CONTENTS

Features

46 Arctic Tales I – Polar Playground: Reeling Rights on the Barents Sea Hey, it’s just like any other surf trip. The guys stay up late the night of departure, hit the road in their camper van and make an all-night drive to the coast. Just one thing – the coast is deep inside the Arctic Circle, so almost everything is different. Almost, because the waves themselves are as inviting as any surfer could want, anywhere. Words & Photography by Peter Mustelin

52 Arctic Tales II – Beneath Veils of Alien Green: A Short Arctic Story More fun in the frozen North, this time demonstrating that

living like a native can have its advantages when you’re seeking surf on the desert-like tundra. The waves are as cool as a surfexplorer could dream of, and the accommodation, firstclass, in an über-chilled, beachside, kind of way. Words & Photography by Johan Bramberg

58 Pony Islands These little dots on the map look so lonely and cold out there in the northern North Atlantic that it’s no surprise they don’t appear on the surfing radar that much. But for those willing to make the trek to the ‘Pony Islands’, there are many mysteries to unravel. Haunted houses, tropical-blue water and white-sand beaches that confound the senses, and waves that

range from fun to frighteningly ferocious. Island hopping, Ponystyle. Words & Photography by Stuart Butler

66 Gary Young: Green Pioneer He’s been coming up with natural solutions since 1970, way before

‘green’ was good and boards began their current curve away from the toxic norm. Nowadays, he is a master of wood and a sensei in the world of bamboo boards, canoes and other ocean-motion territories normally dominated by oil. Gary Young, the original ‘Bamboo Man’, deserves to be better recognized in our world for his consistent, heroic inventiveness. Words by Mark Gray Photographs by Mark Gray, Sean Davey & the Gary Young Collection

76 The Obsession of Surfing How do we explain this addiction? How do we square our unwebbed hands with our passionate love and seemingly-genetic

longing for the ocean? Are we meant to be there? Are we preprogrammed to spend our days floating around waiting for a pulse of pleasure to pass our way? Somewhere in there, there is freedom. Somewhere, maybe, there’s even a kind of enlightenment. Searching questions on surfing and spirituality from our scientistin-chief. Words by Ricky Grigg Photography by John S. Callahan/tropicalpix

80 Liquid Storm Aaron Pierce’s Irish Perspective OK, so he’s not a pro photographer, yet. He’s a crane driver for now, but Aaron spends his spare time wisely, observing with a keen, artistic eye the revolution that continues to unfold off the violent, beautiful, majestic Irish coast. Here’s a selection that we thought conveys those qualities – both of shooter, and the subject he’s passionate about.
92 Rainsong – Winter on the Sonoma Coast It can be a cold, wet world up here at the higher end of California, where the coast runs ragged, the waves range randomly between brutal, beautiful and barely rideable, and the

fish weigh in at horrifying sizes. But all this adds up to a sublime nature experience, a relatively empty world where surfers are few and the madding crowd is most definitely absent. Observations from a slightly damp prodigal son. Words by Michael Kew Photos by Michael Kew, Chris Burkard, Jeff Chamberlain, Rocky Vannucci

102 Shortboard

Strange things can happen in Mexico. Strange things can happen when you share a bottle of tequila with a random stranger, too. This finely-woven fiction takes us to a place we’ve all dreamed of going, where the minimal pulse offers maximum momentum. On a scale of one to ten, this wave is a one. Perfecto! Words by Neil Stebbins Photography by Scotty Carter

104 Compression Sessions

These guys represent the sharpest edge of modern big-wave hunting. As a team, they’re all experts in their chosen fields, be it photography (Jason Murray) or riding enormous waves in undisclosed locations. They tow PWCs on these missions, but they’re all amped and more than capable when it comes to paddle-powered entries, too. This folio follows them on just one mission, somewhere up north, somewhere below sea level. Photography & Captions by Jason Murray

Departments

14 Editorial 16 Correspondence 18 Gallery 30 Land Sea Sky 116 Stuff I Like 121 Out Of The Blue 124 Don Redondo 130 Agree To Disagree

Cover: Young Hawaiian prince, Mason Ho, looking right at home despite his lower latitude.This is Northwest Tasmania, where O’Neill recently held one of their Coldwater Classic events. According to photographer, Sean Davey, “He was charging at Bluff Reef way harder than anyone ... taking off like 10-15 feet deeper than anyone else. He was the only guy getting pitted from take off.” Photo by Sean Davey

Contents: A golden dawn breaks over an Atlantic isle bringing dream-like possibilities to those in the know. Photo by Pacotwo