Look what the tide dropped off!

 From Doug Singer, Waikuku Beach.

Shot of the Day: santa snapped

Taking a wee break from his work, Santa was snapped yesterday on his day off. When asked what his favourite wave was, Santa replied "New Brighton... there's just no better wave out there..."

New Zealand Junior Surfing Squad Named

"Surfing New Zealand has today (Thursday 23^rd December 2010) announced a squad of twenty one surfers in preparation for the 2011 Quiksilver ISA World Surfing Championship which takes place in Peru during May 2011.

The squad includes surfers from several regions throughout New Zealand with Gisborne and Auckland providing four surfers each as the most powerful regions.  Coromandel and Mount Maunganui fill three slots each while Northland and Waikato surfers fill two slots and a surfer a piece from Hawkes Bay, Taranaki and Christchurch.

The build up to the world championship event in May will be extensive with multiple national events taking place every month from January through until April giving surfers extensive opportunities to press for selection. 

The squad will also meet for a selection camp before the travelling team is named in March and further preparations take place"

Read the full report from Surfing NZ here.

Extra special congratulations go to Seventhwave team rider Joe Moretti (Mimiwhangata) as well as the sole South Island representative, Sam Courtney (Chch). 

Good luck to all the surfers from the Seventhwave Team!

Shot of the Day: Benny Mackin'

Ben Mackinnon, doing what he does....

Shot of the Day: Waikuku Beach

Received this from Doug Singer yesterday: Waikuku beach. Air temp about 26 degs an hour ago.

Bodyboarding: Jacob Romero 2010 Profile

Jacob Romero 2010 Profile from Chout Films on Vimeo.

Pretty sick stuff.

Where is Sam?!

Dear Sam,

Thank you for the lovely letter, we are more than happy to send you stickers but we don't know where to send them to!?! 

If we have your address maybe we could pass them onto Santa who will get them to you on our behalf...

If anyone knows who Sam is please let us know..

Thanks,

The Seventhwave Team

Estuary Blast!

This weekends wind & kite event the ‘Sport Canterbury Estuary Blast’ is being hosted by Kite sports and they have managed to get together about $3000 worth of local support for the Estuary Blast. There is $1000 cash up for grabs from Sport Canterbury!

The Event will be held Sat 18^th & Sunday 19^th of December and the forecast is looking promising! So come on down & check out the action…even better register for the weekends racing & be in to win $$$ or prizes!!!
Check out http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=108000975936447&index=1

If your not familiar with our Estuary kite spot, look out for the huge display kite flying from Peter Lynn Kites & AirBanners.. this will lead you to the event site!

Kite sports are also be putting on a ‘Have a Go’ aspect to this CWA www.cwa.org.nz club event, with Windsurf clinics & Kite flying training sessions. There will be Stand Up Paddle boards or ‘SUPs to have a go on too, all this supervised by keen as clubies!

Seventhwave Team: Joe Moretti, surfer from Northland, New Zealand

Seventhwave Team: Joe Moretti, surfer from Northland, New Zealand tells us about his home, how he started surfing, what scares him, and more. Shot in the beautiful beaches of Mimiwhangata, Northland. Check out more about Joe and our team riders at http://seventhwave.co.nz

New X-Over Short John

Hot off the press! We quite like the unique back entry system of this model, and the girls who've got one love it too. The X-Over Shorty — great for summer (how warm is the water at the moment!? Awesome!)

Protecting Our Waves

The Christchurch Press reports that 19 surf breaks in New Zealand will be protected under thee new Coastal Policy Statement. This includes 5 South Island spots and results in continued free public access, as well as protecting the water quality and the swell. This is great news for all beach goers!

Click here for more information, including what beaches will be protected.

Seventhwave ambassador Jack Entwistle shreds Manly Festival

The Manly Festival of Surfing went off without a hitch last weekend, bringing together a wide range of surfers and surf craft. Seventhwave ambassador and ripper Jack Entwistle was there, competing in the Open Longboard, and a special 'Legends' event which saw him in the same heat as Simon Anderson, Nick Carroll and other big names of surfing. Here's a couple of pics from Jack.

100 Years of Surf Life Saving celebrated in Stamps

Summer 2010/11 marks a century-long legacy of heroic service on New Zealand beaches. New Zealand Post is celebrating the vital role that Surf Life Saving plays with the release of the ‘100 years of Surf Life Saving’ stamp issue. The issue depicts the heroic volunteers in action - patrolling beaches and rescuing swimmers in heavy surf on beaches up and down the country.

Surf Life Saving has grown immensely since its early days in 1910, when a group of New Brighton community leaders decided by the light of an oil lantern to create a Surf Life Saving Club. Those early lifesavers patrolled through summer afternoons in woollen togs and carried out strict training regimes through winter in local pools and gyms.

Over the past 100 years Surf Life Saving has grown dramatically, and local volunteer brigades have transformed into highly disciplined units, ready for any situation. There are now 73 Surf Life Saving Clubs in New Zealand with nearly 15000 members protecting and saving lives.

Bodyboard Excercises: surf better!

About from Ben Mac on Vimeo.

Some great exercises from Benny Mac, designed to aid your performance. Check out both videos here: http://www.vimeo.com/16291315

Paige Hareb second at the World Surfing Games

Paige Hareb has placed runner up at the 2010 Billabong ISA World Surfing Games in Peru this morning. Paige led the final until the last two minutes when the Australian surfer Chelsea Hedges got the better of the final exchange and jumped into the lead.

 

Hareb continued to dominate for the New Zealand team progressing through to the final. ISA / Paolo Lopez.

The result equals the best ever at the World Surfing Games by a New Zealand surfer and is the best result ever achieved by a female team member.

Paige has helped the Quiksilver New Zealand Surfing Team to eighth place at the event - 3 places higher than their result in 2009.

Longboard Festival due to start in Taranaki

The flash moves are out and the surfing styles of the 60s will reign during the longboard contest at New Plymouth's Fitzroy Beach this weekend. New Plymouth Surfrider's Club president Mark O'Connor said competition would be all about hanging ten and walking the board. "It's an old school competition which we started about three years ago. We go back to the old moves that were common in the 60s," he said. "It's all about smaller surf, about two to three feet, which we call logging waves. The forecast is good with fine weather, light winds and a two metre swell."

The contest is restricted to the first 48 entries and one division covers everyone. "No-one gets eliminated in the first round. The emphasis is on fun until the finals when it'll be a bit more serious." The top prize, a $1700 Del-designed glide model longboard, will be offered as a spot prize.

Surfing will be at Fitzroy from 8am until 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend is dubbed "a festival of surfing, art and music". An art exhibition of works by surfers cum artists, Daryn McBride, of Mt Maunganui, and Tony Ogle, of Gisborne, will be held in the clubhouse. "They are both recognised artists and their art is for sale from $100 to $3500," O'Connor said. The music starts during registration tomorrow night with local band Cut the Chord, continues on Saturday night with Johnny Dillon and ends with Wellington group, The Common Ground, on Sunday.

2010 NMD/Mountain Dew Taranaki Pro this weekend!

That's right: forecast is looking epic for the swag of New Zealand bodyboarders frothing to make good this weekend. Check it out!

Canterbury groms a threat to be reckoned with...

The National Scholastic Surfing Championship has finished up for 2010, with Bay of Plenty taking the title for the second year in a row. Super nice waves and sunny weather blessed the event held at Makorori Beach, Gisborne. Also nice to see was the Canterbury Team improving on last years results, finishing 6th — just behind Gisborne and ahead of Northland. Standouts include Seventhwave ambassadors Luke O'Neil (first in the Longboard Division), Alethea Lcok and Kristi Zarifeh, but congrats must go to the entire Canty team. Well done!

Blast from the past

This trade-in was brought into the shop last week — to our surprise it was one of our very early models, which despite its age, is still going strong. It's at least 20 years old. We thought the prints were pretty cool...

Shot of the day... in the snow

Another sick shot... Ben Mackinnon, somewhere down south.

Ryan Isherwood photography

 

Upcoming photographer Ryan Isherwood has been busy this year snapping some amazing pics — both locally and offshore. A regular contributor to ISOMag and other sites, Ryan's work deserves attention. Here's some of his latest shots.

 

 

Westport Cape Classic 2010

The Westport Cape Classic 2010 is looking good! 20 years of the Cape Classic with $7500 cash and more sponsors product up for grabs. King Kapisi and the Nomad for the after party and T Bay with a nice a-frame bank forming — we are set to go. Get down, over or up to Westport for the best Classic yet!

We have moved!

 We are now at our new shop at 243 Dyers Roan Bromley! We'd just moved half of our stuff when the 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch rocked both the new and old buildings — but luckily Seventhwave sustained no damage. Back on track with news and views soon.

Feedback... from Niue!

Thanks for the Titanium Hot Top which arrived in super quick time. I’ve already done a couple of dives with it and its absolutely fantastic. My last Hot Top kept me toasty warm on more than 400 dives and I’m sure this one will see me through my next 400 dives. It's an amazing product and we’ll keep recommending our dive customers get one of their own! Thanks again for the super service.

Annie Gray, Niue Dive, Niue
www.dive.nu

NZ Longboarding Documentary SEWN website is LIVE!

The SEWN website is finally up and running. You'll now be able to follow the making of the documentary!

SEWN is a surf film/documentary that will be chasing swells around the North Island of New Zealand, meeting up with and surfing with people who keep the spirit of longboarding alive. It will also portray some of New Zealand’s best longboarders from innovative and challenging viewing angles.

Every 2 weeks on Friday, SEWN will release some interesting material so that you can keep up-to-date with the progress of the documentary and have a 'behind the camera' insight on its production. The material will include production stills and 'making-of' footage for each coasts. There will also be exclusive edited previews of the footage taken on each coast, plus some more surprise footage!!

 

Keep in the loop here!

Wetsuit Tip #2: How to take off a Zipless Wetsuit

Also known as a chest zip or a zip bib wetsuit, there are a few tips and tricks to make taking one off a lot easier.

Longboarding the Bombay Hills

Read more about these skaters here and here, these guys are the cause of much public outcry, both pro and anti their activities!

Follow the tide, not the crowd

Amee Donohoe is living the life. She travels, she surfs and when she misses home she holes up near a secluded beach in her native Australia. Although it’s easy to be jealous of how she rolls, it’s hard to resent her for it—the optimistic and well-thought-out wave rider is as nice as they come. She also genuinely loves travel without ever forgetting to consider the sometimes difficult realities of the people who live in the far flung places that she gets to visit. 

Amee, now 29, has surfed professionally since she was 18. Her skills have kept her ranked among the top ten female surfers in the world for the past five years and in 2007 she was the runner-up for the prestigious Triple Crown. This week, while taking a rest between surf sessions, she spoke to Boostnall.com about her favorite places, where she wants to go next and why she loves life on the road.

READ THE REST HERE

Amee Donohoe's new suit

With the Women's World Tour's due to hit the colder waters of Portugal in October, Amee wanted something warm, flexible and bright for her heats. And here's the result: a MAX 3/2 G&S ZB Steamer to match her other red suits. Looking forward to seeing this one in action.

Shot of the Day

Seventhwave ambassador and NZ National Bodyboard champ Ben MacKinnon, somewhere warm.

Sliced! Parko withdraws from J-Bay World Tour event

THE TOECUTTER from Joel Parkinson on Vimeo.

"I just pulled into a barrel and have been taken out by the foamball, and pretty well straight away I've felt the board hit me," says Joel, the current world number 8. "I knew immediately it was a pretty serious cut. I didn't want to look at it when I came in because I knew it wouldn't be good." Joel was helped up the beach to a waiting ambulance by good friend and three-time world champion, Andy Irons who had been surfing with him.

The cut is on the underside of Joel's right foot, just in front of his heel. Due to fly out early next week for South Africa, the injury will not have time to heal and as such Joel has made the decision to miss the Jeffreys Bay event, where he is the defending champion.

"It's one of my favourite events, so I'm obviously disappointed that I won't be there this year. After having such a long break I was really looking forward to competing again and really looking forward to just surfing J-Bay." Joel's disappointment wasn't confined to missing J-Bay. "Did you see how perfect the wave I did it on was? One of the most perfect waves I've ridden at Snapper and I go and cut my foot on it!"

While Joel will miss J-Bay, there is a six-week break until the following event, the Billabong Pro in Tahiti starting on August 23, and there are no doubts that he'll be ready for it. "In a way I was lucky it happened now and not later in the year when the events are all back-to-back. At least I have the time now to get it right and get ready for Tahiti."

Storm Surfers NZ: screening tonight!

Storm Surfers NZ is screening 8.30 tonight on the Discovery Channel. Watch some crazy surfers battling crazy waves and conditions — should be a cracker!

Wetsuit Tip #1: How to remove wax from your wetsuit

A sign of good use more than decay, wax on your wetsuit can give you street cred but can also look a bit ratty. Thankfully there's an easy way to get rid of it.

In this video we'll walk you through the process of taking wax off your wetsuit.

Common areas that build up wax

Chest panel, bum, knees, elbows, hips/side panels (from carrying your board)

What you will need

- Household iron (no steam)

- Cloth or tea towel

Prepare the wetsuit:

- Make sure your wetsuit is clean, dry and odor free. Trust us - you need to wash your wetsuit before you iron it, the heat really makes them stink.

- Warm the iron up, set it to a low temperature, nylon setting.

Before you start:

Check if your wetsuit has any liquid taping or PVC kneepads as these areas will melt under heat. Test a small area to check if your wetsuit can take the heat. (all Seventhwave wetsuits will be ok)

Some wetsuit brands have a fluffy lining usually on the chest panel which will melt under heat. The same applies to wetsuits with liquid or rubber taped seams.

A type of lining to watch out for, common on Xcel and O'neill brands

 

How to do it:

Lay the tea towel or cloth over the area you wish to clean.
Iron over the waxy area and keep it moving, you should only need to do this for 10-15 seconds.
The melted wax will stick to the tea towel and easily lift off.

Repeat on any other areas that need cleaning.

Be careful not to get wax on the iron. A little bit of wax can go a long way and your mum/wife/girlfriend will be highly annoyed.

Seventhwave Wetsuits are made in New Zealand from Yamamoto Limestone neoprene. Seventhwave Wetsuits are different because we make each wetsuit Custom-Fit, to the customers measurements. We like to get your measurements and details and then custom make your preferred wetsuit model and thickness to your exact size and shape. We think that's why we get such good feedback from our customers, many of whom come back again and again. To own a Seventhwave wetsuit is to support New Zealand made, to stand up for quality and to experience water sports in a warmer way.

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/seventhwavewetsuits

Follow us on Twitter

https://twitter.com/seventhwave_nz

And best of all - check out our website!

http://www.seventhwave.co.nz/

Custom-Fit

ONLINE - Worldwide

Click here to get yours

 

 

Kiwi Louis Tapper's Brazilian Kitesurfing Expedition

 Adventure kitesurfer Louis Tapper is setting his sites on a new world record – to kite 2000km of Brazil’s coast to complete the “longest journey kitesurfing”.
Armed with one kite, one board and a backpack, Louis, 35, will spend the next month kiting and when there’s no wind, he’ll be walking. 


Although multi-day adventures by paraglider, rowing and kayaking are well established, Kite expeditions of this nature are not common. “Kite surfing is slowly gaining popularity, but it deserves a better profile – it is a fantastic sport, it’s totally exhilerating and addictive,” says the New Zealander.
“I know many people (including my parents) think I’m a bit mad doing this, but it is a way for me to test my limits both physically and mentally, and also push the sport of adventure kitesurfing to the next level.” Louis, who lives in the notoriously windy city of Wellington, has pushed the limits of kiting before. In 2008, he traversed New Zealand’s dangerous Cook Strait (between the North and South Islands). And in 2009, he decided to fly with the big boys, kitesurfing 260km in 13 hours from Auckland to the Bay of Islands for yachting’s 2009 Coastal Classic race. Although not officially recognised, Eric Gramond is undisputably the kitesurf world distance record holder with his 13 day trip of 1450km along the coast of Brazil.
Louis trip aims to beat that by over 500km. The official Guinness record up until this point has been for distances completed under 24 hours (333km). This next adventure is expected to take a month – beginning around the 20-25th July in Salvador and ending in Sao Luis.

“To put the scale of 2000km into perspective, crossing from Australia to New Zealand in a straight line or following coastline of NZ from top to bottom is the same distance,” he says. “Brazil just happens to have mostly consistent wind and is much warmer, so I figured, why not?” Louis will carry minimal provisions – food, water, money, dry clothes, sandals, repair kit and pump – in a 35 litre backpack as he kites. Although a solo adventure, he is hoping other local kiters will join him for sections along the way.

Check out yakers.co.nz to follow Louis's progress

Night surf anyone?

Night surfing could come to Lyall Bay in a proposal that would see floodlights in street-level bunkers shine across the waves.

Wellington Boardriders Club wants to set up what it says would be the world's first permanent, purpose-built night-surfing facility.

One option would be the installation of three sets of floodlights, in three bunkers about 30 metres apart, along Moa Point Rd beside Wellington Airport.
Boardriders spokesman Kristin Savage (see picture) said the lights would shine across the water at the eastern end of the beach – called The Corner.

"Night surfing will double the supply of good waves by extending the time you can surf."

A proposal from another group to build an artificial reef to bolster the number of good quality surfing days, which it estimated at 27 each year, has lost traction.
The Boardriders club did not know how much floodlights would cost, Mr Savage said. "At this stage we think we could pay for it by a combination of corporate sponsorship, grants, and by structuring our membership fees around the cost."

Kilbirnie-Lyall Bay-Rongotai Progressive Association president Steven Moore did not think many residents would oppose the lights.

But if Wellington City Council was asked to provide money, there might be some.
Council spokesman Richard MacLean said its concerns would be around what the lights looked like and how secure they were.

Airport chief executive Steve Fitzgerald said an earlier Boardriders proposal to put the floodlights on poles had not been supported.

"The Civil Aviation Authority specifies a zone around an airport where particular care must be taken, to ensure any lighting will not interfere with flight safety at the airport. [But we] would be happy to work with the Boardriders and the CAA to ensure that any new proposal meets all of the aviation safety requirements."

Head to stuff.co.nz to read comments about the proposed plans and to write your own

Shot of the day

Port Robbie Camera this morning! Sick!

Shot of the Day

Sick shot of Seventhwave ambassador Angie Koops enjoying some concrete stoke.

Shots of the Day

Vanda is a surfer/shaper based in Victoria, Australia, which means his locals include Winkipop and Bells. As you can see, having good waves on tap pays off. Vanda using our MAX 2/2 models in these shots taken by Sloane (click on them for a larger version).

Desert golf in Peru?

Seventhwave rider Amee Donohoe and friends partake in a game of desert golf after the Peru stop on the Women's World Tour. Someone forget to turn the sprinklers on?

Surfing and soccer....

It's only fitting considering the All White's draw last night....

Congrats to Ben Mackinnon: 2010 NZ Bodyboard Tour Champion!

Over Queens Birthday weekend Dunedin’s Ben Mackinnon won the Open Men’s, Senior Men’s and the overall New Zealand Bodyboard Tour Champion Title in one hit. All with one event left to go in the tour in late October.

The Blaketown challenge was run over Queens Birthday weekend the 5-7th June 2010 in Greymouth. The ‘barber’ was in full force first thing in the morning with howling offshore winds powering down from recently snow capped mountains. Large and tricky conditions greeted riders with heavy and straight closeouts lining the beach. Judges rugged up well in sleeping bags, puffer jackets, nana’s old blankets and anything that they could find in order to fight the frigid conditions. Competitors surfed in sleet, hail and freezing rains braving the cold to put on soaked wetsuits and to put on a show of high performance Bodyboarding for those who came to watch.

“I really went for it you know. I had injured my neck from a large aerial move the night before the contest and ended up living off pain killers and hot showers to push through. But the competitions had a few great riders who came out of the wood work to compete and it just pushed me to suck it up and push through.” Mackinnon said.

With powerful drifts on the west coasts and flooding rivers competitors were asked to paddle like they had never paddled before with one competitor getting sucked out in front of the river mouth and down to another beach across the river over a kilometer away. Mackinnon hit many large inverts, a move where the wave is used a ramp to propel the rider up and out in front of the curl, all while the rider extends his body and boards then brings it back at the last moment before landing. No easy task in double over head waves. He also executed many Back flips out into the wave flats. With a possible maximum heat score of 20 out of 20 for two waves Mackinnon posted 19 out of 20 with a perfect 10 for one of his large aerial off the heavy closeout sections.

By winning the overall title for 2010, a title which he won in 2008, Mackinnon will be invited to the largest event on the Bodyboarding World Tour. The Pipeline Pro in February 2011 held on the north shore of Hawaii. Mackinnon will start in the 5th round of the main event allowing him to miss many of the earlier heats and compete against the world’s best professional Bodyboarders.

Mackinnon said he was stoked with the result. “I really wanted this win and really meant a lot to me. I have never won here in Greymouth before and it’s just a really special event, an event that is a huge part of New Zealand Bodyboarding and one your peers really feel matters.”

Mackinnon is currently on a break from riding to let a few injuries heal. In November he will compete with the New Zealand team at the Australian national Titles on the Gold coast then he will begin his build up to the Hawaiian event, training which involves a lot of underwater lengths, breath hold training and Pilates.

He is currently studying massage therapy at Otago Polytechnic and working towards financial sponsorship for the Tour event in Hawaii in February. His current sponsors are Seventhwave Wetsuits, R and R sport, Isolated Online Bodyboard Shop, Back in Motion Physiotherapy and NMD Bodyboards.

Kiwi surfer Luke Cederman to be in Taylor Steele's latest movie!

Luke Cederman is a few months away from making a big time appearance in Taylor Steele's new surfing movie Innersection. Luke won the right to feature in the film after he placed in the top five video clips as voted by the world.

Innersection is holding three intakes of five surfers as voted by the public. Luke placed fifth in the second intake to claim his spot on the movie. Camerman Damon Meade led the charge amping Luke Cederman into putting an entry into the competition and it looks to have paid off big time with the two now about to embark on a long winter of gathering footage before the final product is due for submission.

Through the powers of Facebook, surfingnz.co.nz threw out some questions to Luke and low and behold he came back with the hour from an overheated internet cafe on Poppies Lane Two, Kuta, Bali. This is what he had to say..

Shot of the day

13 year-old ripper and Seventhwave rider Harrison Whiteside launches at Taylor's Mistake, Christchurch this week. Yeeew!