Blogs

When the crew at Patagonia invite us to a special night with Gerry Lopez, we find babysitters and attend without question! On tour down under for his book signing, Gerry stopped by the Currumbin Surf World Museum last Monday night joining local legends for a night of nostalgia and inspiration. Our good friends at Patagonia were kind enough to invite Kuni and I to the event, where beers flowed just as freely as Wayne Lynch's good Aussie humour. 

International surf film extraordinaire  Jack McCoy kicked off the speeches honoring his good friend Gerry, and finishing with the trailer to his new film 'A Deeper Shade of Blue' and a special screening of Gerry's section in the movie. South coast pioneer and one of Australia’s most influential surfers at the turn of the shortboard revolution Wayne Lynch took over the microphone next, mixing his dry humour with the highest grade of respect to introduce the man of the night. Not a legend went unnoticed as the likes of Bob McTavish, Rusty Miller, Dave ‘Baddy’ Treloar, Dick Van Straalen, Mal Sutherland, Dick Hoole and a jam packed local audience sat with smiles listening on to Gerry Lopez talk of his new book, stories of surf and snow and spiritual awareness.

Read more

India Surf Festival

Two years have passed by since our first expedition to India. Those who have followed my blogs and our Surfer’s Eyes website have seen the photos and heard the tales of golden sands and slick warm waters, India as host to liquid gold without the crowds. As we foot stepped our way around the west coast, surfing with the tiny handful of locals it never once crossed my mind that a couple of years later India would host a Surf Festival. Well, that time has come.

Read more

2012 rolled in with a perfect set, leaving only the foamy remains of 2011.  As naive and optimistic as it may be, we all make new years resolutions with a fresh positivity on what the new year will bring. 

For most, these resolutions revolves around weight, career, success and love, but there are the rare few bleach blonde, tanned individuals that grasp this new year and dream of moments of perfect lineups, crystal clear water and being inside the ultimate barrel.

I’ve been compiling my resolution list for seven days now, constantly adding new surfing resolutions for 2012.  As per normal, number one on my list is …

Read more

To all ocean mothers. 

This morning I awoke to a stirring infant, eyes closed he wobbled his head from side to side searching for my breast. As I checked the time I was as excited to see 5:03am flash on the clock as I was to find there was not a breath of wind passing through the open windows.

Read more

I remember merging towards the profession of surf scribe daydreaming up images of riding epic waves around the globe, clocking up hours on Indonesian boat charters, backpacking through wild landscapes, eating real local fare, getting drunk on cheap wine and filling up page after page in my journals.

Ha Ha.

The reality is, I’ve found myself somewhere between domestic house wife/mother of two typhoon Takanami brothers and feeling the pain of surf magazine editors who spend endless days behind computer screens drooling over those perfect tube shots that come flooding in via digital cyber space.

Read more

Kuni was reminiscing of his first days learning the ropes of photography. His sensei, ‘Akira’, sent him out to shoot anything he liked under the theme ‘passion’. Kuni took him back a bunch of photos representing his theme and from there he learned the basics of how to blend individual creativity with skilful photography.

The theme ‘passion’ is a great one to incorporate into our daily lives. With passion life becomes a blank canvas for us to decorate with each step we take towards our dreams. As surfer’s we can relate to a universal passion for the ocean, nature and that special feeling of riding over traveling water.

Sometimes it is worth reminding ourselves of our own interpretation of passion, so I decided to put together a little photo essay that gets my passion flowing!

Read more

Recently we bade farewell our Japanese friend Kazuya who is off to take on the half-way-round Australia ultimate surfing road trip adventure. Having done this ourselves only last year, and spending hours with Kaz going over maps, giving advice and telling tales, I thought it fitting to do a blog giving you all some tips for the East to West round trip.

CAR

What a great place to start! Unfortunately, if you want to really get to know OZ and her surfing secrets, a car is totally essential. A 4WD will take you well off the beaten track and to some of this country’s most hidden wonders.

Read more

Introducing Johnny Abegg

The east coast of Australia is riddled with right handers. For a goofy footer it can bring on bouts of frustration and sometimes push you over the edge. On the other hand, it can pull you off your arse and send you down the beach a bit further where a sneaky left is spitting out super fun faces.

Read more

There are millions of boys who when confronted with the question “what would you like to be when you grow up?” would respond with Doctor, Pilot, Firefighter.    Consider changing their bedtime story book to Force of Nature and I guarantee you the answer to that very popular question will unanimously be “I WANNA GROW UP TO BE A BIG WAVE SURFER LIKE LAIRD HAMILTON”.

Many a surfer can call themselves fit, strong, in top physical shape, but none can come close to encompass the sheer power and force that is Laird Hamilton. Thanks to his famous surfer stepfather, Billy Hamilton, Laird has been cutting waves since the tender age of three.  He continues to amaze humanity by putting himself in the most harrowing situations imaginable and emerging unscathed.  Some of his notable achievements are breaking the European Windsurfing speed record, crossing the English Channel on a paddle board and surfing the wave called Teahupoo which was later labelled the heaviest wave ever ridden.  Laird is known as the guiding genius of cross-over board sports, and he is truly amazing and almost indestructible in the water.

So take these next few paragraphs as a test to your physical and mental abilities and see if you can keep up with the likes of one of the biggest surfing legends of all time.  Have a look at the tips below and get a quick sense of what it takes to walk a day in the shoes of Laird Hamilton (although he prefers to go barefoot).

EAT LIKE LAIRD:

Read more

We have just come off a full moon and subsequent sizey swell here on the east coast of Australia. Whilst the waves were not perfect, the days and night either side of the moon were time for reflect and consideration of that word – perfection.

In the cabin where we are living just out of Byron Bay, our bodies dismantle peacefully at night with the departure of the sun, and reassemble early with her dawn return. In between there is silence, peaceful and bright. As I lay in bed the silence grows deeper and my body attunes to her melody. I smile as my senses awaken to the depth of nothingness.

The darkness is annulled in the moonlight. The sky above is littered with stars, twinkling like a child’s nursery rhyme. The distant ocean is roaring, alive with nature’s silent energy. Kuni stirs and peers through the bedside glass, the night’s weight dispersing swiftly from his eyes at the sight of the farm’s bordering trees, still in the windless air.

Read more

There are all kinds of places in this vast, diverse world. And currently there are all kinds of changes taking place. You don’t have to believe in the end of the world theories or even all the current data concerned with Global Warming to at least acknowledge that our precious surf points face or have experienced dramatic changes in recent times.

I was privileged to look through some previously un-published photos from John Witzig’s collection just this week and there were images of local Australian breaks that just don’t reel like they used to. Not to mention the dramatically different landscapes surrounding these once almost deserted beaches (although if we are lucky enough we can stil find some untouched waves, the more reason to protect them).

I have blogged before regarding the importance for surfers to take responsibility for the future of our planet in order to maintain the balance and at the simplest level preserve the beauty of our beaches, marine life and delicate waves.

Read more

Usually Takanami family road trips are essentially work related. It may sound like a cop-out to complain, but when you hit the road with husband and child and 6 weeks to interview and shoot with 14 subjects whilst covering half a nation and tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline, the stress can mount up.

Before we embark on these work trips, my job begins. As the editor/coordinator I am on the phone and email months in advance planning. Not only do I need to make sure the surfers/shapers we want to meet with are available, I have to book time with them that fits with our travel schedule, and always allow some breathing space in case the weather or waves don’t agree. Then comes the financial planning which usually involves endless back and forth correspondence with possible sponsor such as airlines, rental car companies, accommodation etc, and more often than not weeks of negotiations can turn into a final ‘actually we don’t think we can help out this time, good luck with it though!’ and I end up back at square one.

By the time we hit the road the pressure has already mounted. The initial high of embarking on a dream-like road trip doing what we love can too easily be crushed by stress, shit weather and a screaming kid in the back seat. But somehow we manage and the end result is worth any and all of the pain!

Read more

With all the negative hype surrounding Japan at the moment, and possibly a lot more to come, I thought it might be time to take a look at some of her remaining beauty. For surfers, avoid Fukushima and surrounds like the plague, but if you like the idea of heading a little south and further offshore than rock-bottom ticket air ticket sales to the island nation will surely attract your attention.

I’m calling this blog series ‘Journey Japan’, and will do a succession of posts relating to safer surf travel destinations in the South. Remember the Fukushima situation is one that will take years to contain, so please travel safe and use this only as a guide. At the end of the day, trust in your own instincts and don’t go anywhere you feel might not be safe.

Read more

Last weekend the Japanese surf world came alive with the Greenroom Festival held at Akarenga Soko, Yokohama. After the event was threatened by cancellations of big names such as Donovon Frankenreiter, it surely wasn’t a failure and as with other years, Japanese and foreigners alike came out to join in the music, admire the art, and watch some damn good films.

Read more