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.