It was a privilege to spend the day at the Surfing England Adaptive Surf Open Comp hosted by The Wave Bristol. What an event and honour it was to not only spend a few days with these athletes but to share some waves and listen to some incredible stories. – Scott Mitchell
Sailing the length of the Mentawai Island chain sits atop every surfer’s bucket list and so, with the world slowly reopening its borders, we figured it was high time we rounded up a crew of our favourite salt water athletes and granted them their ultimate wish.
Red Bull assembled a roster of surfers from all generations and headed to Indonesia in search of tubes and perfection. Headlined by 2015 world champion Adriano de Souza and current Championship Tour star Caroline Marks, we enlisted young guns Jarvis Earle, Leon Glatzer and Dimitri Poulos, teamed them up with heavy water specialists Conor Maguire and Natxo Gonzalez, threw multi-sport weapon Izzi Gomez in the mix then let local superstar Bronson Meydi show them all how it’s done on his turf.
Rather than shooting regular hifi surf porn we had The Marcs take the tiller to let the tape roll on another episode of “People Watching”. Come for the crazy action, stay for the subtle moments in-between. From Adriano’s wild opening Greenbush beast through to classic Macaronis and an all-time Hollow Trees session that will leave you begging for more the surfing doesn’t let up, but neither does the sea sickness, the down day chatter, and the candid reflections on life lived on the ocean.
Welcome aboard your new favourite 19-day surf bender as our team hops, skips and punts their way across everything the Mentawai Islands have on tap. This is “People Watching”, enjoy.
Major construction work at Scotland’s newest leisure and staycation facility, Wavegarden Scotland, got underway today in Ratho, near Edinburgh. The £55m landmark development will include the country’s first inland surfing destination using revolutionary new technology.
The Wavegarden Scotland development is expected to open to the public in Summer 2024 – boosting long term socio-economic, recreational and tourism benefits including creating up to 130 jobs once open, generating up to £11m for the local economy and attracting over 180,000 visitors each year.
The family-friendly park will feature a surf school and overnight accommodation and will for the first time give Scottish surfers the opportunity to train at home all year round and improve their chances of competing at major events, including the Olympics.
The development will use the latest wave generation technology called the Wavegarden Cove, developed by Wavegarden in Spain. The site will host surfers of all abilities who can ride the 1,000 bespoke ocean-like waves created per hour.
Set within a 60-acre country park, the new destination will offer waterside accommodation for all needs, including families, surfers and international visitors, through luxury lodges, glamping pods, accessible wave pods, bothies and canal berths.
Wavegarden Scotland will also be home to The HUB, with facilities including a waterfront restaurant and food market, retail outlets, a surf school, a wellness spa, and a number viewing terraces overlooking the surf. Lothian-based company, Rogue Village will develop a dynamic programme of events and create a unique food destination.
Andy Hadden, Founder of Tartan Leisure Ltd which is developing Wavegarden Scotland said:
“It has taken many years of hard work and collaboration to get to this point and we could not be happier to see work begin on the country’s first surf park. This is a special moment for all the team and marks a major milestone in our journey to creating this extraordinary leisure and staycation attraction for Scotland.”
VisitScotland Regional Director Neil Christison said: “It is fantastic to see innovative investment such as this into the tourism product for Edinburgh and the surrounding area. This unique development will make an impressive addition to the tourism offering in Scotland as a whole, creating jobs and supporting the continued recovery of this vital part of our economy. We look forward to working with the Wavegarden Scotland team as the development continues.
“VisitScotland is committed to championing change to shape the responsible growth of Scotland’s valuable tourism and events industry in a way that respects people and places.”
This new surf destination will include a whole raft of new Wavegarden technology, including improved air and tube riding sections, as well as Waikiki and Malibu waves which break in the reef areas for the beginners.
Wavegarden has witnessed extremely high growth in the surf park sector with more than 60 projects currently in development across the globe, 7 facilities operating successfully and 7 projects currently under construction across 4 continents, proving the growing global appetite for surfing and its many physical and mental health benefits.
Fernando Odriozola, Wavegarden’s Chief Commercial Officer added: “The project in Scotland is progressing and reinforces the confidence our clients and the market has in our leading technology.”
Code red hits The Wedge! A fun couple of days thats for sure. Big waves up and down the coast of California. This is the morning of July 19th, some big sets but the smaller ones were the cleanest, enjoy!
Surfers and Bodyboarders: Sage Burke, Zach Levine, Tanner McDaniel, Craig Whetter, Dylan Graves, Tyler Stanaland, Ty Burgess, Tyler Thornsley and many more!
The day of days happened at Ma’alaea freight trains! Some of the best and biggest waves in the past 20 years peeled across the reefs of Ma’alaea creating huge tunnels of mind-blowing perfection. Here are some of the raw best clips during the pulse of the historic swell.
I’ve a hangover, which has nothing to do with this clip, but I’m finding it very soothing to watch Torren Martyn and co sliding through Nias, hop on board with one of the best rights in the world. Can you pass the headache tablets please.
