Ok, technically this is a surf blog, but as body boarders would no doubt argue the art of body boarding is techinally surfing too!  So thought it’d only be right to include some pics of their noble art. These were taken at both Fistral beach and Towan bay in Newquay, Cornwall.  Simply click photos for the larger version.

Bernie body boarding at Towan Bay Newquay, 2009

Unknown body boarder in the pocket on a wave at Fistral beach

Bernie body boarding on a wave at Towan Bay, Newquay 2009

Unknown guy body boarding at Fistral Beach, Newquay 2009

]]> http://www.newquaysurfer.org/2009/12/18/bodyboarding-in-newquay/feed/ 0 http://www.newquaysurfer.org/2009/11/30/clay-marzo-surfer-profile/ http://www.newquaysurfer.org/2009/11/30/clay-marzo-surfer-profile/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:10:41 +0000 gareth http://www.newquaysurfer.org/?p=240

Clay Marzo : Photo by Chris Sardelis www.sardelis.com

Clay Marzo is one of the most talented surfers in the world. At twenty years old, he is sponsored by Quiksilver and is a member of the Young Guns, having been featured in Kelly Slater’s Young Guns II and III alongside other professional surfers including Adam Durrant and Dane Reynolds. He’s won the NSSA Open Men’s National Championship, Water Man of the Year in 2006, and was nominated for Maneuver of the Year in 2007 at the Surfer Poll Awards. He’s also the first to achieve a perfect score—all 10’s—at the NSSA.

In December 2007, Clay Marzo was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. It’s a form of high-functioning autism, with symptoms including difficulty managing social interactions and expressing oneself as well as a tendency toward obsession and a preoccupation with repetitive behaviors. Marzo’s preoccupation is surfing—and it’s possible that his greatest deficit is also his greatest strength.

While most people with Asperger’s syndrome lack coordination, Clay Marzo is exceptionally talented when it comes to surfing. His signature moves include many that are not technically supposed to be possible—a signature aerial reversal, for example, that has him bent over backwards so low that his hair touches the water before standing up straight on his board.

Marzo is known for scoring perfect landings on flips and other maneuvers that no other professional surfer could perform. Marzo grew up in Maui, about twenty feet from the beach. He was riding his own board by the time he was five. His older half brother, Cheyne Magnusson, was the recognized surfer in his family when Clay was a child. Cheyne was the son of Clay’s mother and skateboarding pro Tony Magnusson, and he was picked up by Quiksilver when Clay was still very young. Still, Clay’s gifts were obvious even from a young age—he won the statewide 200-meter freestyle at the age of ten, despite the fact that he hardly ever practiced swimming. By the time he was ten and eleven, he was winning his first contests.

Clay Marzo is a keen supporter of the Surfers Healing charity. He is a highly talented surfer with several prestigious awards and sponsorships already under his belt—and with his distinctive, fearless surfing style and eye-catching signature maneuvers, he’s definitely a stand-out athlete at even the most high-profile surfing competitions.

YouTube Videos featuring Clay surfing

• Clay Marzo – Just Add Water Trailer
• Young Guns III footage
• The Collection Trailer

Photos of Clay Marzo

• Clay’s Flickr profile

DVDs with Clay Marzo

• Clay Marzo – Just Add Water
• Tomorrow Today
• The Collection – Featuring Clay Marzo and Dane Reynolds
• Young Guns II & III

Sponsors

• Quicksilver
• Future Fins

Kelly Slater after winning a heat

Kelly Slater – Profile

This American pro surfer is known for his dynamic and explosive surfing style and his record of championships.  Kelly Slater was born in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in 1972, with one older and one younger brother, both of whom also surf. His ancestry is Syrian and Chinese, and he was known as “Jack” as a child before he decided to use his middle name, Kelly.

Slater’s surfing style is known for its distinctive agility and aggression—while demonstrating uncompromising form and style, especially in smaller waves. Slater was a pioneer in adapting “skate style” to surfing—going for faster turns, big air and impressive tricks off every wave, rather than “carving” the waves in long, graceful arcs as his predecessors did.

He’s won the ASP World Champion title nine times, as well as the distinction of being both the youngest (at 20) and the oldest (at 36) to win the crown. In 2007, he won the Boost Mobile Pro event in San Clemente, California—making him the most decorated pro surfer in the world. He’s also the first surfer ever to be awarded two perfect scores under the two-wave ASP scoring system.

TV

Kelly  Slater isn’t just a star on the water, though. He’s also made appearances on television, starring in numerous surf films and playing Jimmy Slade on Baywatch in approx 10 episodes. More recently, he made an appearance on the reality show The Girls Next Door, featuring the lives of women at the Playboy Mansion.

Music

You can also hear Slater perform in his band, the Surfers, along with friends and fellow surfing pros Peter King and Rob Machado. Their only album, released in 1998, is called Songs From the Pipe. But Slater has made other musical appearances more recently, including concert and promotional video appearances with Pearl Jam, Ben Harper, and Shirley Manson.

Charity Work

Slater is dedicated to supporting ocean and reef preservation projects, as well as charity work worldwide. His own organization, the Kelly Slater Foundation, is devoted to providing financial support and raising public awareness of socially and environmentally responsible charities. His foundation provides support to charities that demonstrate a dedication to specific, achievable goals.

YouTube Videos Featuring Kelly Slater

• Kelly Slater in Action
• Young Guns 3
• A 10 pt ride at Hurley US Open 2009
• As Jimmy Slade in Baywatch
  

Photos

• Slater on Flickr

DVDs

• Kelly Slater: “In Black and White” DVD 1991
• Kelly Slater: Letting Go – 2005 Trials And Tribulations DVD
• Full List of movies at IMDB
  

Sponsors

• Quiksilver wetsuits and clothing
• FCS fins
• Channel Islands Surfboards

* Photo of Kelly Slater by SoulSurfer3

Photo courtesy of www.ripcurlricki.com

Whilst the surf at Fistral beach has been predominantly blown out by high winds this week I managed to come across some pretty fun surfy stuff. From a surfing dog (with her own website) to a new big wave spot in Newquay – as well as some pretty sick YouTube videos. So lets go!

1. Surf Dawg

Rip Curl Ricki is a surfing dog. She hangs 20 and even has her own website and FaceBook group you can join. This could of course only happen in America, where dog surfing comps are all the rage. This website did make be chuckle and I think everyone who checks out this surfing dog might be won over. By Thursday evening this story even made it from Twitter onto radio in Devon.

Check out Rip Curl Ricki’s website here: http://www.ripcurlricki.com/

2. Zorba Reef

This was an interesting article because everyone considers The Cribbar to be the only serious big wave spot along this part of the Cornish coast. However Zorba Reef apparently is another potentially huge big wave spot in Newquay that to date has been un-ridden.

Check out the article about Zorba Reef here

3. Florida Shark Attacks

There were quite a few shark attacks reported this week in Florida and when you hear stuff like this it makes you realise how safe our waters are in the UK and how lucky we are. I have found surfing in ‘Red Triangle’ type surf spots a tough one because some of the waves are amazing but at the same time you have to try and put the Shark factor to the back of your mind and hope for the best. A couple of surfers in Florida this week were not so lucky.

Read about the shark attacks here and here

4. Cool surfing videos on YouTube:

Some great surf videos this week and here are three of the best. One is some pretty crazy surfing in a wave pool, some great footage of Reubyn Ash from Bude surfing in Indo and also the Kite surfer, who dramatically jumped 100ft over Worthing pier!

• Backside 360 & Rodeo in a wave pool

• Reubyn Ash from Bude surfing in Indo

• Two kite surfers jump over Worthing pier

And finally…Quote of the week:

“Surfing is very much like making love. It always feels good, no matter how many times you’ve done it” – Paul Strauch, Hawaii

Two happy surfers - Reubin Pearce & Alan Stokes

Whilst high winds battered the UK coast on Saturday, Sunday turned into a much calmer affair which fortunately meant some great surf for the 2009 Animal Open held at Fistral Beach, Newquay. Surfers faced some challenging conditions and a number of surfboards were broken during the day’s heats, however whilst a jetski was on hand for emergencies the surfers made the most of the solid surf that Fistral beach served up.

To watch our video of the mens final award ceremony (as featured on A1surf.com) see the video below:

The four finalists  Alan Stokes, Spencer Hargraves, Nathan Phillips and Reubin Pearce tackled some chunky overhead surf as the tide pushed in. Reubin Pearce was on top form and went on to win the final, in second place was Alan Stokes (who was also declared as winner of the 2009 UK Surf tour), Spencer Hargraves made third and Nathan Phillips fourth.

L-R Sophie Hellyer (3rd) Gabi Rowe (1st) & Zoe Sheath (2nd) - Animal Open Womens Final 2009

In the women’s event Gabi Rowe took first place with Zoe Sheath coming second. Sophile Hellyer placed third and Nicole Morgan was fourth place respectively.

Watch our video of the womens final awards ceremony below (Note Nicole Morgan’s broken surfboard as competitors battled with some sizeable surf).

For more info on the Animal Open you can also check out Carve Magazine’s report here

Photo courtesy of Quicksilver on Mpora.com

Dane Reynolds was born in Long Beach California in 1985 and is now widely regarded as one of the best free surfers in the world. As well as being a gifted surfer Dane Reynolds also manages to be one of the more humble and modest too – as anyone who has watched his movie First Chapter will know.

Now based in Ventura, California Dane is a surfing phenomenon the world over – well known for his experimental, acrobatic, aerial style of surfing.

Starting to surf at the age of 10 years old – Dane went on to appear in Kelly Slater’s progressive Young Guns series and then later in his own (2006 Surfer Poll winning) signature film First Chapter.

At 5’11 and 160 pounds, Dane Reynolds has the rare ability to fuse creative free surfing with the skills required to contend successfully in professional surf competitions the world over (in spite of his “go for broke” progressive style of aerial tricks).

As well as his surfing skills, Dane does not seem to be scared to share a more sensitive, introspective personal style through his blog www.marinelayerproductions.com which includes a range of arty video shorts, random photos and notes.

Competitive Surfing: At the time of writing Reynolds is placed 12th on the 2009 ASP World Tour. Dane achieved 3rd place in the Billabong Pro event at Jeffreys Bay South Africa as well as going on and making second place in the Hurley Pro at Trestles California where he battled in the final with Mick Fanning. In 2009 he has consistently finished in the top ten on a number of occasions the world tour.

Sponsors: Dane Reynolds in sponsored by a number of companies including Quicksilver, Channel Islands surfboards, DC and more.

Dane Reynolds Signature Surfboard: Dane Reynolds is sponsored by Channel Islands surfboards. His signature model in the collection is the ‘The Proton’. For more information on the Proton surfboard – click here. The manufacturer states that as the board is designed for one of the world’s most progressive surfers, it means the Proton board needs to be  ridden aggressively! For the latest info and behind the scenes photos of Dane and his surfboards it’s possible to follow Channel Islands on Twitter.com by following @sleds.

Dane Reynolds Surf DVDs:

• The Collection  – Featuring Clay Marzo & Dane Reynolds
• First Chapter
• Young Guns 1,2 & 3
• Dude Cruise
• Stranger Than Fiction
• Days of the Strange
• The Present

Online Video Clips Featuring Dane Reynolds:

• Super slow motion air move ( See video embedded above)
• Lower Trestles Final V Mick Fanning in slow motion
• First Chapter Trailer
• Behind the scenes short at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, Spain
• Cool interview video with Dane Reynolds

1. Stormy Newquay – Stormy seas and high winds roll into Newquay. Most of the local surf spots being blown out and totally unsurfable. We recorded wind gusts in excess of 45mph. However this didn’t seem to put off the local groms who on tuesday waited until high tide to try and bodyboard the backwash waves crashing off the main wall. When this got too dangerous, they simply dodged big waves as they rolled into Towan bay and broke on the ramp – occassionally sweeping one or two of them back out into the bay.  See photos of Towan Bay here.

2. Boscombe Reef officially opens - while generally speaking artificial reefs are a great thing, its still hard to get over the fact that an artifical reef in Newquay would have been much more likley to produce world class waves year round than one in Bournemouth as the latter relies on the English channel. That said the regeneration work in the area of Boscombe and all the new jobs and improvements it has brought are all good things – lets hope the artificial reef works out well too. There’s been a huge amount of coverage from the local press on the development of the reef, however the BBC have also put together an article as the reef is officially opened this week – Read the BBC news article on Boscombe Reef here.

3. Over 50s Surf Competition – At the weekend the Huntington Beach City Council on Aging held the 2009 Southland Senior Olympics Surfing Competition in Huntington, California. The competition was open to men and women who were 50 and over, and you could surf either a longboard or shortboard in the competition.  Reckon if you can still rip on a shortboard in your fifities and sixties you must be insanely fit! Photos of the event can be found here.

4. Top 10 places in the World to Surf – You wouldn’t really associate the Daily Telegraph with the world of surfing,  however as a spin-off on reporting on the Boscombe Reef the Telegraph wrote an article on the best places in the world to surf this week. No major surprises in the Top 10 list -  I guess they might have just watched Endless Summer and read a chapter of Alex Wade’s SurfNation but it’s good to see surfing in the news… and in the broadsheets too -  Read the article here

5. UK’s first £1000.00 Train ticket! – Yes, the nation’s most expensive train ticket now comes in at over £1000.00 and its a return ticket from Newquay up to a remote part of the Scottish Highlands and back again. Of course it’d be cheaper to fly, buy a car &  insure it or  even catch a luxury cruise ship up the coast, but this sensationalist piece of news certainly got people talking about the rising cost of rail travel – Read the news piece here.

These photos were taken at Towan Bay, Newquay just before a storm was due to hit.  Surfing was impossible at all the major beaches with high winds resulting in big messy waves in excess of 10ft already hitting most of the spots along the coast.

However in Towan bay at high tide a few of the groms tried to surf waves that rolled in straight towards the harbour wall – but either you had to jump off before your board hit the wall or you were thrown up into the air as the wave hit the backwash. When this was tricky the local kids resorted to bodyboarding and when that was too dangerous or impractical it was a case of playing dare as big waves smashed into the bay. Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure no kids were injured or swept out to sea.

Wave hits wall at Towan Bay

Kids watching waves roll in at Towan Bay

Kids watch bodyboarders surfing backwash at Towan

Kids play dare with waves at Towan bay

Wave hits the wall at Towan as kids duck for cover

Big wave smashes against wall

Kids get washed over by a wave

Wedge forms and is about to hit the wall

Oska Wright more commonly known as Ozzie Wright (as well as Ozzie Wrong) is the infamous Australian professional soul surfer, artist and bass player with punk rock garage band Goons of Doom. Ozzie Wright’s surfing style is a spontaneous mix of edgy tricks and manoeuvres often involving difficult aerial moves, though he is equally as home with more traditional styles of surfing including barrel riding. He is perceived by many as a unique blend of surf star by day and rock star by night. Ozzie Wright is sponsored by Volcom and Santa Cruz Surf boards. The Volcom sponsorship covers a range of products including a clothing range which features some of Wright’s art, as well as the DVD 156 tricks. His band ‘The Goons of Doom’ are also signed to Volcom Entertainment.

Ozzie Wright: Image courtesy of Volcom

The Santa Cruz sponsorship includes his own range of custom surfboards, which features his art. At the time of writing the main model is the Ozzie Wright Wing Swallow surfboard shaped by Chris Gallagher. the surfboard is available in 5’4, 5’8 and a 6’0 sizes with each surfboard featuring different graphics created by Wright. The surfboards are primarily designed for head high waves, though in his video 156 tricks Ozzie demonstrates a number of tricks achievable in much smaller surf ( see top right for the video).

DVDs you can buy featuring Ozzie Wright:

· 156 tricks
· Drive Thru New Zealand Surf DVD
· Drive Thru South Central America Surf DVD

Links to online videos featuring Ozzie Wright’s Surfing:

· Big Fat Whales
· 156 Tricks
· Barrel riding

Photos of Ozzie Wright:

· On Flickr
· On Volcom’s website

Music featuring Ozzie Wright:

As bass player of the band ‘Goons of Doom’ Ozzie Wright mixes his surfing career alongside both his art and musical commitments. His band the Goons of Doom to date have released the EP ‘Bikey Zomby’ (2005) the 16 track album ‘The Story of Dead Barbie & Ghost’  (2007) as well as their most recent work ‘I Hate My Hair & I Want To Die’ released in 2008. The band have toured extensively in Australia, New Zealand and more recently in 2009 across parts of the USA.

· Goons of Doom website
· ‘Cars’ by Goons of Doom
· ‘Art Books’ by Ozzie Wright
· Goons of Doom video on Gimby

Ozzie Wright’s Art:

Ozzie Wright’s art is quite cartoony but edgy in style – like a cross between Egon Schiele, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Banksy. His art blends graffiti, pop art, a bit of manga and a strong line all in one. Featured on a range of Volcom fashion products and his DVD, Wright has held art exhibitions worldwide as well as working on a number of surfboard graphics. In addition to this he has created various pieces of artwork for his band The Goons of Doom.

Finding a shop that sells a decent wetsuit or surfboard can be a tough task in many cities inland. Try buying a wetsuit and surfboard in Birmingham city centre and you’ll certainly have your work cut out. And when it comes to buying a wetsuit in particular, its important to be able to try them on so the online shopping option is not always a quick fix. Here’s why the good old surf store will always have its place.

Sometimes when people visit Newquay they seem at a loss to find the right shops for buying surf gear or hiring it, however Newquay has a number of great friendly surf shops that will look after your interests. If one shop doesn’t have what you need don’t be surprised if they direct you to one of their competitors who might be able to help. In order to make finding a board, wetsuit or surf kit to hire a little easier listed below on this page is the contact information for some of the best surf shops in Newquay as well as an interactive Google map (top right).

To view a bigger version of the interactive map click here.

Overhead Surf Ltd
1 Beacon Road
Newquay TR7 1HH
01637 850520

Sunset Surf
106 Fore St
Newquay, TR7 1EY
01637 877 624

Surfers Paradise Surf Shop
64 Tower Road
Newquay TR7 1LY
01637 877373

Revolver
76 Fore St
Newquay
TR7 1EY
01637 875730

Dream Sessions
70 Fore Street
Newquay
TR7 1EY
01637 873869

North Shore Surf Shop
36 Fore Street
Newquay
TR7 1LP
01637 850620

Bilbo Surf Shop (Formerly Tunnel Vision Shop)
6 Alma Place
Newquay
TR7 1NF
01637 879033

Custard Point (Formerly The Longboard House Shop)
4 Alma Place
Newquay
TR7 1NF
01637 872579

Boardwalk
Cliff Road
Newquay
TR7 2NE
01637 878880

Ocean Magic
11 Cliff Road
Newquay
TR7 2NE
01637 850071

Big Wednesday
13 Cliff Road
Newquay
TR7 2NE
01637 854460

Overhead Surf Co
19 Cliff Road
Newquay
TR7 2NE
01637 850808

Anne’s Cottage
Unit 1
Fistral Beach Complex
Headland Road
Newquay
01637 872155

Fistral Beach Surf Hire
Fistral Beach Complex
Headland Road
Newquay