Corky's Blog

For Slater, ‘12 in 2012' worth shouting about

Surf News, 14 January, 2012 :  A constantly asked question in the surfing world these days is "will Kelly Slater go for World Championship number 12 in '12?" This remains to be determined as I understand it.

From what I have heard through the grapefruit vine is that Kelly will compete in the opening event of the new year in the Quiksilver Pro to be held on Australia's Gold Coast from Feb 25 and March 7. The feeling is that it's a "let's see what happens and then go from there" kinda situation.

An interesting side note to this is that the great one will turn 40 years old next month. too. The dude is breaking all kinds of new ground. My personal feeling is that I would like to see him go for one more. I mean, why not? How cool to be so talented that you can stay at the top into your 40s and be able to just be out there on the tour.

By Tim Sakahara

Not to Alarm you but only to Alert you. (also, some language) WAIANAE (HawaiiNewsNow) - For a fisherman it's a great story. Addison Toki got away with his catch and without getting bit by the shark. Plus, he got pictures of a magnificent animal which is a true catch indeed.
It was a close encounter with what Toki says was a 15 foot great white shark. Toki was fishing with boat captain Dominick Gaballo about 5 miles off Yokohama Bay near Kaena Point. He had just pulled a 300 pound marlin into his boat when seconds later he saw the fin.

Reef McIntosh has conquered the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout 2012, held in splendid surfing conditions, in Pipeline, Hawaii. Intense heats were surfed in the famous big wave arena, in eight-foot glassy sets. It was an hard fought victory for the Pipe connoisseur. Bruce Irons, Jamie O'Brien and Marcus Hickman were right behind McIntosh until the last surfed wave.

"I just stopped watching because I thought Jamie, and then John, passed me," McIntosh laughed. "I don't want to ever experience that pressure again."

The 2012 Pyramid Rock Body Surfing Championships
6th Annual Pyramid Rock Bodysurfing Championship at Marine Corps Base Hawaii holding period is January 14 through February 19. Money raised from this event goes to help the wounded warriors.
With a North Swell and South winds expected...we could get underway early and score this year with epic conditions! SNN has the entry form for you right here. Grab your trunks and fins.

© Photo: ASP/Robertson

First Perfect 10-Point Score of the Hainan Classic Registered by Frenchman Marc Lacomare

Surf News, 12 January, 2012 : - - After yesterday’s conditions, competitors and organizers of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star World Tour Hainan Classic couldn’t have expected much better. But China continues to surprise and impress. When the first heat horn sounded this morning, conditions were bigger, the offshore winds were howling and the big scores started dropping early and often.

I was impressed by the respect the tow-in community showed the paddlers at Peahi during the big swell Wednesday January 4^th. On Oahu that kind of respect is non-existent. A significant number of tow-in folks show the paddlers no respect at all. The ONLY surf spot on Oahu where tow-in surfing is prohibited AT ALL TIMES is Hammerheads. On Tuesday January 3^rd while surfing there, on two separate occasions a tow team faded me while I was taking off. The first time I was so shocked I tried to pull back and of course, it was too late, and I ended up going over the falls. My first thought seeing this guy whipping in at me from the channel was not to drop in because I didn’t want to get hurt or hurt somebody else.

Surf News, 10 January, 2012 : - - Hainan Island, China - With 15 minutes to go in the final of the Open Men, Heath Joske was sitting in fourth without a single substantial score. In a matter of minutes, the ocean began sending waves his way and by the final horn he had the rest of the field needing a combination of scores to catch him.

Afterward, he didn’t credit his surfing or heat strategy, his explanation was a bit more lighthearted. “I guess the ocean must have been paying me back,” said Joske, minutes after he was carried from the ocean’s edge upon the shoulders of his Australian teammates. “I picked up a bit of rubbish off the beach the other day, so maybe China’s giving me a bit of respect and payback, thanks Hainan, xie-xie China.”

Complete Results coming for The Finals: Saturday 1/21/12...surf was rippable with lite trades winds and 3-5+' NW swell!  The North Shore Surf Shop Pro Junior  at Sunset Beach. Presented and supported by 596-surf, dahui,surfboardline.com,northshore tacos,jerrys pizza,and steves chillers, SNN (and many others).
This is the biggest junior event ever on the north shore with 90 men and 24 women; its an ASP rated mens and womens 4star,with over 35k in cash and prizes!
The event is for surfers under 21.Top junior surfers from hi,usa,jpn,zaf,aust,brz.

Born to Maroubra stock, raised in the shadow of the Bra Boys, led over the ledge by the infamous Abberton brothers, Mark Mathews is a relatively quiet, unassuming character considering. For as long as people have been negotiating the stair steps at places like Shipsterns Bluff, Ours, Cyclopes and the like, Mathews has been right in the mix, usually supported by longtime mate Richie "Vas" Vaculik. Together the pair star in the new documentary 'Fighting Fear,' Mathews as the kid saved by surfing, Vaculik as the street wise, hard scrabble MMA hopeful. The film premiered in Australia earlier this month, and ESPN Surfing recently caught up with Mathews to get his take on it all.

Pete Cabrinha has opened a new art gallery in Paia, Maui. The founder of Cabrinha Kites is an accomplished artist and gets inspiration from the ocean and from all the adventures he went through traveling the world.