How cold do you like your water? Well this time of year the Eisbach is like a fine malt whisky, cold brown and full of ice.
Simon Bitterlich
Florian Kummer
Simon Strangfeld
Moritz Wienecke
Directed /Edited /Produced: Juni Thalmann (junithalmann.com)
And there’s a bit of Ireland too….
Our fave west Welshies go on an Autumn slab hunt as filmed by Jack Abbott
British competitors did really well at the weekend from the World Longboard tour to the World adaptive surfing championships. SGB, WSF, CI all sent teams… Not so forthcoming on press releases especially from Eurosurf so I have done my best here, any changes let me know.
Down at the Euro Juniors Jack Unsworth became under 18 European Longboard Champ continuing a lineage of great British longboarders.
While over the other side of the world Ben Skinner finished 5th in the WSL World Longboard Champs and Adam Griffiths finishing 13th.
At he Euro Juniors Max Payne finished 3rd in round 5 of the under 18’s. I think that’s a 5th too. Ellie Turner also got a fifth in the under 18 girls. Will Masterman finished in 7th place in the under under 14’s, Stan Norman finished 9th in the under 14’s. Noah Capps 13th.
In the World Adaptive Championships BRONZE medal for Chris Jones in the World Adaptive Surfing Championships AS-3 Division, Rick Pegleg finished in the 5th place in his category, and Llywelyn Williams finished fifth in the AS2 stands/kneel. Spike Kane made the semis in the AS-5 assisted category and placed 7th, Martin Pollock placed 17th in the AS-2. As a team GB placed 9th with a team of 4 out of a possible 8
Travel to the North Shore of Oahu to meet up with the legendary Gavin Beschen.
Originally from San Clemente, CA, Gavin moved over to the islands fresh out of high school and with only one thing in mind: surfing. And he’s been doing just that for the past 20+ years. From his iconic video parts in early Volcom films, to his classic laid back and humble style (both in and out of the water), Gavin reminds us to keep things simple, be yourself, and always, always be grateful for what you have.
19 year old Irish sensation Gearoid McDaid has signed last week with Rip Curl Europe. The young man from Sligo on the west coast of Ireland first started surfing when his dad pushed him into waves as a 10 year old.
The cold water and harsh winters did not put him off and in his words – “I pretty much surfed every day since”. Explains Gearoid.
As he got older Gearoid realized that Irish waves could be as good as any others on the planet and he set himself goals to be as good as he could be, by relentlessly training in cold conditions even when alone. Some standout performances on the Pro Junior circuit established Gearoid as a genuine name in European surfing and the future looks bright.
“My goals for next few years are pretty much to try and score the best waves anywhere I can. Both at home and travelling to new places. I want to try and make some really good edits and get some solid coverage from every trip that I do. I’m going to keep doing some of the QS contest to keep my rankings up. I love competing too.”
Gearoid recently welcomed 3 times World Champion Mick Fanning to Ireland and the pair had a week of amazing waves together.
“It was amazing spending time with Mick. Yeah he came to my house for tea and I showed him around a load of spots. It was one of the best runs of swells we’ve had at home and I couldn’t believe I was surfing with him each session. So thankful to Rip Curl for the opportunity.”
“Im stoked to be part of a team which has some amazing riders. I’ve always looked up to goofy footers especially like Matt Wilkinson and Medina. And the whole SEARCH program too. I can’t wait to get on some Search trips – I don’t mind where so long as it’s somewhere with some crazy pumping lefts, ha ha!”
Welcome to The Search Gearoid!
Clare County Council confirmed that the application to build a 4.5 metre high, 2.8km sea wall long along Doughmore sandunes by Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg, Co Clare, has been withdrawn.
Clare County Council confirmed the wall was withdrawn. New planning permission is to be submitted proposing sheet metal piling and rock armour for 650m at one end and 200m at the other end of the dune system. Two golf holes will be relocated inland on the course.
A planning application will be made to insert metal sheet piles into the ground on the golf course and lay limestone boulders on the base of the piles. The defence will be covered by sand and a cobble bank at the back of the beach.
Joe Russell, general manager at Doonbeg, said the original plans were revised because of time pressures, after listening to concerns and because the resort could not afford another lost season due to storm erosion.
“We listened to what people had to say. This is a reduced version of the original proposal. What it serves to do is to protect the holes that are under immediate threat,” Mr Russell said.
Save The Waves actively opposed “Trump’s Irish Wall” through the #NatureTrumpsWalls campaign since October with a coalition of partners gathering over 100,000 petition signatures.
