 March 31, 2010
 Our beaches are our stadiums The World Cup is upon us and we have a few hundred thousands of football fans heading for our shores to watch some balls being kicked around. Stadiums have been built across the country, and in the process thousands of South Africans have been given meaningful jobs and have contributed to our economic growth. We have embraced the fact that even if we’re not into football, when the pomp and circumstance of the World Cup has slowed down to a panic and all of the hooligans have departed, we’re still going to have some sick stadiums to cater for other sports that we might be involved in and enjoy.
Within the sport of surfing we have a strange situation. We have a culture and an industry that has a certain, fairly large, percentage of interest geared towards competition and competitive surfing. We have major industry throwing large sums of money at competitive surfing. In the process surfers get sponsored, with prizes, get a chance at the big time, and careers are sometimes made in the process. We have a consistent share of members on both World Tours, and we have Surfing South Africa pushing surfers through their transformation program with sponsorship from government and support from industry. Yet we are running out of venues to hold surf contests.
The recent battle for contest venue ratification at Port Alfred is but one of the many situations where this situation has arisen. Politics and sanctioning systems aside, a few local surfers didn’t want an event at their town, and did what they could do get the event stopped. Their reasoning behind this is valid in their eyes, and that’s a fair reason for them to fight the location as a contest venue. They don’t want the crowds, they don’t want to be barred from surfing in their own ‘one-wave’ town and they want to keep media and knowledge of their hometown discreet.
It happens everywhere. Seal Point has applications to run events that are turned down. J-Bay has a tightly restricted number of events that can be run there every year. Local surfers in Victoria Bay are not keen on events, and some local at Long Beach has started a campaign to have events stopped at Long Beach itself, the most consistent Plan B for every surf event in Cape Town. There are more beaches that are being restricted, from having contests, from having videographers and photographers present and shooting, from having pros in the water. Durban beachfront is still a free-for-all when it comes to having contests, but how long will this last? How long before other surfers make sure that you have to go to Country Club Closeouts to have an event? How long before having a surf contest with a PA System is all but barred from popular beaches, leaving surf events relegated to back beaches and inhospitable close-outs?
The thing is,
Our Beaches Are Our Stadiums
Without contest venues our sport is nowhere. Many might say that they don’t care about contests, but surf contests push our sport. They help us develop new technology, new designs and shapes, new big waves are surfed and new slabs are charged in the name of competitive surfing. New wetsuits are developed, performance levels are pushed. Competition surfing is an essential key element.
Without contest venues, surfing in South Africa will follow bodyboarding and paddle sking all the way to the edges of nowhere. The upcoming Port Alfred event, for example, is three days of competition out of 365 days in a year of surfing. Those in favour also argue that the event brings tourism money, the restaurants and accommodation are filled and good money flows into a town that has been suffering under a recessive climate. Isn’t it a good thing to have an injection into the town, at the expense of a few good waves, at the expense of a few local surfers? Is that even a fair question? Or is it purely commercial exploitation of a fairly low-key wave as those who oppose the event argue?
Right now we’re getting ready for a big longboard contest here in the EC. My local lineup is going to be a congested, frothing no-go area for a few days, maybe a week. When the contest is done, we will have empty waves until about mid-December. It’s not ideal, but it can be dealt with, stoically.
All comments would be appreciated.
termsMarch 30, 2010
On Sunday the 28th, RVCA pulled into Port Elizabeth and kick off their Rolling with RVCA series, a coast to coast grassroots surfing project aimed at bringing back surfing contests to the whole family.
Check out the surfing action and scenes that went down on Sunday in the full gallery highlights below. Click on images to enlarge!
research
 March 28, 2010
 I love this shot...
Sitting in Hotel Tofo Mar feeling the colonial vibes with a Bloody Mary, some Iggy Pop, and the sea breeze. One swell down and one on the way- AVG, Lyle Meek and Frank are on their way Thursday- good timing methinks… We’re going on a boat called the Barco Onda as soon as they arrive a hundred or so nautical miles up the coast goosechasing some slabs and an endless point that’s been calling for years- we living in the sticks proper- i hope the accommodation suits our pro’s- living off the fire and no running water… We’ve been loitering between sessions on our friends balcony overlooking the line-up- the best of both worlds i guess- there’s nothing like a shower after a surf the sand’s been so hot on the run down and back from the beach we literally cook our little footsies!!
 drive by fishing...
The other day a giant Rock Salmon swam past us on a local’s head so we bought it- easiest fishing in the world! We cooked that guy, braai’d him, fried him, sashimi’d him and there was still heaps left over. We then hit the beach for a good old fashioned beach party- i strummed till my fingers bled and we sang ourselves raw- Pura Vida, with a little too much Tipo Tinto rum in between…
I was talking to my brother Sean about the Malaria here- apparently, in the Tradisionale which are the traditional healers of this country there is no known cure which hints at where the Malaria came from in the first place- us?
 drive by
Mozambique got it’s name from Moa Al Habiq one of the foremost Arab settler/invaders who resided on Mozambique island as Sheik. The Arabs only came as far as Inhambane- which is where we are now, before the Arabs the Chinese were here way back around the twelfth century. After the Arabs came the Portuguese who have their own bloody history- the big question is: who brought the malaria?
 yep, we have been surfing...
“Having once been robbed by a gang of christian marauders, one is not so timorous of the heathen.†David Livingstone, March 2, 1856, Tete, Mozambique
 roadtripping
These days its the South Africans who lead the charge in the re-settlement of this fine land, and the government has realized they’re good for something- development! Whole tracts of land along the coast have been hung, drawn and quartered in the name of tourism. Everything from eco-lodges to square mansions all on top of the poor sand dunes! The other presence to be noted here are the Chinese- who are back in force, they offered very kindly to fix the roads, provided free electricity for the people, (who the government promptly started charging everyone for) all in return for fishing concessions of course! Nothing for mahala hey but still, the seas blue, and the waves keep on waving, the people of Mozambique are the friendliest people i’ve encountered and Afrika our mother just keeps on keeping on!
 our other balcony
all photos by Dantrona, stay tuned for a slideshow and movie from the last swell…
 good for something...
March 27, 2010
 We started in Fort Lauderdale. Now, just over a year later, we are in Fatu Fiva, French Polynesia.
We are now anchored in the Bay of Virgins, 5 miles north of the surf spot Taha Oa. The anchorage is truly magnificent, hard to describe. Different layers of mountains, cliffs, jagged edges, towering phallic peaks, different shades of green, and a deep valley which winds up amongst this all, with our tiny anchorage right at the center, you gotta bend your neck backwards to see the top of the mountains.
 Bay of Virgins
Went for an awesome snorkel, most of Fatu Hiva is just one long wall-dive, crystal clear water and the side of the island drops down to like 2 kays, its kinda spooky, but with the clear water its like you flying along the side of a cliff. Took the dingy along the bottom of the cliffs, found all sorts of “hole in the walls”, blow holes, caves, waterfalls falling into the ocean etc. What a privilege to check this all out.
We will probably head down to the Tuomotus quite soon, we are in serious need of some real waves. But not before we made it up to the famous Fatu Hiva waterfall. After first hacking up the wrong path with the 2 kids for 3 hrs, we eventually found the right track up to the pool and waterfall. What nobody mentions is that in this tranquil pool lives quite a few GIANT FRESH WATER EELS, as thick as your thigh!!!! When I first jumped into the pool with my goggles, i kukked myself when this big eel glided right by me, it was like a small version of the Loch Ness monster coupled with the Jaws soundtrack. I shrieked like a girl. Needless to say Andy stayed dry.
 What lurks below?
Also in this pool are 100’s of inquisitive fresh water prawns, no doubt the reason why the eels are so big. Indie and Josh loved the whole experience, especially chucking rocks at the eel, and it was worth every bit of back ache to get them up there. The island is unspoilt, virgin jungle with the odd bit cleared for fruit trees and veggies. We came back to shimmi loaded with limes, papayas, grapefruit, mangos and bananas…
The 2 villages on Fatu Hiva are bit strange. New toyota bakkies, lots of brand new aluminium speedboats, most of the houses are prefab kit houses, the roads are concrete, all very neat and clean. But most of the villagers are grossly overweight, they fry all their food, their staple seems to be french fries. It seems as if the French government has an all encompassing welfare program, I heard someone say that the Frenchies are on a major guilt trip because of the havoc they caused in this area with their nuclear testing.
Anyway, we have really enjoyed ourselves here, but tomorrow we set sail for the Tuomotu Archipelago for some real waves.
 Our destination: The pass into Faaite Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, 500 miles south
termsMarch 19, 2010
 Taha Oa. As crowded as it gets. Everything on shimmi is covered in either a layer of salt or puke. Whilst Chantal spring cleaned the boat, Andy and I spent a day hand washing almost every bit of fabric on shimmi: sheets, towels, cushion covers, clothes, teddybears, the works. All under a tap on the dock. Then we created about 200m of washing lines criss crossing shimmi’s deck, check these pics:
 Andy and Golla proud of their washing
Otherwise we are all great. Wobbling around on land like wind up toys. Made good friends with a cruising family anchored next to us – Frenchman Marc with Californian wife Doreen, who have been cruising for 15 years, raised 2 kids, youngest is 15 year old Tristan, on the same boat, a 33ft cat with a small outboard in a center pod. He built it himself out of ceder strip. The guy is a jeweler with a little workshop in his cat. Respect.
 Josh and Tristan on the boat on which he has spent all 15 years of his life!
Another crazy thing is the fruit. Fruit trees are everywhere and there is way more fruit than what can be eaten. The population on these islands have shrunk radically, from like 200 000 to 20 000, so most of the orchards etc have gone wild. The yachties just walk around the area, picking huge stalks of bananas, bags of mangoes etc etc, the stuff would otherwise just rot. Needless to say you cant buy fruit in the shops. Tomorrow morning Andy is going to go find a lime tree, more mangoes, papaya etc Not sure how his going to get it all back to shimmi…
On the day we arrived they had Polynesian piroque boat races in and out of our anchorage, spectacular watching these huge tatoo-ed polynesian warriors pump their paddles through the water, about 6 of them to an outrigger canoe, the main race was non stop for 2 hrs, its an endurance event, quite festive on the dock with a few boars being cooked etc. The Marquesas is the birthplace of tattoo. The sailors of olden days must have kukked themselves when these okes came paddling over…
 These are the big boys.
All in all it took us about a 10 days to get ourselves and shimmi fully cruise ready again, this time minus the autopilot which we sent to Tahiti for repairs. We finally got our duty free fuel permit, fueled up using our dingy to ferry 11 jerry cans twice (quite a mess), stocked up on whatever veggies we could find, borrowed some more fruit, could not find any oats for porridge (which screws up our breakfast a bit, especially for the kids), emailed and internetted frantically, serviced the starboard engine, went up the mast where i found one broken split pin, a chafed halyard and a roller furler which needed adjusting.
We finally left Traitors Bay to hunt for surf. As i was busy setting line number three, I got a huge strike on line 2, whatever it was snapped the 150 pound leader on my favorite pink skirt like it was cotton. Big yank, big splash, could not see what it was, gone. After that we caught nada despite 5 lines out the back and 45 miles of blue water trolling. Bit bummed but what can you do? Chartplotter went on the blink for a while, i was like ‘whatever’. Then quickly got the backup GPS working. Later on the chartplotter just started working again. Stoked, as it contains $2000 worth of electronic charts for all of the Pacific. (i have all the paper charts too so no worries)
 On the road again. Fatu Hiva is in the backround
The southern tip of Fatu-Hiva is our destination. It is a truly awesome island to approach, especially from the west with a setting sun behind you. The land is massive, vertical and green. Full on Jurassic Park. But we ignored the scenery and made straight for the surf, reported to be on the sw corner of the island.
 Found this little point break...
We found 2 fun setups: A long left pointbreak which needs swell, and just 200m south, a Kalk Bay reef style left hand peak. Awesome to paddle out, its been more than 6 weeks since our last surf. Two local Polynesians surfers pulled up in a tinny, very happy to share their waves with someone else.
 The 2 other surfers on Fatu Hiva. They gave us a ride back to shimmi in their tinny.
The local name for the A-frame is Taha-Oa. The waves are below this truly MASSIVE sheer jagged cliff, about half a kay high, like someone took a sharp knife and simply cut a mountain in half, throwing one half away. This cliff makes it virtually impossible for the wind to blow offshore (or onshore for that matter), it causes all winds to blow sideshore, which can make the waves a bit wobbly at times. On the down side, i snapped my favorite board, a 6′0 squash, it had a prior fixed crease, bit of a bummer. But my step up board, a pin tail 6′3, is fine.
 Probably one of the only pics of a wave called Taha Oa. [caption id="attachment_1877" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Here\'s that cliff I was talking about..."]  [/caption]
research
March 16, 2010
 good for something...
I now realize how much im just ‘chucking it out there’ online with this blog, and try my hardest to stay unaffected by the comments that sometimes de-construct me so un-aptly- im no angel I admit- but im living this life as a professional freesurfer- whatever that is- and trust me, I’ve given it a lot of thought! If I could tell you how much money I’ve made or get paid as opposed to what I’ve put in- eish!! That’s a heavy one- socially and financially incapable of maintaining a relationship something really is going wrong I mean I know I’m good for something right- but how much good?
Two things I’d like to point out that mean a lot to me are respect and heritage…especially in our surfing culture, as far as im concerned that is where It all leads back to- I respect the people out there who support me and my surfing/travel habits, I have heritage enough through my life traveling and surfing to know what I say or publish in the public domain is there for the picking- so once again I’d like to give thanks to all the mense out there who have been chucking their two-bits in on this blog. It has helped my writing so much and I promise to keep uploading stuff as long as you people all over the inter-web keep nailing it too- hopefully I will find some more pertinent themes as I travel into East Africa addressing issues we as surfers often just roll up the window at and keep driving past- things like the social in-equalities in this world, the rich just get richer and the poor work harder! I am not complaining about this life I have been described as given to ‘on a platter’- I too have felt the sting of financial strain and political hate- ten years ago I was in London slaving twelve hour nightshifts of demolition work to get my first trip to Indo as well, I turned thirty and finally started getting paid to surf! I still cant get a credit card these daze because I’ve got negative credit rating- which means no accounts, cellphone bills nor residential address- Bob Dylan said: â€To live outside of the law, you have to be honestâ€
So what I aim to keep doing with this blog and my writing- is keep it honest and stay on the road, grateful yet aware of where I am in the swirl of things, constantly looking to make a difference no matter how small wherever I am, and hopefully bring back the stories to you in front of that screen to feel what you want with- again thanks so much for all the comments, I hope you all getting waves, or getting to waves sooner then later- like I wrote above next stop Mozambique- gona do the Buzzlightyear: “To infinity and beyond!â€
March 11, 2010
Eish I finally make it home- 10 flights, a busride or twelve, and plenty roadtripping – all for what? A few shots in some magazines and some half-hearted scrawls in my blog and maybe an article or two in a couple magazines? Time to shake things up a bit- not to mention the fact that my sponsor’s budget is already dry and now I have to wait for the mags to go to print before any photo incentives or articles are invoiced and paid for!
Now lets not take this rant of mine as a complaint, but I have to say as an aspiringly-conscious person approaching a new-era on our planet- lets face it- flying is so ‘last year’ every time I get on a long stinking flight I ask my self- “Why am I doing this?†Smelly feet, cramped seats and disinterested air hostesses hopelessly unaware of how ‘thirsty’ I can be on long flights- only to arrive somewhere and climb into a air-connditioned taxi and drive through Carbon Monoxide infested streets, arriving at the beach with trash all over- (in the line-up and on the beach) Am I really living the dream? Or is the only option left a Donkey cart with Bruce Gold rolling nowhere slowly but at least stepping out of the melee that modern society has left us living amongst- I mean aren’t we as surfers supposed to be the ultimate escapists?
yet we are so embroiled in society’s toils and ignorant of the environmental pressure pushing this planet past the point of recognition- the world as we know it has changed completely- not only is everything so damn expensive it’s borderline ridiculous! Living the life of a freesurfer I get to see and feel the extent of the pressure we are putting on this fine earth- be it ignorance of plastic on far-away islands, conveniently swept up with the coconut husks and natural fibres then chucked in the sea- out of sight out of mind- or the pressure of traffic on the Island of Bali- how many scooters with dodgy two-stroke engines, trucks with dodgy exhausts, people puffing cigarettes everywhere! What are we actually dealing with? Well, on the busride with Bruce Gold from East London yesterday, I decided to get to the bottom of it all- and calculate my own carbon footprint after four countries, ten or so flights, a dozen bus rides and who knows what else- all for a few waves shining glossy at you in a magazine..?
Well, all that carbon-footprint kak is hella confusing so I did my own bita math- Durban-Indo-Papua New Guinea-Indo-Joburg-Cape Town- East London those are just the flights! A good 30 or so thousand miles as the crow flies – never mind driving all over Bali, I mean all over! Missions by scooter, truck and bus all over Papua, and of course all the food, plastic wrappers, and life’s little luxuries in between- HAIBO! That’s a lot of junk to have accrued, a bunch of miles to have traveled and a loada crap to have left behind! So the bottom line then? I really don’t know- how much is enough? We are fed images of empty line-ups advertising easy holidays – easy for you maybe- but what about ya kids or their kids? Will they be able to hit the Mentawiis on a luxury boat trip? I think we all have to slow down a bit- maybe the donkey-cart ain’t such a bad idea? Maybe set-up shop closer to home and be on it when the waves arrive rather then chase them all over the planet? Or move to Indo with a wad of cash, a taste for Indo-women and village life? Chuck it all and bail to some poor country and try do something positive maybe? The bottom line then is to make the effort to be that little bit more aware? Think twice, make a sacrifice and you may not feel it straight away but like the ripples of fresh swell those thoughts might eventually gain enough momentum to give someone else a ‘ride’ further down-the-line?
Thanks to google for the hopelessly confusing search on various sites pertaining to the calculation of one’s carbon-footprint(whatever…)
 Would the world or this wave be a better place without me travelling across the planet for hidings like this?
termsMarch 9, 2010
 After 24 days at sea... Howzit!!
Day 22 of our blue water crossing: The autopilot spat the dummy at 1am and for a while all was quiet on shimmi as we contemplated life in the south pacific. I worked the whole night on stripping and re-assembling the thing, when i finally got down to pulling out the corkscrew type gear unit about 40 tiny silver ball bearings fell on the saloon floor, scittering and scattering in all directions. It was a Jesus Christ moment. The saloon by this time looked like a bomb had exploded in an Indo tool shop. But i got most of them back in, re-assembled the unit and re-installed it by 6am. I knew that the only way i was going to get sleep was if the autopilot could steer the boat as Andy had by then been hand steering the whole night in driving rain. But no. This little fable does not have an happy ending. The autopilot briefly sort worked and then the corkscrew gear just stripped out inside.
 Andy doing what he does best
Day 23: By midnight last night we were all so tired and me with my eczema just barely coping so we decided to park shimmi in one of the many empty parking spaces around us, turn off all the instruments and ALL GO TO SLEEP. GLORIOUS. We floated on a gentle ocean until 6am this morning when i was woken up by a light tail wind. Its now 630pm and we have been sailing slowly with the spinnaker the whole day, slowly getting closer.
At this pace we will arrive tomorrow night, so we are taking it easy, if the wind dies we will simply park shimmi again and all go sleep. There is no way we are hand steering and burning diesel at the same time. What’s the rush anyway when you have already been 22 days at sea?
 Thats land
Chantal – Golla stopped the boat yesterday and asked me to dive in with flippers and mask and check out the rudders to make sure nothing obvious was wrong (he’s eczema skin cannot handle salt water). “Sure,” I said. I have never been so freaked out. Imagine the ocean being 3000m deep and the only sign of life the Shimmi crew has seen in 22 days, besides 2 birds, is a freaken huge shark swimming right past the boat. It freaked me out! When I got back into the saloon, Josh and Indie were standing on the couch playing “air guitar” to Cat Stevens each with their own spatula, oblivious to my little drama.
Day 24: Chantal – The big boys steered the boat until midnight last night and then called it quits. Spinnaker down, engines off and we heaved to until sunrise. At midnight we had 101 miles to go. In the morning, after drifting for 6 hours, we had 96 miles to go. Oh boy, we floated a whole 5 miles with the current TOWARDS our destination. We sailed all of today in a 10 knot wind. Andy is our new auto pilot. He’s a machine. It is extremely difficult to steer the boat in such light wind conditions under spinnaker. We are all terrified of that sail. It’s a monster and you screw up just a tiny bit and it bites you back so bad. Lose concentration for a second and your spinnaker will rip itself to death. When we took down the sail last night the snuffer got stuck and the spinnaker landed up in the water stuck under the boat. My nerves are shot shot shot. Yet each morning is a new day and with it comes a new serving of guts.
Andy said he would shave off his blonde locks and beard when he saw land. Well, we saw land an hour ago! Just before sunset! I thought land no longer existed…Waterworld. Food has been getting better as we run out of stuff. Weird, but you just get more creative. Andy just fried up the last plantains in butter + rum and served them with cinnamon + sugar and cream!
 Hows that for an anchorage?!?
And then finally: Spicy salami, aromatic swiss cheese and tomato all stuffed into a crispy baguette, followed by another 2 of the above. Then a raid on the ice cream fridge in the shop. Andy was physically shaking as he was peeling the wrapper off his magnum. Then off to the local restaurant where we hesitantly ordered pepper steak and chips. But have no fear about the food when the country is run by the French! Washed this delicious meal down with a few ice cold Hinano beers. On the walk back to shimmi we demolished another few baguettes and ice creams. No this is not a dream Yes we have arrived in the Marquesas and we are safely anchored near the village of Atuona. The scenery is dramatic, the land is BIG. Towering green mountains and crags rise vertically up off the ocean floor, its similar to the area around Chapmans Peak drive and the Twelve apostels.
Andy spotted the islands first during his afternoon watch yesterday evening, just dark smudges on the horizon. We motored through the night with a full moon rising, slowly revealing a scattering of majestic mountains rising out of the ocean, huge cumulus clouds forming and dissipating above the peaks. By 6am we were getting ready for TOUCH DOWN. The Musty smell of wet soil hung in the air. We made it.
 6am in the morning. we made it. The most striking thing was the smell of the earth after 24 days at sea.
March 8, 2010
 The sponsorless James Taylor drops in on a gnarly brute during the 2008 Big Wave Africa.
Chris Bertish won the Mavs event and picked up an awesome US$50k first prize. As Chris has already mentioned, a fair chunk of that will go towards paying back the people (friends and family) that helped him get to Mavericks. Chris has also been fairly open about the fact that chasing the dream of surfing big waves and winning at Mavericks has been an exhausting and draining endeavour, physically, mentally and financially.
A week or so after the incredible Mavericks event, the Todos Santos big wave event took place, with Mark Healey winning. His prize? A sincere handshake and a bottle of Patron tequila.
There is an inequality in surfing, and it puzzles me.
Big wave surfers risk their lives whenever they go for a surf amongst heaving giants of water. Sometimes they die, like Mark Foo, Todd Chesser, Donnie Solomon, Peter Davi, Malik Joyeux to name some of the more famous surfers who have died while surfing big waves. Photographers, videographers, camera crew hanging out of helicopters and filming from mountainsides are present whenever some big wave event is going down, and even when it is monstrous and just a free surf. The mags cover big wave surfing ad nauseam, and the websites are full of cracking 50-foot barrels and puny surfers attempting to master them.
Yet for the whole, big wave surfers are ignored on a proper sponsorship level. There are exceptions to the rule, and immediately one thinks of Twiggy and Greg Long who get paid real money to traipse the world and surf giant waves, but on the whole the rest of the big wave surfing fraternity, especially here in South Africa, is on the receiving end of nothing from the surf brands. Big wave surfers are literally out in the cold when it comes to sponsorship and deals.
There are plenty of flow programs/product deals available out there – free wetsuits, free sunnies etc, but the big wave surfers need money to get to the various big wave destinations around the world, and nothing is forthcoming. What is it that makes big wave surfers so unmarketable and unpopular with the brands, yet groms and junior surfers can exact salaries from brands that would make a Jeremy Johnson, an Andy Marr, a Frank Solomon or a Mikey Schlebach very stoked.
It has been said that the very nature of big wave surfing is an egotistic pursuit, that underneath all the cool veneer and humility that many big wave surfers possess, they are all ultimately doing it for fame and glory. This is actually great from a marketing point of view. In fact, the very ego is something that sees these surfers making it onto covers of surf mags, and it is this temptation that pushes them over the ledge into hell when it is 50-foot on the face.
Groms who are sponsored often disappear into the wilderness when they reach a certain age and life takes hold. Big wave surfers are generally older and wiser, and know what they want out of life. Yet it seems that big wave surfers, except for a very few, are destined to surf these giant waves indigently.
So think carefully before you throw all your eggs into the big wave basket.
Readers, feel free to comment…
March 2, 2010
 Busting one for the stoke-project at Cianggu sandbar The stoke project is the brainchild of master lenseman Gerhard Engelbrecht who has based himself here in Bali over the past year or so. Staying in a house full of photographers has given me a real insight into what it takes to create and shoot a great photo… I always thought editing was for video but it’s absolutely amazing what programs like Lightroom can do for a photo- this I believe is Gerhard’s niche; he can turn a pretty plain looking photo into a flipping masterpiece!
Gerhard says: ” I’m flattered by the statement that I can turn a pretty plain looking photo into a masterpiece. I’d like to elaborate on post processing for digital photography. Because I and most professionals shoot in RAW mode the photo’s come out of the camera looking a bit dull/plain as well as a little fuzzy. Post processing with Lightroom/Photoshop and other RAW processing software enables us to process the RAW files into what we envisioned when shooting the photo’s. There’s a saying that one cannot polish turds. The same is valid for digital photography. If the RAW file coming out of the camera is not properly exposed and photographed in suitable lighting it’s still going to suck regardless of how much post processing is done. Thus we work hard to shoot in the best light possible as well as nailing exposure and composition in camera. It’s probably easier for us film shooters who transitioned from film to digital. In the film days you had to get it right in camera.”
 Rollin' with the Ninjas- Saskia and Gerhard in the back, me and Mick Curley up front...
Gerhard has now launched The Stoke Project which he describes as: The crucible of Stoke, a vehicle of collaboration and community. Here I intend to create a dialogue with you the reader to explore and depict Unity, Kinship, Creativity, Adventure, Fun and Love in our Surfing Lifestyle. Because as surfers the Stoke and our Love for the ocean and the waves that pulse on her shores inexorably connects us and transcends all division. This is a constantly evolving project and I welcome your participation.
 Gerhard's always busy with something- slow shutter portrait...
So far there’s a really interesting profile on Sarah Baum and Davey van Zyl, two up and coming S.A rippers and I encourage any of you out there who are planning a trip to Bali and want to get some footage to connect with Gerhard and become a fan of The Stoke Project. Bali or Baliwood as I like to call it is an essential place to see and be seen if a career in surfing is what you’re after, everyone who is someone comes over to shoot in the glorious lighting, conditions and waves of Indonesia and especially Bali- so tune in and check it out- get stoked on The Stoke Project!!! http://stokeproject.wordpress.com/about-the-stoke-project/
 Getting ready to roll with the Ninja lense men Gerhard and Mick near Nusa Dua
So Gerhard what brought about the idea of The Stoke Project- besides being one of the most surf-stoked photographers and surfers i’ve ever met…
I’ve been inspired by free thinking photographers like Chase Jarvis http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/ who are embracing the power of the internet to share their skills, wisdom and work. There’s so many stories and images of talented individuals by talented communicators that don’t see ink in traditional print media for whatever reasons. The Stoke Project allows me to publish these and to share my photography skills free from commercial or political restrictions. It’s very early days yet and I’m excited to see where it takes me.
What/who inspires you in surf photography these days?
Good light, good colour and finding fresh angles really resonates with me right now. Renowned landscape photographer Galen Rowell used to say he would first seek great light then find something earthbound to match. I’m really inspired by the level of surfing of the Indonesian groms. These kids know how to bust out airs, get barreled and surf with style.
You’re based in Bali now right- Plans for the future?
I intend to base myself in Bali for as long as possible. I love the warm water, the cool vibe of the Balinese and connecting with people from all over the globe. I’d love to travel to other surf locales like Chile, Australia, Ireland and of course visit South Africa. I also intend to allow The Stoke Project to evolve into a true community. I’d love to share surf photography tips, do behind the scenes coverage of photo shoots, promote and support fellow artists, designers, free surfers and free thinkers. Share the stoke and provide a platform for others to do the same.
If you were re-incarnated on this fine planet as a bug with a thousand eyes- how would you stay inside that computer screen of yours?
Jeez bru that’s pretty far out. I’ll let you know once it happens, lol :-D
shot bru- stay stoked…
 It wasn't me... So, im off to Cape Town for a bit of March action, i keep hearing about the Summer in the cape- peeps have been getting lambasted by swells by all accounts- Indo has been what Indo is- plenty goose chasing, a load of waves, Papua New Guinea an experience of a lifetime i cant wait to come back already!
 Pirate stylee Im off to Mozambique for the end of March/April- going shooting with Alan van Gysen and a buncha other mullets- my brother Sean has been lurking around Inhambane since March last year- gona mission for some new spots in his boat, drink loads of 2M, and try not get Malaria again…
 See ya later Bali- Cape Town that a way!! All photos by Gerhard Engelbrecht- check it out: http://stokeproject.wordpress.com/about-the-stoke-project/
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