The Art and Design of Erik Abel

The current issue of TIDE features artist Erik Abel.
Check out his website for more ocean inspired work or an interview on "Club of the Waves" with additional information on his cooperations with Billabong and Oxbow Artworks.

New DIY skateboard with Bennett trucks and Flashback wheels

Finally I finished a longer version of the Sector 9 Superfish with a slightly modified tail. Equipped with Bennett Vector 6.0" trucks and ABEC 11 70's Flashback 78a wheels, it's a perfect setup for street cruising and puming.

The trucks and wheels had been mounted on my Superfish replica before, however turns were quite sharp. With the increased wheel base of this board, carving is far more easy.

Again the board is made of 9 ply birch and has been finished with lineseed oil (which smelled for about two weeks...). Additionally, I applied a new logo by using a stencil and acrylic paint.

Electric Skateboards

For those that are too lazy to push or pump:
http://www.alteredelectricskateboards.com/actionvideos.htm

Skate Study House

Furtniture design inspired by skateboarding: http://www.skatestudyhouse.com/
Thanks to Angelika!

Work in progress: Alaia-style skateboard made of Paulownia wood

Here's a couple of pics of my latest work in progress: a simple alaia-style skateboard made of Paulownia wood. I'm actually building this to gain some experience with Paulownia and lineseed oil before building my first alaia...

Enjoy!

Wooden surfboard and alaia links

Some links on wooden surfboard designs, material and technology:

http://woodensurfboards.blogspot.com/
http://islanddreamssurf.blogspot.com/
http://www.tomwegenersurfboards.com/
http://www.surfingmagazine.com/news/surfing-pulse/the-alaia-update-tom-wegener-interview-042209/
http://alaiasurfing.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html
http://bitness.com/?p=364
http://scosurf.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/jumping-on-the-alaia-wagon/

German Surf Pioneers

Nice trailer about the first German surfers on the island of Sylt.
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBa1ensvkK0

It's all about passion

For those, that have been complaining the last couple of months about the weather being too hot, to humid, too cold, too rainy, too windy or waves being too small, too choppy, too onshore or whatever, check out this video and enjoy the summer:

http://magicseaweed.com/video/flvplayer.php?id=909

Playmobil Boardsports Video

Check out last year's winner of San Sebastian's Surf Film Festival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6u-d_4o7kE

Tom Curren's first wave in J-Bay

When I was reading Riding the Magic Carpet by Tom Anderson, I was wondering what Tom Curren's rides at J-Bay must have looked like so that Anderson decided that this was his personal final surfing destination in the early 90s.

With the Clash of the Icons having been held at the Billabong Pro in J-Bay this month, old footage of Tom Curren has been dug out.

Check out these clips from the movie "Searching for Tom Curren" with Curren's first ever rides at J-Bay:

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/occy-to-surf-against-curren-at-billabong-pro-j-bay_28293/

Surfrider Foundation PSAs

I found these PSAs from Surfrider Foundation on youtube and there should be a higher view count!

Watch!

Glove:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByB4ONw4-HQ


Sandal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9qQ3OVqzQ


Smackdown:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IzDIyhUgQE


Threatend Species:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EWLlz3NY3s


Fish:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3sjim4CUAI


Butts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toov5j-0-4g

High quality surf cams in Denmark

A friend of mine sent me this Link with high quality surf cams in Demark. Enjoy!

http://www.waves4you.de

Surfer and Shark on Google Earth

Searching the web for Google Earth images with snapshot surfers, I came across this article on Daily Telegraph.

And it really looks like some big fish cruising along the beach while people surfing at North Steyne:


View Larger Map

Apparently this is the same beach, where Paul Hayden's set his book Last Wave.

Ferry-tow-surfing

Yet another activity when the surf is flat:


Read the background story (German only):
http://www.free-magazin.de/pdf/Free_magazin_36.pdf

All issues of Free Magazin for download:
http://www.free-magazin.de/freemagazin/downloads/

Poolmania

Fine selection of (skate) pools:
http://www.poolrider.com/content/images/mtpools/index.html

Riversurfing contest Eisbach, Munich

Coverage of the FUS Jam 209 Final. Progressive riversurfing at its best, including board slide drop-ins!



Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV26SezAaGk

Trailer: Keep Surfing: Riversurfing Eisbach, Munich

Trailer for a high quality film about the world-famous river wave in Munich. Seems like more and more skateboarding tricks can be done on surfboards.

And can you imagine doing hang-ten riversurfing?

Check it out:



Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUOxzT0nTn0

Video: Powers of three: Town-in Surfing in Ireland

A really nice video about tow-in surfing in ireland:



Good pictures, cold water, scary waves...

For more info visit:
http://www.relentlessenergy.com/films/view/powers-of-three

Enjoy!

Fito & Fitipaldis recording new album

Fito & Fitipaldis are currently in studio to record their new album which is announced to be published by the end of summer. And they might be on tour in fall this year.

http://www.ltinews.net/index.php/fitoafitipaldis.html
http://www.fitoyfitipaldis.com/

Here's a video of them performing "Por la boca vive el pez" live:

Video: Surfing the Baltic Sea

Nice video about surfing the Baltic Sea when a Strong N-W is blowing. Spot: Weissenhaus.

Book review: "Riding the magic carpet" by Tom Anderson

On my trip to Peniche I read "Riding the magic carpet" by Tom Anderson which I really enjoyed.

The book contains several short stories about his surf trips to places like Scotland, France, Spain, Sri Lanka, Bali, Costa Rica and J-Bay. Having been to some of these places, it sometimes felt like reliving some of my own trips.

His easy to follow style of writing and his humor make this book worth a read. Also, I really liked his way of reflecting about cultures and developments at surf spots all over the world.

While reading this book, you'll have a hard time not to board the next airplane to surf some remote waves.

The author's website containing background infos and info about some real life characters appearing in the book:
http://www.tomandersonbooks.com/
Interview:
http://www.tomandersonbooks.com/freeride.html

Meanwhile his new book Chasing Dean: Surfing America's Hurricane States is already available at Amazon.

Can't wait to get it delivered...

Enjoy!

Surt Trip to Peniche, Portugal

I just came back from a great trip to Peniche, Portugal. Unfortunately Supertubos was too small to surf, however at other spots we got some great evening/night sessions with perfect glass-off waves. Surfing until 9:30 p.m... Summer in Europe is great!

Stay tuned and get some surf!

More pics

New DIY skateboards

This weekend I finished some more DIY skateboards.
Shapes: Pocket Rocket and Superfish.

Graphics have been applied using the toner transfer technique by ironing toner on the wood.

Stand up paddle skating!?!

Instead of catching all the waves in the water, SUP surfers now have the choice to stay on solid ground. Come on guys, isn't that a great option?

It also seems like SUP skate girls are way above the attractivity average...

Get more info:
http://www.supsurfmag.com/equipment/accessories/kahuna-creations:-kahuna-big-stick-%11%11-stand-up-paddle-skating-20080616430/
http://www.kahunacreations.com/

Read Conrete Wave online!

Some issues of Concrete Wave can be read online:
http://www.turnit.ca/#publication/35878

Enjoy!

Surfing with a camera in your hand...

... and some more crazy waves.

First In, Last Out

Nice footage about Jack O'Neill's life:

Fruchtalle Skate Pool, Hamburg

New concrete bowl in Hamburg! The return of the vertical...

http://www.europeskate.com/2009/05/07/hamburg-and-the-new-minus-ramps-bowl/
http://www.sevenply.de/news/Jetzt_bekommt_Hamburg_auch_noch_einen_Bowl:=:354.html
http://www.minus-ramps.com/news/Neues_vom_Fruchtallee_Pool.html

Skate Pool Flora, Hamburg

Seems like the second part is getting some progress...

One California Day

Can't wait to see this video...

http://www.onecaliforniaday.com/

Herr Schulze: Contemporary Art

Mr. Schulze's art variety:
Objects, skateboard decks, sneakers, comics, graphics, stencil, characters, ...
Amazingly creative!

Check out his website: http://www.herrschulze.de/

North Sea Surf Forecasts

North and Baltic Sea Surf Information
North Sea Surf Forecasts
Sylt Surf Cams and Live Swell Data
Baltic Sea Surf Forecasts

Sylt Surf Report and Forecast

Deutscher Wetterdienst










DMI



















NOAA / NCEP