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It’s April, which means the surf sucks everywhere in the North Hemisphere… Well, that is except for Scotland?!

Thurso, Scotland is host of the ASP O’Neill Highland Open (link), which wouldn’t have normally raised anyone’s eyebrows especially in April, except that they managed to score some epic pounding waves. Continue reading for more photos.

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San Francisco surfer Adrian Ruiz, 24, was attacked by a shark while surfing at Troncones in the state of Guerrero, Mexico on Monday afternoon. He died later from blood loss. Troncones is a small town 45 minutes north of Zihuatenajo and Ixtapa. Ruiz was bitten on the right thigh and brought to the beach. A bstander took Ruiz to a local Naval hospital, after waiting for an ambulance. Ruiz did at the hospital from blood loss. Ralph Collier, a Los Angeles-area shark expert, assisted with the autopsy. He said the fragments indicate the shark was a great white 15 to 16 feet long. Shark attacks are rare in mainland Mexico. In 2006, only one was reported. (link)

I returned from my surf trip to Troncones on Sunday. For the first 5 days of the swell we surfed the point at Manzanillo Bay (in Troncones). From reports, this sounds like the wave Ruiz had been surfing (Troncones only really has one point wave and a beachbreak). The point is a left that seems to come up from deep water and break over a rocky shelf. There’s a steep take-off and the wave quickly mushes out and the shelf apparently dives back to deep water. There’s rarely a crowd at the point. It’s sad to hear about this tragedy. It’s also spooky to know we were surfing the same wave only days earlier. Pictured below is Manzanillo Bay with Troncones Point on the far right.

Surf and art never seem to far apart. The beauty of surfing translates well to the artistic experience. Here’s a link to Ed Fladung’s blog Quality Peoples with links to art and surf and Ed’s random musing. “On a perpetual Mexican surfari,” something we’re all wishing for.

Some friends of mine are on a road trip South from California to Costa Rica. They’re surfing in Mexico and Nicaragua on the way down before hanging in Costa Rica for a few months. Check out their blog to follow them down (Surfari Collin).

The trials for the WCT’s third stop at Teahupoo got under way over the weekend. They had to halt the trials because a huge west swell. So Jamie O’Brien, Garrett McNamara, Dylan Longbottom, and a few dozen others traded their paddle boards for tow boards and pulled into some monster barrels. Here’s a link to photographer, Tim McKenna’s photo site (link). Teahupoo never ceases to amaze.

I’m posting this from a tiny surf village in Michoacan, Mexico. Ah, the power of technology. I’m a week into my 10 surf trip to Guerrero and Michoacan, Mexico. We flew into Zihuatenajo and scored a solid South swell the first four days north of Zihuatenajo near Troncones. Troncones is a chill beach village with a couple of fun waves and a pounding beachbreak. We stayed at Manzanillo Bay in Troncones. From Troncones, there are a handful of breaks within driving distance, Saladita and The Ranch being the best ones. Saladita is a full, super-long left hand wave better on a fish or longboard. The Ranch is another left hander with better shape.

After the swell subsided, we packed up and headed north to Michoacan and the surf there. Look for a full review to come in the next few days. Great to be surfing in trunks again.

The jury may still be out for some people about whether global warming is actually occurring, but for many of us it’s pretty obvious. I’m already investing in property in Oregon as the new Costa Rica (give it 200 years). Global warming’s effects on surf and waves isn’t as obvious. Rising sea levels are likely to turn epic surf spots like Pipeline into warm water mush burgers, but there’s some good news for surfers. There’s evidence that global warming is creating more larger storms, which means bigger waves. Seismologists have been able to document the phenomena (link). So next time you ditch your board on a set wave and swim, blame it on global warming not fear.

No one seemed to be crying for a collapsible surfboard, but engineers decided to preempt our interests and beat us to the punch. Nicholas Notara (huh?) designed the quirky, yet beautiful board, which will likely costs what you’d pay for five Merricks. The kit comes with 300 hundred or so pieces and takes about 8 weeks of your time and a physics degree to assemble. Once assembled you can commence to shred some distant exotic surf break.

The concept does have some merit. However, I was unable to find any info Googling “Nicholas Notara” and C2 Surfboards. The idea is hugely popular on tech blogs. That and a complete absence of Mr. Notara in anything having to do with surfboards make me wonder whether the project was an exercise in photoshopping rather than construction. I will give him credit that it looks pretty sick, very James Bondish. So next time you have to parachute into at night to surf a remote break, bring the C2 along.

Here’s a collection of what surfline editors selected as the best 10 videos of 2007. Unfortunately, I had to miss that epic tow session at Teahupoo in November because of a head cold. I’ll make it next swell, I swear.(Surfline link).

Bali has hit the surf spotlight hard in the last couple years and for good reason. From April through September it has consistent clean swell with good wind conditions (offshore at most breaks) and epic waves like Uluwatu and Padang Padang. It’s become the Hawaii of the summer months. Kuta has a fun nightlife and is incredibly cheap. The Balinese are friendly, welcoming people. Balinese locals have been competing on the international level for over a decade. Kuta Beach is packed surf schools and surf shops. If you’re heading to other parts of Indonesia for surf, then Bali is the requisite jumping off point. You can indulge in amazing food, parties, and massages before the jungle camps at G-Land or a surf charter in the Mentawais. Additionally, Bali has a rich culture with beautiful temples and scenery. The surf, culture, and lively nightlife make Bali one of the top surf destinations in the world.

Destination: Bali, Indonesia
Time of Year: April through September
Breaks: Uluwatu, Kuta Beach, Padang Padang, Nusa Dua, Medewi
Level: All levels
Cost: Inexpensive

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