Our Oldies Are The World's Best, Bethany Hamilton's Tuberiding Is Something To Behold, and Flashback: Occy v Bruce at J-Bay
COASTALWATCH | THIS WEEK IN SURFING
Seven Things From Surfing & The Internet On The Week That Was September 28, 2018
1. We Are The Best Old People In The World!
I don't know about you, but I've been saying for years that the Championship Tour is worthless in deciding who in the world is best at surfing, the true test of a great surfing nation is of course the masters. Like a broken record I've been, saying that over and over and over. And well, guess what? Australia cleansweeped the WSL's return to the Masters format, the Azores Airlines World Masters Championship.
– Rob Bain won the Men's Grand Masters division over Cheyne Horan.
– Layne Beachley won the Women's Masters over Rochelle Ballard.
– Dave Macaulay won the Men's Masters division over Shane Beschen.
So that settles it. We have the best oldies in the world. This event was also a wonderful spectacle that stoked out everyone who stayed up late to watch it. Good on the WSL for bringing it back, and let's hope it returns in 2019 and for years beyond that.
P.S. Just mucking around with the "oldies" bit. All three of our champs look a hell of a lot younger than me, and let's not even get into how much better they are in the water than nearly all of us, or just at life in general. Super duper stoked and proud for all three of them, the legends!
2. Griffin Colapinto Is The Best Too, Here He Is In J-Bay
Sheesh, this kid doesn't muck around does he? A 15 minute clip? Again? Who has the time? I do, obviously. Got heaps of time. But still, it's a long web clip. Good thing that Griffin Colapinto has buckets of talent to fill it with, ripping J–Bay apart and getting around with his brother Crosby. Plus, it ends on an absolutely classic Dandy Warhols track. Absolutely classic.
3. Bethany Hamilton Is My Hero
"Grab your rail, keep your eyes on the exit."
“I need to get in it before I start looking at that, right? I look at the exit before I even get on the wave.”
Would you have a look at the tuberiding of Bethany Hamilton in this episode of My Bikini, Bali, particularly from the 6.45 mark. Sure, it’s not huge, but look at the way she rides the foamball without a trailing arm to grab the face and balance herself. Look at the way she drags her front arm back at the 7.20 mark, making for one of the most stylish tube stances seen in yonks. She’s a bloody hero. That’s not all of it either, there is some absolute ripping going down at Uluwatu in this clip, and it’s fun the whole through, making episode 3 of My Bikini Bali the best yet in what’s been a surprisingly delightful web series, a contender for the best web series going at the moment. Watch it. Then go back and watch the previous two episodes. Then come back here and watch this one a second time.
4. Occy v Bruce, J-Bay 2005
"Look at these bottom turns!"
What a classic of a heat! The sick style and tuberiding of Bruce Irons, v the backhand lines of Occy (not to mention that layback tube he gets at the end). Jake Paterson's Snaketales YouTube series has been relentless in dropping vintage gold lately, but this might be the best throwbach he's gifted us so far.
5. Throw Your Signature On This, Big Oil Don't Surf
Patagonia are fighting the good fight, and it's picking up steam. Here's what Sean Doherty wrote in his post on the topic:
"Where’s the last place on earth you’d want to drill for oil? How about a couple of hundred kays off the coast, in a marine reserve, in three kilometres of water, in the middle of the Southern Ocean open to the full force of the Roaring Forties? What could go wrong? The crew in the Bight have been fighting this colossally backward idea for years and it looks like it’s coming around again. If you surf you need to lend your voice on this one."
Alright Sean, we will. And it's easy to do too, just head to this site and put your name down in support.
6. A Nice Josh Kerr Profile
Look, the beginning of this clip is pretty cringe. Like, 90s style mainstream television talking surf kinda cringe. But bear with it, because after the intro we get a really good profile of Josh Kerr, and Josh Kerr is an absolute dude. And there is pumping Ments waves in here too. Pa-umping.
7. Irish Surfing Doco
Look, I didn't know I needed a documentary series about the history of Irish surfing, I didn't know that at all. But then Red Bull went ahead and made one and now I know that I did need that. Red Bull don't make bad content, really, so you know you're in safe hands. The unintentionally funniest part of this, however, is the fact that there's English language subtitles paired with a relatively easy to understand Irish accented English language. That was a mouthful of a sentence that last one. But I wrote it, and the delete button on my keyboard is broken, so it has to stay.
Bonus...
Look at Mick Fanning. Look at him!
And that was this week in surfing. Have a good weekend everyone.
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