Do you think the captain was related to Francesco Schettino - the captain of the Italian cruise liner  that sank in the Mediterranean earlier this year?

Do you think Clifton is finally going to have a decent peak?

Leave your interesting or thought provoking comments and responses below.

On a recent journey to Mexico I came to the realization that my previous blog list of inexpensive, important items to bring on a surf trip was incomplete. I became painfully aware of this fact as I paced back and forth, sweating and nervous, hoping beyond hope that the dude I had met earlier in the day was going to fulfill his promise and bring an extra fin key to the cantina. While waiting for this guy and his precious cargo, I remembered a few other key items as well.

Fin Key(s)
We might as well call them church keys. Unless you ride an Alaia or a sponge, without one you can not re-assemble your sacred craft, ride into the crystal cathedral, or get spit out of the pope’s living room. Do yourself a favor, buy a bunch of them and stash one in your backpack, one in your board bag, one in your toiletry kit, one in your colorectal netherworld—wherever you have to in order to make sure you are never without one.

Approx. cost = $1.00 ea.

Tie Down Straps
I’m still not sure why people continue to use “soft racks” when these puppies exist. Items actually borrowed from a kayaker’s playlist (I know, I know), pro surfers started using these easy-to-pack straps over fifteen years ago for huge coffin board bags, and then realized they work for any situation. These straps go around your boards and then through the inside of the car, giving you extra strap awareness as well. The only downside is during foul weather: rainwater can travel down the straps and into the car, transforming a simple car ride a drippy, miserable hell.

Approx. cost = $20.00

Lightweight Towel
This is one of those items that doesn’t seem that important to pack, but can be sorely missed on the other end. Just make sure you bring a lightweight one (for some reason there is a huge disparity in towel weight), and one that’s large enough to wrap around your body in order to avoid a foreign nudity conviction.

Approx. cost = $10.00

The Dynamic Duo : Pepto Bismol/ Immodium
It was at the precise moment that my son hurled up a bean and cheese burrito, French fry, and virgin Pina Colada rainbow stew that I remembered having anti-nausea medicine is a good idea. And bring some Immodium too to avoid the potential of burning the candle at both ends.

Approx. cost = $15.00

Wax/Wax Box
Believe it or not, surf wax is a precious—even hoarded—commodity in some parts of the world. Rumors of it replacing the Gold Standard in the tropics are unconfirmed. The bottom line is to make sure you bring a couple of appropriately temperatured bars, and it’s also probably a good idea to buy one of those plastic containers to avoid a melted, lint-corrupted blob.

Approx. cost = $5.00

Book
Free from the distractions of home, a good book can be a valuable companion on any trip. Besides re-igniting a computer-stymied mind, a book is also a good way to kill time during those eternal waits at foreign airports, restaurants, banks, and post offices. A good book can literally turn frustrated impatience into Zen-filled joy.

Approx. cost = $15.00

So, adding to the previous Small Saviors list, we now have a dozen precious, inexpensive items to bring on your next foreign surf trip:

Item Approx. Cost ($)

1. A Working Pen (1.00)
2. ½ Roll of Toilet Paper (1.00)
3. Headlamp (20.00)
4. Hooded Sweatshirt (25.00)
5.Extra Credit Card (Free)
6. Tylenol/Tums/Sucrets (10.00)
7. Fin Key (1.00)
8. Tie Down Straps (20.00)
9. Lightweight Towel (10.00)
10. Pepto/Immodium (15.00)
11. Wax/Wax Box (5.00)
12. Book (15.00)

Approx. Total = $133.00

Keep in mind these are approximate retail prices for new items. If you’re a real cheap-ass, you can save even more cash by visiting your local thrift store or garage sale.

Great article, hope it saves you a nightmare on the road next time you do a surf trip.

Extra respect points for sticking some crazy airs with the South Easter blowing at full force. Video below:

HIGH TIDE / HOME SUMMER SESSIONS from Jordy Smith on Vimeo.

You will most probably have seen the Firewire board with “Parabolic Balsa Rails”, which basically means instead of having a normal central stringer, the board has 2 balsa stringers on the rails. This makes the rails more rigid and the center of the board more flexible, so if you think a normal board has a rigid stringer in the middle and more flexible rails – thats how the sales pitch goes anyway.

Read more about Firewire Surfboards

The Seawin ship wreck at Dardestein

Last week a ship ran aground, The Seawin, in heavy seas and came around at (a classic surf spot) Derdesteen. The beach is currently closed off, you can make out the tape in the photo after the break.

News reports say the ship wreck caused a fair amount of damage to the dune area, and the mostly wooden hull is breaking up.

The ship is sitting on the beach right in front of the surf spot car park, and the car park is currently full with waste removal equipment.

These are the photos from this weekend.
There are some more great photos here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=6053630

Read the full article on News 24: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2367937,00.html

The Seawin ship wreck at Dardestein

1. The banks are crap at Llandudno at the moment. Apparently this is because the sand the is supposed to blow over from Hout Bay, but not as much sand is making it over due to a large amount of development in Hout Bay.

2. On weekends Llandudno is a circus. I’ve heard stories of 50 guys out all paddling for 1-2 foot closeouts.

3. I have names and photos for the Llandudno idiot and supporter of mean localism. They are going on the new Name and Shame page.

4. There are more and more knobs than ever surfing around Cape Town.

It all sounds a bit bleak, but there are some proper nice blokes out in the water too, and Cape Town houses some brilliant waves – bring on the winter swells!

If you see these guys out, don’t attempt to catch any waves unless you want Wayne to shout at you.

Wayne Stewart

Wayne Stewart – Saying he is slightly high strung would be an understatement.

Rip Curl

I’ve had a bit of bad luck with a (currently unnamed) surf shop in Cape Town. I bought a 4/3 Rip Curl Ultimate Elasto wetsuit, and after about 8 months the inner seams started to break and crack. The cracks made the liquid taping bend and curve and the gaps caused tones of chaffing and there were holes forming in the gaps of the suite – which were two reason to return the wetsuit from whence is came. Needless to say returning the wetsuit to the surf store is when the fun started.

June 2007.
I returned the wetsuit to the surf shop (still not named) under warranty with the till slip, bought a replacement suit, and awaited the response from Rip Curl about the wetty being either fixed or replaced.  After a few weeks I heard that there was no stock of the old season, and they were waiting on new season stock.  I thought this was fair enough, no stock means no stock and I would have to wait a bit, but I already had a nifty replacement Billabong Solution Platinum, and I was going to get the next seasons Ultimate Elasto.

I returned to the surf shop about 3 months later (still no replacement wetty – at this point I am starting to feel sorry for someone who wouldn’t have the cash to fork out for a replacement wet suit like I did), and the story I got from the store was that Rip Curl had changed ownership and the store was struggling to get the new owners of Rip Curl to honor the warranty on the suite. I figured this was a legitimate hold up, but I felt confident that Rip Curl would stick to their part of the deal regardless of who owned Rip Curl SA at the time.

Now we have moved through time from June 2007 to March/April 2008, and I hadn’t heard anything in ages and ages from the surf shop, since they were in contact with the new owners of Rip Curl SA. I basically asked for a resolution, any resolution, from the store and I hear some excuses that I won’t go into detail about but there was a lot of flack given to Rip Curl and another big wetsuit brand for their warranty’s in South Africa

rted in July 2007 and April 2008 and I went to the store again and I was looking for a final resolution – after a little more than 6 months of waiting. The store manager told me that the new owners of Rip Curl were basically not keen to replace the wetsuit as the owners were not surfers and they didn’t understand the problems were legitimate claims. The shop manager then said my wetsuit was still in the basement and I could have it back and look at it if I wanted.

The flag got raised at that point, and I managed to find the contact details of Rip Curl Australia and Rip Curl America. I sent them the details above and they promptly forwarded my mail to the blocks running Rip Curl down here in South Africa.

Here is a summary of the dates:

• 8th of August 2006: My old 5/3 Ultimate Elasto was stolen from my car
• 15th August 2006: I bought my new 4/3 Ultimate Elasto no later that 2 weeks after that (I would have died from dryness), putting the purchase date roughly in the middle of August 2006.
• 20th of June 2007: I returned the wetsuit within 12 months of purchase
• 20th of June 2007: bought a new suit while I waited for the broken one to be fixed.
• 30th April 2008! Finally picked up the replacement wetsuit – a cool 9 months later.