Paco Divers Spectator Boost

Paco entertaining his spectators with a frontside reverse.

Somewhere This Week

This happened some time this week, somewhere in New Zealand all we are happy to say is it was on the East Coast.

Ricardo’s Going On Tour

Gisborne surfer Ricardo Christie has raised more than $17 460 on sport crowd funding site Sportfunder enabling him to compete on the remaining ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) events starting with Mexico on June 17.

With funds raised from more than 188 individual supporters on Sportfunder, Ricardo can realise his dream of being the next Kiwi to qualify for the elite Association of Surfing Professionals men’s tour and compete against the world’s best.

“Without Sportfunder and the funds I have raised towards accommodation and travel, I simply couldn’t have competed on the WQS,” says the 23-year-old from Mahia, Gisborne.

With the funds Christie has raised, he will now be able to compete in the remaining WQS events and raise the critical points to make it onto the WCT tour. And he has started well with a semi-final placing in the four-star, Breaka Burleigh Pro in Australia in February.

Fellow kiwi surfer, Paige Hareb, also raised more than $17,000 towards her ASP Women’s World Competition Tour (WCT) tour this year showing that crowd funding works for all sports, says Sportfunder developer, Craig Williamson.

“Having found how difficult it was to raise funds for the New Zealand Surf Festival, I realised sports events, teams and individuals needed an effective way to promote their cause and raise funds,” says Craig.

“The website currently has sports teams and individuals from right around the world with fund raising projects. While the site is still growing, surfers seem to have been the individuals who have understood what it takes to successfully raise funds – a worthwhile project, a realistic fundraising goal, good promotion through social media, and good rewards for sponsors.”

The Sportfunder website provides all the tools for individuals and organisations wanting to raise funds to create a project profile online complete with a project description, funding target, funding deadline, and an ability to upload images and videos to support their funding drive.

Potential sponsors or supporters can browse the website by sporting discipline or keyword and support a project by choosing a reward offered by the project owner. They then make a financial commitment by way of a pledge or donation, via PayPal, through the Sportfunder platform.

All donations are processed immediately, and the pledges are registered against the project, once the project meets its funding target prior to its deadline, the sponsor’s credit card is debited by PayPal.

check out Sportfunder here

Johnny Hicks Restaurants Dream

In the spirit of the Volcom Fiji Pro happening right now! We thought we would do our own impression. This is Jonny Hicks going off the top at Restaurants.

Tim O’Connor Ruapuke Barrel

Not only did Tim O’Conner take down Taylor Knox and pull off one of the craziest turns we’ve ever seen. Timmy also got barrelled.

Hawaii

Welcome to the birth place of surfing as we know it, a sport once practiced by the ancient kings and royalty of the islands, over time the sport has opened to the masses and been shared with the world. If anywhere can lay claim to the surfing capital of the world it is here in Hawaii and particularly on the island of Oahu. Nowhere on the planet do so many involve themselves in the sport or do communities revolve and build on the waves that come thundering onto these shores. There is world class surf on all of the other islands such as Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii. Yet the epicentre of world surfing lies on the North Shore of Oahu over a stretch known as the ‘seven mile miracle’ where many of the biggest name surfing breaks sit.

If you are looking to experience the ultimate in surfing thrill and test yourself then this is where you do it, you may just want to witness the ultimate gladi- ators of the sport throw themselves into the fiercest waves on the planet and then sneak off to a more user friendly break inspired by what you witnessed. If paddling out to these North Shore breaks is what you ultimately want then come prepared, physically, mentally and with the correct equipment. The seven mile miracle begins down at the town of Haleiwa where at the mouth of a small harbour lies a challenging right hand bowl.

As you head east up the island you follow the coast and along this stretch are many breaks that are more forgiving offering super fun sessions that won’t intimidate you like the name spots. Laniakea, Jockos, Chuns and Alligators, this is where most of the general surfing population head. The next spot is the legendary Waimea Bay and the birthplace of big wave paddle surfing, for most of the year Waimea appears as an idyllic bay but when it roars to life there is no better location to experience big wave surfing so close up. Next up is Log Cabins, and Rockpiles a series of reefs that work as sand moves about and swells change angles. From here on you have eight famous spots all with in a kilometre, from Off The Wall, to Backdoor and Pipe, Ehukai Beach park, Pupukea, Gas Chambers, Rocky Point and Sunset Beach with Velzyland just around the corner.

Aside from the obvious heavy spots most of these other spots can be surfed by mere mortals. Just avoid the peak season of November and December as every pro surfer or big wave animal are housed up, ready to swoop on any wave that breaks as part of their job or attempting to make a name for themselves. Accommodation is also very difficult to find during this period. Come January through to March the North Shore continues to pump and

is relatively empty of the testosterone driven crowds. There is still a strong local presence and like anywhere if you plan to visit the North Shore pay the utmost respect.
Once you arrive in Oahu rental cars are readily available fairly cheap from the Honolulu Airport, they do drive on the opposite side of the road so this will take some getting used to if you haven’t done it before, but the highways are well sign posted and the drivers very courteous. If you plan on staying out on the North Shore there are a couple of backpackers and underground home-stays, or the Turtle Bay Resort offers classy accommodation a short five minute drive past Sunset Beach with a world class Arnold Palmer golf course next door.

For food on the North Shore there is a supermarket, a bakery and a couple of food caravans, but for a variety of shops Haleiwa has everything you will possibly need. With several surf shops stocking hundreds of boards and every surf item on the planet so you can purchase any of your surfing requirements very easily. With the high US dollar a trip to Hawaii is as affordable as it has ever been and you may even prefer to pick up some new boards from the local shapers while visiting that will be suited to the local waves. You could also stay at the numerous hotels back in Honolulu drive across each day which will take an hour and advisable to leave before sunrise and return well after sunset as the traffic can be comparable to Auckland. Outside of the main spots of the North Shore there are other more underground spots to the west of Haleiwa and around on the Eastern side which will be uncrowded, but do not leave valuables or anything in your car for that matter at any Oahu surf spot, as break ins are common. Take what you need and even leave the car unlocked or windows down.

The West side also has many great breaks with the most famous Makaha, here surfing is a community affair and it’s cool to ride whatever craft you feel like, or even take ya dog for surf. In our winter months the South Shore lights up and offers another side of Hawaiian surfing on the many reefs and passes around Waikiki, just another option if escaping winter is part of your plan.