North Point keg fest

After back-to-back lay days, the opening of the Margaret River Pro did not disappoint today as the world’s best surfers took on heavy six-to-eight foot (1.8 – 2.7 metre) conditions at North Point. North Point, the backup event site known for some of the longest and most intense barrels in the world, challenged the surfers in the first seven heats of men’s Round 1 at Stop No. 3 on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour.

Reigning, two-time WSL Champion John John Florence (HAW) found redemption in his opening heat, overcoming wildcard Mikey Wright (AUS), who famously eliminated him in last place at Stop No. 1 on the Gold Coast earlier this year. It was bound to be a monumental heat as the reigning Margaret River Pro event winner needed to regain his footing against Wright and 2018 CT Rookie Wade Carmichael (AUS). All three competitors found incredible waves, but it was Florence whose finesse and timing in the tube saw him take the win with a 14.60 heat total (out of a possible 20).

“I didn’t really see that as a grudge match or anything,” Florence said. “I just went out and did my own thing, which was easy as the waves are firing right now. There are so many incredible waves coming through out there, but it is hard to know where to sit and which ones to go for. It’s nice to get a heat win in the first round and get a bit of a rhythm going. Wherever we’ll be for my next round, it doesn’t matter. All three locations here are so fun, so I’ll be stoked where ever we surf.”

2014 WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) had the unenviable task of taking on local trials runner-up Kael Walsh (AUS) and CT sophomore Joan Duru (FRA) in his opening round matchup. Walsh, who is renowned for his hard-charging approach, hunted for sets early but struggled to complete his waves. Medina, on the other hand, made backhand barrel riding look easy with one long tube for the heat win.

“It’s really tricky out there and hard to find the good ones,” Medina said. “I was lucky to find that longer one and make the barrel. There were a lot of air sections out there, so I was trying to go big, which is fun but not good for scores unless you land them. I’ve been having fun warming up here in Western Australia. There are always fun waves around. I saw Kael (Walsh) go for some big ones and knew he was going for it, which is good to see and pushes everyone.”

Jack Robinson (AUS), the replacement surfer for an injured Caio Ibelli (BRA), earned a big win in the opening round against current World No. 4 Owen Wright (AUS) and Miguel Pupo (BRA), the injury replacement for Kelly Slater (USA). Heat 3 saw the local wildcard weave his way out of a number of epic North Point barrels, even posting an excellent 8.27 to comfortably take down his more experienced counterparts. Earlier today, Robinson defeated Jerome Forrest (AUS) in a surf off to win Ibelli’s replacement position.

“It’s been a really crazy 24 hours for me,” Robinson said. “I was actually up in Perth when I got the call about the surf off and thought I’d better get back home. It was all so unexpected and a little bit overwhelming, to be honest. I feel so at home here at North Point, so I wasn’t really worried at all. I just went out there and did what I’d do any other time I surf here. It was really cool to see the waves come up throughout the day. I’d say the good ones are eight out of ten for North Point, which is really good and so good for a contest.”

Current World No. 1 Julian Wilson (AUS) continued his solid form in 2018 today with an opening heat win over 2018 CT Rookie Jesse Mendes (BRA) and Drug Aware WA Trials winner Dave Delroy-Carr (AUS). Although his early round exit at Bells Beach hinged more on conditions than his surfing, Wilson was keen to show the world that he belongs in the Jeep Leader Jersey.

“That opening wave was nice,” Wilson said. “It was exactly how I wanted to start the heat and was the wave I was looking for. You can definitely roll the dice out there, but it is worth looking for that really good one. I don’t think Bells was shakey — I just didn’t have much opportunity. My surfing was feeling good and I was feeling good in general. I feel like this is going to be a good year. I’m ready to square my shoulders up and not be timid and really get stuck in. This is one of my favorite places in the world. I spend a lot of time here and am really comfortable so to move around and surf all of the spots on offer is really cool, especially today as we waited and waited and eventually it paid off.”

Keanu Asing (HAW) earned his first CT heat win in 2018 over Australians Matt Wilkinson and Connor O’Leary in the opening heat of the event. In what looked to be an impossible escape, Asing set the bar with a technical exit out a deep tube for an excellent 8.00 (out of a possible 10). The 24-year-old is back on the elite CT after falling off in 2017 and will use this momentum for a solid result in the third event of the year.

“I’m so stoked to finally get a heat win this season — especially in good waves,” Asing said. “It’s tough out there. It’s really windy. I was so deep, and I didn’t think I was going to make it. I just went through that first section and held my ground. I was just so happy to finally get a good wave.”

Jordy Smith (ZAF), 2017 World Title contender, continues his opening heat-winning streak with a third-straight Round 1 win in 2018. Smith overtook Brazilian chargers Ian Gouveia and Tomas Hermes in Heat 2 with a big barrel exit for a 7.67 and a 4.50. The South African skips to Round 3, while the Brazilians prepare for an elimination Round 2 showdown.

“The waves are pumping out there right now,” Smith said. “It’s just turned on in the last hour, so it was such a good call to wait. Taking a Round 1 heat win is super important as I hate to lose and skipping Round 2 is a massive bonus. It was great to get barrels in a heat and to feel like I was on top of my strategy.”

The final heat of the day, Heat 7, witnessed a tough go for the competitors as they each experienced massive wipeouts. California’s Conner Coffin (USA), in particular, faced his fair share of epic falls throughout the heat and ended just 0.27 points short of the heat win over Filipe Toledo (BRA). Coffin and Michael February (ZAF) will now need to battle out of elimination Round 2 when competition resumes.

Event officials will regroup tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. AEWT to assess the conditions for a potential 7:30 a.m. start.

Surfline, WSL forecast partner, is calling for:

The strong SW swell that filled in through the afternoon today will ease through the day on Saturday (strongest in the morning). Fading, but still fairly solid, surf and favorable morning wind looks likely for Sun-Mon. Mid size W swell looks possible Wed-Thu, although wind may trend back onshore. Another solid SW to WSW swell remains possible for the end of the event window around the 20th-22nd.

Margaret River Men’s Pro Round 1 Results:
Heat 1: Keanu Asing (HAW) 10.70, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 5.33, Connor O’Leary (AUS) 4.64
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.17, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 10.67, Tomas Hermes (BRA) 2.54
Heat 3: Jack Robinson (AUS) 13.94, Owen Wright (AUS) 4.03, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 2.40
Heat 4: John John Florence (HAW) 14.60, Mikey Wright (AUS) 11.87, Wade Carmichael (AUS) 8.50
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.16, Kael Walsh (AUS) 8.96, Joan Duru (FRA) 1.97
Heat 6: Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.56, Jesse Mendes (BRA) 10.00, Dave Delroy-Carr (AUS) 3.40
Heat 7: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 6.14, Conner Coffin (USA) 5.87, Michael February (ZAF) 2.57

Margaret River Men’s Pro Remaining Round 1 Matchups:
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Yago Dora (BRA)
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Griffin Colapinto (USA), Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 10: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Michael Rodrigues (BRA)
Heat 11: Kolohe Andino (USA), Frederico Morais (PRT), Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Heat 12: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Michel Bourez (PYF), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)

Margaret River Women’s Pro Round 1 Matchups:
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Silvana Lima (BRA), Coco Ho (HAW)
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW), Sage Erickson (USA), Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Keely Andrew (AUS), Mikaela Greene (AUS)
Heat 4: Lakey Peterson (USA), Caroline Marks (USA), Paige Hareb (NZL)
Heat 5: Tyler Wright (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW), Macy Callaghan (AUS)
Heat 6: Johanne Defay (FRA), Nikki Van Dijk (AUS), Malia Manuel (HAW)

Alan Stokes new ‘Infinity Flow Surf Clinic’

Alan Stokes, multi surfing champion, ably aided by Dom Moore, is setting up a new kind of surf training fitness camp using dynamic movement, flow techniques, fitness and psychology to improve your surfing – from beginners to advanced there is something for everyone.

Why you are doing it?

Good question, I suppose I’m at a point where I have been surfing for a crazy amount of time. I learnt to surf when I was six years old and have been free surfing and competing professionally for over 20 years. I realised early on that I had a talent for understanding the dynamics that made good surfing and would apply these rules to my own approach. This awareness was instrumental to my success and I continue to evaluate and experiment to this day. I have practiced yoga to some extent my whole career but without really understanding or practicing any specific style. It was my partner Philly, who is an amazing yoga teacher, who really switched me on to Vinyasa yoga and I instantly made connections with the positive effects the practice was having on me out in the waves.

Since then, I have become a qualified Yin yoga teacher myself and continue to look at the practice for inspiration. In short I have become extremely passionate about the simple art of movement and how we can apply certain training methods and practices to better our everyday lives. These movement patterns, training methods and practices can also be applied to an intense physical activity like surfing to help avoid injury and improve performance. My teaching comes from a place of minute personal scrutiny that has amassed over years of practice. Being able to pass on this information to other surfers and see positive results is really rewarding for me.

What does the course involve?

I have put together a day of coaching based on my own experience and proven training methods. Including the ‘Infinity Flow’ movement mapping method. Pro tips and tricks using dynamic movement training, surf simulations, surf environment breakdowns and in water coaching.

The course has been developed to hack the surfing learning curve, offering expert advice whilst highlighting and breaking down bad habits that ultimately lead to poor performance. The program also dives into the science and psychological side of surfing with ISA advanced instructor Dom Moore. Utilising The Rule of Three’s progression theory and Stress Inoculation training, Dom teaches how building, setting and evaluating specific goal driven tasks can be instrumental in raising performance. We also explore what the effects of surf related stress induced states are having on our psychological and physical condition.

What is ‘Infinity Flow’ movement mapping? And how can it help surfers.

Surfing, like most board sports on a foundation level requires the rider to create flow. Seamless movement patterns that translate into forward momentum. ‘Infinity Flow’ is a term I use to describe a series of movement patterns that unlock the ability to create flow. Movement mapping teaches this series of movements in a surf simulated environment before we hit the surf and helps to diagnose and rewrite bad movement patterns. Ultimately it teaches the practitioner to adopt a continuous flowing movement pattern, translating kinetic energy through the body and into the board as it communicates with the wave.

What are ‘The Rule of Three’s’ progression theory and Stress Inoculation training and how do they help?

This part of the course is taught by Dom Moore so he has the following answers below.

The rule of threes is a system that looks at the three pillars of surfing progression: knowledge, fitness and technique. We examine the strong interplay between these factors, and look at realistic ways to develop across all three. The rule of threes provides a robust ground for surfers to set goals and evaluate their success, and trains them to look for real ways to get better at surfing even when they can’t get to the water.

Stress inoculation is all about broadening a surfer’s comfort zone across all areas of surfing such as stepping up to bigger surf, dealing with crowds, preparing for competition and so on. We look at what fear is, the effects it has on surfing performance, and then develop ways to push back the fear boundary to slay the demons and clear the path ahead for more critical surfing.

Who are you aiming at?

This course is designed for a broad spectrum of surfing abilities. It is a great course for beginners looking to get a head start in a new sport. Beginners must be able to paddle out and catch and ride a green faced wave. Likewise the course is ideal for intermediate to advanced surfers looking to learn key physical and phycological techniques and training methods to improve performance.

‘Infinity Flow Surf Clinic’
– With professional surfer 3 x British Champion Alan Stokes and ISA advanced instructor Dom Moore
– 28th April 2018
– Hosted by The Surf Sanctuary, Headland Hotel, Newquay
– Price £120 per person

To book visit www.wildandfreeadventures.co.uk/surfcoaching or contact Dom Moore at The Surf Sanctuary on 07540155123
[email protected]

Out of the Black

17 year old Iker Amatriain is from Zarutz and one of Spains most promising young surfers.

Win a Surf Adventure for 2 to Madagascar

Specialising in surf, dive, snowboard and ski trips to unique, exotic, remote and uncrowded destinations, Ocean & Mountain Explorers are offering a trip for 2 to the remote and beautiful Madagascar Surf Lodge.

The camp offers direct access to the beach with perfect reef waves to suit all abilities, just 5 minutes away by boat. Here you and a buddy will surf perfect empty line ups every day and OMX will pay for the winner to receive surf guiding and pro surf coaching from pro surf coach Justin West.

Back at the camp, relax in one of the four en suite, beach bungalows where you will enjoy 3 meals a day, all made from local produce and cooked by the in-house chef.

The staff are a friendly bunch and will be able to help you out with anything else you need during your stay.

So for one seriously good trip and remote, empty lineups, here’s how to win….

1) Follow @Oceanmountainexplorers and @CarveMag on Instagram
2) Like the competition post on @Carvemag Instagram
3) Tag a friend in the Instagram post (the more tags, the more entries)

The winner will be announced on the day 27th April by live draw from @schoonerscornwall

Terms and Conditions:

Flights not included
The OMX Madagascar Adventure is from 1st to 14th of June 2018
To enter you need to be over 21 years old unless you will be accompanied by an adult on the trip
Madagascar is a surf destination for intermediate or advanced surfers
Transfer from Tulear to Madagascar Surf Lodge
Includes one or two trips to local Befasy reefs each morning, depending on conditions
Includes bungalow accommodation from 1st-14th June
Includes Breakfast, lunch and dinner and soft drinks
The winner will be announced on 27th April by live draw
For more info email: [email protected]

‘Blue Heart’ screenings announced

Patagonia have announced the screening dates for their new film “Blue Heart’ which documents the battle to protect Europe’s last wild rivers from more than 3,000 destructive dams either proposed or in the process of being built in the Balkans, threatening thousands of kilometers of river, millions of people and hundreds of species.

Save the Blue Heart of Europe
Tell international banks to stop investing in the destruction of Europe’s last wild rivers.
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