Everybody on deck

1000ish in the shories at Dee Why.

Around 1000 at Dee Why point

Mid morning update: swell is pushing up dramatically now… and the wind’s into it. Dee Why point is getting pretty crazy looking with all the cross chop, but there are/were still a few bods in the water as of 1000. Some very sizable sets coming through too… I grabbed a snap or two to share…

1000ish in the shories at Dee Why.

earlier…

Hello Friends,

0645: set lights up the point

Swell has arrived. Still pretty close together on the period setting, but there are some fun looking sets getting into the point and along the beach at Dee Why.

At dusk yesterday it was just about flat at the point, thanks to the powering wind. But from around midnight, it started ramping up in a big way. The average height of the swell at sea went from around 2 to around 4 metres. At the same time the average period went from around 9 to close to 11 seconds. The  direction is dead south, so it will be bigger at places that face straight into the oncoming swell.

The wind is currently 8-14 kts from the WSW, but the Bureau says we should expect it to be 25-33 kts before it starts to swing southerly in the afternoon. Overnight it should back off a little and tomorrow is set to be S-SE at 10-15kt.

0745: not many in the water at the beach but there a few to be had.

According to the models, the swell will peak near dusk today, but it should still be pretty solid tomorrow morning. During the day it’s set to slacken off but there should still be good size waves at south swell spots through Wednesday. Lookin’ like a pretty good start to the week for Sydney.

Go well with your day and jag a few if you can!

south-west vancouver island

on sunday at 4 pm: mostly flat at our rivermouth point, as i might have surmised from the placid straits and oceanward outflow from our fishtrap beach – i met steady but not heavy surfmobile traffic, returning presumably from the lost village beach and further up the straits – may have been just unsuccessful weekend venturers, but more likely there were rideable waves to be found – marine winds easterly at the mouth of the straits, to 30 knots – please stay tuned ….

Tahiti’s Bourez Takes Haleiwa

From Honolulu Star-Bulletin – Honolulu, HI, USA:

Tahiti’s Michel Bourez used a combination of deep tube-riding and critical turns to win the Reef Hawaiian Pro yesterday at epic, barreling Haleiwa.

In the process, Bourez gained entry into the 2009 World Championship Tour and shot to second place on the World Qualifying Series rankings. He’s only the second Tahitian surfer to qualify for the tour and was excited to represent French Polynesia on it.

Read the article:  http://www.starbulletin.com/sports/sportsnews/20081123_tahitis_bourez_takes_haleiwa.html

Lower Trestles ASP World Tour License Picked Up by Hurley

COOLANGATTA, Australia – ASP International today announced that the ASP World Tour license for Lower Trestles, California has been transferred from Boost Mobile to Hurley effective immediately. Boost Mobile has sponsored the only event on the U.S. mainland for the past seven years; Hurley has been the presenting sponsor for the last three.

“The Board of ASP International was approached by Boost Mobile last week to request the transfer of their license to Hurley,” ASP CEO Brodie Carr said. “The ASP Board unanimously approved the transfer. Hurley has been supporting the Boost Mobile Pro for a number of years now and the transfer of the license with the associated naming rights was an easy decision for us.”

Hurley will take the helm when the ASP World Tour next visits San Clemente, California from September  11-20, 2009. The event will be Hurley’s first as the sole sponsor of an ASP World Tour event.

“Every event has its own trademark and Trestles has been the place for high performance surfing,” Hurley’s Pat O’Connell said. “Each year, the world’s best surfers come with a free surf mentality and the desire to make their mark on one of the most rippable waves in the world. Hurley believes in true performance, innovation and free expression, so to have a World Tour event bearing our name on the world’s best surfing canvas is a perfect connection.”

The Boost Mobile Pro presented by Hurley was a state-of-the-art production boasting incredible live webcast coverage and second-to-none infrastructure in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Hurley has inherited an event deemed a favorite among surfers and fans alike.

“We definitely want to thank Boost for being such great partners and the opportunity to share some historic surfing moments with them and we look forward to progressing to the next level as an ASP World Tour Licensee,” O’Connell said.

Though Boost Mobile will vacate their role as an ASP World Tour event licensee after 2008, their contributions to the Dream Tour will not be forgotten and after working closely with Hurley in recent years, it is expected that the event will continue to be a huge success.

“All of us at Boost Mobile are very proud of our support of the ASP during the past seven years and for having had the opportunity to bring the ASP World Tour back to the U.S. mainland,” Boost Mobile’s Chris Ernst said. “The timing was right to transition our license to Hurley, our highly valued partner of the Boost Mobile Pro for the last three years. We are confident that Hurley will maintain the high level of integrity and the best in class event that the Lower Trestles tour stop has become known for and maintain relationships with existing strategic business partners to keep the event at a “best on tour” type of program.”

ASP International would like to recognize Boost Mobile’s commitment to professional surfing over the last several years.

“On behalf of ASP and our surfers we would like to thank Boost Mobile for growing the Boost Mobile Pro into one of the most prestigious events on the ASP World Tour,” Carr said. “Our surfers love to come to Trestles and we look forward to the continuing support from Hurley International.”

James Watson Nets Back-to-back Honolua Ultimate Stand Up Paddle Challenge Crowns!

Burleigh Heads surfing ace James ‘Billy’ Watson performs a radical floater on his stand up paddleboard en route to winning.

Gold Coast, Aus – STAND up paddleboarding (SUP) continued its resurgence at Currumbin Alley today with the second annual Honolua Ultimate Stand Up Paddle Challenge wrapping up on the Gold Coast.

The first wave of stand up paddle surfing was attributed to the Hawaiian Beach Boys in the 1930’s who used to surf in Waikiki, Hawaii using canoe paddles to power themselves into waves.

Interest in the sport later faded out with the arrival of shorter and lighter boards, but the popularity has exploded on the Gold Coast with this year’s event attracting plenty of attention, with $1500 prize money up for grabs across a 40-strong field.

But it was no easy paddle for surfing’s ironmen, battling a devilish north westerly wind and testing 0.5-metre waves in the race for stand up paddle glory. 

Burleigh Heads SUP ace and defending champion James ‘Billy’ Watson validated his standing as the country’s ultimate stand up paddle surfer, trumping a talented crew of surfers to seal back-to-back crowns.

Watson, 28, was in a league of his own in the multi-disciplinary paddle challenge; unleashing a skilful showing of the revived Hawaiian surfing style to finish in the numero-uno position on 2450 points after placing second in the surfing division and third in the race component.

“I’m so stoked,” said Watson.

“Conditions were bumpy today which made doing maneouves quite difficult, so I’m pleased to come away with the win.”

Currumbin Lifeguard Kelly Margetts finished behind Watson in second on 2110-points with Woody Jack (Currumbin – 2000pts) rounding out the top three.

In a tightly-contested surfing final, Currumbin gun Jack out-duelled defending champion Watson to snare bragging rights over his Burleigh Heads rival.

In a high-scoring final, Jack made the most of an early wave score (7.17) to dominate proceedings.

Despite a last minute charge by Watson, Jack held his nerve to take line honours.

The talented paddler finishing on a two-wave combined total of 15.00 (out of a possible 20) to Watson’s 12.33. The Gold Coast pairing of Guy Walker and Matthew Lumley finishing in third and fourth respectively.

Post final, Jack said he was stoked to be apart of today’s surfing final.

“I’m over the moon,” he said. 

“I was kind of nervous at the start of the final, but I settled into rhythm quickly. I jagged a set wave right off the bat which really setup the win for me.”

Utilising the standard judging criteria as per the Surfing Australia Rule Book, competitors were also judged on how they utilised their paddle to push into waves and execute maneouvres.

Currumbin local Margetts crossed the line in first in the paddle race in a super-fast time of 27 minutes and 32 seconds, just ahead of Danny Sheard in 28 minutes and 46 seconds. Watson finished in third in a time of 29 minutes and 02 seconds. 

Competitors were required to paddle the two-kilometre race involving both flat and surf water conditions for the second component of the one-day tournament.  Paddlers raced from Currumbin Creek out through the surf and around a buoy back into Currumbin Creek around the M1 Highway Bridge and back to a finish line under the Gold Coast Highway Bridge.

However, the paddle challenge was not all about fierce competition. 

The Honoula Ultimate SUP Challenge was designed to be a really social affair and was a perfect event for the public to have their first crack at surfing’s hottest craze. 

Acting as a fantastic introductory to SUP, the prestigious event incorporated a free “Learn to SUP” clinic.

If you didn

New research: Vitamin B3 appears reduce liklihood of sun-induced skin cancer

For those not versed in reading scientific papers–Here’s the English translation of the text in the abstract below:

Taking 500mg daily of vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) appears to be an inexpensive method of reducing your chance of getting skin cancer from overexposure to the sun. Studies show that it protects skin against the the immune system suppression caused by ultraviolet radiation from the sun which in turn is likely to reduce your chance of developing skin cancer. NOTE: It does NOT prevent sunburn but does seem to stimulate your body’s ability to preserve your skin’s health, despite exposure to sunlight.

This finding may be a very significant finding and could contribute to a major reduction in skin cancers.
___________________________

Nicotinamide (Vitamin B3) Protects Against Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Immunosuppression In Humans

Diona Damian, Eleni Yiasemides, Geetha Sivapirabu, Joohong Park, Gary Halliday 
University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia 

Nicotinamide, the amide form of vitamin B3, has been shown to prevent UV-induced immunosuppression and carcinogenesis in mice, and is immune protective in humans when applied topically. 

Using the Mantoux model of skin immunity in groups of 30 healthy volunteers, we compared oral nicotinamide supplementation to placebo in a randomised, double-blinded cross-over study. Discrete areas of the lower back were irradiated with low-dose solar-simulated UV daily for 3 consecutive days. Mantoux testing with tuberculin purified protein derivative was then performed at both irradiated sites and adjacent unirradiated sites serving as immunologically intact controls. 

Immunosuppression was measured as the difference in Mantoux-induced erythema of irradiated test sites compared to unirradiated control sites. Significant UV-induced immunosuppression occurred in a dose dependent manner in the presence of placebo. 

Oral nicotinamide (1500mg daily) was well-tolerated and significantly protected against UV-induced immunosuppression with no effect on UV-induced erythema (sunburn) or unirradiated immune responses. 

In a second group of volunteers, low dose nicotinamide (500mg daily) conferred similar levels of immune protection. Our previous microarray studies suggested that nicotinamide normalises subsets of apoptosis, energy metabolism and immune function related genes that are down-regulated by UV exposure. 

We have now confirmed the microarray findings from selected key genes in these pathways using quantitative real time RT-PCR and found that nicotinamide appears to exert its UV protective effects primarily via its role in cellular energy pathways. Nicotinamide is safe and inexpensive and looks promising as a chemopreventive agent for skin cancer. 

http://allenpress.conference-services.net/viewPDF.asp?abstractID=231937&conferenceID=1196

http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v128/n2/abs/5701058a.html

yay new South swell

Wasn’t sure what we were going to get this morning – but a pleasant surprise after yesterdays maelstrom. Lite SW breeze early with 4-6ft of S swell and the odd cleanup. Standard disclaimer, with some spots showing heaps and others missing out. Wind turned more S and picked up a couple of notches about 8am, so that was it for me but there should still be some good waves around if you dont mind getting blown around a bit. Rosco.

Mona Vale

The conditions out MV this morning are really nice, only problem is the waves are about 6 foot and closing out, pretty much all the protected south ends would have a few waves this morning! good luck if you wanna get waves out main though…

Narrabeen Rpt

Meaty, beaty, big & bouncy! Plenty of swell hammering out of the south & onto our shores. Comfortably overhead where I looked, and no-one (yet) game enough to venture out in it