Great Surf Movies - Dogtown and Z boys

In the beginning, kids would ride a skateboard emulating the actions on a surfboard

One of the most influential documentaries of the last decade tells us the story of the wild pack that changed the world of surfing forever. You might ask what kind of importance did the z-boys and the zephyr team had on the history of surfing if all  they did was skateboarding. That is a good point, but the real importance of the dogtown bunch goes much further than skateboarding itself. What they did in reality was bring the surf art to the masses. If you think about it, skateboarding is surfing on asphalt. By democratizing something like surf (where you need expensive material and have to do it in a proper place) through the use of the skateboard, what the Zephyr team did was bring to all suburban kids the unique attitude and mindframe of the surf world. Watch this documentary and witness a bit of History.

Rating: 8/10

The incredible story of Bethany Hamilton

Her story is well known among surfing lovers. In 2003, while surfing in Hawaai, Beth was attacked by a shark in an accident that left her without her left arm. Nowadays, almost ten years later, a movie is being released that tells the whole story after the tragedy. "Soul Surfer" shows us how her parents, Tom and Cheri, never gave up and made all the dreams of their girl possible.

Home Win!

It was a clash of titans: the two best surfers in these last years of pro surfing confronted for an epic final. It was after all what many experts considered to be the best final in the history of surfing. Mick Fanning, the australian thunder claimed a deserved victory over the best surfer of all time, Kelly Slater.

This win marks the 14th victory by Fanning in the pro circuit, and the first win since 2001 in Bells Beach. Unfortunate to share the same surf era with Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning is not so bad when it comes to count the results in the heat matchup history between the two surfers: 7 wins for the ozzie and 8 wins for the american.

To the events official site Mick Fanning revealed what he felt at the moment of winning."I am just stoked because it is been so long. It does not seem strange that it has taken so long to win another one when you have got other guys like Joel Parkinson, Jordy Smith and Kelly Slater on tour and I usually come up just a bit short. Usually against Joel, but I got him today!".

There was big controversy tough on Fannings victory. Kelly made a perfect 10 air 360 in the final and decisive heat and many fans considered the result injust for the american.

Check out a video that sums up the incredible heat

Here are the complete results:


RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.80
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 18.07

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.10 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 7.83
SF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) def. Joel Parkinson (AUS)

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.06 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 13.66
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.97 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 16.10
QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.00 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.27
QF 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.63 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.63

RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.93 def. John John Florence (HAW) 14.00
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 17.40 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.36
Heat 3: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.27 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 12.90
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.27 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 9.04

CURRENT ASP TOP 3 (After Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach):
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 13,200 pts
2. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12,000 pts
3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 11,750 pts
3. Mick Fanning (AUS) 11,750 pts

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sarah Mason (NZL) 15.84 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 13.94
Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 17.17 def. Laura Enever (AUS) 8.90
Heat 3: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.77 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 14.50
Heat 4: Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.43 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.73

RIP CURL WOMEN’S PRO BELLS BEACH QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Sarah Mason (NZL)
QF 2: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
QF 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Coco Ho (HAW)
QF 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Lakey Peterson (USA) 

Bells Beach Travel Guide

Between the 3th and 14th of April, legendary surfing spot Bells Beach will once more receive another event of the ASP World Tour. One of the most recognizable trophies of the circuit, the "Bell" cup, will be awarded to be best surfer to ride one of the most famous waves the Australian coast has to offer.

Location:

 
Ver mapa maior

 Beach condition:

 According to the lads at surf-forecasts

 Bells Beach in Torquay is an exposed reef and point break that has consistent surf, although summer tends to be mostly flat. Offshore winds are from the northwest. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the optimum swell angle is from the southwest. Best around mid tide when the tide is rising. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Surfing here means negotiating dangerous rips.

Taj Burrow wins the 2012 Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast

Even with all the polemics that surrounded the result (many fans defended that Adriano de Souza should have won the final and decisive heat), Taj Burrow won this years edition of the Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast.

The veteran surfer made a total of 15.86 points in the final heat against the 15.60 made by brazillian wonderboy Adriano de Souza. It was a very close dispute, provoking a great divide among the fans present at Coolangatta (even between the Australian ones).

It is the third time Burrow wins the Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast. The other two wins were in 2001 and 2010. It  also marks his 10th win overall in competition.

Meet Derek Rabelo

He is the surf sensation of the year. Derek Rabelo, a 19 year old blind surfer is winning the admiration of the worldwide surf community. Yes you read that right the first time: Derek is blind and just last week he was surfing one of the most respected waves in the world, the ones in Pipeline, Hawaii.

 Derek learned to surf just two years ago when his father and uncles introduced him to this way of life. His first surf coach in Guarapari (Brazil) soon realized that the kid had a great talent and told his family that he could be surfing any of the worlds best waves.

 To be able to surf, Derek only needs the help of another surfer to initially catch the wave, in the riding part he is all by himself. In a place well known for its peoples idiossincracies, Derek won the heart of Pipeline´s most hardcore surfers.

The voracious localism and occasional violence towards strangers were inexistent : Pipeline stopped to watch Derek.

AGE: 19

LOCATION: Guarapari, Brazil

 What’s the story with your sight — can you see anything? Were you born visually impaired or did something happen later? No I’m 100 percent blind. Yes, I was born blind.

 When did you learn to surf? 2 and a half years ago.

 Was that your first time surfing Pipe? How was it for you? No, I surfed Pipe at the same day they had the finals of the Volcom Pro, 01-31-12. I couldn`t catch waves because it was very crowded but it was amazing experience…6-8 feet perfect Pipe.

 The video said you wanted to pull into the tube. Has that happened yet? I`ve got a couple barrels but I didn’t make it out. Were you surprised at the gift of the surfboard? How does it ride? Yes I was, very surprised. The board is amazing, 6’2″… ( This interview is Courtesy of the adventure hournal)