A mega post is needed as the past few days have zipped by… Wednesday surf was the biggest yet, we went down the coast to El Sunal and played with a point break – we had to pay $1 to the owner of the restaurant to walk through and avoid the 10min rocky beach walk which was well worth it. A 10 min paddle netted you with a bounty of surfing options. Wednesday ended with an unfortunate incident where D Wright fell 9′ from a penthouse bunkhouse to his side & head at 3am….staying with him through the night and then making the hospital trip in the AM to San Salvador to ensure no internal damage, concussion, etc. All systems clear except for some fractured ribs – if anyone can survive a 9′ drop it ’s definitely Dave. The beginners in the group are now starting to log some official waves and everyone is getting the surfing vibe which will stay with us/them for ever! Here are some highlights.
The peanut gallery taking in the set.
Kimmy getting some green waves!
Adrian with the master Ping-Pong Invitational grid….this a multi-day contest!
24-22 Sam moves on to Semi’s to meet Oli…
Remember – come for the surf and stay for the food – Day three done!
3:20am wake up call with Dave falling 9′ to the wooden floor – immediately unconscious, this was trully the scariest moment of the trip. In the end the San Salvador hospital was a 10/10, professional, clean and efficient! $150 USD, 6hrs later with MRI’s, Ortho doctors and some prescriptions and we’re off to Burger King.
Enroute home we stopped in La Liberstad and grabbed some prawns fresh from the ocean…
Nate donated his GoPro to the surf but immediately felt better when offered a free coconut?
Frank McGuirck is know internationally for his love of National Geographic and ability to make friends….this one was looking for a sleepover.
An inside look at what makes Dave tick – everyone is glad that he is doing well and making progress. See you tomorrow everyone.
hmmmmmm……getting thumped and kicked out 1km down the beach over rocks is a great way to build confidence…..no highlights on the surfing firsthand front but that’s because of my own shortcomings. Jon V grabbed some respectable waves, as did Elliott and Jaque took a green wave for about 100′ as the entire group was messsing around in the wash on floral floaters….a new day with new hopes…here’s Tuesday’s highlights.
Cartwright getting tech on the famous mini ramp @ElDorado
Oli stripping Jon V board and laying some new base wax, X-pattern and then some tropical sticky bumps – this resulted in Jon blasting a frontside air about 8′ out!
In order to play in the big stuff you need to perfect the ‘Duck-Dive’ Nate Laverty shows everyone his abilities to dive a 7′…..
The surf was big = end result.
Yeah it’s rainy season but we’re getting sun all day – no complaints over here except from those that have already burned!
Come for the surf and stay for the food! El Dorado so far has served up Filet Mignon, Quesadilla’s, Pasta and one killer breakfast! A group of eight took some lessons in the wash this AM and seemed to excel naturally, all be it some of the others went out back and took about 20 on the head in order to get there…an exhausting feeling with anchor-arms…more stimulating highlights from Monday below.
Carlos – prepping an amzing breakfast….
The result = Salvador Tropica
We jumped on the ‘Chicken’ bus for $0.40 and went to El Tunco to check out a different break and see what surfboards were for sale – pretty cool seeing the kids on the bus dressed up in private school outfits which apparently all kids wear if they go to school here…
We didn’t find surfboards for sale but everyone enjoyed a frozen coconut and some local shops….
Some local art
Elliott post session
Good night and Happy 30th Birthday celebratory shots for Andrew Rusk…..
22 friends, colleagues, industry peeps and riders descended on Central America’s West Coast in a surf town know internationally for the break at El Zonte….We arrived throughout the day at El Dorado and were welcomed by Oliver Dubois and the gracious team onsite, BBQ sandwiches, a dip and then right into the ocean! Over the course of the coming week we are anticipating on getting ‘thumped’, ‘dumped’ and probably ‘broke-off’ as a swell picks up over head for Tuesday/Wednesday. Enjoy some highlights from the travel day…
Preparing to land in San Salvador
Other than security with shotguns & M-16’s – nothing out of the ordinary when paired with incredibly nice custom agents.
High speed shuttle drive by @ 120km/h in a 40km/h…..
West 49 LRN2SK8 presented by DISNEY XD, Canada’s largest instructional skate tour, launched in late June in St Catharines and has since traveled over 8,000 km through eight provinces, executed 15 LRN2SK8 programs from Halifax to Vancouver and welcomed and graduated more than 550 participants!
Here’s a quick photo re-cap of the past 40 days:
The (Partial) team, their home for 70 days plus the brands that are supporting the tour!
TechDeck Trickology inside the DisneyXD Ultimate Lounge – kids learning J-Smarts safety, board maintenance and all the good stuff you need to know to skate better.
Recess…
Levi Switzer – Official LRN2SK8 instructor demonstrating a ‘How-To’
Disney XD X-Elerator Award for progressing the most and demonstrating determination (Two-awards are given out daily)
Gillian Andrewshenko lands in first on our 2011 YOU LOOK GOOD Rider’s Series and somehow manages to pop a rib. Learn about it all from our friends over at Push.ca (Get that rib back in place as you’ve only got 60 days to prep, cleanse, crush push-ups and burpies!)
Today we are baking in Toronto’s hottest day EVER with the merc approaching 50 degrees and are fondly reminded of our experience in Brandon Manitoba as we prepared for LG Rocks Your City with temps dropping to -45!!! Welcome to Canada – we love you!
All be it we’ve been home now for more than a week it seems that only now am I getting my feet back under me… First off was arriving in Whistler on June 27th for the The 5* TTR $50k big air contest. Situated at the top of Whistler Village Gondola on July 1st CANADA DAY in front of both a large onsite crowd and webcast audience the BAU awarded Eric Willet with the win, Seb Toutant 2nd and Dash Kamp in 3rd – stand out riding by Zach Stone as he broke him binding on impact after landing what was easily one of the largest back-double-corks! While supporting the Billabong Canada team (Risto, Nate and Ashley) with the onsite event logistics and operations we managed to celebrate a highly succesful event and one to grow from for future years!
Here’s the highlight reel from TTR of the winning tricks.
A special thanks to Risto @Billabong Canada who extended the invite to join his team in Tofino for three days to surf and digest the event in its entirety. We managed to get in the water three-times a day, 6 am swells with no wind and late night paddles post 10pm – damn beach breaks are exhausting when they are at five-second intervals..looking forward to the next experience and a sincere thanks again for the invite. Here’s a shot (SBCSURF.com) of Billabong & VZ surfer Sepp Bruhwiler who was kind enought to lend us some gear to get wet. Hope to see you again soon with some new opportunities!
This Saturday, June 25 2011, will mark the beginning of a 60+day instructional skateboard tour stopping in at 30 West 49 stores in the mall parking lots coast to coast. West 49 LRN2SK8 is a one day educational event providing an introduction to the culture of skateboarding and skateboard instruction to beginner skateboarders ages 5 and up. For daily photos, highlights or to register make sure to visit www.WEST49LRN2SK8.com
The Whip-It BMX Demo Team has been created to put the ‘wow’ in your community event and and fulfill client requests across Canada. ’Whip-It’ has signed Team Captain Matt Konings to lead the charge and together we have secured; Will Fisher, Mike Wilkinson, Jason Aguiar and Mike Dionne.
More Team members will be added throughout the summer as events line-up! This past week showcased ‘Whip-It’ riders at the launch of the new Disney XD channel and at the HotWheels Fearless at the 500. Imagery below:
The peanut gallery taking in the set.
Kimmy getting some green waves!
Adrian with the master Ping-Pong Invitational grid….this a multi-day contest!
24-22 Sam moves on to Semi’s to meet Oli…
Remember – come for the surf and stay for the food – Day three done!
3:20am wake up call with Dave falling 9′ to the wooden floor – immediately unconscious, this was trully the scariest moment of the trip. In the end the San Salvador hospital was a 10/10, professional, clean and efficient! $150 USD, 6hrs later with MRI’s, Ortho doctors and some prescriptions and we’re off to Burger King.
Enroute home we stopped in La Liberstad and grabbed some prawns fresh from the ocean…
Nate donated his GoPro to the surf but immediately felt better when offered a free coconut?
Frank McGuirck is know internationally for his love of National Geographic and ability to make friends….this one was looking for a sleepover.
An inside look at what makes Dave tick – everyone is glad that he is doing well and making progress. See you tomorrow everyone.
