The Braw Diaries – A Baltic Paradise
The Unwanted Shapes
MEO, Turismo de Portugal and WSL have come together to raise awareness about a new environmental threat to our oceans. “The Unwanted Shapes - Covid19 Waste Edition,” is an open call to shapers to create a surfboard made from Covid-19 waste.
An expert panel of the world’s best shapers will pick a winner with the board being ridden by elite Championship Tour (CT) surfers at the MEO Pro Portugal in Peniche in February.
2020 was marked by the brutal impact of Covid-19 on the health, well being and economy of the world. Just one of the many side effects of the measures taken to stop the spread of the pandemic was the consumption and disposal of hundreds of millions of single use masks, gloves and alcohol gel packs worldwide. Much of this newly created Covid-19 waste has ended up in our oceans.
“The Unwanted Shapes - Covid19 Waste Edition” aims to create awareness and find solutions to this new threat to our oceans. An Open Call is asking shapers from all round the world to make a surfboard from materials that create the waste caused by Covid-19. Shapers can submit their entries at unwantedshapes.com.
“It’s a unique challenge for shapers, but one that is so important to help raise awareness about a new global issue that affects all surfers and ocean lovers,” said Peter Mel, former Big Wave Tour World Champion.
“We are inviting any shaper, of any background or location, to come up with a surfboard that uses Covid-19 waste as a key component. Not only will they help highlight this massive issue, but they can gain huge exposure when the best surfers on the planet ride the boards in Peniche at the MEO Pro Portugal in February.”
Mel will be the ambassador for the project and head the judges’ panel that includes world leading shapers Jon Pyzel, Timmy Patterson, Marcio Zouvi, Christiaan Bradley and James “Chilli” Cheal.
This year’s project follows on from MEO’s 2019 successful ‘Unwanted Shapes’ edition, where five surfboards made entirely of plastic were ridden at the CT event in Peniche in 2019. International stars Conner Coffin and Brisa Hennessy as well as Portuguese legend Frederico Morais rode the boards in a special “Beat the Plastic” heat.
MEO is a leading telecommunications brand in Portugal that aims to humanise society by actively intervening in issues that put the wellbeing of the planet and society at risk. Its ongoing support has consolidated Portugal as a world power in surfing and allowed projects such as Unwanted Shapes to find global solutions to global problems.
Turismo de Portugal, as a promoter of a destination whose entire border faces the Atlantic Ocean, has a long partnership with surfing. It recognised the sport has a key role in forging Portugal’s reputation as a sustainable destination and has always strived to protect Portugal's most important asset; its incredible coastline and ocean environment.
BIGGEST NAZARÉ EVER?
"I always thought that the day would come where we would see a huge huge swell with clean offshore winds.
Since I remember looking at weather and storm maps Ive never ever seen a forecast of conditions like this and Mother Nature delivered some of the craziest cleanest waves ever seen at Nazaré.
A day for the history books, swells like this happen very few times in a lifetime. So happy to witness this day and see everyone back to shore safe." - Nic Von Rupp
Mesmerising Morocco
They are not the average family, and it is a not an average family trip. The Klein's saw a massive swell heading to Morocco, ordered tickets, packed their two kids and just flew! Click in with Yoni Klein and family, and prepare to get hosed...
Stoked!
Let's be honest, it's been a helluva year so far, we all need a heavy dosage of 'Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeew' to get through the rest of 2020. Let us introduce the very amped Luke Embleton, is fair to say he's stoked with this keg at Thurso.
Definition of stoked slang : being in an enthusiastic or exhilarated state, I think Luke meets the criteria!
Mirage: Skeleton Bay
Since it was unveiled in 2008, the wave at Skelton Bay has become part of every surfer's lexicon, a synonym for never-ending sand bottomed tubes. But unlike Pipeline, G-Land, or [insert your preferred iconic world class wave here], the two-kilometre-long left on the edge of the Namib Desert is in a constant state of flux. If satellite imagery is anything to go by, the wave we know today didn’t even exist 30 years ago.
“People think oh, easy, Skeleton Bay. I’m going to go get the barrel of my life. But then they show up here and realise it’s more like Teahupoo on sand.”
Mirage is a 15-minute documentary that traces the genesis of the Namibian sandspit and how it became one of the most sought after waves on the planet, as told by pioneering locals and some of the best tube riders in the world.
But before you put it on the top of your post-pandemic bucket list, perhaps take heed of Koa Smith’s veiled advice from the film: “People think oh, easy, Skeleton Bay. I’m going to go get the barrel of my life. But then they show up here and realise it’s more like Teahupoo on sand.”
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