Vans Pipe Masters
Learn from Nathan Fletcher and a handful of the world’s best aerial surfers on what makes Pipeline the world’s best airwave and what this means for the Vans Pipe Masters.
Isa World Para Surfing Championship Day 3
Sam Bloom, Team Australia Photo: ISA / Sean Evans
Women were at the forefront on the third day of competition at the 2022 Pismo Beach ISA World Para Surfing Championship Hosted by AmpSurf (WPSC), showcasing the growth in both participation and performance levels.
With women’s involvement at an all time high, a 20% increase from last year’s event alone, it’s no surprise to see new records set and progression pushed.
At 51-years-old Sam Bloom (AUS) is determined to continue improving. Competing for the first time in the unassisted Women’s Prone 1 division, the two-time Women’s Prone 2 gold medalist collected a 14.17 heat total and sits on top of the leaderboard ahead of defending champion Sarah Bettencourt (USA).
An incredible showing in her second round heat rocketed Bloom’s teammate and protege Emma Dieters (AUS) to the top of the leaderboard in Women’s Prone 2. It also wrote Dieters’ name in the record books. Her 17.83 heat total is officially the highest in women’s ISA Para Surfing History.
Scotland’s Jade Edward is appearing in her first WPSC as the youngest woman ever at just 10-years-old. Learning to surf within the past 18 months, Edward is enthralled with the sport.
“I love surfing, it’s just amazing,” Edward said. “I’ve been skateboarding for quite a while. I think because I’ve got the balance on my skateboard I can balance on the surfboard as well.”
Defending Women’s Vision Impairment 1 gold medalist, Portugal’s Marta Paço, kicked off her campaign in a very strong fashion, scoring a 9.50 for an incredibly long ride after a big take-off.
Caleb Swanepoel, Team South Africa Photo: ISA / Pablo Franco
“I’ve been surfing for the last five years,” Paço said. “I started in 2017 and since then I’ve been trying to prove that completely blind surfers can surf as regular surfers. That’s why I’m here every year and trying to go for the gold medal and always trying to do something new, something better.”
Round 1 was completed for all classifications, with Round 2 kicking off the elimination rounds in multiple divisions. Most divisions are functioning in a round robin format, meaning that positioning on the overall leaderboard for each division determined who continued in competition and who was eliminated.
Trickier conditions in the afternoon meant that the leaderboards in the Men’s Prone 2, Stand 3 and Prone 1 classifications didn’t see too much of a shake-up.
Competing in his first WSPC, Caleb Swanepoel (RSA) is extremely proud to represent his country. The 27-year-old shark attack survivor lost his leg in 2015.
“Everyone thinks, ‘Shark attack survivor, you must have been a surfer,’ but I actually only learned to surf after I lost my leg,” Swanepoel said. “I was actually bodysurfing with my brothers when there was a great white shark in the water in South Africa. It came for me, took my whole right leg off above the knee. It’s a miracle that I’m still here today.
“The journey to surfing happened a few years after that. I say that the ocean has taken away from me, but it’s also given a lot back. It’s a privilege to wake up every single day and know that life’s a gift, so make the most of every single day.”
Competition will resume at Pismo Beach Pier with Women’s Stand 2, Round 2 at 7am, today, Thursday, December 8.
Team England, Including Melissa Reid (ENG) one of two women in contention to win their fourth gold medals this week Photo: ISA / Sean Evans
Noz Vid / Noa Deane
Noa Deanes new movie “NOZ VID” is a high octane wave rich 30 minute compilation of what was “can’t go anywhere, so go everywhere” mindset to get the best waves he could find on Australia’s East Coast during COVID 19 lockdowns.
Reef Breaks, Beach break, Slabs, Wedges and Ramps – Noz found it all and gave it everything!
Super Spain
With a big swell on the cards, likely too big for the beachies up in Hossegor, some friends and I decided to shoot down the coast to Spain for a little surf trip. We’d heard rumours of a snapper-like left-hander and fun, rippable beach breaks so obviously, without much hesitation, we jumped at the opportunity. @KalesBroccoli
Carve Magazine Issue 215
Carve Magazine Issue 215
The new issue is out. You can get it delivered to door for by hitting this link here.
Welcome to issue 215
This issue takes us right around the globe and back home again. From the editors ‘OG’s’ – the Aggy boys – tales of survival in a remote paradise found, to Luke Garside’s words on the lure of the worldwide joyride we call surfing, and Richie Fitzgerald pioneering giant waves in the Cold Water Eden of Ireland.
Conor Flanagan describes how he found solace swimming out and shooting immense waves after an injury prevented him from surfing them. We also have amazing coverage from places classed as ‘less glamorous’ surf spots, but are no less loved by our own surf communities. Christian Jones takes us beneath the surface of surfing around Plymouth, Simon Buck shows us around the people and places of Cromer, and Carve’s 2022 photo winner, Sean Pritchard, refers to his ‘Hiraeth’ (Welsh for homesickness) and nostalgia for your homeland. Plus we have some of Simon Hickie’s incredible shots from around Cornwall.
Paradise is where you find it
ARNOW – A Tom Lowe portrait
ARNOW | A Tom Lowe portrait by Jack Whitefield from WASTED TALENT on Vimeo.
Arnow had it’s World Premier at the London Surf Film Festival last weekend. Chris Nelson caught up with filmmaker Jack Whitefield to find out more about his portrait of his friend Lowey, now a legendary big wave charger who grew up on the sands of St Ives, Cornwall.
Tom Lowe has risen through the jostling, competitive pack of aspiring big wave surfers to find a unique niche on the global stage. Tom is something of an enigmatic character. A Cornish surfer who operates in the upper echelons, counts many of the world’s top chargers as friends and peers – and who has gained a widespread respect from the elite. His ability to snag the biggest set waves in a packed Pipeline line-up is testament to his standing. His uncompromising rise may seem smooth and effortless, like his style and approach – yet it has been hard fought for this driven surfer from a quiet corner of the surfing world. How did he journey from unlikely beginnings in a small, Cornish fishing town to mastering some of the biggest waves in the world – just who is Tom Lowe and what drives him?
Jack Whitefield has crafted a stylised and stylish cinematic portrait of this modest surfer. Tom’s reputation as one of the most fearless men in surfing has been hard-earned in the cold dark waves of west Ireland, and has taken him to Mexico, Mavericks, Maui, Nazare, the North Shore and beyond. This intimate film builds a picture of Tom’s life through a collage of inspiring tales, woven with interviews from family and allies who’ve seen first-hand this dogged and often dangerous rise. I wonder what made Jack want to make a film about Tom?
“I’ve known Tom for a very long time, we grew up together,” explains Jack. “He’s a little older than me but back then our town was all one close community. I was approached by Vans to make ARNOW. We worked on the film on and off for about two years and Vans and Tom where kind enough to give me full control of the narrative and aesthetic which was a real deal breaker for me. I’m thankful for that.”
“Tom’s background is very different to other big wave professionals (at least to my knowledge ),” Jack explains. “I really wanted to paint that picture and show the various layers of Tom’s complex personality.
The sense of community and Toms place in it really comes through in the film. I ask Jack about what is special about the community in the far western reaches? “That story of west Cornwall really tells itself,” says Jack. “That’s not really my doing, that Cornish culture and sense of community bled into the film without too much premeditation.”
The other element that stands out in Arnow is the score. I ask Jack about how he set about choosing the music. “The music attached to the surfing segments where kindly gifted by a friends band titled Trauma Bond,” he explains. “All the other parts of the sound track where created by myself and Adam Holden. Actually apart from a section with Mickey Smith, he was kind enough to make a original piece for his section in the film.”
I ask Jack what’s next? “There’s another possible film in the works.. but next up are exhibitions of new work and a new publication.”
Subscriptions
Latest Issue
Digital Version
