The summer season has well and truly arrived in the surfing world as the events line up making August fit to burst. Regardless of whether you are learning to surf or have already booked your next surf holiday, there is some much needed inspiration available online or even in person, in the form of some brilliant European events and international contests.

 

Watch out for the European competitions in Lacanau, France; Zarautz, Basque Country in Spain; and of course, the oh-so-close-to-home Newquay, Cornwall, UK.

 

 

Event: Billabong Pro Teahupoo

Location: Taiarapu, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Rating: WCT

Dates: 20th - 31st August

Prize money: $425,000

Last year’s winner: The late Andy Irons (USA)

 

Event: Nike US Open of Surfing

Location: Huntington Beach, California, USA

Rating: Prime

Dates: 1st - 7th August

Prize money: $250,000

Last year’s winner: Brett Simpson (USA)

 

Event: Relentless Boardmasters in Association with Vans

Location: Fistral Beach,Newquay, UK

Rating: 6*

Dates: 9th - 14th August

Prize money: $145,000

Last year’s winner: Marc Lacomare (FRA)

 

Event: Sooruz Lacanau Pro

Location: Grand Plage, Lacanau, France

Rating: 6*

Dates: 16th - 21st August

Prize money: $145,000

Last year’s winner: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA)

Website: www.sooruzlacanaupro.com

 

Event: Coastal Edge ECSC presented by Vans

Location: Virginia Beach, VA, USA

Rating: 4*

Dates: 22nd - 28th August

Prize money: $85,000

Last year’s winner: Jeremy Johnston (USA)

 

Event: San Miguel Pro

Location: Zarautz, Basque Country, Spain

Rating: 6*

Dates: 30th August - 4th September

Prize money: $145,000

Last year’s winner: Heitor Alves (BRA)

 

 

Event: Nike US Open of Surfing

Location: Huntington Beach, California, USA

Rating: WCT

Dates: 1st - 6th August

Prize money: $110,000

Last year’s winner: Carissa Moore (HAW)

Website: www.usopenofsurfing.com

 

Event: SriLankan Airlines Pro

Location: Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Rating: 6*

Dates: 30th August - 4th September

Prize money: $35,000

Last year’s winner: Event didn’t exist for the women.

 

Jordy Smith has only gone and done it again... winning the Billabong Pro J-Bay for the second year in a row.

 

Yesterday in stormy waves at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, 24 year old South African Jordy Smith powered his way through some tough heats to claim the Billabong Pro title.  Running from the 14th to 24th July, the Billabong Pro J-Bay has seen some of the best and stormiest of conditions, and yesterday’s final was no exception to the rule.

 

Smith’s road to glory was paved with some fierce competition in the form of the perennially in shape Mick Fanning (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS) and Damian Hobgood (USA).  Yet it was the final that witnessed Smith go head to head with Fanning that proved why this time he was the victor.

 

In 3-4ft waves Smith and Fanning battled out the final.  Smith got the upperhand by landing a two hand rail grab that brought home the scores.  Smith managed to create a two wave combination score of 15.60 out of a possible 20, whereas even with Fanning’s sweeping cutbacks and quick turns, Fanning could only put together a final total score of 14.83.

 

Close on the heels of both Smith and Fanning was Joel Parkinson (AUS), who after finishing equal third, now leads the world championship tour (WCT) ratings.  J-Bay was event number 4 on the WCT, and there will be 11 events in total this year, so it is still early days to see who is likely to be taking the world championship title for 2011.  However, the top contenders will already be looking to maximize their leads.  

 

The leader board has shifted from the completion of j-Bay, as Parkinson took the top spot, Smith lies in a close second place, pre-J-Bay leader Adriano de Souza (BRA) slips to third, and Fanning jumps from eighth to fourth.  Everyone is hungry for the win, especially as the top three have never won the title.

 

The rookies on the tour are also doing well and giving the old boys a run for their prize money.  Australian Julian Wilson and Brazilian Alejo Muniz both posted quarter final results, bringing Wilson to spot 20 in the ratings and Muniz to a very comfortable 13.  Muniz’s result secures him a spot on the tour for the remainder of the year, as this year after the next event there will be a change over of the top 32 WCT surfers to those who are in the top 32 in the world.  Some familiar faces are set to be replaced by some fresher ones.

 

The decider on who will be brought onto and who will be lost from the second hald of 2011’s tour, will be at the Billabong Pro Tahiti, that’s set to run from 20th to 31st August.  Look out for more details at http://billabongpro.com 
 

Have you ever thought about learning to surf for the first time? It can seem like a big hurdle trying something that’s new and very unknown, but at the same time, the whole experience will be a lot of fun. Some of the most important advice to help you start out will be making sure you have the right gear.  Here’s our first installment in what to rent or buy so that you can get yourself in the waves having fun, or on a learn to surf holiday.

 

 

Before you even think of getting into the water, you need to know how warm or cold it will be.  Making sure that you are a comfortable temperature and in the right clothing is essential to making the most of even your first experience in the waves. 

 

For the majority of us in Europe the water is cold, so choosing a good cold water wetsuit is a must.  It doesn’t matter if you hire one for a day, or choose to invest, make sure that either your surf instructor or surf shop assistant helps you pick out a suit that is matched with where you’ll be surfing most.  During the European summer, most surfers will opt for a 3/2 wetsuit. This means that the body of the wetsuit has the thickness/warmth of 3mm of neoprene, whereas the arms have 2mm. However, if you feel the cold, you may want to opt for something warmer such as a 4/3, or even the winter equivalent of a 5/3.  

 

If you are going to be surfing in cold water for most of the year, buying a winter wetsuit will be the best investment.

 

Most of us have seen amazing footage of surfers in warm waters in their boardshorts and rashvests.  These are great for being on the beach, but unless it is mid summer in France, or Fuerteventura, they wont keep you warm enough in the water by themselves.  However, they are great for extra warmth and for stopping any annoying wetsuit rub.

 

 

Here’s where it gets even more exciting.  Choosing the first board that you are going to ride is a very memorable occasion. Everyone remembers their first board, and it’s the one that will get you addicted to surfing straight away.  

 

Most beginner surfers are given ‘foamies’ to ride.  These are foam boards that are longer, wider and a lot lighter than your average fibre glass board.  The idea behind them is that they are very buoyant, will easily catch nice safe white water, and wont hurt if you accidentally hit yourself with them.

 

There is a stage up from a foamy which can be well worth your while to get a better sense of surfing regular boards.  In most beginner beach line ups you will probably see NSP boards in the water.  These are a tougher board, designed again to be buoyant and relatively quick to catch waves.  However, these boards require more work in the ocean, as they are heavier and hence need to be used carefully.  Well worth the work though as they will be a great learner to intermediate board.

 

 

In surf lessons your instructor will provide you with all the tip bits that you need, but if you are going it alone, then you will need to make sure you’ve got the right wax to put on your board.  Read the instructions/label to make sure that your wax is matched to the water temperature, and get rubbing it all over your board.  It is what will keep you on your board and not sliding into the ocean.

 

If you do decide to invest in a surfboard, give it a home by buying a boardbag.  It’ll be your friend for when you want to take it on road trips or even foreign surf holidays, protecting your precise board on the ever fun airlines.


 

Last week Carissa Moore (Haw) made history.  She became the youngest ever surfer to win the ASP's Women's World Championship Title, and was crowned on the beautiful sunny beach of Biarritz at the Roxy Jam Pro.  Moore achieved what young surfer girls every where dream of, so we thought we would take a look at what the women's tour is all about this year.

When any of us pick up a surf magazine the content seems to be mainly about the men's world surf tour.  Countless covers, pages and words are devoted to the 34 men on the dream tour, but often the women's tour is somewhat sidelined.  Instead of 34 surfers, as with the men's elite surfers, there are only 17 female surfers on the tour.  They are a select few who have had to battle it out, not just against each other, but against little funding or sponsorship to make it onto the ASP's world tour.



This year has seemed like a whirlwind of events for the women, as the year is almost already over.  2011 has witnessed 6 of the 7 planned world title events take place, the crowning of Carissa Moore, and only one event left to go: the Nike US Open.  The final event of the women's year is set to take place over at Huntington Beach, California between 1st to 6th August.  It all seems a bit rapid, especially when comparing to the men's tour, which is currently holding event 5 of 11 over at the Billabong Pro J-Bay, South Africa.  However, that never stopped any of the women from giving their surfing everything that they've got.

Stand out performances throughout the year have come from Australian Sally Fitzgibbons, who dominated at Easter, when she won the event at Bell's Beach.  She went even further with a back to back win, but clinching the Sabaru Pro in Taranaki, New Zealand.  Fitzgibbons was one of the few who gave world champion Moore a run for the title.  The two of them raised the bar and have pushed women's surfing to greater levels already.



One of the big changes to this year was that former x4 world title holder Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), was outsted for the first time since she debuted on the elite tour.  Between Fitzgibbons and Moore, the Australian progressive surfer Gilmore was pushed into 3rd place in the rankings.  However, all is not lost for Gilmore, as she just put her stamp on this year's tour with a win at the Roxy Jam Pro in Biarritz.  She's got her momentum back, so it will be interesting to see who will continue to dominate in the Nike US Open next month.



Yet inspite of all the drama and the speed that 2011's women's tour in which it has been held, this year is going down in the history books as the year that Carissa Moore changed women's surfing.  She is the first surfer on the women's tour to make 6 out of 6 finals, clinching 3 wins, and becoming the youngest ever world title holder.  Expect more great things to come.