From Andy Heald the beach clean coordinator;

“April’s clean was a record turn out – 34 adults, 12 children and 5 dogs = 24 bags of litter. A massive thank you to Pirate FM who included us in their ‘Green Month’ agenda, and sent a very happy enthusiastic team to the clean. Pirate FM subsequently featured people and their businesses from the clean on their weekly shows. Everyone enjoyed bargain prices at Bodhi’s afterwards. In addition to this, we were very honored to have the outgoing Mayor, Andy Hannan and the incoming Mayor Kevin Towill, along with the Newquay Lions giving us a big hand.

May is the last month we start at 10am for a 10.15am start at Bodhi’s. June 30th reverts to the summer hours of a 9am start. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday.”

Video posted 11 May 2012. Sorry about the ad at the beginning of the video but the wait is worth it…

Surfrider Foundation Europe – http://www.surfrider.eu/en/home.html
Surfrider Foundation – http://www.surfrider.org/

From Andy Heald the beach clean coordinator;  “Thanks very much for the 20+ volunteers who attended the March clean. Seven full bags of litter, with the reappearance of seasonal litter (bbq’s, beer cans etc) a feature.

For the April clean I am happy to announce a revisit by the Mayor, Andy Hannan and the Newquay Lions. In addition to this, we are privileged to be part of Pirate FM’s Green Month. The Pirate FM radio crew and radio truck will be present on the day, joining us at South Fistral – Bodhi’s for the start, and welcoming us at the finish – North Fistral car park. Bodhi’s have kindly offered half price breakfast and drinks to all volunteers.

And the last piece of news, is the great reviews ‘Fistral Wreck’ is receiving at Galerie 17 in Fontainebleau, Paris. It is currently been exhibited alongside other work by the artist Davy Surier http://www.galerie17pointarts.com/Artistes/Pages/Davy_Surier.html . The art piece has used different materials from two cleans made in 2011. It is expected to go on show in Newquay later this year.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 28th at 10am for a 10.15am start.”

Protecting what we love – please consider when on the beach or after surfing collecting a handful of rubbish and ditching it in the nearest bin.  As surfers let’s take the lead in caring for the ocean and our beaches.

From the National Trust North Devon blog; “The National Trust are this year’s Environmental Partners with the British Longboard Union (BLU) and are hosting two of the four leg series on Trust cared for beaches, Woolacombe and Crantock.

Woolacombe is one of the premier surf spots in the South West and we are really excited that the first round is starting off with us. Fingers crossed for some good surf and a bit of sunshine. So if you are a seasoned veteran or a budding novice go to the BLU website for entry details www.british-longboard-union.co.uk and have go.”

North Devon NT – http://northdevon.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/national-trust-cook-island-longboard-classic/
The British Longboard Union – http://www.british-longboard-union.co.uk/
Corduroy Lines Surf magazine - http://corduroylines.com/

Domke Visions by Dylan Palmer, uploaded 15 April 2012.

As surfers we can lead the way and maybe others will take note of our actions and follow our example.  So why not at the end of your surf session when you are walking up the beach, stop and collect a handful of rubbish and ditch it into the nearest bin?  Just think what a powerful message and example that would be.

I’m a surfer so I believe – used with the kind permission of Jim Moriarty CEO Surfrider Foundation.

“I’m a surfer so I believe our coastslines should be accessible. If we can’t get to the beaches, we can’t paddle out from them. Beaches are our open spaces that don’t belong to anyone. They belong to all of us.

I believe the water should be clean so I shouldn’t worry about getting an ear infection when I paddle out. High school surf teams shouldn’t have to get Hepatitis shots to be on their surf teams.

I believe being a surfer is more than just someone who rides waves; a surfer is also someone who protects waves. We’ve seen some of the best waves in the world lost essentially due to apathy or lack of organization. We have ourselves to blame for those lost waves… no one else. If we don’t organize and engage to fight for what we love future generations will rightly blame us for the losses.

I’m a surfer in 2012 and I expect to be able to see Dane Reynold’s otherworldly moves at Emma Wood on video in something approaching real time. I also expect to be able to see and learn from what surfers and activists are doing all over the world to protect places like Emma Wood. Video and other tools help us share stoke and not reinvent the wheel. If someone has a better way to protect a beach, we should all know about it.

When I’m in the water and a candy wrapper floats by I believe it’s my responsibility to stick it in my wetsuit. That’s just common sense. Rather than wondering how the heck my lineup is turning into a dump, I should do something about it. I will never accept that it’s ok to have trash in the lineup.

I surf because I love the water, I love waves. I’m not Kelly Slater and never will be. That’s not the point. I’m just stoked to be in the water gliding down the face of a wave. How insanely lucky are we to have that option in our day? I don’t take it for granted because very few people on the planet will ever know how that feels. We are blessed, we are lucky, we are fortunate.

I believe that to whom much has been given, much is expected.

I’m a surfer so I protect what I love.

What about you? Whether it’s with Surfrider or another organization, there are a myriad of ways to engage and protect what we love. The time for doing that is right this second.”

Surfrider Foundation – http://www.surfrider.org/

Beautifully shot, dark and menacing, accompanied with a sombre song reflecting the heavy cold water waves.

From the Northcore Vimeo site;

“The yin and yang of a trip. The highs and the lows. The epic rides and the epic falls. Surfing isn’t a easy game to get right, once in a lifetime 50 ft faces followed by a endless search for shelter. Tides reveal dry reefs, squalls break promises. Rain dampens enthusiasm, talk of hidden secrets abound but the wind in it’s infinite wisdom keeps them just that, secret. There’s no urgency yesterday’s euthoria still burns. Another trip another day. No fathoms left to fall.”

A Northcore Film
Directed by Chris McClean
Director of Photography Mark Waters
Edited by Mark Waters
Produced by Gabe Davies
Executive Producer – Matt Strathern

Music – Ben Howard – Depth over Distance

Surfers – Gabe Davies, Richie Fitzgerald, Fergal Smith, Tom Lowe, Ollie O’Flaherty, Eric Rebiere, Paul O’Kane, Neil Britton, Tom Butler, Sebastian Steudtner, Andrew Cotton, Al Mennie”

From Mel’s website; “Surfer Paintings – An Exhibition at Tubestation, Polzeath

I’m sitting on a rock down by the shore in Polzeath, North Cornwall – sketchbook on my knee and a flask of coffee near by …. what more could you ask for? The weather has turned warm, suddenly everything feels different; the sea-light is clear and the ocean sparkling, the sky is a delicate bird’s egg blue. It’s as if the world is stirring – I don’t know about you, but I always feel a little intoxicated by Spring …. a little wild ….
It’s good to get out of the studio, to embrace the elements, feel the beach-vibe and experience the positive energy that eminates from this special place. I’ve been working long hours on a series of paintings for my exhibition at the Tubestation. It’s a surfer inspired show, just right for this funky hang-out right next to Polzeath’s famous surfing beach. This old Methodist school hall (in much need of love and attention) was turned on its head in 2006, refitted, revamped and reborn, so to speak. It’s a thriving cafe with a difference – a charity set up to serve surf culture and to provide generously for the local community. With the superb surfing beach but a flip-flop’s throw away, you can really relax and enjoy the artwork.

View all the paintings on-line here: http://www.melaniemcdonald.co.uk/gallery_surfer-paintings-polzeath-tubestation.htm

Through these new paintings, I’ve tried to use the concept of the surfer as a symbol of freedom – depicting the surfer perhaps waiting for the next wave or returning to a favourite beach. In some of the poses, I’ve tried to capture the energy of the sport, with an emphasis on the surfers’ relationship with their surroundings – the raw and exciting forces of nature. I’ve recently come to appreciate the contemporary culture which surfing encapsulates – an alternative lifestyle.

Tubestation (opposite beach carpark), Polzeath: Open from 10am everyday tel:(01208) 869200.

Surf Art Exhibition runs from Friday 30th March until Friday 18th May.

http://tubestation.org/”

One of the photographers, Doug Rickard, compiled a collection of images for an exhibition titled ‘A New American Picture’ held in 2011 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

From the ST article “Doug Rickard… is interested in the American content and its haunting, visceral power. I was interested in photographing America in the same context, with the same poetry and power, that has been done in the past. It’s sad but true that if you want to find the poorest area in any American city, look for the name Martin Luther King. The title of MLK boulevard, street or square is almost a guarantee that you are in the most deprived, crime-ridden part of town.”

After finding the view he is after Doug photographs the screen with a digital camera and then edits the photos (removing watermarks and cropping to a panoramic format).

A New American Picture can be viewed here http://www.americansuburb.com/

Another artist making creative use of Street View is Jon Rafman who has a vast collection of images on the website 9-eyes.com (named after the nine cameras attached to the pole on the roof of the Google cars).

From a 2009 post by Jon Rafman; “One year ago, I started collecting screen captures of Google Street Views from a range of Street View blogs and through my own hunting. This essay illustrates how my Street View collections reflect the excitement of exploring this new, virtual world.”

A good place to start to see Jon Rafman’s work http://googlestreetviews.com/

Bryan Appleyard “Google Street View as Art” Sunday Times, 11 December 2011 – http://www.bryanappleyard.com/google-street-view-as-art/

Words from the films website; “From the makers of “One California Day” and “Natural Expressions” comes a new feature length surf film documenting the evolution of a surfer and his craft.

Drawing from 50 years of design inspiration, “The Tyler Warren Experiments” explores Tyler’s surfing, influences, and interest in board design through collaboration with a number of today’s most respected craftsmen.

Shot on location in Australia, California, Indonesia, Mexico, and Morocco, the film features (in alphabetical order): The Campbell Brothers, Manuel Caro, Chris Christenson, Skip Frye, Josh Hall, Devon Howard, Terry Martin, Dave Rastovich, Joel Tudor, Christian Wach, and more.”

The film is due to be released mid-summer 2012.

http://www.thetylerwarrenexperiments.com/main.html

I was reminded of this recently through an article about the film ‘Surfing & Sharks’ which premiered at last December’s Wavescape Film Festival in Cape Town.

From IMDB “Surfing & sharks is a documentary about the constant threat South African surfers face every time they paddle out into the ocean, home to one of the largest concentrations of sharks in the world. Against the beautiful backdrop of South Africa’s East Coast the viewer is introduced to three local surfers as they share their personal experiences with these animals while surfing their favourite spots. Throughout the film researchers, ecologists and shark attack victims offer an objective and unique insight in one of South Africa’s most feared predators. The film touches on subjects as to why sharks attack, attack prevention, the myths, the media and the future that sharks are facing today, if any at all…”

Surfing & sharks – http://surfingandsharks.com/ – be sure to check out the blog.
Kwazulu-Natal Sharks Board – http://www.shark.co.za/

Newquay Bay early Saturday morning 3 March 2012.

inkydeep on twitter & facebook

“Boasting total mastery of all oceanic endeavours, the revered waterman can fish, dive, surf, windsurf, kayak, bodysurf, interpret complex weather data, save the odd drowning man, etc. Generally built like a tank and typically soft-spoken (choosing to let his actions do the talking), loner watermen fear neither tempest nor shark and rarely head for higher ground. If need be, he can survive entirely on self-harvested ocean bounty, spearing his food from the nearby reefs he’ll surf over when the swell is up. He’s an intense figure, idolized in the local community for his silent bravery and meteorological prowess.”

I suspect Mark Healey ticks many of those boxes…

And from Surfer Magazine’s How To blog; “How to Handle a worst-case scenario”;

“If there’s a man more capable of laughing off a brush with death than Mark Healey, we haven’t met him yet. Part big-wave hellman, part world-class free-diver, all survivor, Mark usually knows what course of action to take to keep you breathing when the sh*t hits the fan. Although no one should ever try to do what Healey does, here are his thoughts on getting out of sticky situations if you do”

- http://www.surfermag.com/features/how-to-handle-a-worst-case-scenario/

Uncommon Ideals was selected as the winner of the 2011 Shorties award at last years London Surf Film Festival.

The first breath is a beauty;
Whispering of the north like a kiss
Gilded hammer come tapping
Licking the dun dunes
Sweeping the tawny sea
A chill fist come rapping
At the doors of you,
of me

Bay burn the first
Runners of the dawn train
Ripples, creeping in beneath castles
Under dismantled factories
Between oak groins tar black
Onto reefs of hell
And fain the eyes that track
This first building of
the swell

A copper peak like running snuff
Bang, bang, bang
From the north she pours
Stirring the remaining cod
Sister wind swung south
Waking the Farne-bound seals
And met by land she roars
Dipped in sepia,
flayed bister
Delight for uncommon ideals

Used by permission of Dan Crockett – http://www.danielcrockett.co.uk/.  From Dan’s website on the poem Uncommon Ideals; “A poem I wrote was used to frame Uncommon Ideals, a short film about surfing in the North Sea. It ended up going viral with 85,000 views on Vimeo. The text of the poem… it’s about craving things everyone else would think were mad.”

Uncommon Ideals a film by Chris McClean and Mark Waters. Released 25 August 2011.

The Doggerland Chronicles – http://thedoggerlandchronicles.blogspot.com/

By far the most interesting find to date has been a green tag with some cryptic writing on it; “99 DFO LOB NFLD”.

Harry Johnson who runs the wonderful The Flotsam Diaries website identified this as a lobster trap tag issued in 1999 by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to a licensed fisherman on the island of Newfoundland.

The DFO website explains that trap tags are used to ensure that trap limits are respected. The site then explains how the tags are used; “…tags are issued to licence holders in accordance with the number of traps that are authorized. The tags are sequentially numbered and are issued annually. A tag must be securely fastened to the frame of a Lobster trap prior to it being set for fishing. The Lobster trap tag will identify the fish harvester who owns the trap. It is illegal to set a Lobster trap, when the Lobster season is open, without a valid trap tag fastened.”

At some point the tag was cut or broke free from a lobster trap and made its way into the Atlantic Ocean. It probably followed the currents SW from Newfoundland until it was swept up by the edge of the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic current and carried east to Cornwall, finishing its amazing journey high on the southern end of Fistral Beach.

BeachCare – http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/Programmes/Beaches/BeachCare/Default.aspx

To ease things along I let iTunes shuffle select tracks out of our music library. Occasionally tracks cropped up that reminded me of summer; sunshine, time on the beach, warm water, sand between my toes and after work surfing… so here are three songs that had me summer dreaming this afternoon…

Kings Of Convenience – Misread (From the album Riot On an Empty Street, released June 2004) –

The Loose Salute – The Mutineer (From the album Tuned to Love, released June 2008) –

Since I left You – The Avalanches (from the album Since I Left You, released April 2001) –

From korduroy.tv; “Legless – InnerView”, released 25 January 2012;

“Forgotten performance pushers of the surfing world, kneeboarders have long been edged to the outskirts of surf culture. In isolation they’ve been blowing up for years despite snickers and jeers. In this episode of InnerViews we catch up with the modern heart of the kneeboard movement in the lonely industrial town of Wollongong as a steadfast few quietly kneel their way through futuristic lines…”

Also from korduroy.tv; “Knee Power – Sea Movies”, released 26 January 2012;

“Brothers Troy and Chayne Simpson have been pushing the performance barriers of surfing for over a decade. Check out this edition of Sea Movies as they dismantle wedges and walls in Indo and Oz.”

For all things kneeboarding check out http://legless.tv/

Noting the variety and the quality of previous posts it was quite a challenge to maintain that high standard and hopefully our posts were of interest to the readers of the Hickoy Nines blog.

Our posts on Hickory Nines can be read here http://www.hickorynines.com/author/inkydeep/