Pete Thomas Outdoors

Body of surfer recovered with possible shark bites at Pacific Beach; case is somewhat mysterious

The body of a 42-year-old surfer recovered by lifeguards early Thursday at Pacific Beach had wounds consistent with a shark attack.

However, if there were shark bites on the body, they could have been inflicted after the man had drowned.

The case is somewhat mysterious.

The surfer, a local, was reported missing by his fiancee late Wednesday. 

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a lifeguard saw the surfer at about 7:30 p.m. from his tower about a half-mile away. He did not seem to be in distress.

At about the same time a 911 call was placed by a person on the beach concerned about the surfer, who was several hundred yards offshore.

A multi-agency search was unsuccessful but a person walking along the beach at 3:30 a.m. Thursday found the unclothed body. The body was later recovered but the identity of the surfer has not been revealed pending notification of the next of kin.

Before the body was recovered, lifeguard Lt. John Everhart said, a surfboard was found with a wetsuit attached to it, also several hundred yards offshore.

Everhart told the Los Angeles Times that initial evidence suggests that the man had drowned before a shark attack occurred.

"There are a lot of unknowns," he said.

Wedding plans in works for celebrity surfer Bethany Hamilton

The big news in surfing this week has nothing to do with riding waves and everything to do with wedding bells.

Bethany Hamilton, the celebrity athlete whose life story was made into the 2011 feature film, "Soul Surfer," has found her soul mate and the two plan to get married this summer.

As reported Monday by GrindTv.com, the Hamilton family did not announce the engagement. But Bethany and Adam (no last name provided) used her Facebook page and website to reveal the happy news.

Bethany, 23, who 10 years ago lost her left arm to a shark while surfing near her home on Kauai, posted on Facebook: "One year ago today, I met an amazing man, now we will spend the rest of our lives together and I'm so excited! I love you Adam!"

The two met met through Bethany's church on Kauai. A date has not been set but Becky Hamilton, Bethany's sister and personal assistant, said the two plan to be married this summer.

"I know Adam and I are right for each other and that God has us together for Him," Bethany wrote. "Neither of us is perfect, but in my eyes Adam is just right and I'm thankful to have someone so perfectly perfect to share life with as one."

Adam also posted his sentiments on Bethany's website.

"Right away I could tell she was pretty cool (I mean she jumped a 40-foot cliff into the ocean with me!)," he wrote. "She's down to earth, and I could tell she understood my heart for the Lord and others; I saw her heart as well.

"After hanging out several more times, I felt in my heart that I would like to pursue a relationship with her. On the beautiful Na Pali coast I told Bethany what was on my heart and asked if it was OK to pursue a meaningful closer relationship with her. On accident she said, 'I do!' Haha with a quick, 'I mean yes!' "

The wedding ceremony will be held on Kauai.

--Top image shows Bethany Hamilton with her husband-to-be. Second image shows Hamilton surfing at the Mentawai Islands. Courtesy of Noah Hamilton

Surfing's five most harrowing wipeouts of the year revealed

To all the budding surfers out there who aspire to challenge themselves at Maverick's, Jaws or some ungodly place in Australia called The Right, we share five examples why that might not be such a great idea.

The accompanying video contains footage showing what are deemed the five most savage wipeouts of the past 12 months (video is posted below).

I'd choose either the last clip, involving Chris Shanahan (top image), or the first, involving Brett Burcher.

Both were pummeled unmercifully at The Right, and as viewers can see, the wave is a vicious monster. 

 

Shanahan would definitely win if this were a free-fall competition, and Burcher probably is still having nightmares about his ragdoll-style, over-the-falls body slam.

They're among many elite surfers participating in the yearlong Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, which will be announced on May 3 at a ceremony at The Grove theater in Anaheim.

Premier categories are Ride of the Year, Best Overall Performance (men and women) and Biggest Wave.

Surfers do not aspire to end up in the Wipeout of the Year category, of course, but most enjoy the ribbing they receive during the awards party.

This year, for the first time in contest history, the public can vote on which surfer endured the most humbling spill.  Will it be Burcher or Shanahan? Or will Joao de Macedo, Tom Dosland or Axi Muniain shine red-faced in the XXL spotlight?

I'm still trying to decide between Shanahan and Burcher.

--Pete Thomas

--Photo showing Chris Shanahan's frightening free-fall is via Darren McCagh/Billabong XXL

Skimboarder jumps over the sun in amazing photo sequence

The photo sequence atop this post speaks for itself: Skimboarder Bill Bryan is depicted as jumping over the sun during a recent session in large shore-pounding surf.

Photographer Robbie Crawford shared the sequence Monday on his Facebook page with a vague caption that reads: "Not many people can jump over the sun… But Bill Bryan can…"

As of Wednesday afternoon it had been shared more than 350 times.

Because people might be curious about the location and technical aspects of this photo session, I asked Crawford to share some details and here's his response:

"The photo was taken in Laguna Beach at one of the heavier shorebreak spots in California. I shot this image with a GoPro HD2 on 10 shot in 1-second burst mode.

"I had been working with Bill Bryan a lot over a couple months and we were coming up with some pretty cool angles. On this particular evening the tide was rising and there was starting to be a really heavy surge where head high waves would break just feet from shore.

"As the sun was setting I said to Bill he should try to jump the sun. So I set up with the sun directly in front of me and Bill Bryan being the amazing athlete that he is did it on his first or second try. He's one talented human."

--Pete Thomas

--Note: Find Robbie Crawford and Bill Bryan on Instagram

Kelly Slater, 41, surfs to victory in season's first WCT contest

It seems like years ago when people were saying Kelly Slater ought to just retire from pro surfing and leave the world tour to younger athletes. That his heart was no longer into competing, which is something even he occasionally acknowledged.

This was before he won his 10th and 11th world titles, when he still had nothing to prove because it was and remains extremely doubtful that anyone else will win or come close to winning nine titles.

But now, at 41 and somehow still looking dominant, Slater ought to keep going. See just how far into his 40s he can outsurf and out-think his opponents in a fiercely competitive sport that demands physical and mental prowess.

On Wednesday, in three- to five-foot surf, Slater won the first of 10 contests on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour, putting him in the driver's seat on a quest for title No. 12.

In the final he defeated Joel Parkinson, 31, who last season won his first world title, in the Quiksilver Gold Coast Pro in Queensland, Australia.

More important for Slater and his many fans, he proclaimed, "I'm committed to the tour this season."

This is great news because Slater is almost always the top story line. And as long as he keeps winning or posting high finishes, the youngest and oldest person to have won world titles becomes a bigger story with each year that passes, and with each event he wins.

Slater seemed boosted by the fact that two of the tour's older veterans, Parkinson and Mick Fanning (both 31), finished ahead of the many 20-somethings who are regarded as phenoms and future world champions.

Slater beat Fanning in a dramatic and close semifinal, 19.37 to 18.60.

"It's a tough way to go out but you can't be too upset when you put together a heat like that," Fanning said afterward. I had a really good start and put in some solid scores. Kelly just did his 'Kelly Thing' and got that incredible [perfect 10] and really put himself back in the hunt."

Slater said it was nice to get off to a good start but added: "Momentum shifts throughout each season and a lot can happen. It's probably the most talented field that has ever been on tour and there are nine more events."

That may be, but the oldest surfer on the tour is still clearly the best who has ever donned a competition jersey.

--Photos of Kelly Slater surfing and celebrating with Joel Parkinson are courtesy of ASP/Robertson and ASP/Kirstin

Killer whales join surfers in lineup off British Columbia

 

What do you get when you place killer whales, sea lions and surfers into the same small parcel of ocean?

Watch the video and see that you get killer whales that may or may not sense an easy meal (sea lions), very frightened sea lions (they are not jumping for joy), and some visibly nervous surfers, including at least one who decided it was smarter to watch the scene play out from shore.

The footage, captured at what looks like a pretty decent surf spot off Tofino, British Columbia, was uploaded Monday by Adam Chilton, who did not respond to a YouTube message requesting more information.

But those are transient killer whales, which prey largely on marine mammals such as sea lions. And those are some brave surfers, even though killer whales have never been known to attack humans in the wild.

--Note: The video was shortened by 45 seconds for the sake of brevity. Click here to watch the full version.

Mentawais' reefs jeopardized by bomb-throwing fishermen

Fishermen have often joked, after hours of not catching anything, that they wished they had some dynamite. But in the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, fishing with explosives is no joke: This practice, carried out illegally by visiting fishermen aboard skiffs, is destroying precious reefs that are critical to the health of the marine ecosystem.

The reefs also are important for a tourism industry supported largely by surfers, who visit because of the perfect waves that break over the reefs, but also because of the pristine nature of the region. (See video footage posted below.)

(Note: A version of this post also appears on the GrindTv.com Outdoor blog.)

But for the past several weeks the serenity has been shattered.

"For over a month now, the Playgrounds area has had at least three boats bombing our reefs every day," the owner of a surf resort told Surfer magazine, referring to a popular surfing spot."When the weather is good, they can do more than five cycles of bombing and collecting the dead fish in a day. Each cycle is between five to eight bombs. Calculating a low average, we estimate more than 2,250 bombs have been exploded in our 15-mile radius area."

Complaints to local and national government agencies have fallen on deaf ears.

 

The accompanying video shows fishermen tossing bombs, which send water cascading skyward, and a silhouetted man stepping forth repeatedly to complain about the lack of any type of response by a government that seems too preoccupied by other matters to deal with this issue.

If this level of destruction continues, of course, it will be devastating for local fisheries, the marine environment, and surfing-related tourism.

"Every time the surf season ends these guys descend," Jess Ponting, director of the Center for Surf Research at San Diego State University, told Surfer. "It seems more concentrated this year, but perhaps they are just working closer to the surf resorts, or perhaps there are now more surf resorts, where people see it and are horrified by it."

Ponting added that the fishermen doing the most damage are not locals trying to find food for their families, but commercial fishermen from the Sumatran mainland more than 100 miles away, making the situation more frustrating because they're inadvertently harming the local population.

Ponting says that 86 percent of Indonesia's reefs are threatened, and that most will be dead by 2020 if the current rate of destruction continues.

Surfer quoted another surf camp owner as saying: "Although we have called every agency possible, nothing has been done and the boats are still operating as we speak. The goal is to help Indonesians feel strongly about protecting their waters from bomb boats, and nudge them into action. Time is against us. Please spread the word."

A petition has been established and those who care about the people of the Mentawais and the marine environment are encouraged to sign.

For more on this issue, visit Surfer magazine

--Photo: Skiff fishermen at the Mentawais toss explosives to kill the fish they like to catch, but the method also destroys precious reefs and the marine ecosystem. Credit: Carter/Surfer magazine

Joel Parkinson edges Kelly Slater, wins first world surfing title

Australia's Joel Parkinson finally won a long-sought world surfing title, which he clinched Friday before winning the ASP World Championship Tour season-ending Billabong Pipe Masters.

For Parkinson, 31, a perennial high finisher on the WCT, the title was assured when Kelly Slater lost to Josh Kerr in the semifinals in four- to six-foot surf at fabled Banzai Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore.

Parkinson then defeated Kerr in the final, and was adorned with a crown that he had tried so hard to acquire over the past decade-plus.

"Consistency paid off," Parkinson said. "This is where I wanted to stand at the end of the year. This is what I’ve worked for my whole life. I can’t describe what this feels like. I’ve had runner-ups and ups-and-downs. I’ve been to hell and back and it makes this so much sweeter. All the love from Hawaii and Australia and over the world, I can’t thank you all enough for supporting me."

Since finishing 21st in his rookie season in 2001, Parkinson has finished in second place four times and in fourth place two times, and also has a fifth and a sixth.

The surfer most often standing in his way was Kelly Slater, 40, who has won 11 world titles and was Parkinson's only rival for the title entering the 1oth and final WCT contest.

Slater finished second in the rankings. Longtime veteran and former world champion Mick Fanning was third, and rising star John John Florence finished fourth.

--Images of Joel Parkinson in action and celebrating on the beach are courtesy of ©ASp/Cestari, and @ASP/Kirstin, respectively

Surfing dolphins stage aerial performance off Orange County

 

Bottlenose dolphins seem to enjoy surfing as much as their human counterparts, as they are regulars in small waves generated by boats.

And like many of today's younger surfers, dolphins also like to perform aerial maneuvers when conditions allow.

The accompanying footage, captured Thursday by the crew of the Dana Pride out of Dana Wharf Whale Watch, showcases the talents of surfing dolphins off Southern California.

We hope you're impressed.

A 'life-changing' session for disabled surfer Jesse Billauer

 

In 1996, a promising young surfer named Jesse Billauer suffered a broken neck when he was shoved headfirst into a shallow sandbar. He could no longer walk and enjoyed only limited use of his hands and arms.

Fast-forward to 2012, to Chuns Reef on the North Shore of Oahu, where Billauer, a quadriplegic, is reaching the lineup on his own, and riding waves while wearing a surfer's trademark look of exuberance.

Billaur, founder of the nonprofit Life Rolls On and still a passionate surfer, is taking advantage of WaveJet propulsion technology that eliminates the need to paddle.

"That board just changed my life forever," he says in the footage.

He also enjoys the support of friends, in this case iconic surf star Rob Machado, Joel Centeio and others involved in the production of the video.

Inspirational? You be the judge.