Sunday, May 2, 2010

Smacksy Sunday Link: Laird


I grew up in Santa Cruz, a surf town in Northern California. We lived close to the water and surfing was everywhere. The surf report was on the radio every morning and surfing was a P.E. elective at our high school. I spent long days at the beach. I went to surf movies with my friends at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and spent most of those evenings ducking the Frisbees that flew through the air. Surf culture was fascinating and inescapable.

I don’t surf. I don’t even swim.

I still love to watch surfing. I am particularly drawn to big wave riding. Big wave surfers are towed out on their boards by boat or jet-ski to waves that are too large to paddle to, waves that can be as many as 70ft high. It’s an extremely dangerous sport and breathtaking to watch. This link is a compilation from the documentary Laird, a film about Laird Hamilton, a big wave riding legend. Watching this is thrilling and never ceases to give me a small anxiety attack.

All early model Volkswagons still look naked to me without surf racks.

9 comments:

  1. I found that breathing helped keep the panic at bay. Wow!

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  2. I LOVE this and all surfing. It's my favorite sport to watch. And not just because those guys are Hotty McHottingstiens. Or because I get weak kneed just looking at a wetsuit. Or because surfers are hot!!!.......

    I'm signing off now.

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  3. AWWWWWWWWWWESSSSSSOOOOOMMMMMMME!!!!!!!! KILLER SUNDAY LINK, DUDE.

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  4. I love that description: old vw beetles look naked with a surfracks to me.

    Makes me wish I grew up in Cali.

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  5. I only got about a minute into it before I had felt like I had enough - it was making me so nervous. But I watched the whole thing. I wanted to see how he gets out of there - does he always pop back over the back of the wave or does he surf all the way in? I have to know?

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  6. I don't know how surfers do it. I would be PETRIFIED.

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  7. It is my ultimate dream to live by on the coast and photograph the surf culture. I'm only 40 minutes away from SC but it's not close enough...

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  8. I am petrified by the power of the ocean. What he does is death defying.

    Have you seen the Sundance Channel Iconoclast series with him and Eddie Vedder? http://www.sundancechannel.com/iconoclasts/#/episode/210227772

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  9. I don't surf either (and that has nothing to do with the Montreal-living I do) because it freaks me out, but I LOVE watching me some big-wave surfing too... it's killah. Love. It. (Have you seen "Riding Giants" - you must, if you haven't.) I love Laird. And Gabrielle. They're the tallest, and most perfect-looking people in the world - it's weird.

    Le sigh. Thanks for that link. Gorgeous all around. Wowza!!

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