Slide Magazine...

Good Grief... Shipsterns!

Nowhere is as messed up as Shippies. Here's a bunch of contenders from the Billy XXL comp. Clip after the jump-

Mick... Again.

The surf dropped, the wind swung and Supers was back to being Pupertubes today so it wasn't exactly a world tour final of note. After yesterday's sublime sandy shacks no one really cared that much. Bede did Parko, Mick got a bye into the final cos Owen's ear is buggered from yesterdays Super's bitch slap so he was stoked and then he won. So it's all done. Euro leg c'est fini. I'm outta here tomoz for the fezza home thank firk... Final day pics on the Rip Curl link above...

Holey Sheeeeat!!!

There's been a lot of merde thrown at the ASP and the World Tour recently. Bad waves event after event, rebel tour rumours and interweb forum bitching. Today will hopefully remind people why the tour is a good thing- the world's best surfers in the world's best waves. Waves that us mere mortals would not have a hope in surfing. 10-point tube rides like this.

Portuguese Smog...

Been a rum old day at the Rip Curl Pro Search Peniche. That dastardly Portuguese foe- the fog bank has been playing havoc with us all day. Pity cos there were some fun waves at the Belgas site. Bit bigger than yesterday and not as shapely but still ultra-smashable.The call from 8.00 was every half hour or so until 2.00pm. A long time to be stood on a damp, noisey, draughty beach in the fog.

Only 3-Heats But A Shedload Of Action...

Twas a day that started with a 'Oh... That's not good.' Pushing the curtains back at the Hotel Soleil revealed a grey miasma (that's right- a miasma, google it) and any concept of surf contests went out the window. Fog ain't good. Unfortunately we still had to drag our sorry arses out of bed, scarf down a quick brekkie and lead boot it out to the event site in Cabbage Land. Even with signposts we took the wrong turn four times and drove about like eedjits. As semi-secret spots go it will be fine after the event as we can't find it when we know where it is with directions...

Wheely Big Airs...

Actual Waves For A Euro Leg Event Shocker!

It's a crazy concept I know but the World Tour actually got decent waves today. As in barreling, good, not-shit in anyway waves. The guys were getting kegged left, right and centre. Punts were hucked and made and life as a photographer was generally a joy rather than a chore. Half of Portugal came to watch and cheered whenever someone walked down the beach for their heat, came back or rode a good wave. All in all the best day of the European leg by a million miles...

Hmmmm...

So. The Rip Curl Pro continued today. The painful 'who gives an arse' Round 1 of the new short format was finished. I have decided that I don't like the short format. The classic model gives you all the best guys surfing in the first round. The short format gives them all a by into Rd2. Meaning the back 32 are scrapping for a spot in Rd2 and interest is low. Add fat, slow, unsmashable waves and it was a day that couldn't pass fast enough.

Peniche Pics A Plenty...

Busy day in Peniche today, first half of Round 1 got run but I was frothing on freesurfing before, during and after the event... The results of which can be seen here...

Insane Mundaka From Wednesday...

Mama Nature has a sense of humour. A mere matter of days after the Billabong Pro Mundaka finished in poop waves she went and done this-

Heaven & Hell all before 9am...

Exciting times at the Rip Curl Pro Search in Peniche. The big swell totalled the Supertubos event site over night leaving electronics, speakers, bio-loos and every other bit of event guff swilling around in the sand, "It's kinda like Katrina down there" was the pre-dawn report this morning. It took a while to go and check it out at dawn as the gate security were being overly zealous and not letting anyone down. So I just parked away from the site and walked down the beach. It was a mess. The photos show you the devastation. Shortly afterwards half the top-45 went out for a puntathon at Mohle Leste beach at the N end of the event site. So good to see some freesurfing finally...

Nom Nom Nom...

Waking up to the sound of torrential rain and the wind whistling through the cracks in the Hotel Soleil Peniche is as good an alarm clock as you could wish for. Nature’s way of saying, “wake up there fella! Time to be functioning so you can go through the pantomime of pretending that a surf contest might happen today.”

MVP You Decide... Liam Turner

Brit ubergrom Liam Turner. Tres impressive non?

Cafe Con Leche...

No surfing in the Rip Curl Pro Search yet. Supertubos was head high but not exactly 'aving it this morning. This little reef in the vicinity was kinda fun but it ain't one of the three event sites. So. What's occurring? Lot's of surfing in weeny beachbreak waves, a lot of light Facebooking and a day structured entirely around food. Most events are not renowned for the food, if any, that us media scum can purloin.

It Comes Down To This...

 

Reubyn Ash's Day In France...

While I was stuck skint in Mundaka Reubs was doing all this malarkey in France-

Greetings From Peniche...

Welcome to sunny Peniche in Portugal. A town famous for it's super tubes, fish stench and rancid bodyboarders; it's now also famous as the fifth spot for Rip Curl's globally mobile WCT event (nice discovery guys!). You'll be glad to know the all-pervasive smell of squished fish entrails has vanished. In the good old days it was an olfactory assault that  'would make you wretch' if you encountered it.

Who Is JOB Trailer...

Amazing what RED cameras and a Canon 5dMk2 can do to the production values of a surf vid-

Hot Tubs Or Death By Coconut?

Here’s a question for you- If you had the proverbial gun to your head (imagine a friendly but menacing 9mm Beretta) and had to choose to only ever go on surf trips to cold water destinations or warm water spots for ever more which way would you go? Which way does sir hang? Wetty or boardshorts? The loving confines of rubber or the freedom and potential ball rash of nylon?

Red Elvis On- Sweepers...

Join me if you will in welcoming a new acerbic voice to the Slide- Red Elvis...

There are very, very few people who look comfortable on a SUP. These people are generally very good surfers in the first place; people who can surf well in serious waves. These people also generally start off with a pleasant looking surfing style, and adopt this style somehow to their approach to SUP riding. But these people, as mentioned, are very few and far between. After Laird, there are probably less than a handful worldwide.

Billabong Pro Mundaka- Day 3...

I’d like to say I had high hopes for the last day of the Billabong Pro but that would be a lie. I knew the swell was dying in the ass, I knew an easterly Biscay swell that blew up over night was gonna do weird things and I knew there was no more swell on the horizon. I didn’t know the crisp autumnal morning would bring a spectacular river of fog flowing eerily down the estuary and over the rivermouth of broken dreams… shimmering as it was in the purple half-light of dawn.

Billabong Pro Mundaka- Day 2...

The first call this morning at the Billabong Pro Mundaka was at 7.30am. One thing wrong with that- it was still totally and utterly flipping dark and with first light not for another 23-minutes and sunrise lagging half an hour after that the concept of an 8am start was a bit, well, premature. It was also raining, cold and onshore making it even more dark, miserable and thoroughly unwelcoming outside the snug Mundaka bungalows…

Have You Got A Secret Spot?

Have you got a secret spot? A real secret spot, one that you never, ever mention to other people and is only surfed by you and your crew?
Didn’t think so.
You’re too late, that ship has sailed my friend. The era of secret surf-havens in the UK & Ireland and increasingly in the rest of the world has passed. The reasons: People love to talk, other people dig on making money from guidebooks, the mag’s constantly quest for the ‘next thing’, surf camps and more recently clueless numpties have blown the lid off some sacred spots on the damn internet.
Are we doomed? Is there any hope? Read on and find out…

ASP World Tour Slims Down To A 32...

Mundaka is a great place for lay days as long as you don’t mind a very quiet life. Today’s relaxed, dreamy reverie was interrupted by a fairly huge upheaval in the way the ASP World Tour runs its core business. A press conference was held, somewhat perversely, overlooking the 6-inch ripples at Mundaka…

10 Things- Basque Country...

1. Basques are a close fitting type of lingerie worn by women to accentuate their curves, and give a sexy silhouette. Apart from their allure, they also have a practical side as they give support, can be strapless for wearing with a range of outfits, and often have attachments for stockings… Err… Oops…

J'arrive Mundaka ...

After a 730-mile jaunt from London via Calais to Hoss' yesterday (and a 'not great' sleep in the car-park at Estagnots last night- it may be October but there are still hippy bastards playing bongos at stupid o'clock in the morning) I've made it to the river mouth of dreams- Mundaka. It's flat as you'll know but there's swell brewing. So. All good. Billabong have furnished me with an awesome lil bungalow, all mod-cons and wifi so I can work up a storm from here... Long range charts- :)

Just Go To The 45-Second Mark... Reubs Alley

He might not of won the heat but he did do one of the airs of the event-

I Lost The News...

That's right, you read it here first, while the Billabong Pro Mundaka get's under way at the river mouth of myth in deepest, darkest Northern Spain your correspondent is sat in a terraced house in the low-rent, stabby bit of the East End of London choking on his Corn Flakes and oh-so-British cup of tea. Even modern technology can't help him bluff through his balls up- seeing as the webcast isn't actually working yet.

Working For The Man...

Nobody wants to work. But very few of us are ever going to be good enough to get paid to surf and the ‘stupid tax’ known as the Lotto is a false messiah if ever there was one. So how do you get your fix of surfin’ and still make enough coin to keep you in boards, suits, CD’s and adult interest magazines? Well here’s SlideMags little cut out and keep guide to surfer friendly jobs…

Pro's Twitter On...

You may, like many people, be wondering what the hell Twitter is. Or have started an account stared at a blank page and thought 'huh? that's shit!'. Well it's simple- it is a microblogging platform. A user can post updates of up to 140-characters and that's it. Much like the status update on FB. But that's not the be all and end all. It's about following people be they pro surfers, celebs or friends and using it for communication (especially news and event updates), sharing links and it has the benefit of not being a closed loop of just your mates like FB. Cos if there's one sure thing the likes of Kelly and Parko would not be your friend on FB but you can follow them on TW.