If you were watching closely yesterday—and you can be sure we were—you might have noticed a number of familiar surfboards being ridden during the WSL Longboard World Tour event in Sydney.   Photo Credit to @caitmiersphotography @wsl As the world’s best noseriders battled it out for spots in the semifinals, many of the top performers were on boards by Thunderbolt Technology—the same longboards that we have proudly been stocking here at Hawaiian South Shore for the past few years. These longboards utilize a patented, space-age construction process that integrates internal carbon fiber stringers throughout the board, producing unique, advantageous flex characteristics while still remaining true to their classic shapes. Photo Credit to @caitmiersphotography @wsl The Thunderbolt Technology must really work, because three of the eight surfers in the men’s quarterfinals were on Thunderbolt boards, along with Taylor Jensen, who was just barely beaten in round four on his TJ Pro. Waikiki royalty Kai Sallas squared off against his protégé Kaniela Stewart, both of them riding Sallas’ designs in the Thunderbolt construction. Photo Credit to @caitmiersphotography @wsl Kani ended up beating his mentor in a feel-good heat that saw the two of them chatting and laughing between waves—they even shared the last wave of their heat, with...

Feet First Under Waves The other day, I was watching a life surf cam broadcast from Pipe. It was solid 6- to 8-foot—big enough for the heavy hitters to be out there, especially at a place as gnarly as Pipeline. While I was watching, I started to notice that many of the best guys out there all took a similar approach when getting caught by big sets. Instead of standing on their boards and diving under the waves, as we often see people do in old videos, the simply pushed themselves underwater feet first, let the waves pass over them, then popped right back up. I found this interesting, because I have always dived head-first under waves when I got caught by sets that I couldn’t duck dive. Photo Credit to Tyler Kelly Since watching that podcast, I have talked to a few people about this, including a lifeguard on the North Shore and a couple of big wave surfers. They all agreed that feet-first was the best way to go under waves—for a number of reasons. First of all, they all seemed to dismiss the idea of standing on boards and diving off of them as a waste of...

BEN SKINNER OVA   Ben “Skindog” Skinner has been at the center of the UK’s longboard scene for decades. A proven competitor who put on a dominant performance at the Malibu Pro this past season, he is also a widely respected board builder who has proven the validity of his shapes by surfing them to competitive success. Skindog is an adept noserider and knows his way around a traditional log, but is also a fan of modern, high-performance longboarding, surfing with power and authority, particularly when the waves get juicy. His ability on a longboard is unquestioned, but what many people don’t realize is that he also rips on shorter boards. The Ova is Skindog’s mid-length design for days when the waves are pumping—or when you simply feel like taking a break from your longboard. It is also a great option for those looking to step up from a shortboard and ride something with a bit more flow and glide. Combining a wide-point-forward outline with a unique foil, relaxed rocker, and 50/50 rails up front, The Ova paddles fast and flies down the line faster, finding speed even when the wave fattens up. At the same time, the round tail...

Margaret River is never an easy wave to surf, let alone compete on—and this year was no exception. After enjoying classic, perfectly groomed conditions at Bells, the tour headed west and was met by something very different. The first few days of the waiting period were windy and wonky, and any hope of running heats at The Box were dashed pretty quickly as it became clear that lip-line floaters and chop hops were going to be the flavor of the first few rounds. Then the second half of the window went ballistic, with cleaner (but still tricky) triple-overhead+ sets hammering Main Break. In other words, it wasn’t the easiest week to be a competitor in Western Australia. But the tour had business to attend to, so the men and women quickly got to work. Margaret River was the fifth event in a 10-event schedule, so at the end of the contest the mid-year cut was going to come into effect, which meant a third of the field would be cut. People were literally surfing for their careers, and a number of big performances were put in by lesser-known names, particularly on the women’s side, where nearly all of the top...

A Personal Shortboard Revolution While many people are under the impression that longboards are only for beginners, those of us who have dedicated ourselves to the log know that it can be as technically impressive to ride as a high-performance shredstick.   From traditional noseriding to barrel rides and vertical snaps on a performance longboard, shapes over 9'0" look as good as they feel when they are under the feet of an accomplished surfer, and riding them is more often a matter of choice than necessity. But a time comes for many dedicated longboarders when they find that they want to add more variety and options to their quivers. Whether this means trying out mid-length single fins, retro fish, or high-performance boards, the transition to shorter boards takes a bit of getting used to. Surfer: @bettylou.sakura.johnson While it may seem pretty obvious, it’s worth mentioning that shorter boards typically paddle slower and ride faster and more responsive (or twitchy) than longboards. This is due to the decreased volume in the boards. Thus, when adding a shorter board to your quiver, be sure to take volume into account, since this will be the most noticeable change for you. Depending on your...

Surf Artist Andy Davis and His Hawaiian South Shore Collaboration Surfing has long been a community of free thinkers and creatives, yet the number of surf artists whose work has stood the test of time can probably be counted on two hands. The simple reality is that it is difficult to make a living as an artist in our society, and the surf market is so small (relatively speaking) that it makes it virtually impossible to be financially successful when making surf-inspired art. One person who has been able to turn surf art into a sustainable lifestyle is Andy Davis. Born in Southern California and currently living in Leucadia (north of San Diego), Davis has been making art for as long as he can remember. His minimalist style fit perfectly into the hipster-influenced Ride Anything movement of the early 2000s, and his long, unique lines and creative surf paintings have been a mainstay of our culture for decades. Davis’s work has been featured throughout the surf media, including in Thomas Campbell’s epoch-defining films. He has done collaborations with Billabong, Roxy, Vans, Captain Fin Co., the Surfrider Foundation…and even Hawaiian South Shore! Two decades ago, when Andy Davis was at the...

The New and Improved Sweet Potato     While Dan Mann has proven himself to be a master shaper of all types of surf craft, it was the Sweet Potato that first made him a household name. A short, wide, volume-heavy groveler with straight rails and a deep double concave that effectively “splits” the board in half in order to allow it to turn and transition from rail to rail, the Sweet Potato was an instant hit with anyone who found themselves stuck surfing tiny longboard waves but not wanting to ride a longboard. Now, Dan Mann has updated his popular Sweet Potato model with a new swallowtail and further refined his bottom contours to make the board even more responsive and user-friendly—without sacrificing any of the surfboard’s speed while paddling and flying down the line. The new Sweet Potato comes stock with five fin boxes, providing the option to ride it just about any way you please—as a thruster, twin, quad, and even quad+nubster. Built for weak to average waves in the one- to four-foot (face) range, the Sweet Potato comes in Firewire’s patented Helium construction, which utilizes the ultimate in space-age technology to produce a board that is...

Hawaiian South Shore Member of the Month - Jeffrey Garvey     When and why did you initially get into surfing? I initially got into surfing when I was about 9 years old. All my friends were doing it and it was just an excuse to stay in the water.   Did you have a time period you laid off from surfing? If so, when and why did you start back up? There was a time when I didn't surf that much and focused on kiteboarding. But I started to get only excited about kiting when there were waves, so I got back into surfing more after about 5 years of kiting heavily.   What is your favorite thing about surfing? There Is so much I like but mostly being in the water.   Where is your favorite place to eat after surfing? What is your favorite item on the menu? I like to eat anything after surfing. As long as it's tasty I am into grinding it.   What other hobbies do you have besides surfing? I love to dive and travel places that are exotic.   What type of work do you do? I work as a high school teacher...

Understanding the World Surf League’s Mid-Year Cutoff and What It Means for Our Favorite World Tour Competitors If you’re as big a fan of professional surfing as we are, then you may have found yourself wondering what the commentary team at the Bells Beach Pro were talking about when they kept referencing the mid-year cutoff. For those of you who still don’t fully understand the World Surf League’s new format—and we don’t blame you, because it’s painfully complicated—here’s a comprehensive explanation of how it works and how it affects your favorite competitors. First of all, as in year’s past, the WSL Championship tour has 10 stops. The biggest differences in the schedule this year is that the men and women are surfing all 10 stops together, as well as the fact that Sunset, G-Land, and El Salvador are all on tour this year, while Snapper Rocks, Mexico, and Fiji are not. Oh, and just for good measure, the tour started in Hawaii this year instead of ending here. Halfway through the season, after five events have been contested (Pipeline, Sunset, Supertubos in Portugal, and Bells Beach and Margaret River in Australia), there is a mid-year cutoff. At this point, the...

The Surf Breaks of Waikiki Beach Hawaii Video Credit to Where's Your Board Youtube Channel Waikiki Beach is one of the most famous stretches of sand in the world and home to a number of Hawaii’s best surf spots. Although not known for the huge barrels that the North Shore produces, Waikiki Beach’s waves hold a special place in both surfing and Hawaiian history, and are arguably the birthplace of modern wave riding. The waves in Waikiki are generally soft and forgiving, breaking over reef and sand during the smaller summertime south swells. Most of the waves are best on a longboard, although there are a few that get hollow and rippable when the swell gets larger. Queens: Located in front of Queen Lili’uokalani’s beach home, Queens was named in the early 1900s and breaks just east of where the Duke Kahanamoku statute stands today. A shapely right-hander with a short left on occasion, Queens has become the de facto center of traditional logging in Waikiki, and is the home break of some of Hawaii’s best longboarders. If you are looking to maximize your noseriding time or simply partake in a bit of surfing history, Queens is the place to do...

SOLEIL ERRICO The Newest Member of the Thunderbolt Family   If you were watching the Cuervo Classic at the Surf Ranch last September, you likely saw Soleil Errico style her way to the finals, where she came up just short of beating event champ Honolua Blomfeld (who would also go on to win the world championship at Malibu a few weeks later). While Soleil is not as much of a household name here in Hawaii as local girl Honolua is, she’s been a dominant force on the women’s longboard world tour for quite some time. Only 20 years old, the Malibu local finished the 2021 season in the top five, and already has one world title to her name, which she won in 2018 when she was still just 17. The stylish regular-foot blends timeless traditional surfing with aggressive turns in the pocket, and is one of the most powerful women on the longboard tour. In addition to a world title, she has also been the champion of the Relik Tour, which was a specialty tour run at Trestles and Malibu in California. She has ridden for Stewart Surfboards and Janga Wetsuits for years and has one of the happiest...

The Roots of IPD: How Bob and Bill Hurley Revamped an Idea from the 1980s and Turned It Into Surfing’s Newest Old Brand   Bob Hurley’s new brand IPD (International Pro Designs) has been generating a bunch of buzz in the surf industry. But as we mentioned in a blog, IPD actually isn’t new at all! The “brands” started in 1982 when Bob Hurley was looking to create a guild of surfboard shapers who would share ideas and work toward a better future for surfboard design. Unfortunately, not many shapers at the time were willing to share their ideas, so it mostly ended up being Bob who put the IPD logo on his boards. The brand then sort of got lost in the hubbub of his work with Billabong and Hurley, but it has always been there in the back of Bob’s mind. In the meantime, Bob gave the IPD trademark to A39 Surfboard, who have been making boards with the logo for the past 30 years. But recently Bob and his brother Bill decided that they wanted to do something with IPD again. They went to A39 and asked if they could have the trademark back for a clothing line,...