#kneeboarding

[sohannabarberaesque]

Can you just picture Peter Potamus kneeboarding it into some island in Polynesia Uncharted in these waves?

[sohannabarberaesque]

In Peter Potamus' case, he prefers paddling out between the Magic Balloon, at anchor just off the traditional three-mile line, and such part of Polynesia Uncharted he may be visiting at the moment in a traditional-style Polynesian koa wood surfboard repurposed for kneeboarding ends.

[tam--lin]

kinda crushed it on the indoor boogie board/kneeboard/surf simulator today, and am unreasonably proud about it

[leglesstv]

A TALE OF TWO BOARDS AND ONE WAVE

This is not a design article or surf trip story, but rather a combination of words that came to me after a recent trip overseas.

After 6 weeks of traveling throughout Europe and no surfing apart from a few 6” body surfing waves in the Mediterranean Sea off Italy, we arrived in Bali. I didn’t have any boards with me, but I had an old favorite stashed at my good friend, Captain Peter Fletcher’s house near Canggu.

Peter passed away nearly a year to the day that Karen and I arrived in Bali. His wife, Lia, graciously let me get my old board and also one that I had shaped for Peter a couple of years ago.

Packing up the boards to go to G-Land, it really hit me how lucky we are to be able to still go surfing even as getting older limits our options and the surf is getting more crowded all the time. Peter and I had made tentative plans last year to meet up in G-Land late season last year, but his sudden illness and passing put an end to that.

As it was, Peter’s board was the exact same dimensions as mine but a completely different shape and volume. Mine was a 6ft, 4 fin swallow fish tail and basically the same board that I have been taking to G-Land and Indo for years - tried and proven. Peter’s was a 6ft tri-fin arrow pin tail but more voluminous even though the same length, width, and thickness.

Anyway, arriving in G-Land after 6 weeks of no surfing and enjoying the food and drink of Europe, the waves were 6 to 8ft and pretty good. I surfed my trusty fishtail the first day and felt back at home on it, even though pretty unfit surfways.

The next day started off a bit smaller, so I took the pintail out to the top of the reef where the waves had more face and walls so as to get a feel for it. I could tell it had too much foam for me, but it did catch waves well, and I managed to jag a few nice long steep waves but not barrels. As the morning wore on, the swell came up, and after getting a long wave to the bottom end of the reef, I decided to sit with the crowd and try to get a real G-Land barrel.

I'm not particularly spiritual, but after waiting for a good hour, it seemed like I got a message to slowly drift out and sit next to a boil that started to appear just as the tide was dropping. After sitting there for about 15 minutes and simply enjoying the ambience of looking back to the jungle with the sun shining, wind blowing offshore, and swells rolling, I felt in a real happy place. Especially when there was no one sitting anywhere near me, and I caught a glimpse of what looked like the biggest set of the day on the way.

All it took was to sit tight and wait for it – a big perfect set wave aimed straight for me. Everyone else was either too deep inside or too far away to get out to me. The accompanying video shows what happened, and this is where the "One Wave, Two Boards" headline is associated. Pete’s board was so different from mine, but it still handled the wave no problem, except for when my knee slipped off halfway through the ride. Probably because of the extra volume and different fin location and set-up, I was not quite at home on the board but trusted it to make it to the other end. As can be seen, it was a bit of a rodeo ride!

As I turned off the wave, I again thought how lucky I was to be surfing and how we should not dwell on the negatives of crowded surf spots, onshore, wrong tides, flat spells, etc., but rather be appreciative of the gift that surfing is.

In my head, I said, "Thanks, Captain Pete," for the wave as I reckon it was him who guided me into it. And I dedicated the buzz I got from that ride to him.

RIP old friend Captain Peter - I'm sure you are sailing fair seas somewhere.

Words & Surfing: David Parkes

[pommatre]

Uh oh. The cycle of grief is cycling

[ryansultimatefitness]

[amelia1908jones]

KD Mayhem Kneeboard - Waterskiers World

The rest of the industry has been put on notice, there’s a new board in town and it’s not taking any prisoners! Specifically developed with performance in mind, KD Sports is so excited introduce the Mayhem to their growing range of kneeboards.

[sohannabarberaesque]

Poetry Corner

So what goes through Peter Potamus' mind as he paddles in his kneelo paddleboard towards some uncharted Polynesian island from the Magic Balloon otherwise at anchor just off the Three-Mile Line?

No doubt in his nakedness, the better to avoid embarrassment among the natives who are otherwise content in their nakedness and their sexual candor and directness which "Civilisation" risks bringing about.

But it can certainly feel refreshing to find Peter naked in his sojourn, maybe splashing a little water on himself every now and then for keeping cool during the journey.

And to just sense some awe and wonder as dolphins of the wild jump about, as if in welcome to Peter's presence unto such a wondrous paradise ... and also hugging and caressing one or two as swim past.

Such obviously being a delightful display of dolphin friendship in such lands, otherwise unexplored and still wild by and large, whose natives and the wild dolphins surrounding can't help but be most extraordinary companions.

Such being a show of trust and friendship in ways most surprising to the average person (though not going into the details here) between dolphin and human in ways which, as Peter puts it, "must make Flipper jealous."

And what a welcome must await Peter ...

Do these weekly exercises in poesy still fascinate thee, fellow Hanna-Barberians? And hast thou poesy you wish to share here?

@warnerbrosentertainment @joey-gatorman @theweekenddigest @restroom @archive-archives @themineralyoucrave @thylordshipofbutts @princessgalaxy505 @thebigdingle @screamingtoosoftly @warnerbros-blog1 @xdiver71 @haiyis-dark-void @iheartgod175 @warnerbrosent-blog

[jebiknights]

Was tagged in a couple of tag games and I need a palate cleanser rn so!

Tagged by @squad-724

Are you named for anyone? I was named after the main character of Bewitched lmao. My mom was watching the show a lot when she was pregnant with me

When was the last time you cried? Uhh probably last night who knows over what though I've been teary lately. I might've just been listening to emotional music.

Do you have kids? Nope!

What sports do/have you played? Nothing rn because I am BROKE. But I snowboard, wakeboard, and kneeboard seasonally. I also rock climb but don't have money for a gym membership for it right now.

Do you use sarcasm? Yes???? Weird question lmao.

What's the first thing you notice about people? Hair. If their hair isn't showing then whatever head covering they are wearing typically.

What's your eye color? Gray!

Scary movies or happy endings? It's not really a this or not lmao. I definitely watch more scary movies though than a lot of other types.... Both are fun though!

Any talents? I'm a pretty good artist when I bother to practice/keep up my skills. I like to think I'm a pretty decent writer too.

Where were you born? Midwest USA girlie here

What are your hobbies? Been reading a lot lately! Both fic (as it's a crutch for me lmao) but also been making an effort since I have extra time (job hunting ugh) to read more like actual books too lmao. Playing a lot of video games rn too!

Do you have any pets? Apartment has one cat currently. She's a former stray named Tuna. My family has 4 cats though lmao. We got two pairs from fosters at dif times. I want another kitten for the apartment but it's too small :((

How tall are you? I feel like half of these are drivers license questions lmao. A little under 5'7"

Favorite subject in school? Psychics and History

Dream job? Right now? Having one lmao. Would love to be a published writer one day. Also when I no longer am suffering burn out I still want to be an archaeologist but that's a goal in like... 10 years lmao.

--

Honestly anyone who wants to see this is free to take this as a tag <3

[lawindustries]

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[leglesstv]

Chayne on Jeffrey’s Bay 2024.

A couple of years ago, after some twenty years of crowded sand bottom points, endless closeout beachbreaks and logjam Gold Coast traffic, I packed up and moved south. Following the dominant theme in my life, there was little planning involved, so when I finally fetched up on the outskirts of Ulladulla, down in Yuin country, it was pure happenstance that I found myself occasionally bumping into Chayne Simpson both in the water and out. I first got to know Chayne over a decade ago through our mutual involvement in Legless.tv. I’ve always found him a kind of calming presence. He exudes a blend of confidence, contentment and charisma that never fails to improve my mood. Given that my mood is usually fairly positive, I took these occasional meetings to be good omens indeed.

Late last May I pitched up at one of my regular spots for an early morning surf check – it was small and clean but already starting to choke on the incoming tide - and found Chayne leaning on the rail next to me. We both had things to do, so the conversation was brief, but I thought to ask if he was planning on making the trip to J-Bay for the World Title competition a few months ahead in August. He didn’t think so. “If it was J-Bay proper, I’d definitely go, but it’s going to be on The Point, which isn’t the same. It’s a lot of money just to get there, so probably not.” I left shortly after to go about my day and that was that.

Over the next couple of months life became pretty busy and a couple of nagging injuries kept me out of the water, so I saw nothing of Chayne but I kept an eye on developments with the Jeffreys Bay contest all the same. I wasn’t really surprised to learn – in an entirely incidental way - in mid-August that Chayne was going to South Africa after all. Not long after that I watched on YouTube livestream as he beat Albert Munoz in the Open final. The next time I saw Chayne was a cool Friday afternoon in mid-September, when  we sat on his front verandah to talk through the 2024 World Title and what it all means for him.

R. People are saying it was the best run kneeboard contest they’ve ever seen.

C. 100% Couldn’t fault it. They put a lot of money into it. Gigs (Celliers) is quite well known over there, he’s done a lot for surfing, a lot for kneeboarding I’d imagine he probably called in a few favours from people. That’s just an assumption, but … Micky Kirsten - CineFx - was the main sponsor.  I don’t know where the rest of the money came from, but I know it would have been an expensive gig. They had live broadcast, jetskis, professional judging. We have a contest here and we ask for priority and they say ‘Oh, we can’t afford the extra judge.’ They had everything over there - it looked like a WSL contest.

Gigs has some connections!

I can’t imagine there’s anyone else in kneeboarding who could have done what Gigs did.

Do you think, with the bar set so high with this one in South Africa, that it’s going to be achievable elsewhere?

I couldn’t imagine it happening here. I couldn’t see us getting the money here. New Zealand, I reckon they’ve got pretty good connections over there, with government grants and things like that, they can get access to those sorts of things. I just don’t think we can. I just don’t think we’re seen as a good business opportunity.

So is that what it is? We’ve got to be seen as a business opportunity? What’s different about SA? What is it, is it just Gigs? Cos he’s a kneelo, and he’s got the contacts and the experience, he can say ‘Well I know how to do this’?

He’s very well respected.

And Mickey Kirsten’s a kneelo too.

Yeah, kneeloes in high places!

So how long before the contest did you decide to go?

Probably 4-5 weeks, I got a message from Steen and he said, ‘Are we going to J Bay’ and I said ‘I’ll go if you go’, and he said ‘Lets go!’ and then he organised it all. I spoke to Shauna about it and she said, “Do it!’ She knows I’ve always wanted to surf J-Bay. It wasn’t long. Most people didn’t know I was going until I was going. Usually if you’re going on a trip you book it 6 months in advance and somehow run into people and you tell them and so they know you’re going. Well … Shauna would say ‘Oh Chaynes off tomorrow’ and they’d go ‘Where you going?’ and I’d say ‘Oh, South Africa’ and they’d go ‘What? tomorrow?’ So it was a pretty quick turnaround. I didn’t tell most people it was the World Titles, I just told them it was a surf trip with a bunch of mates. Word got out, obviously, but I wasn’t telling people I was going in the World Titles, but they all found out.

So why didn’t you tell anyone?

I dunno. I don’t really have a reason. I was just going on a surf trip. Didn’t want to make a fuss. I was just going on a surf trip, and there was a contest there. That’s … like I was saying, my whole approach to it - I just didn’t surf the contest, I surfed Supers. The first day we got there, it was massive and it was pumping and Shauna rang me and said ‘How’d you go, I saw the photos’ and I said ‘I just surfed perfect Supers’ and she goes ‘Job done’.

Everything from that point on was a bonus.

Yeah. And that was pretty cool from my wife too. I guess a lot of wives would be like ‘Oh, you’ve gotta do well in the contest’, but she was just pumped that I got real good waves at a place I’ve wanted to surf forever and she was just satisfied with that, which was pretty cool. So, it was more like a surf trip than going for a contest.

So lots of surfing Supers - any practice sessions at the Point?

Not once. Actually, I lie cos the first two days when it was quite big, I couldn’t find the keyhole to come in at Supers, so I surfed my way down and then caught a wave in at the Point.

And that was your practice wave?

One wave from each session, on the way in. That was it. It’s just another wave. You take off on a wave and you do what it does, you do what it asks you to do, I suppose.

What did it ask you to do?

Cutbacks, lots of cutbacks!

 And a big bash at the end.

Yeah, it had a good end section on it, especially when it was bigger. When it was smaller you couldn’t really get to that section, it would run away, which … the end section runs away from you so you’re coming at it, at it, at it, thinking you’re going to get it, but it keeps moving away from you. When it’s bigger, it comes at you. It was quite intimidating to hit that end section. You’ll see a couple of photos - there’s one of Gigs especially, turning out - and it’s heaving. It’s a pretty big section to hit. Guys were getting smashed hitting it, guys were sending it, and there were guys in their sixties, fully sending it.  It was pretty cool to see. I don’t know if they wanted to win or just wanted to show they could do it, to impress people or whatever, but they were doing it. Just that push from having everyone there that made everyone’s level go up. There were some guys ripping that I’d never heard of.

That’s what you want though. If the surf’s good, then that’s going to happen. If the surf’s shit, it’s just shit.

Yeah, at J-Bay we got very lucky.

For the duration of the contest, you and Albert and Steen took up residence at Dreamland, a two-storey house right in front of Supertubes. On the morning of the final day, you were in bed when Steen opened the curtains and looked out.

Yeah. He went, ‘Oh hoh, it’s BIG’ and I remember laying in bed thinking oh fuck, what’s going to happen here today, and he said ‘This is you; you’ve got this! You’ve trained for this every day just by going surfing in Ulladulla. This is you.’ That sort of gave me quite a bit of confidence. That was before the semi. We were the second heat out, Albert went first heat, I was in the next one, and just … the way Steen was talking that morning, building my confidence, made me feel so comfortable out there.

The conditions during the final were ideal for your style of surfing.

I like a big smooth canvas to work on! I dunno, it just all seemed to click. I’m not a big wave guy. It was 6ft, it wasn’t BIG. A 6-8 ft wave like that, yeah, comfy as. That’s what I like to surf now. Fully in my comfort zone. Just because I’d been surfing so much in that two weeks, I knew … you know the keyholes there are a real drama, but they didn’t worry me. I’d just sort of jump off the rocks and float out, whereas everyone was worried about it. You’ll see some photos of the keyhole where there’s like ten-foot waves, but you just, I dunno, you take a breath and duckdive and get out there. The jetskis were there, that was a big plus. Knowing they were there helped the confidence too, knowing you could ride a wave all the way in and still get back out to get another one, that really took the pressure off.

You love connecting full power turns, carving smooth arcs on big, open faces … 

Style in surfing is pretty important. To look good on a wave, you know. There’s a lot of guys who surf really well but look terrible on a wave. It’s Italo compared to Ethan Ewing - I’ll watch Ethan all day, but I’ll get pretty bored with Italo pretty quickly.

The best surfing often appears effortless - each turn flows into the next so that the whole ride seems to be simply doing what comes naturally on the wave. I know you rank Simon Farrer as the best ever kneeboard surfer. It’s obvious you’ve drawn elements from Simon’s surfing: line, economy of movement, precision and above all, flow. Yet no-one could say that you’re a Farrer clone.

No. I think our styles are quite different, I’m a lot more upright, whereas Simon’s hunched and forward. His arms aren’t moving heaps, he’s just there the whole time. I’ve probably taken parts of his surfing: the whole not having to fit a million turns in, go around a section cos the next one’s … putting the turns where they’re supposed to be on a wave, that’s what he does, and I’ve definitely taken that from his surfing. Definitely.

I want to ask you about something else. Pretty much at the end of the street here is (a reefbreak, predominantly a sectiony right-hander popular with locals and blow-ins alike.) It can be excellent sometimes, but it’s a fickle spot, often an exercise in frustration. I couldn’t help thinking of it while I was watching the final.

Ha ha! THAT wave is a lot like where we had the contest! The Point is definitely a better version of it, but, well … before we went, the reef here was breaking quite often and I was out there quite often. A lot of that had to do with the fact I had things to do here (at home), and its right there, so I was just surfing that.  Surfing that wave got me over there without meaning to have that happen. It was just uncanny that it was breaking. It’s not a wave you’d look at and think ‘It’s like J-bay’ - but it’s similar to where we had the contest. It’s not a predictable wave, you’ll have a section come down here and you have to go around it and readjust, and another section will pop up there - it was really good preparation, but not on purpose. It was a happy accident.

You said earlier that you had a lot of strong support from Kyle Bryant - he wasn’t able to make the trip himself but was able to watch heats live on YouTube. He took on a mentoring role via SMS messages throughout the contest?

Yeah, I felt that luck was on my side. He actually said that. Kyle said in his messages that the cards were falling into place, ‘Luck’s fully on your side for this whole contest’. He was watching the live feeds, watching the free surfs, watching who was getting knocked out. Gavin Colman went down early, he was a very big threat. He was surfing with me at Supers every day, first one out every morning. There was one day there that was only 2-3ft, sort of semi-onshore, I think Gav may have gone down then. I don’t know, I didn’t see his heat.

A day when those who rely on power paid the price?

Well, yeah … I’ve been surfing my whole life in a variety of different waves. I can surf the grovelly stuff too, I can still make it work, but I just don’t enjoy it. Someone like Albert, he’s the gun in that stuff, he’s almost unstoppable in that. This isn’t a write-off of Albert at all. In 2-3ft sloppy waves, I don’t reckon anyone can beat him - he still throws spray, he still gets it vertical. I don’t enjoy doing it. I feel like I can do it if I have to, but probably not to the calibre that he does. You know, if that final had been in 2-3ft onshore waves it might have gone the other way.

But it wasn’t, and it didn’t: it was smooth water, a strong swell and a favourable tide, jetskis, real-time commentary and live-streamed video.  Two good mates in a world title final going down to the wire, with you and Albert both taking potentially winning waves in the last minute. Your last wave was the last of the heat, scored you a 9 and you took the Open World Title with a heat score of 16.17 to Albert’s 14.43. Was it a kind of redemption for you after that 2020 Dunedin victory, the one you didn’t defend in Portugal in 2022?

That’s what made this one such a meaningful win: that it was held in good solid waves. That final in New Zealand was the worst waves I’ve ever had in a contest. I won with two 4s. This one I got a 9 on my last wave.  It seems like everyone who surfs in Ulladulla was watching and it wasn’t embarrassing. They’ve all said how good it was to watch. They’ve all said they haven’t seen kneeboarding like that - ever - over all the competitors. ‘I didn’t know you guys could do that. It looked so smooth on those waves.’ You know, when they said they were going to do the live feed I was worried, but no-one’s had a negative thing to say about it.

That was an important factor for you, wasn’t it? Why?

I wanted people to watch it and think ‘Kneeboarding looks fun’, or not just fun, but impressive too. And they did watch it and they are saying that, so that’s a pretty big deal, don’t you reckon?

No pictures of you in the local paper?

I don’t know that there even is a local paper anymore! I think it’s all about Instagram and Facebook now. The support I got from down here was unreal. You know, the Ulladulla Boardriders, Aqua Surf shop, all the people just putting things up on their Facebook or Insta – ‘Check this out, Chayne at the World Titles, you can watch it here.’ Never had that in Wollongong, not even close to anything like that. In saying that though, Sandon Point Boardriders shared a thing saying ‘Chayne used to live here, he’s in the World Titles, check this out’. Yeah, definitely the most support I’ve ever had going into a contest, for sure.

Did that help?

Oh yeah, 100%. Just, if you could go back through my phone and see the amount of well-wishes I got when I was going there, before it had even started: it was pretty incredible, like the people that wanted me to win, that’s pretty incredible. It makes you heaps keener to win when people want you to win.

So the boards you were riding are the same you’ve been riding for years: the burgundy board …

Yeah, the one burgundy board! There’s about 15 of them, it’s a bit of an in-joke with Parkesy. Everyone thinks I’m on this one burgundy board all the time, it’s like - why does this board work in two-foot slop and it works at 8ft J-Bay as well? It’s actually a lot of different boards. Most of the contests I’ve been in over the last four or five years I’ve been on my grovel board. This one I was on my step-up. It’s a 5’9“. It’s more of a pin. My standard boards are 5’7”, my grovellers are 5’6”, this one’s just got a lot more pin in it. It’s the board I’d ride at waves around home most of the time. I had a fair few surfs on my 6’0”. I could have ridden that in the final. Looking back, I probably would, I was a little bit undergunned on the 5’9” at times. There’s a couple of waves you can see in the footage where I’ve gone to hit it and haven’t got there in time. I would have got there on time on the 6’0”. I don’t ride the 6’0” very often, you need a big wall, you need a bit of area to move, obviously. It’s alright to have a big board to get onto the wave, but then if the wave doesn’t give you room to move when you are on it, you don’t want to be on a big board .... Albert rode his 6’0”. It’s pretty much the same as mine. He was drawing nice lines on it but again, I think he was getting smaller waves. He should have been on the bigger waves, then he might have done a bit better. He still did well. I think he was beating me until I got my last wave.

It was close, but he didn’t beat you, did he?

Yeah, I think he got a wave, and I caught the one behind him and the wave that he got put him in front and then I got the wave behind him and got the 9. So it was pretty lucky.

Did you know at that time, that you’d got the score?

No. I didn’t know. I figured it was a pretty good score but I didn’t think it was a 9, and I didn’t know what he got, I just knew that his wave was a bit smaller and probably wasn’t going to allow him as much. He was paddling for it and he was going ‘You gonna use priority?’ and I went ‘I will if I have to.’ And he said are you gonna use it on this one? And I went ‘No, you go.’ I knew there was a bigger one behind it, so he went that one and I got the next one.

So, in the last minutes of the final it was just, ‘Oh no, you go’ …

Yeah, but I knew there was a better one behind it. I could have blocked him. I had priority, but if I had, he would have had the one behind me, so I had to make that choice. So to get back to the other question, I was on the jetski going back out and there was a minute to go. At that point I didn’t know if I had the score. We couldn’t hear a thing, the jetski riders were giving us our scores. And I had like a minute, so I’m going ‘Gotta get back out – go go go’ – and he - the ski guy - was just cruising. I don’t know if he knew I had the score or not, but then I jumped off the ski and was paddling and he calls out ‘ 9.2’ or whatever it was, and that was it. I just paddled over and caught one in and that was the end of the heat. That’s when I knew, when he gave me the score.

Was it a good feeling?

Yeah. When I was coming in … you know it was a bit of a monkey off my back, cos I’ve always been … plenty of people say I’m a small wave guy - if the waves are small I’m going to win the contest, cos I’m small. So to win it in good bigger waves, that was the whole feeling for me – ‘There you go, I can do it’. I knew I could do it, Steen knew I could do it, he was telling me every day, but I felt like half the people didn’t know I could do it in decent waves.

The small wave guy.

Yeah, me and Albert. The small wave guys, we’ve always been told that. So to get us at 1 and 2 in good surf, that’s where that thing ends I reckon.

That’s crazy, isn’t it.

Well we just don’t have contests in bigger waves. People aren’t out filming, so you don’t see much footage of kneeboarding, so when people see us surf, they just see us at contests, so they just go ‘these guys are’ …  there’s heaps of footage of me online at Pipe - it’s only 4ft, it’s not big.

So. what’s big? There are waves around here that get up to like twenty feet. That’s huge.

I’m not surfing that! That’s big. I think there’s calling someone a small wave guy and calling someone a big wave guy, I’m neither of those – I’m just a guy! I’m happy at 6 to 8 feet, unless it’s heaving on dry rock, but if it’s safe like that was, it’s good. But I’m not kneeboarding waves over ten foot, it’s just too bouncy on the knees. I’ve had some days out around here when it’s been ten foot and I’m just bouncing! It’s gotta be super clean or you just bounce off. And that’s only fun for people watching from the rocks. 

Given the logistical hurdles - access to a quality surf break at the right time of year, an adequate waiting period, the availability of qualified judges, (including enough to run a workable priority system), internet access, video cameras and operators for a live feed, commentators, food trucks, merchandise, PAs, press and promotion - do you think it will be possible to produce a contest of this quality in future? Will it happen again at J-Bay? 

There was talk of it, but I think we only got to have it (at J-Bay) this year because they didn’t run the WSL contest there. It was the best winter they’ve had in 60 years. I’ve never seen so many teeth at a kneeboard contest, ever. Everyone was smiling. Even the sun came out. 

Maybe 2024 at J-Bay will forever stand alone as the year it all came together. Whatever happens from now on, one thing is certain: every World Title contest is going to be judged by a new standard, and that goes for the surfing too. Who are the next generation moving into the top ranks?

Owen Fairweather, Liam Taurens and Tom Novakov, although Tom is hardly a newcomer. Tom looked like the one to beat. On a righthand point like that … I was quite impressed with him, he came out at Supers one day and he was killing it - good style, good bloke in the water too, not all frantic and carrying on upsetting people, he just cruises. Owen’s the one though, he’s just 18. He’s the next big thing for sure. I don’t think you’d find anyone who’d argue with that.

So the NSW south coast’s long-standing dominance of kneeboarding might be coming to an end? 

It’s hard to say. Owen’s just one guy, but there seem to be quite a few kneeloes in Victoria, just underground dudes jumping out when there’s a swell. You always see someone out at Bells and Winkipop when you see video of the big swells. 

When we look at kneeboarding’s future we tend to despair at the lack of new young blood adopting the low centre of gravity approach. What’s your take on it?

Theres not a heap around, but we’re still ticking over, aren’t we? I don’t think it’s as big an issue as everyone carries on about. A lot of guys start kneeboarding when they’re 30, 35, for one reason or another, probably injury, ha ha! I think for kids, it’s not cool. When you’re a kid, you just want to be cool, everyone’s just doing what their mates are doing, no-one wants to stand out.

Your two boys are pretty keen and competent surfers, but they stand up, right?

They kneel on their surfboards all the time. They might stand up on 5 or 10 waves, then they’ll kneel on a couple - they love it. I probably stand up 50% of the time, I reckon, so they see that I’m not just a kneeboarder, I can stand up too, and they probably think, ’Oh, maybe I can do both.’ I surfed bodyboards till I was about 17, and then slowly moved over to fulltime kneeling. I’ve always stood up on the kneeboard, but now I’ve got a couple of surfboards that I’ll take out quite regularly … on smaller days. If it’s good, I’m on the kneeboard.

Which makes you a bit weird, but a World Champion. A weird World Champion.

Yeah, I’m happy to be weird, but I don’t like that world champion thing. THAT’S weird, I reckon, that we have a world champion. I dunno. People congratulate me on winning this, but …  it’s a funny one. I went in a contest. It’s not like a tour. The stand-up guys have their tour, we have just one event. I just won a contest and suddenly I’m world champion. I’m not the best kneeboarder in the world, Simon Farrer is. Someone will say ‘Chayne won the world title, he’s the best kneelo in the world’ and I’ll say ‘No I’m not. I won a contest’. Thats what I’m trying to get at. I don’t think I’m the best kneeboarder in the world.

Will Simon always be the best in your opinion?

Yeah. He’s the one I most looked up to in the water as a kid, he’s still the one I look up to in the surf now, probably. He doesn’t look like he’s slowing down either.

It makes a world of difference to have a competition with good waves where you can see the best surfers at the peak of their ability. The best surfing in the world: that’s what you want to see in the World Championship. That has to be good for the sport. Do you think of it as a sport like that, or is it just a thing that you do?

It's a thing I like to do … but if it’s competition, I guess it is a sport.  If I were to grab my gear now and go for a surf, I wouldn’t consider it going to play sport. I’m just going and doing what I enjoy doing, but then as soon as you put a rash vest on and you have judges and what not … it’s a sport.

You were saying before that Albert’s the ultimate strategic surfer - the heat IQ thing - yet here you’ve come ahead of him with your approach, which is completely different. Not just your style, but your contest strategy. You have any thoughts on that?

I think the main difference between Albert and me is that I’m big on wave choice. I’m big on getting the best two waves in the heat whereas Albert will just catch whatever comes his way and rip the shit out of it. My strategy is to wait, get the best two waves in the heat and that allows me to surf them better because they’re better waves.

When you’re free surfing is he the same?

Mm-hmm A wave will be coming, and he’ll go ‘Are you going this, its your turn?’ and I’ll go ‘I’m not going that, it’s shit’. And he’ll turn round and get it and it might be shit but he’ll make it look good anyway. When we surf together, I’ll probably catch half the waves that he’ll catch, cos I’m waiting for the good ones, Albert spends a lot of time catching shitty ones. It’s the same in a heat.

So J-Bay really worked to your advantage because it let your style come to the fore. Just the way you time your turns and flow through critical positions. Obviously, style is just one element in the judging criteria, but your approach - concentrating on just riding the wave, that’s who you are as a surfer and it really worked for you in that contest.

I think when it comes to a good wave it is a lot about style. It's definitely the best win of my life, for sure, but by a long shot. All things considered, the fact that it was probably the greatest contest we’ve had since I’ve been doing it, with the organisation, the live feed, the jetskis, the judges, the priority judges, just everything. That contest had everything, and it had good waves as well. All the guys were there.

And to come out on top, it must fill your heart with pride. Your cup must be runnething over.

Yeah, 100%. And again, it fills my heart with pride and I hope it fills my kids hearts with pride. My youngest just had to do a speech yesterday. They had to choose a country to go to, and he chose South Africa. Never been there, never talked about going there, but he said ‘Dad just won a comp in South Africa’ in his speech, so that’s pretty cool. I reckon if they ran another one there in 4 years’ time they’d be coming with me.

It may not be there, it might be … I just hope they can continue with the venue choice, that they pick the right places.

Yeah, that’s probably the number one most important thing. If you get the right venue the rest of it just comes. The people will come! Like I said, me and Simon particularly weren’t going to go, but … it was at Jeffreys Bay, so we went.

Rob Harwood Legless.tv

Pics: Steen Barnes @16images

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: August 29, 2012

Lyrics:

Hey Macklemore? can we go thrift shopping?

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

What, what, what, what

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I, I, I'm hunting, looking for a come-up

This is fucking awesome

Nah walk up to the club like, what up, I got a big cock!

I'm just pumped, just bought some shit from the thrift shop

Ice on the fringe, it's so damn frosty

The people like, Damn! That's a cold ass honkey.

Rollin' in, hella deep, headin' to the mezzanine

Dressed in all pink, 'cept my gator shoes, those are green

Draped in a leopard mink, girls standin' next to me

Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly's sheets

(Piss)

But shit, it was ninety-nine cents! (Bag it) Coppin' it, washin' it

'Bout to go and get some compliments

Passin' up on those moccasins someone else's been walkin' in them

Bummy and grungy, f*ck it man, I am stuntin' and flossin' and

And savin' my money and I'm hella happy that's a bargain, bitch

I'ma take your grandpa's style, I'ma take your grandpa's style

No for real ask your grandpa can I have his hand-me-downs?

(Thank you) Velour jumpsuit and some house slippers

Dookie brown leather jacket that I found diggin'

They had a broken keyboard, I bought a broken keyboard

I bought a skeet blanket, and then I bought a kneeboard

Hello, hello, my ace man, my Miller

John Wayne ain't got nothing on my fringe game, hell no

I could take some Pro Wings, make them cool, sell those

The sneaker heads would be like Aw, he got the Velcros

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I, I, I'm hunting, looking for a come-up

This is fucking awesome

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I, I, I'm hunting, looking for a come-up

This is fucking awesome

(Goodwill, poppin' tags, yeah!)

What you know about rockin' a wolf on your noggin?

What you knowin' about wearin' a fur fox skin?

I'm digging, I'm digging, I'm searching right through that luggage

One man's trash, that's another man's come up

Thank your granddad for donating that plaid button-up shirt

'Cause right now I'm up in her skirt

I'm at the Goodwill, you can find me in the (Uptons)

I'm that, I'm that sucker searchin' in that section (Uptons)

Your grammy, your aunty, your momma, your mammy

I'll take those flannel zebra jammies, second-hand, I rock that motherfucker

The built-in onesie with the socks on that motherfucker

I hit the party and they stop in that motherfucker

They be like, Oh, that Gucci. That's hella tight

I'm like, Yo that's fifty dollars for a T-shirt

Limited edition, let's do some simple addition

Fifty dollars for a T-shirt, that's just some ignorant bitch (Shit)

I call that getting swindled and pimped (Shit)

I call that getting tricked by a business

That shirt's hella dope

And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don't

Peep game, come take a look through my telescope

Trying to get girls from a brand? Then you hella won't

Then you hella won't

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I, I, I'm hunting, looking for a come-up

This is fucking awesome

I wear your granddad's clothes

I look incredible

I'm in this big ass coat

From that thrift shop down the road

I wear your granddad's clothes

I look incredible

I'm in this big ass coat

From that thrift shop down the road

Is that your grandma's coat?

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I, I, I'm hunting, looking for a come-up

This is fucking awesome

Songwriter:

Ben Haggerty, Ryan Scott Lewis

SongFacts:

👉📖

[yachtchartergal]

🚩Our clients love Capt. Nik aboard 54’ Catamaran LOCATION! Today they said, “We would sail again with him for sure!”. It’s time to introduce his talented Chef/First Mate Lily Davison! Enjoy clips of her arriving at the yacht in The Bahamas and her beautiful cuisine! When it comes to Lily’s creativity in the kitchen, she enjoys incorporating fresh local ingredients and loves immersing herself in culture. She has signature dishes that are heavily influenced by her travels to Mexico, Italy, and Spain. Lily isn't afraid to merge local, sometimes exotic ingredients into her dishes which makes her style unique, and allows her an ever expanding & exciting menu. 

 * 10 ft. floating dock * Wakeboard / Kneeboard / Ski Tube * Subwing * Floats / Noodles * 2 Sea scooters * Trolling, casting, pole spear * Floating Mats * Beach Games * Underwater Camera * Fusion 3 Zone Bluetooth Enabled Sound System * Washer/Dryer Onboard * Sleeps 8 Guests in 4 Ensuite Queen Cabins 

🚩Brochure, Availability & Rates: https://bit.ly/SailingLocation 

🚩Learn More: https://www.YachtCharters.Guru #yachtcharter #catamarancharter #vacation #travel #yachting #chef #foodie #cuisine

[evasionkohtao]

Let us make your experience on the island unforgettable.

Evasion Koh Tao - Water Sports

Contact us today on WhatsApp to book any of our trips, tours or rentals.

Or visit us at our Shop in Sariee

We are open from 10am to 6.30pm everyday.

We offer the following activities and rentals listed below plus much, much more!

SUP rentals

Snorkeling gear rental starting at 75 THB per day.

E-bikes 300THB day(special rates for long term rental)

Bicycles 150THB per day(special rates weekly/monthly)

Wakeboarding/kneeboarding, waterskiing and banana/donut/Superman rides

Starting at 1500THB

DPV rental 500 for 30 minutes

1500 per day.

Kayak 1,2 and 3 persons starting at 200THB per hour (special price for all day)

Kitesurfing rental and courses(seasonal May/June -September/October)

Skim board 100THB per hour

Scuba Diving Courses

Try dives

Open Water Courses

Advanced Open Water

Camera Rental- 4k with underwater housing and selfie stick - 500THB

[nekopuff]

Hey, Macklemore, can we go thrift shopping?

What-what, what, what?

What-what, what, what?

What-what, what, what?

What-what, what, what? (Da)

What-what, what, what? (Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

What-what, what, what? (Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

What-what, what, what? (Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

What-what, what, what? (Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

(Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

(Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

(Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

(Da-dum, ba-dum, ba-da-do-da)

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I'm, I'm, I'm huntin', lookin' for a come up

This is fucking awesome (now)

Walk up to the club like, "What up, I got a big cock"

Nah, I'm just pumped, I bought some shit from a thrift shop

Ice on the fringe is so damn frosty

The people like, "Damn, that's a cold-ass honkey"

Rollin' in hella deep, headed to the mezzanine

Dressed in all pink, 'cept my gator shoes, those are green

Draped in a leopard mink, girls standin' next to me

Probably should've washed this, smells like R. Kelly's sheets

(Piss)

But shit, it was ninety-nine cents (bag it)

Coppin' it, washin' it, 'bout to go and get some compliments

Passin' up on those moccasins someone else has been walkin' in

Bummy and grungy, fuck it, man, I am stuntin' and flossin'

And savin' my money and I'm hella happy that's a bargain, bitch

I'ma take your grandpa's style, I'ma take your grandpa's style

No, for real, ask your grandpa, can I have his hand-me-downs? (Thank you)

Velour jumpsuit and some house slippers

Dookie-brown leather jacket that I found diggin'

They had a broken keyboard, I bought a broken keyboard

I bought a skeet blanket, then I bought a kneeboard

Hello, hello, my ace man, my mellow

John Wayne ain't got nothing on my fringe game, hell no

I could take some Pro Wings, make 'em cool, sell those

The sneaker heads'll be like "Ah, he got the Velcros"

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I'm, I'm, I'm huntin', lookin' for a come up

This is fucking awesome

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I'm, I'm, I'm huntin', lookin' for a come up

This is fucking awesome

What you know about rockin' a wolf on your noggin?

What you knowin' about wearin' a fur fox skin?

I'm diggin', I'm diggin', I'm searchin' right through that luggage

One man's trash, that's another man's come up

Thank your grandad for donatin' that plaid button-

Up shirt 'cause right now, I'm up in here stuntin'

I'm at the Goodwill, you can find me in the bins

I'm not, I'm not stuck on searchin' in that section (men's)

Your grammy, your auntie, your mama, your mammy

I'll take those flannel zebra jammies second hand and rock that, motherfucker

The built-in onesie with the socks on that motherfucker

I hit the party and they stop in that motherfucker

They be like, "Oh, that Gucci? That's hella tight"

I'm like, "Yo, that's fifty dollars for a T-shirt"

Limited edition, let's do some simple addition

Fifty dollars for a T-shirt, that's just some ignorant bitch shit

I call that getting swindled and pimped shit

I call that getting tricked by a business

That shirt's hella dope

And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don't

Peep game, come take a look through my telescope

Tryna get girls from a brand? Man, you hella won't

Man, you hella won't

Goodwill

Poppin' tags, yeah

I'm gonna pop some tags

Only got twenty dollars in my pocket

I'm, I'm, I'm huntin', lookin' for a come up

This is fucking awesome