Feb 2, 2024
Hawaiian South Shore February 2024 Newsletter
South Shore Legend Carissa Moore Announces Retirement from Competition
Carissa Moore has been one of the most competitively dominant female surfers of all time, and is arguably the greatest surfer of her generation. Ever since she was a young grom ripping her home breaks of Ala Moana, we South Shore surfers have known that she was going to become a superstar—and she did a lot more than that.
After winning multiple national championships, Carissa joined the World Tour, where she dominated.
She won five world titles, 28 World Tour events, three Triple Crowns, and the first Olympic gold medal in surfing. She also finished runner-up for the title numerous times, won Rookie of the Year her first season on tour, and was the youngest ever winner of the Triple Crown (at 16) and world tile (at 18). Amazingly, she accomplished all of this in less than 15 years.
Carissa Moore is still arguably the most accomplished competitor on tour. The past two years, she dominated the regular season, ending the year thousands of points ahead of the second-seeded surfer.
In years past, this would have won her two extra world championships (including one over Steph Gilmore, which means Carissa would currently be tied with Steph and Layne Beachely for most world titles).
However, the WSL’s new format where the world title is decided on one day at Lower Trestles has seen Carissa lose out to lower-seeded surfers in the final heat of the year the past two years. Despite this fact, there is no one on tour who is more feared. At the same time, however, there is also no one who is more loved.
As fearsome as Carissa is as a competitor, she’s incredibly sweet and considerate as an individual. Her reputation for kindness and humility is universal, which is why everyone was so sad to hear that Carissa will be retiring from competition after the Lexus Pipe Pro this week.
After 13 years of world tour competition (and another five+ years of amateur contest surfing), Carissa is ready to start a mother and pursue the journey of motherhood. Pipe will be her last contest as a world tour surfer, although she will return to the jersey this summer when she defends her gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games at Teahupoo.
Carissa hasn’t ruled out the prospect of returning to competition in the future—and like Kelly Slater, who has retired numerous times in his career, there’s no doubt that she will receive a wild card into any event she wants to surf—but for now her focus is on her ohana. Here at Hawaiian South Shore, we can appreciate that. Our family—at home and here at the shop—are our reason for existence. We love and appreciate all of you, just as we love and appreciate Carissa.
Let’s all take a moment to celebrate the career of this incredible surfer and human, who has made the South Shore proud over and over again—and who will continue to do so, regardless of what she chooses to do with the rest of her life.
As a tribute to Carissa and the incredible impact she has had on surfing, we invite you all to comment below, sharing your congratulations, appreciation, or personal experiences with Town’s favorite surfer girl.
Member of the Month - Nick Waraksa
When and why did you initially get into surfing?
I grew up skateboarding in the midwest reading lots of magazines on surfing and dreamed of someday being able to do it everyday. It took me many decades but eventually got myself to California to start teaching myself how to surf.
The love affair cut me deep and I eventually relocated my entire family out to Maui in 2020 and now we live 20min from all the north shore big waves and now I’m not only finding myself surrounded by the best waves and best surfers, but my film career has now lead me to filming the greatest surfers in the world at Jaws and I hope to slowly start getting into tow surfing for my own personal enjoyment and love for surf.
Did you have a time period you laid off from surfing? If so, when and why did you start back up?
I sprained my wrist taking a bad wave on the north shore of Maui so I couldn’t paddle for almost a year. The time off only made me want it more and train everything else I could on land to prepare to get back out. But, as we all know, nothing trains you for surfing except surfing ;)
What is your favorite thing about surfing?
Becoming one with the board in paddling, duck-diving, and dropping in. It’s a dance where you transform into a completely different creature than how you move on land.
What product did you most recently purchase from us and why?
The Firewire Sweet Potato in Volcanic. Because I love short boarding and want to drop in on longboard waves and still be on a shortboard wave as well as keeping my paddle strength up. And I wanted volcanic because it’s more environmentally friendly and seems to be a bit stronger and lighter which makes it a no-brainer option.
How are you liking that product so far?
I absolutely love it. It should be marketed as a board that helps train longboarders how to shortboard.
What fins are you using with your new board?
The Rob Machado quads with the wood texture pattern. Looks slick with the volcanic board.
Have you used other fins in the past and how do these compare?
I’ve only had these fins with it.
Where is your favorite place to eat after surfing? What is your favorite item on the menu?
I go to the Paia Fish Market and get the fresh Ono burger. Rare fish you can get on the islands and they do it right. Tarter game is on fleek there for fish.
What other hobbies do you have besides surfing?
Snowboarding, and constantly writing, recording, and performing music on a variety of instruments like Piano, guitar, bass, mandolin, electronic, synths, etc. I produce many kinds of music like EDM and neoclassical piano, and am in an electro folk band called SONOf.
What type of work do you do?
I’m a film maker. I shoot everything from music videos and commercials to full-length documentaries. This winter I have been on a Jet Ski flying down the 30’ faces of the big waves at Peahi (JAWS), capturing the rescues and drop ins of surfers from Kai Lenny, Ian Walsh and beyond.
Nick's edits on instagram of the big wave surfing and jet ski rescue team:
Nick's instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/Nick's company, MAKE.BELIEVE.PICTURES to see more:
https://www.instagram.com/Do you have any additional comments or suggestions for us?
Your customer service and communication with your customers is absolutely incredible. Like, above and beyond. I look forward to being a long-time customer here in the islands.
The S Boss by Firewire - A Collaboration Between Dan Mann and Kelly Slater
I recently had the chance to chat with legendary shaper Dan Mann about the S Boss design from Firewire. Dan was posted up in Costa Rica, doing R&D on board designs, but hopped on a Zoom call to give me the low-down on this rad board.
SHOP S BOSS NOW
The Origin of S Boss
What was most interesting was the fact that he didn’t just explain the design elements, but also told me the history of the board. It dates back to 2020, when he and Kelly Slater were hanging out in the Firewire factory, which was empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They started talking about board designs, and Kelly told Dan that he had an idea for a board. He wanted a shorter, “bullet-nosed” board with less swing weight and more parallel outline, because he wanted to be able to feel the board turn from the rails and not just the rocker. At the same time, he also wanted a unique bottom contour, with vee under the chest, giving way to a double barrel and then concave out the tail.
Design Elements and Innovations
Dan was pretty dubious when Slater first told him his ideas for the board. He was especially wary of the vee in the bottom contours, as he had always felt that vee created drag while going down the line, and essentially put a governor on how much speed the board could have. But when he put all of the elements together, he and Kelly both found that the board worked amazing. The double barrel near the fin cluster sort of broke the board into two and allowed them to surf what was essentially half of a shortened, lighter board, resulting in tons of speed, plus the ability to either draw turns out or make them quick and sharp in the pocket.
The S Boss surfboard comes in various sizes, each with different dimensions. The Dimension for each size is as follows:
- 5'4" x 18 7/8 x 2 5/16 V24.9
- 5'5" x 19 x 2 3/8 V26.19
- 5'6" x 19 3/16 x 2 7/16 V27.6
- 5'7" x 19 3/16 x 2 1/2 V28.1
- 5'8" x 19 5/16 x 2 1/2 V29.2
- 5'9" x 19 3/8 x 2 9/16 V30.13
- 5'10" x 19 1/2 x 2 5/8 V31.39
- 5'11" x 19 5/8 x 2 11/16 V32.98
- 6'0" x 19 3/4 x 2 3/4 V34.53
- 6'2" x 19 7/8 x 2 13/16 V36.5
- 6'4" x 20 x 2 13/16 V37.7
Check out our shipping page to know more about this boards shipping information.
Integration of Dominator Rocker and Tail Design
At the same time, Dan integrated the rocker of the Dominator, which is sort of a hybrid groveler/high-performance shortboard. The rocker is pretty low to moderate, allowing the board to generate a lot of speed down the line, although he did add an extra 1/8th of an inch of rocker in the nose, as Slater likes that.
Check out Macy Mullen's review about the S Boss
The tail on the board is similar to the round tail on the FRK. This design actually dates back to 2015, when Kelly was looking at one of Dan’s personal boards and told him that he didn’t like the tail. Kelly said he likes there to be a bit more of a straight section in his round tails, near the fins, rather than a continuous curve. Dan kept that in mind and ended up integrating it into Kelly’s next batch of boards, and the tail design ended up becoming their go-to option for boards such as the FRK and now the S Boss. The tail tapers in pretty far near the tail, reflecting the fact that Kelly likes to have his foot cover the entire tail of a board, with his toes near one rail and heel near the other.
Riding Characteristics and Construction
The S Boss is ridden a few inches shorter than your normal high-performance shortboard, and comes in Volcanic Ibolic construction, which makes it feel a little bit lighter and less dense in the water. It can be ridden as a quad or a thruster, although Dan, Kelly, and Kevin Schultz all tend to enjoy it a bit more as a quad. Dan also suggested that riders use a slightly smaller rear fin, whether with the thruster or the quad, as this compensates for the pulled in tail. Kelly, Dan, and other team riders have also messed around with 2+1 setups, such as large twin fins up front and a small stabilizer in the back.
Ultimately, this is meant to be a high-performance alternative that thrives in any type of condition, from juicy beach breaks to point breaks and even reefs. Between Dan’s shaping pedigree and Kelly’s infinite wave and board knowledge, anything the two do together is bound to be good, and the S Boss might just be the best. SHOP S BOSS NOW
Griffin Colapinto’s Hawaiian Quiver - By Matt Biolos of …Lost
@griffin_cola
Griffin Colapinto is one of the most dynamic surfers on the planet. The young San Clemente, California, local finished the year third, performing in front of his hometown crowd at Lower Trestles during the WSL finals. This year, he comes into the 2024 season looking to finish two spots better and take the title home to Southern California. But before he can do that, he’ll have to lock in solid results at Pipeline and Sunset Beach during the Hawaiian leg of the tour.
@griffin_cola
To prepare himself for Hawaii, Griffin called on his longtime shaper Matt Biolos of …Lost to help build him the ultimate North Shore quiver. Matt recently posted on Instagram with a Hawaii winter 2024 quiver photo of Griffin, and his stack of fiberglass looks pretty impressive. Griffin has eight or nine boards for each event, with the Pipe and Sunset boards featuring important design tweaks that cater specifically to the two waves.
Griffin’s everyday shredstick is a 5'11" Driver 3.0, and his quiver goes all the way up to 6'8" for big days at Pipe and Sunset. The Pipe boards are a bit thicker for added volume and paddle power, but have tapered decks and down rails to help them hold a line in the extreme concave barrels at Pipe and Backdoor. Meanwhile, the Sunset boards have more of the typical shortboard characteristics, albeit stretched out into longer versions to give Griff more paddle and turn power in the large, open-ocean walls of Sunset. Griffin placed second at Sunset last year, so he knows what he likes and was able to give the …Lost team a bunch of feedback, which they have integrated into his fresh stack of blades.
We look forward to seeing what Griffin can do on his …Lost boards this week when the WSL world tour kicks off at Pipe! SHOP GRIFFIN'S QIVER NOW
REVIEWS FROM STOKED SURFERS
I have been surfing all my life about 60 years I m using them from 7” 2+1 7” on my 2 Ben Apia 10-2 & 9-0 Big Boy Sting works better the before Like it’s been reborn ride great top & bottom flexing on the turns then Snap back, nice roller coaster action!
Then I have it on my 3 single fin boards my wifey Taylor Jensen 9” & my David Nuiwa, Surftech 10” with the fin at the very back of the board then my Ben Skinner 10” last my work board 2+1 11-0 Donald Takayama Prince Kuhio Great fins 7” 8.5” 9” & 10” I have put them all to the test now only using them on my quiver Thank you David for your recommendation and help. Good choice!
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