Late at night, locals whisper through smoke about the Onza. They share stories of brothers, cousins, friends whose friends, cousins, brothers have seen it. The mythical big cat, prowling alone under the moon, leaving just enough of a trace to stoke the lore. This film follows the tracks of another cat in Mexico. Mikey February.
Surfing Mikey February.
Film and edit Kevin Jansen.
Music
“Kulani Kulani”
Written by Eric Gezani Kobane
Performed by Penny Penny
The Maldives is a mosaic of over 1,000 islands across 20+ atolls, creating the ultimate surf playground. Famed breaks in the Malé atolls to secret spots further afield, Global Surf’s charters offer a blend of both long surf sessions balanced out with plenty of time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
This tropical paradise, scattered across the Indian Ocean, opens up a range of surf spots suitable for all levels, gentle rollers for beginners to challenging barrels for advanced surfers. With the surf season stretching from March to October, surfers can enjoy consistent swells and the warm, clear waters that make the Maldives an ideal spot for both surfing and water based activities. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or advanced surfer, the Maldives promises every surfer a slice of heaven.
Global Surf commits to your surf progress with daily analysis, professional photography, and evening video feedback sessions. All tailored to enhance your skills, ensuring each wave you catch is better than the last.
The Global Surf Team pride themselves on community and building friendships that last longer than your trip. Together you will enjoy healthy and freshly prepared food to keep you well fuelled, you’ll share waves, relax with a yoga practice, rejuvenate in an ice bath, and hang out with peaceful serene views. At Global Surf, you become part of a community that loves surfing, values health, and enjoys discovering new places.
Your trip to the Maldives could be either on the sand or floating on the ocean surrounded by tropical waters. Global Surf’s live-aboard fleet hosts a luxury stay with each cabin designed to be a cosy retreat for relaxation and privacy complimented by spacious communal areas that encourage shared guest experiences. Either way comfort is their priority.
For those who prefer to have their feet firmly on the sand there’s private and luxurious surf resort options where you have access to the Maldives’ most coveted surf spots. Your accommodation is situated at the waters edge with panoramic views of the Indian ocean.
Beyond the waves, these resorts offer a myriad of leisure activities. Whether it’s snorkelling in the clear waters filled with marine life, participating in cultural tours to nearby islands, or simply lounging around for sunset, your time onshore promises as much adventure and relaxation as your time in the water.
Para Surfing Roadshow will be a travelling around England, delivering 6 roadshow stops, for people with a physical disability or visual impairment to try Para Surfing.
Ever wanted to try surfing?
Now is your chance with the Surfing England Para Surfing Roadshow.
With para surfing potentially being included in the 2028 LA Paralympics, there’s never been a better time to have a go at this exciting sport.
We are so stoked to launch the Para Surfing Roadshow and to have Saltrock onboard as our headline supporter.
“We’re honoured to be supporting such an important roadshow in the Surfing England calendar; helping people with disabilities give adaptive surfing a go and highlighting the pathway for those who want to take it further. Surfing is part of our brand DNA, and to help this side of it grow, we hope will bring smiles to a lot more faces.”
Head of Brand, Marie Clarke
Come along to a free taster day where you will join a session led by current Team England coaches and athletes who recently placed 4th at the World Para Surfing Championships.
No previous experience required and all equipment (including wetsuits) will be provided.
locations and dates:
Sunday 12th May – Bude, North Cornwall
Wednesday 29th May – South Shields, Tyne and Wear
Friday 31st May – Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Thursday 4th July – The Wave, Bristol
Sunday 4th August – Croyde, North Devon
Sunday 15th September – Bournemouth, Dorset
Timings:
We will be at the beach all day, so you are welcome to come along from about 9am. We will run up to 3 sessions throughout the day depending on numbers.
Sessions will run at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Please arrive 1 hour before your session for an introduction and so that you can get kitted up in your wetsuit. Sessions will be 90 minutes long, which will include around 60 minutes in the water.
You can specify on the sign up form which time would work best for you. In advance you will be allocated a session before the day so you can plan accordingly. You can arrive early and stay to watch other sessions if you want to make the most of the whole day, but the volunteers and coaches will only be available to assist you during your allocated session.
Beach facilities:
All locations will have parking, toilets and changing areas available for you. These vary by location. We will send more details, including a specific meeting point nearer the time so that you can plan your day accordingly.
Beaches can be quite difficult to navigate particularly if you have a mobility device such as a wheelchair. We will do our best to make the day as accessible as possible and will provide beach wheelchairs to give access onto the beach and into the water.
If you need assistance with any personal care needs such as getting changed into a wetsuit, please bring someone with you.
Equipment:
You do not need any specific equipment for the day, but please make sure to have swimwear to wear under a wetsuit. If you have your own wetsuit, feel free to bring that to wear.
We will provide boards, buoyancy aids/life jackets (as needed), helmets (as needed), rash vests, beach wheelchairs and surfboards.
There will not be a hoist available to transfer you into the beach wheelchair but there will be coaches and volunteers around to help lift you as needed.
What to bring:
Please make sure to bring swimwear, a towel and warm clothes for when you finish your session. Please also remember to bring water and snacks to keep you fuelled throughout the day. It is likely you will be quite tired after you finish your session.
If it’s a sunny day, remember to bring suncream and a hat. Ideally make sure you have waterproof suncream for your face during the session.
Don’t forget to bring any medication that you require or may need throughout the day.
CLASSIFICATIONS
The ISA currently has 9 different classifications for para surfing. The description of each classification is below. Please specify on the sign up form which classification you think you fit in to. This will give us a better idea of the needs of participants for the day. If you decide to progress to competing in para surfing in the future, you would need to get officially classified by the ISA. If this is something you would be interested in, we can give you more information during the taster day.
Para Surfing Sport Classifications
Para SurfingStand 1 – Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with an upper limb amputation or congenital or impairment equivalent or short stature.
Para Surfing Stand 2 – Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with a below the knee amputation or congenital or impairment equivalent, or leg length difference.
Para Surfing Stand 3 – Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with an above the knee amputation or both lower extremity amputations or congenital or impairment equivalent.
Para Surfing Kneel – Any surfer who rides a wave in a kneeling or sitting without paddle position with an above the knee amputation or both lower limb amputations or congenital or impairment equivalent.
Para Surfing Sit – Any surfer who rides the wave in a sitting position that does NOT require assistance paddling into a wave and getting back on the board safely.
Para Surfing Prone 1 – Any surfer who rides the wave in a prone position that does NOT require assistance paddling into a wave and getting back on the board safely.
Para Surfing Prone 2 – Any surfer who rides the wave in a prone position that DOES require assistance in the water, paddling into a wave, and getting back on the board safely.
Para Surfing Vision Impairment 1 – Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with IBSA classification Level B1.
Para Surfing Vision Impairment 2 – Any surfer who rides a wave in a standing position with IBSA classification Level B2 and Level B3.
There’s a pretty talented crew of women chasing Nazares giant peak. Meet three of them; Katie McConnell, Michaela Fregonese and Polly Ralda.
A complete day of repechage rounds whittled down the record number of competitors at the 2024 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Longboard Championship. The elimination rounds created a newfound tension and pressure that brought out timely performances from the competitors, surfing to stay alive in the competition.
Forty-eight surfers were eliminated through the Men’s and Women’s Repechage Rounds 1 and 2.
Irelands Tom Breen and Bea Greenberg, Englands Ben Howey and Emily Curry remain in the repechage rounds.
The top performance of day 3 went to Spain’s Nicolas Garcia, notching 16.5 points in Repechage Round 1. However, Garcia couldn’t keep the momentum going and was subsequently eliminated by England’s Ben Howey and Chile’s Rafael Cortezin his second repechage heat of the day.
Mexico’s Jonathan Melendres (15.27) and Colombia’s Nicolas Ayala (14.9) put on strong showings with high wave scores in the excellent range. Melendres was able to back up his performance and advance through another round of repechage, while Ayala, unfortunately, was taken down in his second heat.
USA’s medal aspirations took a serious hit as the 2018 Copper Medalist Kevin Skvarna was eliminated in Men’s Repechage Round 2. Skvarna was unable to find a second scoring wave and was subsequently eliminated by Chinese Taipei’s Yuan Cheng-Chih and Costa Rica’s Dorian Torres.
In Women’s Repechage Round 2, Australia’s Tully White started off strong with the highest women’s wave score of the day with 8.17 points. However, White didn’t find a back up score and needed a wave in the dying moments of the heat. White and her team rejoiced on the beach as the 5.27 score came through, a 13.44 total, more than enough to send her into Repechage Round 3 and bump Ecuador’s Fanny Alexandra Villao down into third and out of the event.
“That was a bit stressful for my team,” said White. “I was freaking out, but we got there. I knew I could get the score. When I stood up I needed a 1.83, but luckily I was able to trust that I could get one and do something. I’m stoked.”
Before her elimination, Alexandra Villao’s 13 point heat total had been the highest of the day, but just as with Spain’s Garcia on the men’s side, her strong round 1 performance didn’t translate into round 2 success.
Canada’s Olivia Stokes (12.74), Puerto Rico’s Jazmine Dean (13.03) and South Korea’s Soojin Park (12.24) also put on top performances in another day of solid surf at El Sunzal. Stokes and Dean advanced through to Repechage Round 2, while Park was later eliminated in her second heat of the day.
After three days of competition, Japan, France, and Brazil are the only three nations that remain with all four competitors in the Main Event. The race for the team standings will further heat up tomorrow as the competition rolls into the back half of the event window.
On Day 4, powerhouse heats will go down in the pursuit for Gold Medals. Women’s Main Event Round 3 will feature past medalists such as Japan’s Naomi Taoka, France’s Zoe Grospiron, USA’s Rachael Tilly, Hawaii’s Honolua Blomfield, France’s Alice Le Moigne, and Peru’s Maria Fernanda Reyes.
In Men’s Main Event Round 3, the 2019 Gold Medalist, Peru’s Benoit Clemente, will face off against France’s two-time Bronze Medalist, Edouard Delpero. England’s Ben Skinner, who earned the highest men’s wave score of the event on day 2, will face off against medal favorite, Hawaii’s Kaniela Stewart, who currently holds the highest men’s heat total thus far. Other past medalists to take to the water will be Brazil’s Carlos Bahia, Philippines’ Rogelio Esquieviel, and Hawaii’s Kai Sallas.
Around the world we’re celebrating Earth Day today. Our planet is such a beautiful place but with enormous problems facing the it, such as climate crisis, it can feel overwhelming. So if you want to make positive change, where do you start?
It may not feel like it as individuals but social change happens when we change and help to change the minds of those around us. “Small acts multiplied by millions of people can change the world,” said American historian Howard Zinn. We need to believe this is true, because the alternative is that things feel so bad that it leads to inactivity.
Educate, learn and grow. As individuals we can make a difference as part of a bigger movement. From growing veg, to shopping local, reducing our impact, getting involved with environmental groups, how we live and the decisions we make, all have an impact. So let’s help to make positive change on Earth Day, one step at a time and take care of this beautiful world we share.
Here are a selection of films which evoke change to inspire you on Earth Day and every day for the future of our planet.
A Plastic Wave
A surf photographer, business owner and father of two Dave Muir, is seeing more and more plastic wash ashore his beloved home beach at Gwenver in Cornwall. In a bid to discover the route of this problem he embarks on a journey of discovery to educate himself and understand more about the problem. Along the way, he discovers some alarming issues. Plastic Pollution is a very real threat to the future of our planet, the animals that inhabit our oceans and ultimately the human race. The problem is far worse than it seems on the surface and we need to act now to ensure we protect the future for ourselves and our planet.
Water Warriors
Water Warriors is the story of a community’s successful resistance against the oil and gas industry. When an energy company begins searching for natural gas in New Brunswick, Canada, indigenous and white families unite to drive out the company in a campaign to protect their water and way of life.
Water Warriors is a short film and exhibit by Storyline. Directed and Produced by Michael Premo.
Kin
All of life – each breath, every sip – is an inheritance from those who came before. Lauren Hill and Dave Rastovich travel to one of Australia’s most protected marine playgrounds to discover what it looks like when we get things right.
The Custodians
Patagonia are at the forefront of environmental activism. Watch this series of films which focusses on the awareness of the harm that bottom trawling is doing to coastal waters and to highlight the groups who are working hard to fight the trawlers and/or restoring the seabed.
Before The Flood
Also check out mainstream environmental films such as An Inconvenient Truth, The Day After Tomorrow or Before the Flood – Leo Dicaprio’s documentary about the negative effects of climate change and he also discusses the possible solutions.
Watch Before The Flood here
