Dec
30
2008
1) Kelly destroys ASP winning 9th world championship.
Photo: Quicksilver
I’m not sure there’s anything that needs to said here. He blew away the field, winning 6 contests and 5 of the first 7 contests. It was never a contest, there was no race in points, it was just a matter of when he would close the deal, which he did in Mundaka, Spain. Unless the top 10 on the tour step up huge next year, there doesn’t look like anything is getting in the way of Kelly winning his 10th world title next year. Final ASP Rankings.
2) AI implodes on tour, takes 2009 off.
Photo: ASP/Cestari
Andy Irons put up a disappointing performance on WCT tour in 2008. He highest finish was 5th place. He failed to show up for his heat at the Quicksilver Pro France and skipped the Brazil contest leading to speculation about his troubles. Andy announced that he was taking 2009 off from the tour, and may be following the path of free surfer of his brother, Bruce Irons.While I respect any athletes decision to do what he pleases with his career, A.I. has shown to be the best competitor to Kelly Slater (no disrepect to Taj, Mick, Parko, Bede, and others in the top 10). When he’s on top form, he’s one of the most exciting surfers to watch on tour. So while a year free surfing the best barrels of the world will no doubt be the time of his life, he will be missed on the 2009 WCT tour and his absence removes one more hurdle to Kelly Slater clinching his 10th world title.
3) Kelly wins 6th pipeline masters (on 5’11” board).
Photo: Channel Islands Surfboards
Kelly looked unstoppable all year and the Pipeline Masters was no exception. He beat Chris Ward in the final heat while riding a 5’11” in 8-10 ft Pipeline. Adding a final flourish to his epic year. Well done, Kelly. Looking forward to see what you can do next year.
4) Year of the shark.
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Oct
06
2008
From the Surfers Village.
Fergal Smith, 21, was two miles off the coast of Perth in Western Australia when he caught a wave. Fergal, of County Mayo, Ireland, only realised he was inches from the shark when photographer Phil Gallagher showed him the photo.
Contributors to Australia’s Surfing Life magazine awarded Fergal the “Euro surf-dude of the month” award. ASL website reads: “Just imagine being in the barrel and looking at a massive shark like you’re at the bloody aquarium or something. Hats off to you Fergal Smith, you’re our Euro surf-dude of the month.”
Photographer Phil Gallagher, 29, from Perth, said: “Great Whites are common out here but I have never seen one that near to a surfer before.” Fergal Smith said he “couldn’t help but laugh” when he saw the photograph but added that his mother Brid, 51, had “freaked out big time”. He added: “I saw a grey shape in the wave but I thought it was the reflection of a slab of rock – how wrong was I?”
Since 1876 Great White sharks have been responsible for 65 deaths and 242 recorded non-fatal attacks worldwide. Australia has had the most fatal Great White attacks in the world with 27 deaths, the most recent in 2005.
Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.
Sep
30
2008
New Smyrna Beach, FL set a new record for most shark attacks in a year at 23. In case you don’t think that’s a lot of shark attacks, consider that in 2007 there were 74 shark attacks globally! My question is why is anyone out there surfing at all?! The Fear Beneath reports on the last attack. Although with three months left in 2008, I doubt that the sharks of New Smyrna will rest on their laurels.
Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.
See Other Top Posts:
Most Amazing Photos You’ll Ever See of Waves
Diver Fights and Kills 12 ft. Tiger Shark (Photos)
Your Chances of Dying of a Shark Attack – Pretty Slim
Incredible HD Footage of Surfer in the Barrel
Sep
15
2008
Now someone please tell me that after 22 shark nips, bites, and attacks in one year, why would anyone be out swimming, wading, or surfing the waters of New Smyrna Beach?! Anyway, Swim At Your Own Risk reports the 22nd attack of the year. “According to NewsJournalOnline a 32-year-old tourist earned the honor of becoming the 22nd shark bite victim of the year in Volusia County today, tying the previous record set in 2001.” (image: http://SwimAtYourOwnRisk.com)
Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.
See Other Top Posts:
Most Amazing Photos You’ll Ever See of Waves
Diver Fights and Kills 12 ft. Tiger Shark (Photos)
Your Chances of Dying of a Shark Attack – Pretty Slim
Incredible HD Footage of Surfer in the Barrel
Sep
10
2008
Two surfers have been attacked by sharks in the past week. The photo above is of a surfer’s board in Lompoc, CA north of Santa Barbara. Kyle was surfing Surfer’s Beach and saw a Great White Shark circling him! He got off his board and used it as a shield, fins out, between him and the shark. The shark chomped the board and left a reminder of what Great Whites can do. Researchers are estimating it to be a Great White between 14-16 ft in length. The pictures are unbelievable.
There was also an attack in Kaaawa, Hawaii on the east side of Oahu at Crouching Lion’s.
“The shark attack happened at about 5 p.m. Tuesday about 300 yards offshore at a surf spot known as Crouching Lion. 40-year-old Todd Murashige told emergency officials he was sitting on his surfboard when he was attacked. Murashige paddled himself to shore accompanied by another surfer. He was taken to Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition.”
The injury to Murashige is reported to be serious. It is the second attack at Crouching Lion’s in just over a year.
Sep
09
2008
Here’s a photo from a couple days ago of a surfer blasting the top of a wave at glassy, beautiful Ocean Beach, San Francisco… oh wait, there’s a fin in the background?!
Ocean Beach, San Francisco is in the Red Triangle, or in case you haven’t heard is one of the sharkiest places in the world. There have been a slew of recent great white sightings at Ocean Beach and Stinson Beach, further north in Marin. Stinson Beach was closed over Labor Day Weekend because of shark sightings.
Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.
See Other Top Posts:
Most Amazing Photos You’ll Ever See of Waves
Diver Fights and Kills 12 ft. Tiger Shark (Photos)
Your Chances of Dying of a Shark Attack – Pretty Slim
Incredible HD Footage of Surfer in the Barrel
Sep
04
2008
The image above is a aerial photo of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The dark shapes in the water are Blacktip and Spinner Sharks. New Smyrna is now officially the shark attack capital of the world. It has registered 19 attacks in 2008 alone!!! There were 74 unprovoked attacks globally in 2007 (image and statistics courtesy of the International Shark Attack File). The 19th attack at New Smyrna Beach was the 4th attack in 2 weeks at the beach. Concerned? I think I might be. Although I’m a bit more puzzled as to why people keep swimming and surfing there. To give you an idea, the attacks so afar at New Smyra Beach in 2008 alone is 1/3 of the global attacks of 2007! I posted earlier on statistics of the risk of death from a shark attack (pretty much nill), but I wouldn’t discount a risk of an attack in New Smyrna.
5ones and the Fear Beneath both report on the attacks. Check the Fear Beneath for more detailed reports on the attacks. Too bad for surfers in the area because the Altantic is sending a slew of hurricanes there way right now. Meanwhile popular surf spots in California’s Red Triangle have had a string of shark sightings including sightings at Ocean Beach, San Francisco and Stinson Beach, Marin County. Not hugely surprising considering it is the Red Triangle.
Here’s a photo a photographer, Kem McNair, caught earlier this year of a spinner shark jumping out of a wave with a surfer on it at New Smyrna Beach.
Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.
See Other Top Posts:
Most Amazing Photos You’ll Ever See of Waves
Diver Fights and Kills 12 ft. Tiger Shark (Photos)
Your Chances of Dying of a Shark Attack – Pretty Slim
Incredible HD Footage of Surfer in the Barrel
Jul
21
2008
An amateur photographer, Kem McNair, caught a photo of a Blacktip “Spinner” Shark catching some air sharing a wave with a surfer.
Kem McNair, who had finished surfing at New Smyrna Beach, Florida, before taking three images of the shark, shot in under a second, said: “I saw something in the background and I thought, ‘What was that?’. I looked back at the display on my camera and there it was — a spinner shark.”
Blacktip sharks, known as spinners because of their habit of leaping out of the water, are common in the shallow coastal waters and estuaries of Florida. The majority of shark bites in the state are blamed on the species and New Smyrna beach is notorious for attacks, this year the toll has already reached twelve.
“We see them all the time,” says McNair of the 6ft specimen he captured on film, ” if you ride a wave and the water is clear you may see two or three sharks in the length of one ride…”
Interestingly enough, New Smyrna Beach is ranked as one of the worst in the world for shark attacks. And it’s those Spinner sharks that are most likely to come in for a taste…
Here’s a link to McNair’s site with the three photo sequence of the shark jumping.
Jul
14
2008
Yes, the sharks have returned. Well, they were actually always there. Three fatalities (San Diego and two in Mexico) and a fatality in the Bahamas have whetted the media’s appetite for the sensational and dark nature of the Ocean’s beast. This past week there was an attack on a swimmer on the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. It was the second attack of the year and resulted in minor injuries, but has fed the media’s shark frenzy. Sightings of one or more large great whites off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts have also set off the media. There has not been a great white attack in Massachusetts since 1936, but that hasn’t stopped the media from printing headlines like, “‘Jaws’ returns to stalk Martha’s Vineyard.” In spite of the article’s headline, it goes on to say that there’s been a couple confirmed sightings of sharks or a dorsal fin, but no attacks. In the 19 years of the shark fishing tournament, no one has caught a great white.
In spite of the media’s hype, shark attacks and related fataties are still excedingly rare. Check out our post on your chances on dying from a shark attack in relation to other causes of death. Point is, you’re still more likely to die of a collapsing sand-hole incident than from a shark attack, even if you are a surfer! Here’s a link to wikipedia’s entry that lists all fatal, unprovoked shark attacks.
