BILLY MYSTIC- Jamaican Surfing from Six Stair on Vimeo.

Go here – http://videosurfguide.com/the-backlash/ – for interesting comments on whether to name or not to name. Let us know what you think.

Thurso (Episode 2) from Shane Rielly on Vimeo.

Flying off on surf trip soon? Taking a couple of boards? Maybe your guitar? Good luck.

Remember: that big metal bird is a sadistic bastard. Smiling airline staff are paid to enforce cash-driven policies that don’t include a single element of natural social justice. The golf clubs go free; the surfboard costs 300. “Sorry, sir. We have a no-surfboards policy”. “How many boards? Two? That’ll be 400 pieces of silver, sir, unless you’d like to pay in flesh?”

And if your boards get broken or dinged? Tough luck, shoulda packed them better. “We can’t accept responsibility.”

Of course, we aren’t the only ones who suffer. This Canadian cowboy looked out at the tarmac and saw his guitar being hurled through the air by baggage handlers, and when the airline wouldn’t pay him back for the damage, he decided he should pay them back … virally.

The Guardian takes up the story:

Next time an airline loses or breaks your luggage, try shaming them with a song and a video. That’s what a little-known Canadian country and western singer did after he claimed that his Taylor acoustic guitar had been damaged by baggage handlers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last year.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2009/jul/23/youtube-united-breaks-guitars-video

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Here’s what Keith says about Bathtub IV: “This is a personal project that would not have been possible without the support of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Thanks to the entire team for their generous access during training exercises and patrols this Summer. Since the Service began in 1973, it has carried out more than 21,000 missions ranging from urgent patient transfers to dangerous search and rescue missions.

The Service depends entirely on the generous support of sponsors and the community to stay flying. Donations can be made here:
lifesaver.org.au/funding_challenge/donate.html

This film is 100% ‘real’, but there are some new techniques for me here, such as using time lapse to create the illusion of forward movement for the helicopter ocean scenes. These flight sequences would not be possible without the skill and patience of Chief Pilot Peter Yates. Thanks also to Trevor Cracknell (for getting wet!) and Family.”

Go to http://keithloutit.com

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

The virus hasn’t affected the information detailing each airline’s policy on kit, but it has affected the responses from all those who have flown with gear and left their feedback – deleting everything except the ratings and the first 30 characters of feedback.

The site isn’t quite back to square one, but they would like all those who have left feedback on airlines before to log into their accounts and edit their posts, as well as those who haven’t yet left feedback to do so right away! The Oceansource team is extremely sorry and gutted about this security lapse but are mildly placated by the knowledge that no personal information was lost, they still have the user ratings on each airline – and that the virus itself has had all of its eight eyes poked out with a sharp stick.

Oceansource.net/airlines is a good karma kind of site. It’s free to use and is solely intended to make flying with watersports gear a less stressful experience for all of us. By sharing information and knowledge we can all avoid those airlines that impose excessive charges on carrying surfboards.

If you want to help, please visit the site and leave feedback – good or bad – on all the airlines you’ve flown with when carrying kit. Thanks!

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale hit Indonesia’s Bengkulu province off the western coast of Sumatra on Monday, sparking a tsunami warning of the geophysics and meteorology agency.

“We have issued tsunami warning,” an agency official Agung Mulya Utom said, adding that the quake was felt in Jakarta, some nearby provinces and also in Singapore. According to a statement of the geophysics and meteorology agency, the quake struck at 15:36 Jakarta time with epicentre at 165 km south-west of Muko Muko town of the province and at 10 km under sea bed.

Metro TV news reported the earthquake caused widespread panic in the town, where several houses visibly cracked. There was no immediate report of casualties. People rushed out of buildings, but this has become sort of a habit for everyone, so there was not panic,” People quickly returned to normal activities.

Twenty-three people were killed and thousands of buildings distrusted in September 2007 after a 7.9 magnitude quake rocked the same province.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province lying at the northern tip of Sumatra island.

For more info, click on to earthquake.usgs.gov.

Surf travel? BA can’t handle it.

Surfers all over the world are trying desperately to convince British Airways to turn back from a plan to stop carrying surfboards on all thier flights after November 6th 2007.The airline says it is not able to carry boards “due to their large size and handling complexities”. (See full details below).

This petition started by the British Surfing Association is an attempt to get the airline to re-think its policy and we’d urge you to sign it, where ever you are:

http://www.gopetition.com/online/14891.html

Here’s what BA said in their recent announcement:

“Due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipment cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold,” claim the airline which previously had no charge for surfboards on long haul flights. “Therefore [effective from 6 November 2007] we no longer accept the following equipment at check-in as part of your sporting equipment allowance:

- hang gliders

- windsurfing boards and sails

- surfboards

- kayaks or canoes

- pole vaults

- javelins

Please contact your local freight company to arrange carriage for any items that exceed the permitted weight and size.”

Big company, big planes, no room for surfboards.

Surfers travelling on British Airways won’t be able to take their surfboards with them at all, according to a new rule to be implemented by the airline soon. While golf clubs, skis and other sports equipment can go in the hold as normal, surfers’ have found themselves exiled from the airline’s welcome list, along with hang gliders, kayakers and pole vaulters.

“Due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipment cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold,” claim the airline which previously had no charge for surfboards on long haul flights. “Therefore [effective from 6 November 2007] we no longer accept the following equipment at check-in as part of your sporting equipment allowance:

- hang gliders

- windsurfing boards and sails

- surfboards

- kayaks or canoes

- pole vaults

- javelins

Please contact your local freight company to arrange carriage for any items that exceed the permitted weight and size,” says BA’s website.

So, while TSP doesn’t want to endorse excessive air travel, we would urge surfers booking flights to be aware that some airlines, like Air New Zealand, are very surfer-friendly. Clearly you should check with any airline what their policy is before you make a booking, but it seems now, if you’re taking your boards, it’s not even worth considering BA. And if you already have a booking with them for after November 6th, we recommend you either start talking to a courier company (!) or buy/rent boards at the other end.

This Greenpeace adevrtisement now applies equally to BA’s approach to surfers, too.

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