Maggie Marsek has seven prints showing alongside Albe Falzon, Andrew Kidman, Jair Bortoleto and other local and international artists and shapers. Looks like great fun if you are in Brazil. More on Surfer’s Path.

Update: Sorry about misspelling your name Jair, Maggie has your back!

While it’s possible Tom Curren could have been putting on a “How To Bottom Turn” clinic somewhere, I’m pretty sure the place to be in the surf world last night was Andrew Kidman’s book signing at Shelter Surf Shop in Long Beach.

I think 1 in 3 surfers present were personally responsible for creating some kind of stoke inducing object. Richard Kenvin showed 2 film segments: one of punk rock Wind-An-Sea and one of Rasta that had everyone groaning in disbelief. I met RT from Warbles, who’s quality of person and character matches his blog. Shapers Jeff Beck from Nine Lights Surfboards and Josh Hall were there.

Slideshow and more after the jump… (more…)

You may have heard this already, but Andrew Kidman’s new book Ether is making the rounds in January. I’m going to try to make the Jan. 5th one at Shelter Surf Shop, cause I hear that place is verrr nice. Here are the rest of the dates…

During that last good south swell we had, a bro of mine flew down to the well known point break pictured below. It was quite a scene with good surf, quite a few pros out, jet skis with photographers in the lineup and the usual assortment of locals.

Everyone was enjoying the swell, lots of shredding going on, photos taken etc… when out of the blue, the Billabong Albatross buzzes over and lands in the bay inside the points. It’s important to note that the Mexican government doesn’t take kindly to seaplanes of any description landing on their coast line, as they provide way too much access to the drug cartels. As soon as the Albatross landed, the Federales stationed at the point went into a fury of action. They mounted up, powered down to the beach brandishing their machine guns, began shouting incomprehensible Spanish into a megaphone and waited for the pilot and crew to come ashore.

While the Federales were waiting on the beach, though, a jetski cruised over to the plane which promptly belched Andy Irons, ready to shred. The jetski then sped away and the plane took off, without even a wave to the Federales. The first ski met up with the other ski and they headed north to breaks unknown, photographers and pros in tow. The skis apparently didn’t come back till dark and Andy Irons left the point for the nearest 5 star hotel, which happened to be 5 hours away.

I guess that’s one way to surf the best pointbreak in Baja.

Thanks to captain Hondo for the photos and story.

Dave Rastovich is on a crusade to save Dolphins and Whales from being slaughtered for food. After a dolphin saved him from a tiger shark only days after he started Surfers For Cetaceans, why wouldn’t he be? Check the video of Rasta explaining the encounter. It’s the kind of story that makes you think that however invisible the web life is, everyone and everything is connected.

To bring awareness to the issue, he created Minds In The Water. Minds is a unique visual petition site that allows you to show support for dolphins and whales by uploading a photo of yourself holding a picture of a Cetacean. Your image then gets added to the petition gallery with Jack Johnson, Slater, Fanning, Parko, and peeps like you. (How cool would it be if you could then select individual images to make a poster of you surrounded by your favorite pros, or maybe some dolphin loving individuals of the opposite sex?)

Minds is a huge effort. A site like that costs money and takes time and heart to develop. But in the last few days, Rasta has escalated the battle, somehow managing to stay peaceful and centered in the process. Sunday he staged a celebrity filled paddle-out ceremony in the “killing cove” in Taiji, Japan. The next day he took the protest a step further and lead a smaller group into the slaughter. They were prodded with boat hooks and threatened with propellers and held their ground.

If Rasta and crew’s actions aren’t enough to encourage you to join the fight, I suggest checking some video on the slaughter.

Looks like a crusade worth joining…

Surfrider San Diego’s paddle for clean water is this Sunday (16th) in Ocean Beach. It looks to be quite the event this year, with a party afterwards and free breakfast before the event. Who doesn’t like free breakfasts, parties and clean water?

This year there will be a Post Paddle Party, a Festival for Healthy Oceans immediately following the Paddle until 6pm at the Ocean Beach Pier parking lot. The event will include art, craft, and food vendors; health and wellness booths; dance performances; live bands; a kid’s art contest and an environmentally themed art show at Rock Paper Scissors Galleria which is located at 4967 Newport Ave. (The art show will be at Rock Paper Scissors for two weeks after the event!) In addition, Stone Brewing Co. will be hosting a beer garden at the Post Paddle Party for those who are 21 and up.

I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make it to Festivus this year, which is a shame, because they’ll be some rad people there fondling some beautiful boards, checking out gear and plotting how they are going build an artist/surfer/musician’s compound like Richard Kenvin’s, but cooler. Thing is, they haven’t got a chance in hell.

Go for the bands, the cheep beer, to buy a tee, or to sneer at the big industry types who’ll be trying to find their Core by spying on Matus, Swift and Co.

Rob Machado Hosts ‘The Art Of Surfing’ This Sunday in Del Mar. The event will feature boards, films, art and food. Should be a bitchin Sunday. more info

A year ago Patagonia opened their first surf waterman’s shop in Cardiff. Since day one their events have positively contributed to the local community’s vibe as Gerry Lopez, The Cambell brothers and Shaun Thompson have all enlivened weekend nights on Chesterfield with projected surf and stories.

This Saturday night should be no exception as Patagonia celebrates the anniversary with what looks to be an evening chronicling dirtbag adventure. Dan Malloy and Chris Del Morrow will be presenting a slide show about their surf trip to Liberia with photos shot by Ted Grambeau. They’ll also be showing the film “Mountain of Storms” which documents “Yvon Chouinard and friends’ six-month roadtrip from California to Chilean Patagonia, surfing, skiing and climbing along the way“. As an added little bonus, a 2mm wetsuit will be given to one lucky person in the crowd. I put your odds at winning somewhere around 1 in 200-300, which is pretty damn good.

Patagonia Cardiff will also be helping out with the La Paloma premiere of One California Day (August 10th) by donating 2 boards to the raffle, one for each showing.

The shop itself has slowly evolved, expanding the board line to include shapes by Malcom Cambell, Gerry Lopez and Donald Takayama. I’ve heard that Rich Pavel and Skip Fry may be shaping a few boards for the racks as well. Don’t expect those to last long, but don’t hold your breath for them either. The wetsuit line is apparently selling like hotcakes, even in the summer. Look for two flavors of tops (I believe one with sleeves and one without) to arrive soon.

From Sean Collin’s official response:

” There were mixed accusations of rock throwing to clear the water before I arrived, and we certainly do not support rock throwing and/or physical violence of any kind. Additionally, we certainly did not direct in any way the removal of people from the water or the security for the event as it was handled entirely by the local Barra police. We also did not insist on everyone being removed from the water before we arrived. ”

I’ve only got one thing to say after watching this video…. Holy shit! That chick rips!