Featured Archives: the best of the best - Page 14 of 20

The Paulownia Whisperer: Xylo Woodcraft

Derek MorrisonMar 31, 2020March 31, 20200

Michael Gilling has been creating wooden surfboards for the past three years. Today, it’s finally time to show them to the world. He gathers his two close friends together on a road trip to show them his three-year secret. Michael shows us his creative process from tree to craft &...

Billy Stairmand: Inside The Mind Of Our Olympic Hope

Derek MorrisonFeb 14, 2020July 2, 20200

He’s New Zealand’s Olympic hope for 2020, but only a few short years ago, Billy Stairmand was struggling to light his competitive fire. Now he’s in the best form of his life. This is how the 30-year-old Raglan surfer rebuilt his career. As the World Surf League Qualifying Series came...

Kai Lenny Stuns The World At Nazaré

Derek MorrisonFeb 12, 2020February 12, 20200

Hawaiian Kai Lenny has continued his incredible run of form at the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge, which ran today in massive waves at Praia do Norte, in Nazaré, Portugal. He was joined on the winner’s dais by women’s best wave winner Justine Dupont. The Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by...

10 Best Moments From The 2020 Nationals

Derek MorrisonJan 13, 2020July 2, 20201

With a forecast about as diabolical as you can get for a Dunedin summer the Health 2000 2020 Nationals had it all: early exits, upsets, elation and the emergence of two new champions. Here are our 10 best moments from it all. The Gathering of the Tribe There are few...

Elliot Paerata-Reid & Ava Henderson Win 2020 NZ Surfing Nationals

Derek MorrisonJan 11, 2020July 2, 20200

Piha surfer Elliot Paerata-Reid has claimed the 2020 National Open Surfing Title after a thrilling final battle with seven-time and defending champion, Billy Stairmand. In the women’s, 14-year-old Ava Henderson rose to the top with a polished performance to take her first open title. [gallery masterslider=”true” link=”none” thumbs=”false” caption=”false” skin=”ms-skin-minimal”...

Super Heat: Inside The 2020 New Zealand Surf Open (Unofficial)

Derek MorrisonJan 10, 2020October 14, 20201

The 2020 New Zealand Surf Open (Unofficial) is the impulsive gathering of New Zealand’s best surfers at a break that is completely pumping. It is unscripted. It has no rules. It has no timeframes. And no parameters. Just 40, or so, of the best surfers in New Zealand over a...

Photo Essay: Summer Roadie With A Twist Of East Swell

Derek MorrisonJan 7, 20200

Mount Maunganui-based surfer and ocean photographer Lou Burton mixes Xmas and New Year with a little pulsing east swell for the perfect summer tonic. Together with her mates she proves the great Kiwi summer surfing roadie is alive and well … with an occasional shark scare thrown in. Christmas came...

Iconic Kiwi Surfboard Shaper To Close Factory, Move To Japan

Grant DysonDec 19, 2019December 19, 20190

Renowned Mount Maunganui-based shaper Andy Jordan will soon bow to a strong call from the Land of the Rising Sun and move to a “forgotten” Japanese island to live. The veteran shaper has crafted an extraordinary 7330-plus “AJ” boards – short, long, twin fins and all the rest, over about...

Fin School Part 4: The Quad Dilemma

Derek MorrisonDec 4, 2019December 2, 20190

To quad, or not to quad? That is one of the big questions these days with five box fin set-ups becoming the norm. So when should you chuck your rear fin and go for a quad set-up? New Zealand Surf Journal sits down with Hughes Surfboards shaper and Raglan Surf...

From Waste Plastic To Surfboards: Three Kiwis Lead The Way

Derek MorrisonNov 28, 2019November 28, 20190

Momentum for the environment may be building painstakingly slowly within the surf industry, but not for the three New Zealanders driving Spooked Kooks recycled surfboards out of Bondi. It was during a morning session at Sandy Bay, that I had my first encounter with a Dead Hippy. It was under...