Skateboards For Kids at Pioneers Skate Shop

With the holiday season upon us I bet there is a little guy or girl in your life who would really like a skateboard for Christmas. Pioneers has been carrying skateboard gear for over 25 years and we can out fit anyone with the right gear no matter their age or ability.

The boards picture here are what we refer to as minis and will help the youngest of riders get rollin real fast!!! These boards are designed with the little dudes in mind, all pro quality parts and construction just scaled down in size to fit their needs. The boards come standard with softer wheels and bushings that make rolling around and turning a breeze!!!! If you put a kid on the wrong equipment it just won't work for them, they'll get discouraged, and they'll just give up. These boards give your young one every advantage possible!!!

With great skateboards you also need the right padding and protective equipment to keep your little dude rolling safe. As always we've got you covered there too. Helmets for every head and the knee, elbow, and wrist guards to go with them are available right here at Pioneers!

Raising a skate team has taught us a lot about what kids need to get the most out of the sport. We're not only here for gear, we've got advise too. If you got any questions or you just need some input we're here.

Pioneers Team skaters Gavin 9yrs. and Hayden 10yrs.

Pioneers Team skater James 8yrs.

The Sunday Story Behind The Photo with Steve

December 1986

I had just turned 22yrs old. I had the Tony Hawk looking haircut, sweatpants (80's) and Vans. I opened The Board Shop Surf Skate Snow. It was the FIRST retail store in NH to sell surf, skate, and snow under one roof. It was located at Hampton Beach from 1986-1995. It also was the first store to ever use "board shop" to refer to surf, skate, snow sold under one roof. There were ski shops that were called "board shops" but they were referring to the skis as "boards".

I'm sure somewhere in history someone opened a store called "The Convenience Store". Then over time every corner market became a convenience store. Well that's what happen with The Board Shop. Around 1987/88 I started noticing stores popping up on the east coast using Board Shop (such as Jim's Board Shop) when they would carry surf skate and snow product. Lots of times these shops would put the surf, skate, snow in a different orders (such as Jim's Board Shop snow, skate, surf) and I would laugh. Surfing came first, surfing led to skateboarding which lead to snowboarding....Surf, Skate, Snow.

Since Board Shop became a general term, referring to stores that carried surf, skate and snow it forced me to add to the name of the shop. I believe, I pioneered the term Board Shop. This, in addition to all the history of the early pioneers living out on the Isles of Shoals, the first road in NH being called Pioneer Rd (which is located by Ordione Point in Rye, part of route 1A) and also a great surf spot in North Hampton called Pioneers, all lead me to call the shop Pioneers Board Shop.

Well that's todays history lesson.... The Board Shop ruled! Lots of friendships were made over those 10yrs at the beach and we'll never forget Rick Kenney. Rick was the catalyst of The Board Shop...

-Steve-

Mustaches for Molly!!!!

If you've seen Steve or I lately you've probably noticed we're sporting something special on our upper lips..... Yes that's right we've got MUSTACHES!!!!! Now don't be fooled, these mustaches come with a good cause in mind, we're growing them to raise money for the MOLLY FUND!!! So far it's been a success but with your help Steve and I are willing to take it one step further, much to the dismay of our wives.

So here's the pitch. If we can raise $100 dollars each for Steve and I between today and December 1st we will keep our mustaches until Jan 1st!!! So who's into sponsoring Steve and I??? Any amount will help and it's for a GREAT cause!!!

Step it up and support two dudes staying sketchy for one more month!!! Swing by with cash for the MOLLY/MUSTACHE CAUSE!!!

The Red Bull Travis Rice Supernatural SNowboard Contest

The Best thing to happen to Snowboard Contests... Well, since snowboard contests were invented....

Written by Travis Rice

Snowboarding right now is broken into two sectors. You have the youth: the progressive and talented up-and-comers who are doing the most incredible things on the contest and jib side; and you have the film stars: the guys who have been in the game for years, who started on a freestyle platform, but have moved in a more backcountry-focused direction. Sometimes contest guys will try to film between events, and occasionally film guys will do a contest. But when it comes down to it, the two worlds are pretty segregated.

The beauty of snowboarding is how diverse and multifaceted it is, but right now there's not enough cross-pollination going on. One of the goals of Supernatural is to bridge this gap. The two groups have a lot to teach each other -- they need to be brought together. At the end of the day, the best snowboarders out there are the ones who can do it all.

My first attempt at this idea was the Natural Selection contest, which went down four years ago in Jackson Hole. That event was a breakthrough, but it was the beta version. From there we really took a step back in order to assess how we could move forward differently. So I've been working on this event concept for three years.

The first challenge was finding the right location. We scoured everywhere, trying to find the perfect place with the best chance of pulling the contest off. Finally we found an amazing run at Baldface, which is a cat-skiing operation in the interior of British Columbia that has a deep-rooted history in snowboarding: Craig Kelly helped find the original tenure that Baldface sits on. Baldface has really played a huge part in this event coming together. Without the hard work of owner Jeff Pensiero and the whole staff and crew, the event would not be happening this year. Between Red Bull Media House, Baldface, and our logging crew, she came together out of love.

The last two winters we examined the contest site, trying to figure out the logistics. This spring we got the project green-lit by Red Bull, so we went in, spent a number of weeks walking and setting the course with our foreman Lee Usher, who also used to be the lead guide at Baldface. Then we hired the most bada--, strapping, British Columbian lumberjack crew. These guys are professional arborists. They spent four months climbing 40 feet up in trees with chainsaws, using hoist and pulley systems to get lumber up on-hill to build the course features.

By features, I mean we built pillow lines, transfers and huge suspended log ladders in the trees. Anyone familiar with the B.C. snowpack knows that everything pillows. The snow just sticks. We built about 100 features, and I'm completely confident that we've created the best, most diverse snowboarding run in the world.

It starts at a sustained 45-degree pitch at the very top, then levels out to 40, 35, then 30 degrees as you get further down. About two-thirds of the way down is a bench. We're going to bring the snowcat in and groom the inrun into a 200-foot-wide kicker. We might break it up into three or four 30-foot-wide kickers. We haven't decided yet. Basically the idea is to have a massive jump that everyone can hit into a full powder landing. The younger guys are really going to have an edge over the older guys here. From there, the remainder of the course is more of a Burton Stash-style park, with jibs and smaller features to play around on.

When it's all said and done you have a multi-dimensional contest run that demands that a rider know how to pick a line, ride pow and ride pillows. The creativity level and confidence it will take to ride this course fast is huge. It's safer, and you'll see better snowboarding, when people feel good and secure about the lines they're going to ride. The goal of the event is to flatten the playing field and really bring out the strongest overall riding.

The most important thing is, this is NOT a one-off event. This is the start of a new movement. We're going to try to change the paradigm of snowboarding. I truly believe that this type of event, spread around the world, can become the highest echelon of competitive snowboarding.

The contest holding period is Feb. 2-9. The contest itself is only one day, but, just like in surfing, we've got a window of time to run the event in the best weather. Everyone will get a day to really scope their line. No one can ride the course, but we will have a lot of measures in place for people to figure out the lines they want to ride. Will have full photo maps of the course blown up. They'll be able to ride down both sides of the venue.

We've also built two cantilevered gangways out from the hill -- these big metal structures that are basically like massive gangplanks that hang out over the top of the course, with judge and viewing towers about two-thirds of the way down. So everyone will be able to walk out and look down over the run.

We haven't set the official rider list yet (the contest is invite-only), but we've sent a "save the date" to John Jackson, Nicolas Müller, DCP, Jake Blauvelt, Gigi Rüf, Wolle Nyvelt, Lando, Devun Walsh, Pat Moore, Shaun White and a few others. Terje is confirmed. There will be about 18 riders in all. Because the whole point of the event is to try to mix it up, we're giving out wildcard spots. Right now there are four, for the winner of a North Face Masters event, the Winter X slopestyle gold medalist, and the top two guys on the TTR tour. There will be a cash purse, and all athlete trips will be paid for.

I got my start with a wildcard. I got second place behind Todd Richards in a slopestyle event where they were giving away one qualifying spot to the X Games. Todd had already been invited to the X Games, so by default I ended up getting the one qualifier spot. I was basically nobody. I had my first part in 'Transcendence,' but that was really the only thing I'd done. I showed up to the X Games and was riding against all these guys I looked up to. None of them knew who I was. I ended up winning the slopestyle event. That changed a lot for me; it started my career. I want to pass that on.

The older guys have a lot to teach the younger guys, and the younger guys have the gusto and raw freestyle talent to light the fire. A big part of this event is just being together up at the Baldface lodge. I'm really excited about it, because like I said, I think beautiful things can come from bringing the two groups together.

Kelly Slater Wave Co vs The Webber Wave Pool......

If you frequent the shop on a regular basis you may have at one time or another stumbled into a conversation with Steve and I about wave pools. Like wave starved zombies the lure of an endless waves draws us into weekly discussion about the intricate details that could make or break a potential wave pool. As it stands now there has never been a successful wave pool that has even come close to mirroring an ocean wave. Many have tried, all have failed.

You may be saying to yourself what about the photos and videos of that wave pool in Japan. Well they're kinda close but for the most part it's smoke and mirrors. The waves are soft, they are only produced every minute, and the chop created by more than one or two surfers in the water is uncontrollable.... Our conversations usually go something like this;

Steve: It won't work

Bryan: Why

Steve: Because......

Bryan: But what if they did this.....

Steve: Nope. Because......

Bryan: Ok. But what if they did this...

And on and on and on.

Basically to sum it up Steve doesn't think it's possible, I think it might be and I try and think of ways to change Steve's opinion but it has yet to work. The Wave Ring video on youtube really set us off for a while, then the Kelly Slater came along with The Wave Company, and now we've got Webber Wave Pools really spinning things up.

If I haven't lost you yet stay with me because we've got some controversy coming... The Webber Wave Pool produces two waves per hull that continually break around a central island. There really is no minimum or maximum pool size with wave height increasing with pool diameter. As a guide, the 50meter diameter pool can make one meter waves, the 100 meter pool 2 meter waves. Seeing that 2 meter waves are the maximum needed for the general public, then larger pools that produce 2m waves will merely have more waves per pool due to the increased size. Sound similar to the Kelly Slater Wave Co? Wondering why you haven't seen any real video from their model?

According to Webber they've been working on their pool since 2004 and have held a US patent since 2005. Since applying for a patent in 2008 Kelly Slater and his business partner, Adam Fincham, have twice been rejected because their wave pool infringes upon Greg Webber's design. In both of their attempts - first in 2008 then again this year - the response from examiners at the US Patent Office has been identical: the design submitted by the Kelly Slater Wave Company is "unpatentable over Webber." It is too similar to Greg Webber's design for a patent to be granted. Read the full write up HERE if you want more!!!

So what do think will it work? Will it be affordable? Or should we all just move to Indo? Or maybe buy a shrimp boat??? Find the conversation HERE and put your 2 cents in.

The Sunday Story Behind the Photo with Steve

9-7-1977

That was a good day, I kicked everyone's ass and went home feeling pretty good for an 12 year old kid. It was a two part day, the above story/photos are from part 1. Freestyle/slalom contest in Portsmouth was put on by the Rec. department in front of the Cod Fish. The Hammer team owned it! We skipped the slalom event in Portsmouth and went to a slalom contest being held by the Ski Shed in Hampton. We drove to the Cusack road contest where I took down Grondon, Sakarui, Hammer, ALL THE OLD BOYS! That day was awesome.

After a long full day of skating, what was the first thing I did when I got home? Skated more!! Just couldn't get enough

THE HAMMER TEAM

The team consisted of Jason "The Rat" Hammer owner of Hammer Skateboards. Jason had the best surf style going and was all about slashing turns on 44" boards just like his west coast friend Tom Sims.

Team Captain Ken Sakurai.. Kenny was our mentor. Kenny was The Alva of our team. We learn all from Kenny. Kenny went on to ride for the Pepsi team in the late seventies.

Johnny Meehan, yes The Johnny Meehen, The Rye Rocks Godfather. Johnny was our Ty Paige. Tight stance front foot at a 45 degree angle and back foot straight across. Johnny kept us all in check w/ his quick verbal jabs and had one hell of a high jump.

My neighbor and best friend Peter Harter shown jumping over the Hammer Team and some, was one tough bastard that could just power thru anything. He had it all. Wether he was jumping cars, or throwing down a fast and powerful freestyle routine he had that rough dirty Jay Adams style and look.

Me, Steve O'Hara I guess I could of been "The Stacy Peralta" of the team.. Consistent and determined.

Can't forget about our team mascot Paul O'Hara.. At six years old he was a crowd pleaser and skates circles around all of us now.

Arbor Snowboards @ Pioneers Board Shop in NH

We started Arbor in 1995 convinced that there was a need for brands willing to take responsibility for the impact their products have on the environment. For us, time spent riding had always provided a direct understanding of what’s at stake. We all need clean air to skate, clean water to surf, and snow to ride. For those of us who pursue boardsports, protecting the planet is about the environments we use everyday. It was becoming obvious that the boardsports industry, which relies on a healthy environment to succeed, needed to get more involved with protecting the planet.

To this end, Arbor was founded to design products around the goal of replacing as many environmentally harmful materials as possible, with functional, ecologically based alternatives. The mission is to deliver performance, durability, and style in the most responsible way possible. The result must be quality and reduced environmental impact.

As of right now, it is not possible to deliver a totally “green” product. Reality is about taking steps towards that future. Those steps are what drive the Arbor Collective. Having said that, we feel that you can’t be “green” just for the sake of being green. Customers expect performance and relevance, even when choosing a sustainable alternative. So, we select only those eco-materials that allow us to deliver better looking, higher performing, more durable products. Form still follows function, and this balance must be achieved if alternative products are to succeed in today’s fickle marketplace.

The Cadence-2012 Good Wood winner!
A rocker board designed specifically for women who take a park set of skills to the whole mountain; the Cadence supports spins, jumps, rail riding, and all-mountain cruising, with a lively disposition that’s hard to fathom.

The Swoon-2012 Good Wood winner!
A rocker board designed for women who take on big mountains; the new Swoon is a freeriding wonder that was designed to provide easy performance, reliability, control, and confidence when riding the full range of real mountain conditions.
The Draft
A street-specific rocker board for riders whose focus is park and urban jibs: rails, boxes, trees, wall rides, etc.; the Draft is the perfect platform for spinning, pressing, bonking, and buttering your way through life.

The Wasteland
Arbor’s flagship snowboard has finally met our flagship System set of technologies; the result, an all new Wasteland that still delivers its signature street-to-mountain versatility and powerful all around performance, but now with the ultra clean ride that only rocker provides.

The Element RX - National Geographic Gear of the Year Winner!
The ride-it-all addiction of a growing rocker community is nicely fed with the Element RX, which delivers rooty style and high-end performance on mountain, in the park, and well beyond; the quintessential do everything design.

The Roundhouse RX
A true all-mountain rocker machine that’s built to support larger feet, while delivering performance peak to parking lot; the new Roundhouse RX provides the quickness and power you need for 12 rounds of hard driving, all-terrain, mixed condition fun.

The Relapse
The classic mid-wide jump board for the more advanced rider; the Relapse provides massive amounts of power and durability for anyone committed to or coming back to camber-based park riding, expect old school ollie, spin, take-off and landing performance.

Meet Danny Toumarkine, Think about Wearing a Helmet

Straight up DANNY IS THE BOMB... He's an absolute shredder and as genuine as they get. Danny got worked last year and ended up fighting for his life but in true warrior status Danny survived and is back stronger and more positive than ever! I had the pleasure of spending a day hiking in the white talking with Danny about life in general and his accident. Danny wasn't riding that day but he was hiking and getting stronger. His doctors told him he might never ride again, Danny will be riding this winter!!! This is his story summed up in a 3 minute video, please enjoy it, please share it.

I've been riding a snowboard for about 17 years. I've never worn a helmet, from now on I will...

Let's face it, when snowboard helmets first started appearing on the the market they SUCKED!!! Well like everything they've gotten so much better. Lighter, more compact, warmer, more comfortable, more accepted.... At Pioneers we proudly stock and sell RED helmets made and produced by Burton. We've got them in every size and we've got them in lots of colors for men, women, and children. I encourage to hunt around RED's website and get a feel for the technology that goes into these brain savers. If you think you're ready for a helmet upgrade or you're like me and ready for your first helmet ever come by the shop, check out our stock, get fitted, and get one.

Here are just a few of the RED helmets we have in stock.

The Theory brings full protection plus the micro-adjustability of our Air Band™ 270 Fit System, ultra lightweight design, and a snow-blocking brim. All the performance you need; nothing to hold you back.

The women’s team choice dialed with all the HI-FI features and designed with a women’s specific profile. Refine your fit with our Air Band™ 180 Fit System, or make room for a beanie by removing the ear pads and internal padding.

Made for the preschool ripper that puts you to shame, the Trace Grom offers maximum durability and easy customization.

Leave your mark, and make it back for more. The RED youth team backs the Defy’s brim design and versatility for year-round, snow, skate and bike protection.

Vans Triple Crown Kicks Off, Carissa Moore first Woman Wildcard EVER!!!

Well if it ain't that time of the year again.... time for the most prestigious of all surfing competitions, time for the VANS TRIPLE CROWN!!!! First up we have the Reef Hawaiian Pro followed by the Vans World Cup of Surfing and rounded out by the Billabong Pipe Masters!!! The waiting period has begun already and with mostly small scale surf the competition has yet to commence. Possible round one start in the coming days with completion of the contest to come Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week when bigger surf should show up.

Although this news is a bit old at this points it's still barrier shattering, Carissa Moore has been awarded wildcards into the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa and the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. The 2011 ASP Women's World Champion will be competing alongside 200 of the world's most talented men. Both events are jewels in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series that takes place on the North Shore of Oahu every year.

"We were trying to keep it quiet," said Moore today while down at the Hurley Pro. "But seems like the cat's out of the bag now. I'm really excited about it. I'm feeling no pressure -- there are not points involved for me, and everybody's probably be expecting me to lose, so I'm just going to have fun out there."

Don't kid yourself, when Moore paddles out she means business. In 2010 Moore won the women's events at both Haleiwa and Sunset Beach and has built a career around solid North Shore fundamentals. She will be the FIRST female in the modern era to attempt to capture a men's Triple Crown title.

"The heritage of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is unsurpassed," said Event Director Randy Rarick in a statement to the press. "For close to three decades Hawaii has been the one destination on the ASP World Tour that reliably produces incredible surf and exceptional surfing. When you look through the annals of the Vans Triple Crown, you will find every surfing great and many of the most memorable moments of the sport recorded. The excitement is already building for 2011."

This announcement comes on the heels of the Sunset event being upgraded to Prime status, which means there are some very valuable end-of-the-year ratings points on the table ... making Moore's task all the more daunting.

Want to see Carissa in action? Check out the all women's Nike video below. Carissa's part starts around 17 minutes in but my recomendation is to watch the video from the beginning.

The Story Behind the Photo....

The above picture was printed in the Hampton Union on October 27th, 1976.

The article is titled All It Takes Is Balance: Caution Skateboard Ahead and it's features the brothers O'hara.

"AWHHH THE 70'S SOOO RAD.. Tube socks, loose ball bearings, and no helmets. This is either the first or second contest ever held on the seacoast. It was on Cusak rd in Hampton sponsored by The Hampton Recreation Department and The Ski Shed. I was eleven and my brother Paul was 5 and we lived for skateboarding. Sun up till bed time we couldn't get enough. We barely went to the beach that summer because we couldn't get enough of our new toy aka (the skateboard) I still have Paul's runner up trophy kicking around in the attic." Steve

From my eyes not much has changed. Both the brothers still rip on whatever they pick up and while they hardly ever compete anymore, when they do you'll probably see one of them on the podium.

Used Lost Surfboards

Lots of really nice used Lost Surfboards in right now. Here's a few to check out.

(From left to right)

5'8 Lost Motivator in PERFECT CONDITION. 5 fin $450

5'8 Lost Round Nose Fish in good condition 5 fin XTR $450

5'9 Lost Placebo Rocket in good condition 5 fin $450

(From left to right)

6'2 Lost/Firewire Stealth in good condition 5 fin $400

6'1 Lost Rocket small dings thruster XTR $400

6'6 Lost Shark good condition 5 fin XTR $500

More Lost available as well as longboards and funshapes!!! Give a call or stop buy for more details!!! SURFING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU

DEFINITION OF A VETERAN

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, National Guard or Reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

THANK YOU TO EVERY VETERAN WHO SERVED OR IS SERVING.

Volcom Sweater Time

Just got some killer Volcom Sweaters in. Kids too.

Quick interview with Malia Manuel. Stoked to see this ripper on the World Tour in 2012...

Mortal Compass by Rob Gilley

Rob Gilley is quickly becoming one of my favorite bloggers. The guy has pretty much seen it all and shoots straight from the hip. This is his most recent blog titled Mortal Compass and it's an awesome piece to read before you plan your next surf trip. Check it out...

"Tavarua Island, 1990: one of my first official photo trips for Surfer Magazine. I’m pumped as you can possibly be.

I’m not only excited about shooting talented surfers in photogenic surroundings, I’m secretly amped about something else: my own surfing. The opportunity to ride Tavarua. A possible chance to get pitted at Cloudbreak.

As soon as the lighting gets bad, or when it rains even the slightest amount, I’m clocking out and I’m out there. I’m on it.

It’s Day 4, and my opportunity comes. Light rain, light offshores, and Cloudbreak is about 4- to 6-foot Hawaiian.

I’m on the first morning panga to Cloudbreak with two boatmen and a Tavarua resort guest: a surfing plumber named Rob from San Diego. I thought I was amped—this guy is frothing—he’s had to snake a lot of drains to get here.

We pull up to the reef, jump off the boat and paddle out. With gray skies and glassy conditions, it’s kind of hard to see sets coming, and it’s even harder to figure out where to sit—the inside ledge isn’t consistent enough, and the outer point isn’t really connecting with the middle section. There are perfect waves, but it’s random. Really random.

I sit wide on the middle section and stay cautious. I keep my eyes open, trying to study the sets. My new plumber friend, meanwhile, makes a beeline for the outer point.

I grab a set wave and get a fairly long, decent ride, but as soon as I kick out, I see that I’m in the middle of the inner ledge impact zone. A set comes, and I barely scratch over it. As I paddle over the last wave, I look behind me. I can see water draining off the reef. It looks shallow and scary in there. No wonder they call it Shish Kebabs.

Back outside, I look up the point just in time to see my plumber friend get pitched and subsequently pummeled by a set. He paddles over to where I’m sitting and looks rattled. He seems to carry a forced smile on his face, and then he asks me how it is over here and I say something to the effect of, “kinda gnarly.” He doesn’t say anything. He just stares at me, paddles up the reef, eats it on a late drop, and wears another set on his head.

I catch a few more waves, but they’re disappointing because the whole time I’m riding them I’m paranoid about what’s coming after and I’m looking behind the wave while I’m surfing. I want to make sure I kick out at the right time and place so I don’t get smashed by a set and become a human shish kebab myself.

Adding to this disappointment is the fact that the boatmen we’re surfing with are currently getting shacked off their gourds. Worse yet, they look completely at ease—air drops, casual stalls, deep cover-ups. Even getting caught inside doesn’t seem to bother them: they just paddle aggressively straight at the foam, violently duck dive to the bottom, and pop out the back. No worries.

I paddle back to the boat and watch for a while. Plumber Rob gets a couple more waves, and then a set swings wide. It’s the wave of the day, and he’s in the perfect position. He pulls in to a nice section but ultimately trims too high, gets sucked over the falls, and then dragged over the reef face-up and backwards. He paddles back to the boat cut and bleeding. His back is hamburger.

Back in the boat, Rob is crestfallen. Not because of his injury, but because of his situation. His once in a lifetime opportunity—his dream trip—has become a nightmare.

Although I’d like to tell you that this Cloudbreak story is an anomaly, I have to report that I’ve seen it repeat itself the world over. All over the planet, traveling surfers are forcing themselves into waves and conditions they probably shouldn’t be surfing. Not if they actually want to enjoy the experience, anyway.

That day at Cloudbreak made it painfully clear that there are certain waves on the planet that surfers like Rob and I should probably stay away from, or at least not purposely seek out. When they’re breaking properly, waves like Cloudbreak, Teahupoo, Pipeline, Desert’s, Kandui Lefts, Green Bush, Coxos, The Box, Ours, and Shipstern’s are basically double black diamond mountains that should only be attempted by pros, hellmen, and masochists.

Why this isn’t common knowledge isn’t perfectly clear, but to be honest, the surf media is at least partly to blame. Because of visual one-upmanship, the surf magazines have created a misleading reality by constantly publishing photos of big, hollow, razor-sharp, shallow reef waves and promoting them as dream locations. Unfortunately for normal surfers—for mortals like you and I—they’re anything but.

The problem is that surf photos don’t come with a rating system or a disclaimer. The truth is that many of the ‘sick’ waves you see in magazines are only sick in the sense that that they would make you puke if one broke in front of you.

So given this reality, here’s what I suggest: choose your next surf travel destination based on your surfing level. Assess your talent, and be honest with yourself. Even if you are an experienced surfer, chances are very slim that you should be going to Tahiti, Western Australia, The Canary Islands, The North Shore, or much of Indo and the South Pacific.

The good news is that there’s plenty of incredible ‘mortal’ destinations all over the planet. Some of them include Costa Rica, New Zealand, Baja, The Maldives, Peru, El Salvador, Eastern Canada, and most of the Caribbean and Europe. If you’re a really good surfer but not quite a pro or hellman, you can step it up a bit and try places like G-Land, Southern Mexico, Chile, Ireland and Nicaragua.

The bottom line is to talk to fellow surfers and ask them about their experiences and really think about where you should be going. Study guide books, and read online testimonials. Do your homework.

Pick your destination based on maximizing your potential surfing experience, not on a misplaced Pipe dream."

-Rob Gilley

Check out some of his other blogs HERE on SURFER.

Snowboard Premiere 11-11-11 in Portsmouth, NH and the Biggest Wave Ever Ridden

Hey gang! I know I blogged this last week but I just wanted to throw a quick reminder out there, Absinthe and Yes Films will be premiering their new 2012 snowboard videos this Friday. Doors at 7:30, show at 8:00. Tickets available at the shop or the door, $12.75!!! Local NH shredder Chris Carr has a part, come help us celebrate!!!

At the shop we're VERY STOCKED to feed your winter ADDICTION!!! Check out our line-up of O'neill and Ripcurl winter suits HERE and glance at the used board inventory under the surf report HERE. Check the SNOW page of the Pioneers site HERE to check out some the snow gear we've got in stock. And as always, like you we skate year round, tons of skate gear in including the Bones SPF wheels that were designed for Rye Airfield!

Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara has broken the record for the biggest wave ever ridden, according to a press release issued by a public relations arm of Nazaré, a city near the ASP World Tour site of Peniche, Portugal. With evidence based on the above video and a photo yet to be released to the media, word from the McNamara camp is that his wave measures 90 feet.

If accurate, the wave estimate would dwarf previous "biggest wave ridden" candidates such as Mike Parson's 2008 frontrunner at Cortes Bank -- estimated in the 70-foot range -- or Ken Bradshaw's 1998 wave at Outer Log Cabins -- estimated at 80 feet (but lacking solid documentation).

An informal but widely sought goal of the global big-wave community has been to conquer a 100-foot wave. If McNamara's wave earns a consensus of 90-feet, not only will he reach the record books, but will have put the elusive 10-story wave within spitting distance.


The 2002 Tow Surfing World Cup champion had been involved in a multi-year commitment with an entity called the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute to explore the waves magnified by a massive canyon off of the Nazaré coast. Like canyons at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, or Blacks in San Diego, the underwater canyon intensifies swells into a focused location. McNamara was surfing with the United Kingdom's Andrew Cotton -- who reportedly towed McNamara -- and Ireland's Al Mennie, who viewed the feat from the channel.

"Both Cotty and I rode two big ones in the 60-foot-plus range and then when Garrett got on the rope a wave, maybe 30 feet bigger came out of the canyon, it was meant to be," Mennie said. "I had the best seat in the house as I was doing water safety on the [jet] ski as he dropped down the face of the biggest wave I've ever seen."

Other than the video above, little documentation has been released. Via Twitter, Kelly Slater wrote, "I just saw a shot of Garrett McNamara from Portugal on a stupidly big wave. He should post that thing ASAP. Looks like huge Jaws."

McNamara, who is known for chasing rare and giant waves, like the waves created by calving ice at Child's Glacier in Alaska, combined ocean-going skills honed on the North Shore of Oahu with his reputation for exploration. "I feel so blessed and honored to have been invited to explore this canyon and its special town," McNamara said. "The waves here are such a mystery."

Steal of the Week!

Brand new 6'3 Webber Shortboard. 18 1/2 x 2 5/16. $299 takes it!

Kelly Slater has NOT won his 11th title YET

nope...

Wait, What? Really?

Yes really, This is for real, confirmed by Kelly Slater and the ASP, "ASP Admits Calculation Error Prematurely Crowned 2011 ASP World Champion".

In a surreal case of a math BLUNDER by the ASP, Kelly Slater’s win over Dan Ross in round 3 of the Rip Curl Pro Search did NOT give him enough points to win his 11th world title. Yep, that’s right, folks. It’s a blunder of EPIC proportions.

Slater tweeted out this morning: “I’m not joking. I have not won the world title yet. I still have to win another heat! Give those shirts and hats back!

Here’s what the situation is now, as we understand it: Slater is up against Gabriel Medina and Miguel Pupo in Round 4. If he wins that heat, he’ll clinch number 11. If he loses in Round 4, he’ll still surf in Round 5 and would need to win there, where he’s looking like he could go up against either Matt Wilkinson, Taylor Knox, or Kieren Perrow.

And of course, Owen needs a big finish as well, which it looks like he’s heading for.

CRAZY!!!! I don't think that has ever happened before. When they gave him the title it seemed pretty anti-climatic anyways, well it looks like they will get another run at celebrating the World Title Race soon.

The pressure is on Kelly!!! Don't blow this and make us have to take that trophy away!!!!

SNOWBOARD FILM PREMIERS IN PORTSMOUTH 11.11.11

Absinthe Films’ Sphere of Influence Tour is rolling again. This year they're present a double feature snowboard film premiere. Their newest movie, Twel2ve shows first, the new film from the YES crew titled, YES. This is all happening this Friday, 11-11-11!!! Doors open at 7:30, show starts at 8:00!!! DONT MISS IT!!!!

The Sphere of Influence Tour is Absinthe Films' annual carbon neutral film tour, bringing featured riders and your favorite snowboard films to an art house theater near you. Come see it on the big screen first at The Portsmouth Music Hall.

My good buddy Chris Carr, a local NH shredder, has a part in this video and we'll be celebrating that fact come Friday!

Tickets are $12.75 here at the shop and also at the door.