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While the debate about the causes for global warming rages on, renown Halifax-based photographer Yassine Ouhilal has proof positive that warming is indeed taking place in the Arctic.
On Friday, March 12, Ouhilal will be opening an exhibit of his Thawscapes collection at Halifax’s Argyle Fine Art, 1869 Upper Water St. On display will be a series of exquisite limited edition, pure pigment on watercolour prints along with select, unique edition pieces.
Thawscapes explores Ouhilal’s deep interest in Arctic geology. The landscapes which appear in the collection are new, revealed for the first time by rapidly receding glaciers.
“At first I was unaware of how quickly global warming was altering the Arctic landscape,” said Ouhilal. “Now, with the second warmest year in a row on record, the changes are accelerating exponentially. Read more…
Following the resounding success of the inaugural Cold Water Classic Series blending adventure, exploration, surf and competition, the O’Neill Cold Water Classic Series makes a much-anticipated return for 2010.
Last year saw the series push the boundaries of surfing in a way never seen before with five ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) events exploring spectacular surf spots throughout remote corners of the globe with the word’s best surfers competing for the prestige of winning the O’Neill CWC Series and the $50,000 prize money.
“It’s pretty much the next best thing to winning the ASP World Title,” says World Tour star Jordy Smith.
It’s not only the prize money and accolade, but the integration of exploration and adventure into surf competitions that the surfers themselves relish. Read more…
Surfing is about to reach a historic milestone in Nova Scotia.
The province’s Department of Health Promotion and Protection (HPP) has deemed the Surfing Association of Nova Scotia (SANS) eligible for government funding.
The decision was based on an application submitted by SANS under the HPP’s Recreation and Physical Activity grant program.
Having been deemed eligible, SANS will now apply for actual funding. If successful, SANS will receive core funding over the next four years.
Once allotted, funding will be used by SANS to fulfill goals outlined in its strategic plan. The goals include helping build the province’s surf community, supporting recreational and amateur surfing and promoting coastal protection.
“Basically what this funding would allow us to do is put the rad back in radical,” said SANS Co-President Graham Bondt. Read more…
Taghazout. Click to enlarge
Surf: 4/5 = Great but seasons make a difference here.
Price: 4/5 = Cheap!
Party: 1/5 = Good luck. They’re strict on alcohol.
Localism: 2/5 = It’s not your wave, and don’t forget it.
Thieves: 1/5 = Pick pockets and car break-ins are common, very common.
Time Frame: Oct/Nov 2009
Where do I start on this short story of a surf trip? With the most important points I guess.
How to get there: I’d recommend using one of Europe’s low cost carriers once you already have a flight to one of Europe’s major airports (e.g. London, Frankfurt, Paris). Ryanair, Easyjet and Royal Air Maroc are pretty safe bets to get from Europe to Morocco. I flew return with Ryanair from Frankfurt for $120 CDN taxes-in.
Here’s a basic rule of thumb: A 100 km bus or train ride costs around 25 DH or about $3.50 CDN. Read more…
Nomme Mignot
Nomme Mignot and his cousin Diego Mignot will be representing Canada in the under-16 division at the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Auckland, New Zealand (January 20-28).
The two surfers currently live in Mexico but hold Canadian passports. Both surfers regularly compete in Mexico and are nationally ranked.
Canadian Surfing Association (CSA) President John Fluke announced on Thursday that Nomme and Diego would be joining Team Canada. Last week, it was believed that Nomme would be representing Mexico.
Sixteen-year-old Jacob Albury of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is the third member of the team. Albury, who was born in Ontario and has lived in the Bahamas and Nova Scotia, is in Grade 11 at Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater.
Albury took first place in the open boys division at the Shut up and Surf Classic contest in October at Cow Bay, Nova Scotia. Read more…
See more photos of Jacob at the end of the interview.
Sixteen-year-old Jacob Albury of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia will be representing Team Canada at the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship, which takes place January 20-28 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Albury, who is in Grade 11 at Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater, took first place in the open boys division at the Shut up and Surf Classic contest in October at Cow Bay, Nova Scotia.
ScotiaSurfer.com interviewed Albury through email this past weekend.
ScotiaSufer.com (SS): Tell us a little about your background.
Jacob Albury (JA): I grew up in Abaco, Bahamas but moved to Nova Scotia when I was 10, then moved back to Bahamas at 13, then back to Nova Scotia this summer. I get back to the Bahamas two, three times a year. Surfing in the Bahamas is definitely more convenient not having to change into wetsuits. Read more…
Cover from California musican Michael Quest's 2003 album 24-7-365.
Happy holidays, folks. Hope some of you have enjoyed the swell the last few days. I’ve been kept out of the water due to a surf-related injury – I took a board in the ribs. Damn rib injuries take forever to mend.
If I were to get wet now, I’d set myself back a couple of weeks. My goal is to get back in the water on for our traditional New Year’s Day (or Eve) surf.
In the meantime, I’ll kick back and enjoy the Christmas chaos. While doing so, I’ll be skipping the Xmas carols and tuning into some surf music. If you weren’t aware, Scotia Surfer has a little online surf radio station – click here to check it out.
The station has a compilation of some of the greatest surf tunes of all time (the good stuff; not Beach Boys). We also play some new surf tunes by independent artists.
The station is broadcast on Live365.com, a network of online radio stations run mostly by amateurs. Because it’s on this network, Scotia Surfer has listeners from all over the world. In fact, the last time I checked, the station has listeners from over 40 countries, from the U.S. to Japan to Brazil to Morocco. We even had four listeners from the land-locked mountains of Austria in the last month.
Occasionally, we’ll get emails from musicians sending us songs and requesting airplay on the station. Sometimes the music is a little weird and far from being classified as surf music. Other times will get some of the cheesy Beach Boys-Jimmy Buffet-style stuff. Fun, but not fit for the station.
Once in a while we’ll get lucky and get some true surf tunes. Recently, we received an email from a California-based musician named Michael Quest, who sent us Q-Surf, a decent surf tune which we added to the playlist.
If you’re in a band and you play surf-related music, please send us a song, and we’ll try to get it on the station. We also play a style of music called Exotica, which is the jazzy, laidback type of music you’d listen to while sipping on a Mai Tai at a Tiki Bar in Hawaii.
For those of you who simply like listening to music, I recommend Scotia Surfer radio this Christmas as an alternative to songs about snow, trees, deer and a jolly fat man.
Wave riding vehicles
Email us (info@scotiasurfer.com) and we’ll hook you up with a good deal. We’re looking to get our boards a nice new home. Click here to see the rides.
The Surfing Association of Nova Scotia (SANS) is seeking an individual to organize its existing membership lists, and develop a new membership strategy for the organization.
SANS is offering a $2,000 contract to complete the work.
The successful contractor will possess excellent organizational and database skills, and have the ability to take direction and work independently to meet tight deadlines.
Preference will be given to applicants with experience developing membership strategies.
To view more details on the contract as well as information on where to send your resume and cover letter, please click here.
The Canadian Surfing Association (CSA) has added a fifth member to the team that is hoping to represent Canada at the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Auckland, New Zealand this coming January.
Born to Canadian parents, Nomme Mignot is a 12-year-old surfer based in Mexico. Mignot, who holds a Canadian passport, has competed contests in Mexico and California and has won events surfing as a grom.
Whether Mignot will actually represent Team Canada along with four East Coast surfers in New Zealand is currently up in the air. To date, the surfers have little success raising money necessary to make the long trip.
The team did have some people offer air miles, however, they cannot be put towards the flights to New Zealand, said CSA President John Fluke.
Those who might be interested in donating to the team are asked to contact the CSA at jfluke@ns.sympatico.ca or (902) 488-4252.
Nomme Mignot
Date of birth: May 31, 1997
Born: Panama
Lives: Mexico (holds a Canadian passport)
Stance: Goofy
Favorite break: Sayulita (somewhere in Mexico)
Favorite board: HX Future Heretics
Previous contests: Mexico, California
Favorite surfers: Mick Fanning, Clay Marzo and Julian Wilson
Hobbies outside of surfing: Tennis, football |
In less than two weeks, a pair of Aussies will battling for world surfing supremacy on the North Shore of Oahu at the 39th annual Billabong Pipeline Masters, the final contest on the ASP World Tour schedule.
Mick Fanning, the 2007 world champion, currently leads the Tour with 7,140 points. Following in second is fellow countryman Joel Parkinson with 6,772 points.
Winning the world title is going to be tough for Parko – he needs to finish two rounds ahead of Fanning at the $340,000 Pipeline Masters.
As a result, Fanning is listed as a heavy -400 betting favourite to earn enough points to capture the title. This means a bettor who backs Fanning would have wager $400 in order to win $100.
Parkinson, meanwhile, is listed as a +250 underdog. This means a bet of $100 would pay $250 if Parko were to be victorious. Read More…
Below are brief profiles of four East Coast surfers who hope to compete in the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in Auckland, New Zealand this coming January.
Getting to the other side of the globe is obviously very costly and all four kids are looking for funding and donations to help get them there.
Those who are interested in donating or would like more information can contact Canadian Surfing Association President John Fluke at jfluke@ns.sympatico.ca or (902) 488-4252.
Jacob Albury
Date of Birth: September 4, 1993
Born: Guelph, Ontario
Lives: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Stance: Regular
Favorite breaks: Japans, Bahamas; Gaff Point, NS
Favorite board: 5′8″ Quiet Flight
Previous contests:
Nova Scotia
- Shut up and Surf Classic: 1st place Open Boys, Quarterfinals in Open Men
Bahamas
- BSA Summer Series 2009 final standings: 1st Open Juniors
- BSA 2007/2008 Series final standings: 1st in Open Juniors
United States
- 2008/2009 NSSA Southeast Region final ratings: 5th Open Juniors
- Qualified for Open Men’s division at NSSA Nationals 2009 (Lower Trestles, California)
- Quarterfinals in Open Juniors 2009 NSSA East Coast Surfing Championships, Sebastien Inlet, Florida
- East Coast Surfing Championships, Virginia Beach 2005: Semifinal finishes in Open Boys and Open Juniors
- NSSA East Coast Championships 2003 (Sebastien Inlet, Florida): 6th place finish in Open Mini groms
Favorite surfers: Peter Devries, Dane Reynolds
Hobbies outside of surfing: Xbox 360, skateboarding
Links:
Fundraising site
Surf Bahamas Profile
Surf Bahamas Article |
Connor Marsh
Date of birth: January 20, 1993
Born: Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Lives: Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Stance: Regular
Favorite break: Jennifers, Western Head
Favorite board: Simon Anderson IP swallow tail
Previous contests: World Juniors in 2007 and 2008; Numerous local contests.
Favorite surfers: Laird Hamilton, Rob Machado
Hobbies outside of surfing: Major Midget AAA hockey, guitar |
Isaac Norman
Nickname: Donkey
Date of birth: June 22, 1992
Born: Liverpool, Nova Scotia
Lives: Port Joli, Nova Scotia
Stance: Goofy
Favorite break: Western Head Point
Favorite board: 6′2″ x 18 1/4 x 2 1/4 JS Pintail
Previous contests: World Juniors in 2005, 2007 and 2008; Many local contests.
Favorite surfer: Rob Machado
Hobbies outside of surfing: Soccer and hockey |
Kris Rambeau
Nickname: Rambo
Date of birth: February 8, 1994
Born: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Lives: Eastern Passage
Stance: Regular
Favorite break: Braces or any beach break
Favorite board: JS 6′0″ Fat Fish
Previous contests: Shut up and Surf Classic
Favorite surfers: Julian Wilson, Taj Burrows
Hobbies outside of surfing: Skateboarding, snowboarding |
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Surf: 5/5 = This one is always on.
Price: 2/5 = Slightly expensive. Thankfully beer is not.
Party: 4/5 = Great bars and good people.
Localism: 5/5 = Nope.
Thieves: 4/5 = Barely any.
Time Frame: September
Having gone on a bit of hiatus since university I’ve found myself in Germany frequently. After initially going there to mountain bike I have been wondering where one could surf in this practically landlocked country seemed like a bit of a dilemma to me.
There is ocean access in the North, namely the Balitc and North Sea, but that was at least eight hours away from where I was staying. Like most of you reading this article you’ve heard about standing waves before and most likely this one in particular.
Munich wasn’t far away from my mates place in Nürneberg, two-hour drive at the most, so I decided to check it out. Here’s what happened: Read More…
We all witnessed what West Coast surfer Pete Devries did at the recent international surfing event in Tofino, BC. The 26-year-old Canadian surprised the surfing world by winning the O’Neill Cold Water Classic.
Four young East Coast surfers dream of one day accomplishing similar feats. Those four kids hope to begin pursuing that dream in January at the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in New Zealand.
The four kids hoping to compete include South Shore surfers Connor Marsh, Isaac Norman and Jacob Albury, and Halifax-area surfer Kris Rambeau. All four were chosen by the Canadian Surfing Association (CSA) to wear the Maple Leaf at the upcoming international contest.
Albury recently finished first in the boys division of the Shut Up and Surf Classic contest held in Cow Bay last month; Norman finished second followed by Rambeau. Both Norman and Marsh represented Canada at the 2007 World Juniors in Portugal.
Getting to the other side of the globe is obviously very costly and all four kids are looking for funding and donations to help get them there. Read More…
