Polyurethane, polystyrene or fiberglass? Nah, just wood

        Portland based eyewear company Schwood just released one more video of its experiment series. 

This new clip shows a group of surfers building a wooden surfboard made entirely of an old log found on the beach. This takes surfing up to its origins as the first surfboards were made of this material. 

Back in the time, wooden boards were made using the Wili Wili, the Ula and the Koa tree's and ranged from 10 to 16 feet long depending on social class. For hawaiian commoners  the size was about 10-12 feet while for the noblemen and chiefs the size was between 14-16 feet.

Collect Call From Canada

Those who have followed my site for a while know that I like surfing done in extreme conditions. It is easy for every slacker in Southern California to hit the beach with a surfboard (even just to show off), but to enter a sea in a remote region where the water temperature is cold beyond believe, sure takes some guts. "Collect Call from Canada" follows the three day surf trip of a very talented group of surfers headed by Dane Anderson.The stunning scenery allied to the music by Jesus and Mary Chain are the other contributions that make this flick one of the best surprises of the year.

Malibu Pier

 Surfing in Malibu is all fun and giggles until you approach the pier and have to show the real surfer in you. I wonder how the dude in the video manages to ride a surfboard with the huge balls he has to drag everywhere.

The rise of the machines in surfing?

And so it begins... If this trend catches up I can imagine the future ASP championships being disputed by a bunch of neckbeards sitting on the beach and controlling their radio controlled surfers from a safe distance. Well there is still no reason to overreact like the dude in the video though. Courtesy of catch surf.

Isolated

ISOLATED - Documentary Film Trailer from Something Kreative Films on Vimeo.


It is supposedly one of the hidden gems in the surfing world. New Guinea is the world´s second largest island and one of those places emerged in a mystic of its own. It has one of the lowest population densities in Asia while being home to some of the last ancient tribes still in existence in our world. Considering all these facts all together it shouldn't surprise anyone why it keeps attracting adventurers and thrillseekers from around the globe.

It would be much too easy to put the following group of surfers that I am going to talk you about in the same category of adrenaline junkies. In a way, yes, the love for risk and the curiosity to meet an unknown culture had its weight, but what we learn with Isolated is that some experiences tend to get a lot more richer and broad than they first appeared to be.

The premise is simple indeed. A group of surfers takes on a journey to discover one of the world´s last undiscovered waves. What they meet is a world of stunning beauty and kind people but also one that hides an horrific dark side. Cannibalism, the prevalence of human rights atrocities and the nefast consequence of an unethical mining corporation taint the initial image of a lost paradise.

More than an impressive account of a somehow reclusive place that hides what some would consider an unspoiled dreamland for surfers, Isolated makes an effort to alert a broader audience for the problems that affect this troubled region. A flick to keep an eye on. (Watch the film trailler above).

The directors are seeking help is to raise finishing funds for the film through kickstarter, in order to create awareness for the cause through the film. Interested in taking action? Check out here as well. 

Record for longest surf ride has been broken

It was not the most dangerous, biggest or beautiful wave but it made an englishman join the remarkable Guinness Book of Records. Surfer Steve King accomplished the feat of surfing the same wave for over 12 miles in River Kampar in Sumatra (Indonesia). The watercourse has gained worldwide recognition due to a a strange natural phenomenon called Bono. A rather strange tide leads to waves that can be over 19 feet high and last for 30 miles.

46 year old King managed to ride the same wave for 1 hour and 4 minutes. Over the last years the river Kampar has been the center place for a whole community of surfers that keep on meeting every year to ride together what has become one of the main tourist attractions of the island of Sumatra. Not even the numerous crocodiles that live in the river have detracted the joy of those fearless thrill seekers. Below you can see a video of Steve riding another famous river wave, the brazillian Pororoca and a second video of Steve´s  surfing action in Sumatra.