Table of contents for Issue 590 in Tracks

This piece was commissioned by Ben Osborne who is a photographer based up here in Noosa, and his wife Jess. We talked about a few options for their home and decided on this piece, which is an artwork adapted from a photograph of his. The waves I created from my imagination as the photographic reference wasn’t the pumping Little Cove we wanted to see realised. It’s a special place to me personally as it is where I spent a lot of my childhood learning to surf with my family. @heidiobrienart…

LUCY SMALL IS TRIMMING ACROSS A WAVE ON THE FRINGES OF A REMOTE COASTAL TOWN IN GHANA, ON AFRICA’S WEST COAST. AS THE SECTION AHEAD WALLS INVITINGLY, SHE INSTINCTIVELY SHUFFLES TOWARDS THE FRONT OF THE BOARD FOR A CLASSIC NOSE RIDE. THE GROUP OF GHANAIAN SURFER GIRLS WATCHING ON HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT AND CAN’T HELP BUT CHEER AND HOLLER AS LUCY DEFTLY WRAPS FIVE DIGITS OVER THE FRONT OF HER LOG AND GLIDES EFFORTLESSLY THROUGH THE SECTION. MEANWHILE, LUCY AFFORDS HERSELF A SMILE, CHUFFED TO BE THE WAVE TRADER PASSING ON KNOWLEDGE TO FELLOW SURFERS WHO ARE EAGER TO SOAK IT ALL UP. Lucy learned a lot about Ghana while making her new surf movie ‘Yama’. Turns out the Ghanaians have their own distinctive take on surfing…

A CRIMINAL CODE BANNING PRE-MARITAL SEX AND COHABITATION WAS PASSED BY INDONESIA’S PARLIAMENT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR. ALTHOUGH SOME LATER CLARIFICATION INDICATED THE LAW WOULDN’T BE ENFORCED AGAINST INTERNATIONAL VISITORS, WILL A MOVE SO STARKLY CONSERVATIVE END UP ALTERING THE VIVACIOUS FABRIC OF THE FREE-SPIRITED DESTINATION? HERE’S A COLLECTION OF THOUGHTS FROM A WRITER BASED IN ASIA, AND SOME LOCALS, TOURISTS AND EXPATS ALIKE. A perky blonde shimmers under the midday sun at the beach, her noticeably itty-bitty bikini catching stares as she takes momentary dips in the Canggu shoreline to cool off. Before long, the back and forth she’s been doing between her towel and the ocean has captured the attention of one of the locals who just caught his last wave of the day. They make…

Five years after Nias was first surfed by Peter Troy, Kevin Lovett and John Giesel, the rifling barrels of Lagundri Bay were still a kind of whispered truth. In this story Dick Hoole and Thornton Fallander go in search of the airbrushed right-hander, hoping to find a fitting setting to shoot a scene for Hoole and Jack McCoy’s work in progress ‘Storm Riders’. When the duo elects to travel overland and island-hop by boat, rather than run the gauntlet with SMAC air, the trip descends into pure farce. It’s a compelling and often hilarious insight into the harsh realities of Indo travel just over 40-years ago. Dick Hoole thankfully supplied the original photos, some of them never seen before. Chasing empty waves all over the globe in search of classic…

The baby was coming. My partner was five months pregnant when the finality of the situation really kicked in – literally – as the unborn child we’d nicknamed brumby lashed out in the womb like a spirited colt. Determined to make the most of our last, childfree days we realised what was most important – travel; the freedom to hop on a plane and roam around another country unhindered by another human who depends upon you for their survival. Tickets to New Zealand were hastily booked; a loose itinerary fashioned and accommodation secured. There was a house in Raglan, something called a ‘batch’ in Gisborne and the rest we could figure out along the way. ‘Just Go!’ some internal dialogue began to scream, like the mysterious message sent to birds…

That a higher swell period equates to better surf is a mantra many of us subscribe to - but it’s not always that simple. We all tend to sit up and take notice of the forecast when a swell period climbs into the double digits – and for good reason. Long period swells, particularly those in excess of 15 seconds, can be a sight to behold. Arriving in well-organised sets of substantial size and power, they’re often greeted by favourable local winds and fine weather, having long since departed the source that generated them. There’s a big list of world-class surf spots where the higher period equals better waves rule usually applies. A-grade Australian reefs, slabs and points like Margaret River, Ship-stern Bluff and Bells Beach thrive under the influence…

I TURNED OVER THE BEATEN-UP MID-LENGTH TO SEE THE PETER CLARK LOGO ALONG THE STRINGER. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO KEEP THIS BOARD ALIVE IN THE OCEAN? Growing up in Lennox Head, the Ballina tip shop has always been a place of possibility. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? Everyone knows the saying is propaganda, until it’s true. I was sorting through trash at the Bruns-wick Old and Gold garage sale weekend when I first laid eyes on the board. ‘Old and Gold’ was about right. There was something about the rolled bottom that caught my imagination. A Band-Aid stuck on the side read $150. Sold. Worth every cent but needs some work that’s for sure. Before I know it I’m down in the glassing room with Richard…

AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL AND DECIDING TO BUY A SECOND HAND 4WD, I’VE SINCE SPENT MOST OF MY SPARE TIME TRAVELLING UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST OF OZ CHASING WAVES AND CATCHING FISH. THIS SUMMER HOWEVER, WITH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL BACK IN FULL SWING, I COULDN’T BEAR THE THOUGHT OF BATTLING MY WAY UP THE COAST ALONGSIDE THOUSANDS OF MY ‘BEST MATES’. As a Bondi local I’m pretty accustomed to surfing in thick swarms of fluorescent-foamie wielding kooks, but I had my heart set on a journey to somewhere that offered remote waves and a sense of modern day adventure. With this in mind, the idea of a van trip with my girlfriend, Charlotte, around New Zealand’s North Island was conceived. After landing in Auckland, our first task was to wrangle…

“NAZARÉ IS LIKE A GRAND CANYON. ONE OF THE DEEPEST CANYONS IN THE WORLD RUNS JUST OUTSIDE (THE BREAK). A DEEP TRENCH ATTRACTS ALL OF THE SWELL IN THE OCEAN AND ONCE THAT SWELL HITS AND ROLLS INTO THE CANYON IT ACCELERATES. ALL THIS POWER OF WATER IS SHOT UP INTO ONE DIRECTION ONCE IT HITS THE SHALLOWER PART CLOSER TO THE CLIFF… ALL OF THAT ENERGY FACING THE SHALLOWER PART JUST EJECTS UP. THAT’S WHAT IT FEELS LIKE IN THE WATER. ALL OF A SUDDEN OUT OF NOWHERE YOU HAVE THESE 50-FOOT WAVES POPPING UP. IT IS INCREDIBLE, LIKE STARING AT A MOVING MOUNTAIN THAT’S COMING IN YOUR DIRECTION TO EAT YOU ALIVE.” - NIC VON RUPP In the quote on the opening spread of this story, Nic is…

IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN THERE, THE THING THAT REALLY HITS YOU ON YOUR FIRST SIGHT OF J-BAY IS THE SCALE OF THE PLACE. Photos and footage simply can’t convey the majestic scope of that headland. It’s not like Jeffrey’s is a point break; it’s actually a gargantuan peninsula with a series of six point breaks strewn along it, like precious stones in a necklace. If you start at the final break before it hits the beach to the west – Albatross – and start driving southeast along the headland, you drive at 50kmh for at least five minutes, passing The Point, Tubes, Impossibles, and Supertubes before you hit the last break, Boneyards. Even then, there’s a big cove and another break, Magnatubes. Another thing is that it takes a while…

01. LIGHTBOX SURFER: ETHAN EWING PHOTO: RYAN MILLER At first glance it’s an image of simple, aesthetic beauty with universal appeal. Even those who have never dipped a toe in the brine can appreciate a chiselled, blonde figure bending supple limps on a sun-licked, blue wave. Meanwhile, the surfer can look a little closer and understand the various forces which conspire to create this sublime moment. To begin with, this North Shore wave can’t barrel or stretch too far, instead its well-defined, wrapping corner has to invite just one hefty gaffe from the gifted rider. Still, the board has to have a sharp rail that will knife into the clean wall like the blade of a good fish butcher going through a flank of premium blue-fin. Not discounting the timing,…

AT THE START OF 2022, I WAS SO BURNT OUT ON SURFING PIPE. PIPELINE HAD BEEN SO CRAZY, BUT I WAS JUST FUCKING DONE SURFING THE SAME WAVE OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AND I WAS JUST SO EXCITED TO TRAVEL. I WAS LIKE, OKAY, I AM GOING TO CHASE SWELLS, BUT I WAS LESS STRICT ON HOW GNARLY THE SWELLS WOULD HAVE TO BE. I WANTED TO BE IN AUSTRALIA FOR MARCH AND APRIL AND CATCH UP WITH JOHN. AND, I WANTED TO DO INDO AND ALSO TWO MONTHS IN EUROPE. SO THOSE TRIPS WERE LOCKED FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT I HAD NO IDEA REALLY HOW IT WOULD PAN OUT. I DIDN’T PLAN TO HAVE THE BEST SURFING YEAR OF MY LIFE. Stepping into Oz I made it to Oz…

AS WE STAND IN THE EMPTY PARKING LOT, A STREET HAWKER MENTIONS AN ABANDONED FISHERMEN’S VILLAGE HAUNTED BY OLD IMAZIGHEN FOLKLORE. THE POSSIBILITY OF SURFING A WAVE NO ONE ELSE DARES TO IS TOO TEMPTING TO IGNORE, BUT HOW DO WE FIND SOMETHING THAT MAY NOT EVEN EXIST? Achraf shrugs his shoulders. “Can you pass me the tea, please? Shukran.” I watch him prepare his cup of tea – first, the leaves. A soft ‘ting’ when the spoon hits the tea cup, follows. Boiling water pours from heights most of us wouldn’t entertain. The teaspoon wraps the porcelain cup a second time. “Sugar. I need more sugar.” I nod, trying to get the waiter’s attention. Achraf clears his throat and takes a sip of his tea, which takes much longer…

ANTARCTICA HAS A DISTINCT BUT VERY LIMITED APPEAL AS A SURF DESTINATION. ON THE PLUS SIDE IT’S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN, HAS MORE COASTLINE THAN AUSTRALIA, FRIENDLY LOCALS (PENGUINS) AND IT JUST SCREAMS SUPER-FUCKING-CRAZY-ADVENTURE. Surf-wise it’s still largely unknown. If you want to follow the intrepid footsteps of a surf pioneer like Peter Troy, Antarctica offers a clean white sheet. Sure it gets hysterically cold but nearly freezing to death is good for the mind, body and soul, according to the Iceman, Wim Hoff. Ok, so you’ve made your decision. You’re going to Antarctica. Puff that chest out and grow a beard because very few humans even make it to this point. You now have three options. And a beard! You can depart from southern Chile and…

We all have our unique journeys through life. No two paths are the same, but at this time, all paths are at risk of flooding and fire due to climate change. For surfers, all waves are at risk too. In my role leading Surfers for Climate for the past 2 years (that went fast) I have met thousands of surfers who are all keen to get more involved in the cause, but they face barriers – they have families to provide for, jobs in what they think are questionable industries, feelings of hypocrisy about the materials used in their surf hardware, the list goes on. We’ve developed programs for helping overcome those barriers but the simple truth is this – what you do right now is the best place to…