Eastern Surf Magazine May 2015 article

~SOUTHEAST BLAH BLAHS•••
•Where do we start with all the Kelly Slater
news? First, in February, RVCA announced that
The Champ had teamed up with ANP artist Kevin
Ancell on a new surfboard collection called
#ThePod that paid homage both to fallen friends
like Todd Chesser and to cetaceans currently
held in captivity. The collection debuted at Pow!
Wow! Hawaii on February 13th. In March, rumors
started rumbling that Slater would purchase a
controlling stake in Firewire Surfboards, followed
by an announcement later in the month that
Pottery Barn would team up with King Kelly for
a sustainably sourced line of decorations for
teens. Then, Kelly's name was thrown into the hat
for the inaugural Icons Cup 2015, an international
all-star golf tournament featuring athletes like
Ken Griffey Jr., Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and
Savannah, GA's, Doug Simpson with his latest Fin
Sciences creation
Ray Allen. And let's not even get into April Fool's
Day, when REAL Watersports broke the Internet
by announcing the Kelly Slater Wave Company pool would be coming to Cape Hatteras - and Slater
himself dropped a last-minute lnstagram joke about how the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach would be his last
CT contest ever. Thanks for always keeping us on our toes, Kelly. •Big ups to New Smyrna Beach
charger Devon Tresher for translating his lifelong commitment to all things surf into a visual merchandising
and marketing job for Reef. •In other industry news, Stacy Moser and Doug Simpson of Fin Sciences
relocated recently from San Diego, CA, to Savannah, GA, where they've put their low-drag, highperformance, double-foil fins to the test on local waterways. Inspired by boat keels and packing patented
Winglet Technology, Fin Sciences boasts a wide range of fins for SUPs, shortboards, and longboards.
Find out more at FinSciences.com. •The Cinco de Mayo Longboard Pro will return to N. Packery
Channel in Corpus Christi, TX, on May 1st-3rd. Visit CincoDeMayolongboardPro.com for more info.
•Liquid Tube Surf Shop owner Eduardo Oropeza checked in after a team trip to the Dominican Republic
in February, when he and his crew explored some little-known spots and lucked into overhead glass for
the duration of their journey. Look up the shop at LiquidTube.com and 1ell 'em ESM sent you. •A wide
variety of female Puerto Rican artists gathered for the "Sea of Art" exhibit, held on February 28th at
Tuluum Restaurante & Tequila Bar in lsabela. On hand were Shannon Mcintyre, Diana Vazquez
Rivera, Rachel Tanner, Maria Kuzmovich, Yvette Rosado Creach, Fiore DeCastro, Lacy LaShe
Gibson, Jana Marie, and Farideh Fell, among others. •The ESA-North Central Florida Chapter
dropped some big news in March, when they announced major sponsorship from Fiat of Daytona
Beach. Other fresh ESA-NCFL sponsors include Nectar Sunglasses, Waves Of Love, Witches Rock
Surf Camp in Costa Rica, Chilly
Surf
Industries,
and
Aloha
Plumbing. All of that support is
being maximized for the chapter's
Nica Challenge, AKA the Battle of
the Americas, scheduled for July
20th-25th at Popoyo. The first
qualifier for that major event was
held on March 21st, preceded by a
2014 awards ceremony on March
7th that honored big winners like
Braeden Kopec, Rachael Kopec,
ESA-North Central Florida Chapter celebrates the 2014 season
Gavin Silver, Bill Whatley, Lily
while kicking off 2015
Whatley, Josh LaSalle, Kiely
Gregor, George Alfred, Frank
Gilday, Eric Worley, Willey Gilreath, Starr Gilreath, and Eddie Clements. •Thanks to South Carolina
photographer Cary McDonald for sending us photos of the 4th Annual Ocean Surf Shop Ice Box
Challenge, which went down in late February at The Washout in Folly Beach. Between McDonald's
images and Ocean Surf Shop manager Bates Hagood's input, we were proud to compile a Fight Club
report on the contest, which was won by Kyle Busey, Jenny Brown, and McHenry Jackson with
other solid performances by Erik Kirby, Evan Tanner, and William Davis. Check full results at
EasternSurf.com . •Even bigger ups go out to Bates Hagood for pointing another Palmetto State
photographer, Paul Mulkey, in our direction . •14-year-old Central Florida longboarder Saxon Wilson
checked in with a raft of new sponsors, including Neilson Surfboards, Wellen Clothing, Core Surf
Shop, Rainbow Fin Company, and Matuse Wetsuits. Saxon's style game is already on lock, so we're
excited to see how he progresses in the years to come. •Cory Lopez received an invite to the 4th
Allianz
Perfect
Chapter
Annual
Powered By Billabong one-day barrelriding contest, held February 20th at
Carcavelos, Portugal. Frequent CT
wildcard
Bruno
Santos
emerged
victorious. •Big ups to the International
Surfing Association for welcoming Haiti
into the fold as the 94th member of the
ISA. Since its formation in 2011, Surf
Haiti has used surfing to contribute to
the country's social and economic
redevelopment. A relationship with ISA
will only further that goal. Find out more
at
Facebook.com/SurfHaiti.
•South
Carolina native Nate Dorman spent a
good chunk of his winter and early spring
chasing the WSL Qualifying Series grind
in Australia. Good on Nate for following
South Carolina's Nate Dorman goes big in the
his dreams while also squeezing in a little
Land Down Under
a:
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