Photos : @goledzinowski

 Quiksilver is supporting the first opus from the documentary series “Sounds of Surfing (S.O.S)” alongside the electronic music label Ed Banger and the audio equipment brand Sennheiser. Produced by LK RTEL and directed by Vincent Kardasik, S.O.S dives head first into the unexpected combination of big wave surfing and electronic music.

Under the guidance of filmmaker Vincent Kardasik, the LK RTEL team and the world’s big wave surfing elite including Quiksilver team rider Othmane Choufani, Molecule literally submerged himself in the ocean and the in big wave surf culture, learning the codes from those who take on extraordinary swells, building a bridge and uniting two universes, with one common denominator: adventure.

In the winter of 2017, Molécule left again, heading for Greenland. He spent 5 weeks in a small, totally isolated hunting village. With the silences recorded on the ice floe, he composed the album “-22.7°C” entirely on site. An album that bears witness to the beauty and fragility of nature in a polar environment.

Molécule, about the SOS Project: “Used to extreme lonely adventures, this project has brought me more than any other to my own limitations. These monumental, almost animal waves once again showed me all the power and fascinating beauty of nature. Listening to these elements is for me an almost vital, necessary need.”

Vincent Kardasik (LKRTEL)

Vincent Kardasik is a producer and movie maker who founded LK RTEL in 2008. Since the very beginning, the Hossegor based company, hasn’t stopped pushing the boundaries of film production in surfing and beyond, playing to their strengths in digital cinema.

LK RTEL has international acclaim, and between filming campaigns for the biggest brands in the action sports industry, collaborating on cinema sets and advertising film sets, the team also find time to produce more personal and involved projects, such as Vague A l’Ame (2018) or this new project S.O.S, who sounds like a new inspiration to him: “Keeping in line with cinematographic documentaries, S.O.S is an extension of my work, with the objective of opening up the closed universe of big wave surfing and electronic music to the public, by humanising it”.

Pedro Winter, Ed Banger records

Pedro Winter is a world-famous electronic music DJ (Busy P) and funder of the label Ed Banger founded in 2003 and representing the French touch (Justice, Beakbot, Mr Oizo, Dj Mehdi, Busy P, Myd) in the four corners of the world. Pedro Winter is a big fan of action sports, and a longtime friend of the Quiksilver family. No surprise that this SOS Project has a special taste for him:  “I have been following Molécule’s work for a few years. The world is his studio, from a trawler to an igloo, we now find him at the foot of an ocean monster, Nazaré! Accompanying this kind of artist is a pleasure.’’

Othmane Choufani

Othmane is a big-wave surfer from Morocco and Quiksilver Team Surfer, who chases the biggest swells of the planet ans spends every winter few weeks in Nazaré. For hi the experience was totally unique: “It sounds funny to say it, but we were literally fishing for sounds, to the rhythm of the big waves. I’d say what really struck us the most when we finished a session, was to hear the loud thud of the impact of the wave on the water.’’

Creative Timeline of the Sounds of Surfing Project: 

• February 2019: Recording the sound of Nazaré wave
• June 2019: Molécule composes his works at Saint Jean de Luz (Basque Country), in the Quiksilver House, with a sea view.
• July 2019: Mixing session at the Quiksilver Drop-In Studio + “Marées Alternatives” party in Bidart (South West of France)
• Molecule EP and the 26-minute documentary Sounds Of Surfing will be released on January 17th, 2020. Stay tuned.

If last month’s Saunton Longboard Classic was a gentle and fond kiss goodbye from summer, last weekend’s Stable Fistral Longboard Classic was an ‘Oy-You-Spilled-My-Pint’ roughing up from the encroaching winter.

Early morning at North Fistral saw a plucky band of BLU longboarders peering determinedly through the mizzle into the scowling remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo. Four foot or so of sullen grey Atlantic steel clattering angrily down onto the dirty golden sand of Newquay did little to dispel the tension.

Sam Bleakley.

With Ben Skinner and Adam Griffiths  on Surf Relik duty, reigning Men’s Open Champ Ben Howey ‘man down’ with a broken hand and Welsh stylemaster Elliot Dudley having gone AWOL to Colombia, the division was as wide open as some of the big left-handers thundering across the bay. Fistral local Jordan Zervas, Renaissance Man Sam Bleakley and blast-from-the-past Tom Fisher made the running in Round 1, and made up 3 of the 4 finalists. Devon’s Jack Gregorius, last year’s U18 Junior Champion, completed the line-up. With Sam on the rights and everyone else on the lefts, it was Tom ‘I never win!’ Fisher who prevailed, beating Sam by less than half a point in what can only be called a Hollywood finish.

Being a rescheduled event, the turnout was slightly down on normal. This didn’t stop Emily Currie and reigning Champ Claire Smail taking it all the way to a surf-off in the Women’s division. With one event win and a second place each, they took to the hollow right-handers for a dual to the death in the deepening gloom of dusk. It was Claire who managed to hold her nerve, stick her turns and retain the perpetual trophy for another year.

With Sam Bleakley now qualifying as a Master and Jason Gray missing in action, it was down to Falmouth’s Adam Chell to stand as the last line of defence between Sam and a possible double title victory. His 21^st birthday may be a long distant memory, but Sam stills surfs like one. For a second successive contest he surfed in as many heats as Jordan and Arthur, and they’re both teenagers. Adam had been surfing well all day, finding the same lefts that had been good for Tom and Jordan, but nothing was going to stop the Bleakers roadshow and he unleashed a flurry of turns, cross-steps and long, long noserides to combo the rest of the finalists. Ridiculous.

The Grand Masters saw one of the finest ever upsets in a semi-final, with Ray ‘Your name’s not down, you’re not coming in’ Lee squeezing past Adam Zervas. With commentator Anton having to eat his ‘One Wave Ray’ banter, the pair faced off again in the final. Normal service was resumed as Adam delivered a turn hard enough to break hearts, smooth nose work and even had time for a quick shampoo head-dip in the hollow mid-tide lefts. Ever youthful Welsh legend Colin Bright took second and Ray third. Sadly Paul ‘Keeno’ Keenan had to leave mid-event.

Despite numbers still being on the low side, the junior divisions were well contested. Arthur ‘Not You Again’ Randell blitzed the U16 Cadets, we were treated to the welcome return of Barnaby Innes after several months of not surfing, and the stylish early surf career moves of Lola Bleakley and cousin Izzy Henshall. The U18 Girls saw Esmee Gregorius and Tegan Blackford look the most comfortable in the bigger stuff, and it was Esmee’s uncanny wave selection skills that saw her take the win, consistently finding lefts that simply refused to close out. In the U18 Juniors, Jordan Zervas once again ripped the win from Arthur ‘I’ve run out of nicknames’ Randell with his last wave of the heat in an almost exact replay of the Saunton Longboard Classic. When Jordan moves up out of the division, it’s going to take some stiff competition to get between Arthur and the trophy. Great start also for Thorr Marner, getting into a final in his first BLU event.

With the salty business done and ex-Hurricane Lorenzo remembering it should be raining buckets, we retired to the welcoming warmth of main event sponsor ‘The Stable, Fistral’ for the presentations. Aside from the awesome food and drink, you know you’ve definitely got a spono worth clinging on to when they paint part of their premises in the style of your contest poster!

Trophies, prizes and winnings dispensed, the BLU are now on a break until 2020, which just happens to be our 25th anniversary year. From the germ of an idea concocted after the Oxbow exhibition contest in 1994, it’s been a hell of a ride so far. Here’s to the next part of the journey!

Massive thanks to our event sponsors, without whom we would not be able to keep the BLU boat afloat:
The Stable, Fistral
Fistral Beach
Newquay BID
Ocean & Earth
RNLI
Surfing England
Also huge congratulations and thanks to all competitors, staff and judges from Minnow and the committee. You’re the beating heart of the BLU and you do what you do with style, humour and enthusiasm no matter the conditions.

Da Kine have been making surf kit since Rob Kaplan came up with an innovative surf leash in 1979 on the north shore of Hawaii. In Hawaiian slang, “Da kine” means “the best” and they have made every attempt to live up to that label. This month we have a full Da Kine surf pack to gives way including.

WIN

RECON DOUBLE SURFBOARD BAG THRUSTER
Going on a quick strike? It’s always smart to bring a backup board. This surfboard bag is designed for hauling two boards with fins. Durable and lightweight, the bag features dense 3/8-inch padding to guard against dings and a full-length heat shield on the bottom to guard against the sun while exposed on the roof rack. A travel-friendly shoulder strap frees your hands for easy travel transitions. Fits up to two boards while keeping the bottom board hidden from sight. “How many boards are you taking on board today?” “One!” Standard…
RPP: £165

DAKINE KAINUI TEAM 6′ X 1/4″ SURF LEASH
The Kainui Team Leash is optimized for surfing peaks up to a couple feet overhead. Dakine’s years of dedication to leash innovation and craftsmanship including a streamlined design featuring a 1/4-inch (6.5mm) urethane Dura-Cord for maximum strength with minimal drag, durable Opti-Flex leash ends, and a comfy 1.5-inch molded neoprene cuff. The high-performance Kainui Team surf leash is offered in 6-, 7- and 8-foot lengths.
RPP: £29

DAKINE CYCLONE WET/DRY 32L BACKPACK
The Cyclone Collection is a family of super-technical and durable wet/dry packs and bags. With roll top design, waterproof welded wetsuit pocket and coated Cordura Ripstop construction, it’s extremely water resistant—perfect for keeping towels and tech dry before your session, and keeping your soaked wetsuit contained after it. It\ll even take your laptop and sunnies and its got an Integrated board-carry system. This is a super-solid midsized wet/dry pack with lots of functionality and plenty of space.
RRP: £130

To enter

To enter just email us your name and address to [email protected] with the answer to this question;
“Who is the top Da Kine team rider currently sidelined from the WSl world tour with a knee injury?”

Surf and snow leader Quiksilver is leading the innovation in the wetsuit market, as it launches the industry’s most flexible high-performance surfing wetsuit, using next generation Japanese technology. For the first time commercially, surfers can purchase a full length, one millimetre thick wetsuit which will be available to buy across the globe from 3rd October 2019.

The launch of the Highline Pro 1mm wetsuit marks the latest surf and snow innovation from Quiksilver, as they continue to set the standard in high-performance attire for riders of both the sea and slopes. This pioneering addition to the Highline Pro series follows the recent Highline Pro Airlift Vest, which helped revolutionise the professional surfing experience.

Kanoa Igarashi, 2020 Team Japan Surf Contender and Quiksilver athlete, says:

“This wetsuit is a game changer for the surf industry, and the most innovative design I’ve seen for a long time. Never before has a wetsuit allowed such free movement whilst remaining so functional. I will be wearing it at the Quiksilver Pro France this week and can’t wait to use it as part of my everyday surfing gear.”

All five Quiksilver athletes – Kanoa Igarashi, Jeremy Flores, Zeke Lau, Leonardo Fioravanti and Jesse Mendes – will be wearing the Highline Pro 1mm wetsuit whilst competing in this week’s Pro France.

The Highline Pro 1MM Wetsuit is priced at £570 and will be available from 3rd October online at Quiksilver.com and from selected Board Riders stores.

Penny Skateboards are the ultimate accessory for an adventurous lifestyle. To put this theory to the test, Penny gave us a few of their boards, we called on our favourite riders and headed out to our local spot.

Hannah Harding, Matilda Lacey and Ryan Riley put the boards through their paces, cruising around until sunset. Designed for getting around with ease, these premium board are a great ride, whether you’re a first-time skater or simply looking for a fun cruiser. The injection mould skateboards are durable with the right amount of flex for turning and the smooth wheels make for a buttery ride. They’re really easy to take around, tucked under an arm or in a backpack. Plus, the colourful, vibrant wheels and deck brought a real statement to the streets. 

Penny was created in 2010 by founder Ben Mackay, with the aim of putting the fun back into skateboarding. Penny’s mission is to break down traditional stereotypes and encourage all genders and generations to experience the joy of skateboarding.

So, whether you’re cruising the streets, or hitting up your local car park, Penny skateboards are for everyone. With personal customisation and different sizes available – 22”, 27” and 32”, double kick boards and 36” long boards-there’s sure to be a skateboard to match your unique style. 

So if you’re feeling adventurous, find out more here.

Win

We’ve a Penny Skateboard to give away! Hit the button below to go to the Carve instagram page to be in with a chance to win.

Penny Skateboard Competition T&C’s.

• The Promoter is offering those who enter this promotion a chance to win two Penny Skateboards.
• Go to the Carve Instagram to enter.
• Entrants must be UK residents, aged 13 and over, any entrants under the age limit will not be considered.