C O N T E N T S

F e a t u r e s 44A West Side Story When a giant December swell appeared on a slack winter weather map, it was battle stations for the big-wave hunters of the Pacific. These days, that means machines need oiling, planes need catching, and guns need waxing. Here is one documentarian’s record of 48 hours with some of the best on the planet – charging, in every sense of the word.

Words and photography by Jason Murray

54Red Star Brown Delta They used to call it the Sleeping Dragon, but now China’s just about wide awake. Surfing isn’t big there yet, not in terms of waves ridden anyway, so these latterday explorers had the beaches to themselves, apart from a few wedding couples, plenty of trash, and endless dumbstruck onlookers. And the sea goddess was on their side. Part I of a double feature.

Words by Nik Zanella Photography by John S Callahan/tropicalpix

66Deciding on the Right Coast A British Isles surf photographer’s job is not an easy one. You spend hours studying the weather charts, then hours more discussing them in pubs. You end up driving through the night, through hellish conditions, towards nothing more than hope and a hunch. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes you get skunked. Either way, you get cold.

Words and photography by Al Mackinnon

76Pulp Fact: A Meditation on Surfing in the Waste Stream TSP’s favorite ‘ecowarriors’ return to the land of pointbreaks and pulp mills to see what’s changed. While the waves keep pumping, so does big business – mostly paper mill poison, but some sewage, too – into the lineups and fishing grounds of a wild coastline. Three views on Chile’s wild and challenged beauty.

Words by Will Henry, James Pribram, and Nicholas Recordon Photography by Will Henry and Alfredo Escobar

84Jon Frank Portfolio He doesn’t have much to say about his shots ... except that he tries to put himself where the lighting works best. Of course, he does this with such exceptional skill and is capable of conveying such powerful emotions through his images that Jon Frank’s understatement is fair enough. His photos speak for themselves.

94South x Southwest Victoria in Southern Australia truly is another world if you’re stuck in Sydney doing junk food and working late. In fact, parts of it are so far out they’re considered beyond civilisation. But for some people this foreign land on native soil brings back memories of youthful years spent chasing wild swells that batter wild shorelines. Worth a trip if a trip is due.

Words by Brandon McAloon Photography by Jon Frank


98Desiree The challenges of a long-distance openocean paddler are truly daunting. Mostly they come in the form of physical assaults from sun, wind, and current, requiring a strong body and sound mind to prevail. But, occasionally, even the most determined can come unstuck by the awful beast of bureaucracy.

Words and photography by Susan Chaplin

102 A Bend in the Reef: Chuck Corbett’s Kiribati Equation He went in search of empty waves and – by Neptune! – he found them! Chuck Corbett has much of the tropical South Pacific all to himself, and has for years. He’s lived, sailed, fished, married, dived, and been tubed in places much of the world only dreams about. So how was it for him?

Words by Michael Kew Photography by Michael Kew, Tom Jewell, and John Breen

110 ASR2: State of the Surf Industry Have you heard? Apparently there’s an ecological crisis of some sort. Seems we’d better change the way we make things and sell things and market things to the masses. Apparently green is all the rage in the corridors of commerce. Or at least, kinda. Some big changes, some big status quos in the action sports retail world.

Words by Enrique Gili

Departments

15 Editorial

16 Correspondence

20 Gallery

32 Land Sea Sky

119 Stuff I Like

120 Out Of The Blue

124 Don Redondo

130 Agree To Disagree

2007 ASP World Tour champ Mick Fanning tucks up high and flies past deeply embedded photographer Jon Frank. Just one astounding image from a low-key trip to Tahiti by Fanning and Frank. For more, see the Jon Frank Portfolio on page 84.

Contents: Highway to heaven. A corner by the sea in Chumash territory, California. Photo: Mike Kew