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...

The Situation in Indonesia The waves have been firing in Indonesia the past few days. Nias was 8-foot+ and all time, with virtually no one there, and hundreds of other waves in the world’s best surf zone have been firing too. And that’s just the warm-up. The main event is forecasted to hit late this month, with crazy numbers topping out at around 15 feet at 18 seconds—a potentially historic swell for the Indonesian archipelago. The problem, of course, is that Indonesia has been officially closed to tourism for the past year due to COVID-19. You might be wondering, then, how people keep finding ways to go to Indo and score epic barrels, then release edits of the emptiest Nias and HTs and Kandui since the 1980s? For those who know the right people, there is a backdoor into Indonesia. By paying off government officials, it’s possible for surfers to get resident or investor visas that allow them into the country. These can be pretty expensive (between $600 and $1000), and they aren’t a free pass into Indo. You still have to quarantine in a hotel in Jakarta for five days (on  your own dime), plus pass multiple COVID-19 tests....

The Making of the Waimea Bay River Break 📷 @vwhonolulu Most of us here in Hawaii have seen footage of the standing wave at Waimea Bay, which forms when the river flows out of Waimea Valley and breaks through the beach. Have you ever wondered when and how that standing wave forms, or how long it lasts? We did some research into the formation of the “Waimea River Break,” and what we found out was actually pretty unsurprising. First of all, Waimea Bay is one of the biggest waves on the North Shore—this isn’t really news to anyone. Over the summer and winter, sand gets moved around the North Shore by currents and waves (again, not exactly revelatory news), and since Waimea Bay has some of the biggest waves and strongest currents on the coast, it is no surprise that sand builds up on the beach, making it a great place for people to enjoy the sun, watch people charge huge waves in the winter, and jump off the famous Waimea Jump Rock during the summer. Most of us also realize that winter can be a bit rainy on Oahu—When the rain really gets going, Waimea River starts to flow...

Hawaiian South Shore September 2020 Newsletter 

All about Surfing, Surfing Accessories and many more

The Hawaiian model – Coming Soon! We’ll have 9’2, 9’4, and 9’6 coming in. First time hearing about this model? Not many know about it, so read on to find out a little more!   TALKING BOARD DESIGN WITH DONALD TAKAYAMA   Donald Takayama has been a legend of our sport for decades, enjoying a success-ful competitive career and a second career as an influential shaper. When we lost him half a decade ago, we lost one of surfing’s greats. His influence both on a surfboard and behind a planer can never be fully quantified. He surely touched thousands of lives throughout his lifetime. I was fortunate enough to be one of those people. The time I spent chatting with Donald made for some of my favorite memories and taught me so much about surfing and surfboards in particular. A few years before Takayama passed away, I had an opportunity to chat with him about board designs. At the time, his In-the-Pink model was one of my favorites. In-the-Pink is a high-performance nose-rider that is probably the most popular model in Takayama’s range, and it definitely worked for me. However, on bigger, windy days, I found that the nose would sometimes...