surf content on the media channel of their choice. They want to be informed, entertained and inspired by a global outlook but with an afrocentric bias. And that is exactly what BOMBsurf aims to do.

After glancing through the first issue, which is jampacked with fascinating features penned by some of South Africa’s most legendary wave riders (such as veteran Shaun Tomson and Twiggy Baker), we think that they are definitely succeeding in their quest!

For more information, and to read the first issue in full online, click here.

Tags: Big Ocean Media Bros, BOMBsurf Magazine, Iain Evans, John McCarthy, SA Paddler Magazine, Shaun Tomson, South African Magazines, Surfing South Africa, Twiggy Baker
Posted in Industry News, Surfing Media | | No Comments »