This pas week in the Italian boot - I'm back!!

Yes, I am back, and yes, I managed to visit a couple of beaches during this last 5 days in Italy and there were waves (and surfers). I saw a core scene, with good, dedicated and well travelled surfers and hardcore shops. Here are a few photos (click on them if they are too small):

Ostia, one of the closest beaches to Rome, on Wednesday. The swell was too small but they managed to hold a regional contest the next day. Apparently the quality of the waves is not great, but it’s where most of Rome surfs.

Forte di Marmi, in Tuscany, close to Viareggio and where surfing in Italy started more than 20 years ago. These days this wave off the pier is only surfed when it’s a bit bigger. With a small swell the guys surf another beach further North, that delivers better shaped waves.

And this is the view from the line up, with the beach ready to welcome the summer hordes (it was raining) and the beautiful mountains in the background.

Has the olo/alaia craze arrived to Italy too?

No, just a piece of wood with a surf board shape next to a surfshop. Although…

Thursday evening in Santa Marinella, near Civitavecchia, close to Rome and the home of one of the most famous surf spots in Italy: Banzai. One guy gets back to his car after an afternoon session.

It was a bit windy but there were some bits here and there. Taken from the car at full speed.

Some funny beach shacks on stilts in Santa Marinella.

This is, to me, what marks the difference between a core surf shop and a “I’m here for the money only” surf shop: Photos of local waves and guys on the walls. Banzai Surf Shop in Santa Marinella.

Briefly:
(1) I finished the last Surf Europe magazine. Some years ago it used to be good overall: good photos and fun to read. The level of the writing has been going down at full speed in the last couple of years, and lately the photos are less and less inspiring... unless you are close family of the 2 or 3 surfers that the magazine keeps focusing on ad nauseam, issue after issue.

(2) Many social events this coming weekend, and I am going to miss everything because of family commitments:
(a) This weekend the European Fish Fry takes place in Costa Caparica (Lisbone – Portugal).
(b) Also on Saturday, the cool guys of Kuntiqi are opening their shop near Somo (Santander) at 18h. I’d love to go and check their balsa boards.
(c) As I announced in my last entry, also on Saturday Ritxy Goya opens his photo exhibition at the Soul shop, as part of the Surfilm Festibal. There’ll be beers.
(d) And finally Nacho González will also be exhibiting his art at the Café Dam in Gijón.

Nacho with some of his art.

(3) Not only Joel Tudor, but turns out that Alex Knost will also be at the Salinas Longboard Festival on August 1, 2 and 3.

A couple of interesting updates in the Surfilm Festibal’s blog. Check them out.

On Monday I’ll let you know what were the waves like here in the Bay during my trip. And as i've been mostly writing about the Med in this entry, i can't resist adding this little video. It's filmed & edited by Lucas G., a cool guy (and good friend) from Barcelona, my hometown for many years, and it shows the thrilling local longboarding scene featuring, among others, Didac. Don't be fooled: the waves are not this good everyday!

Over & out.

This past week in the Bay – little waves, fun people & cheap talk!!

What a flat week it's been!! Since the weekend of May the 1st that there hasn’t been a proper swell in the Bay (unlike outside the Bay, as proved by the waves I got last week –see tag on the road-). Let’s hope it’s not the sign of things to come.

(It's been like this for weeks)

The silly season is just around the corner and some events are waking up the beaches, nooks and crannies of the Bay after the long, quiet and wonderful fall and winter (sigh). But let me tell a little story about a friend who has been visiting the Bay this week. His name is Didac and he is the shaper/glasser/polisher/painter and owner of Montjuich Surfboards, a little brand that makes vintage boards (pre 1982) only based near Barcelona, on the Med coast.

(Didac after-surf)

It turns out that some years ago Didac was a big fan of the late Miki Dora and his attitude towards life, surfing, crowds, etc… and created a Church dedicated to spreading the word of Dora. He even printed some little cards that he would give away (or sell) to people. One summer night in Biarritz a slightly drunk Didac was on his way to his van when he ran into Joel Tudor, who was in town for some Longboard contest. Didac approached Joel and after introducing himself, he gave him one of his Dora cards. Now, those of you who have watched the acclaimed One California Day movie will remember that the film takes us into Joel Tudor’s home in California, and… what can we see pinned on one wall in his living room? Didac’s Dora-card!!

(Didac's Dora card)

So anyway, Didac was here this week and we had a couple of surfs after work at some reefbreaks in Guéthary. Guéthary was also one of the favourite places of Dora when in France, and they’ve got a little plaque in his honous on a bench he used to sit to check the waves.

("Dedicated to Miklos Sandor Dora...")

One day I took Didac to Esteve Rosés’ place. Esteve is a Catalan surfer who has spent most of his life in Guéthary. He is cited a couple of times in Les Tontons Surfeurs, a book about the French surfing pioneers, as he started surfing right after them, and has held (and still does) several jobs within the surf industry. Esteve is also the publisher of the first free Spanish surf newspaper, Surf Time and still finds time to run a brand new surfshop (hardcore goods only) right next to his house.

(Last Surf Time's cover)

When I informed Esteve that Didac was in town, he wanted to meet him to discuss the possibility of stocking some of his boards in the shop. At the same time, we got the opportunity to study Esteve’s first board, a 40 year old beauty.

(Esteve, Didac & 40 year old board)

Talking about Joel Tudor: this week we found out that he will be attending the Salinas Longboard Festival in early August. This Festival, now in its 6th or 7th year, is always held during the first weekend of August at this popular beach near Gijon (Asturias). Besides the contest (open to everyone with a log and a nice attitude) there are tons of good friendly vibes, some barbeques, concerts and movies in the open air. If you want to spend a weekend with over a hundred friendly longboarders, this is where you should go. Some of the top European surfers (Spaniards, French, Portuguese and Brits) have entered the contest in the last couple of years, but one thing most of the regulars remember is the visit of a world class longboard such as Beau Young a couple of years ago. Beau came to surf, jam and enjoy himself and lots of Salinas regulars still remember his visit as one of the highlights of the Festival… if not of their lives!! It is fair to assume that Joel’s visit this year will reach, at least, the same level of stokedness. All the longboarding blogs and forums are full of it, and I have never seen so many grown up men behaving like teenage fans like that before... three months before the Festival!!! I wouldn’t be surprised if by the Sunday evening Tudor has a tired wrist and some sore cheekbones from all the smiling, hand shaking, autograph signing and photo posing that he will have to endure. Oh well!!

(One of the traditions of the Salinas Festival is to have a group photo)

Let’s go shorter: This week the O’Neill The Mission – somewhere in France event started. For the last two years, O’Neill had invited the top four surfers of the O’Neill Highland WQS plus some some O’Neill wildcards to a luxury cruise around French Polynesia where they held a free surfing contest in which the competitors were also the judges. This year the budget for this event has somehow shrunk and the luxury cruise boat has been turned into some rental motor homes and the perfect waves of Tahiti into the flat waves of France during one of the traditionally flattest months of the year. Maybe after all signing Jordy Smith was quite expensive.

Warning: If you intend to visit Les Landes during the coming weeks, be aware that the ISA World Junior Championship will be held in the area from May the 24th to June the 6th. There will be plenty of testosterone filled young guns with amazing water skills.

Cheap talk: Lewis Samuels and Surfline have done it again. It seems that provocation is the only weapon they have to attract web traffic. Shame on them. What was presented as a honest review of the WCT Top 45 surfers has turned into a "got an e-mail from Kelly Slater and all the non american surfers are lame" kind of gibberish. Please bring back Derek Hynd's reviews; at least he had walked the walk before talking the talk. Saddest note of the week by far.

And to end it all some photos from this week’s action (or lack of thereof):

(Monday - Pantín - Dani)

(Thursday - Salinas - Jaider)


(Today - SW France - the 2 reefs in action)

(Today - after surf sunset - no photoshop)

Over & out.