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Yewww i will be staying at Rapturecamps Bali soon!  http://www.surfcampbali.com

photo by The Wandering Angel (Flickr CC)

When I was a kid in the 1980s, my friends and I used California surf slang, wore Jimmy-Z and Quicksilver gear and were generally ‘Californianized’ by surf culture.

Hardly any of us actually surfed, unless you count the odd trip to East Coast beaches in Maryland, Delaware, Florida or the Carolinas. Even there the emphasis was on body boarding, skimboarding, with maybe a few of us trying out small wave surfing.

Our excuse of course was skateboarding – same clothes, same vernacular, and the same Mecca: California. Our inspiration came from music and youth culture a couple thousand miles away on the opposite coast of the US.

So I know that surf merchandising is not a new thing. It was huge then and it’s huge now. My junior high school was full of Sex Wax t-shirts, loud Jams shorts and imitations of Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

I guess ‘surf cool’ died down in the 1990s, but it’s back and maybe even more corporate then ever. But there are probably more diehards than ever too, with new, exotic surf spots being discovered by intrepid explorers in places like Portugal, Bali and beyond.

Former World Surfing Champion and hall of famer Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew sees the friction that popularizing the sport, along with the growth industry of surf merchandise, especially clothing, is doing to the true spirit of surfing.

And Bartholomew should know. In 1998, he helped take over the Association of Surf Professionals and transformed it into the sport’s most-recognized body. By focusing on a mantra of “best surfers, best waves,” he took the sport to far-flung destinations such as Bora Bora and Bali. Though an expensive and expansive endeavor, the efforts of leaders, along with the work of world-class cinematographers and photographers, had legions of fans tuning in to events online and in magazines.

Read more in the Wall Street Journal – if that, in itself, doesn’t say it all.

But where did a Canadian surfing enthusiast (from Calgary – a landlocked city some 1,000km from the cold coastal waters of Canada’s West Coast) go to build a dream villa with his wife? Bali, if you couldn’t guess.

From the Jakarta Globe:

They soon acquired a piece of land just a couple of steps away from Canggu Beach, a popular surfing spot. According to Mike, who himself likes to surf, they found a spot that was the best of all worlds.

OK, I cheated. They are Canadian, but live in Hong Kong, where the Commonwealth lives on it seems.

But check out this blurb about an Australian surf family, whose members have been inspired by Bali, especially the waves of Uluwatu.

From The Australian:

photo by rapidacid (Flickr CC)

It was the start of a new era, and not just for the Wright boys. In the 1990s, the kids of the first Australian generation of lifelong surfers were old enough to surf decent waves themselves. At breaks from Margaret River to Victoria, the Gold Coast and Indonesia, it became more common to see two generations of the same family paddling out together. In the case of the Wrights, the familial passion blossomed into something much bigger. Thirteen years on from his first trip to Bali, Owen, 22, is about to embark on his third year on the World Tour. In 2010, his first year, he finished Rookie of the Year. Last year, he finished third overall and made the final of three contests (all of them against eventual world champion Kelly Slater), losing two and winning one, the Quiksilver Pro in New York, the richest pro event in history.

Not bad, huh?

I’ve personally studied via distance at several Swedish institutions while living in both the UK and Portugal. There were sometime glitches with the web-based platforms (for those classes requiring ‘live’ lessons with voice and webcam features) but things generally went smoothly and my experience with net-based learning was overall very positive.

Some Swedish students, however, have taken things to the next level. They’ve decided to use their study grants and loans to live in luxury villas in Bali and surf every day on some of the world’s most highly regarded waves – sometimes twice a day.

From an article in Uppsala University’s student magazine, Ergo (my translation):

Most of our life here revolves around surfing and studying. We usually surf in the morning or evening in order to avoid the middle of the day, when temperatures are at their hottest. When we surf two times during a day we try to relax for the remainder of the day in order to be able to study. To have a surfing session during sunset is amazing!

–Zakarias Challis, Swedish university student/surfer in Bali

photo by Tom Booth (tboothhk on Flickr CC)

Zakarias shares a modern luxury villa, complete with chef and cleaner, with five fellow university students who also share a love of surfing and the understandable desire to avoid Sweden’s cold winters and make the most of their student years.

Of course everyone can’t live off generous student loans and surf Bali in luxury for an entire semester, but they aren’t the only Swedes in Bali doing just that. It’s almost sickening, but you can hardly blame them now, can you?

Now CNNGo has published another article, by surfer Jade Bremmer, on the ‘World’s 50 best surf spots’.

Two of Bali’s surf breaks, Uluwatu and Kuta, took the number 3 spot on the CNNGo list, just after Pipeline in Oahu, Hawaii, USA and Supertubes, Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa (first and second in the ranking, respectively).

photo by t-bet (Flickr CC)

Here is what Bremmer had to say on Bali’s top surf spots:

Bali has to be in the top three, but it’s a hard task deciding which break on this paradise island takes the crown. The island attracts the gnarliest surfers from Australia and Hawaii plus beginners from across the globe; all of whom can enjoy these perfect glassy faces.
With fewer waves than there are surfers, time-wasters may feel the brunt of aggressive locals at Uluwatu. But on the other hand, beginners at nearby bay Kuta are often cheered on by the more jovial locals while in the water.

An interesting combination: Uluwatu’s big waves and Kuta’s calm and friendly atmosphere joining to make the number 3 spot.

For some visuals on how great Bali surfing can be, check out this video from Brazilian surfer Marco Fernandez, who was in Bali back in October of last year for the second stage of the World Pro Junior ASP.

Click on this link to see the video.

At number one, I am pleased to say, is Balangan Beach, one of Rapturecamps premier spots for surfing. The CNNGo editor recommends Balangan for swimming, lying in hammocks, building sandcastles, surfing and watching other surf. It’s also a great place to learn the art of surfing.

The long stretch of white sand is flanked by rocky cliffs while the shore is lined by an assortment of warungs (local cafes) serving plates of indo mee and ice-cold Bintangs, and cheap non-air conditioned huts.

–CNNGo

photo by Bryan nys (Flickr CC)

In other Bali surf news, 22-year old Bali native Raditya Rondi won the 2-day surfing competition Monsoon Mayhem International Surf Challenge at Desaru Beach in Malaysia on Sunday. Rondi beat out Mohd Nazrin of Malaysia and Abdullah Areef of the Maldives, who finished 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

The competition in Malaysia was the opener for the second season of the Asian Surfing Championships Tour, which includes 9 events in Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand during 2012.

Rondi already holds the championship title for the first ASC tour and hopes to retain it in 2012.

Raditya clinched the ASC inaugural title last season by winning the Billabong Cherating Pro in Malaysia on Dec. 13, his second victory in the tour after the Rip Curl Surf and Music Festival in Bali on October.

–Jakarta Globe

Read more about Bali native Raditya Rondi’s victory in Malaysia and the ASC Tour in the Jakarta Globe.

Though surfing has been going on in Bali since the 1930s (according to surfingbali.com) it was Aussies who popularized the sport on the island, bringing proper boards and equipment in1967 to take advantage of the amazing waves Bali has to offer.

From The Hindu: Business Line

Bali is dominated by tourists from Australia, which is just two hours away by flight. They have brought with them their love for surfing, which has become a popular local sport.

photo by Ryan McFarland (zieak on Flickr CC)

There is even a 6’5” (1.95m) Australian lifeguard, Kieran Pascoe, who works on Bali’s famous Kuta Beach.

From Australia’s Coffs Coast Advocate:

Day-to-day life for Mr Pascoe involves running a series of bronze medallion courses for current and prospective Kuta lifeguards as well as pool, hotel and water amusement park lifeguards and surfing instructors around Bali and in neighbouring Java.

The latest Aussie-Bali surfing connection is Australian Surfing Life’s Board Bible 2012.

From surfinglife.com.au:

The veteran Board Test photog was sick of doing this the easy way. He wanted a challenge. And so it was written that we would take delivery of 26 of the best surfboards in Australia, chuck ’em in five Rip Curl mega board bags, and take this show on the road to Australia’s favourite surfing home away from home: BALI. Where the surf’s always pretty good, the wetsuits are unnecessary and you can always find a wave to yourself. At least for long enough to give this quiver the most sustained thrashing it’ll ever get…z

The Asian Surfing Championship (ASC) recently honored Asia’s top surfers in Singapore, giving out awards in the Open, Longboard, Women’s and Master’s divisions, as well as saluting Thailand’s first surfing champion and Singapore’s women’s champion.

From a press release from the Asian Surfing Championship:

22-year-old Made Raditya Rondi from Bali Indonesia took top honors as the champion in the Open Division, having won the Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition in Phuket last September, the Rip Curl Surf & Music Festival in Bali in October, and just last week the Billabong Cherating Pro in Malaysia. He is also the runner up on the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship tour for 2011.

As surfing grows in Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and other Asian countries, Bali continues to be the most popular and respected of Asia’s surf destinations.

photo by Marc oh! (Flickr CC)

And it is a truly international Mecca for surfers as this blog post about a German surfer who makes wooden longboards in Bali attests.

Here is a small excerpt from and interview with surfer and surfboard maker Marcus Gneist:

So, you got into fins to find out what was going on?

Yeah. And also I was pissed at the price. I thought I could do it better and cheaper by myself.

With wood?

Yes. All wood fins. Wood has properties you can’t beat. It’s lightweight. It’s flexible. Not damaged by water. It’s even ecological.

Read the entire interview in Surfing Magazine.