Jamie at Lobos
While in Chile I was given the opportunity to help the people whose lives were interrupted from the huge 8.8 earthquake and tsunami that hit in February. I joined Save the Waves foundation down in the city of Constitution. This town was severely damaged and was a mess. It looked way worse then what we were seeing on the news back in the states. Quiksilver and Cliff Bar sent clothes and energy bars down to Chile and we distributed them to school kids, the Red Cross, and the police. It was nice to see the people still smiling after what they all are going through. My heart goes out to the People of Chile.
We even scored some good waves down near the city of Constitution. Small but fun little waves.
Aloha,
Jamie
Destruction at sea level
Handing out Clif bars
Ramon Navarro surfing down south in the worst hit city by the tsunami, Constitucion. At least Chile still has its beautiful left tubes...
Make shift boat engine repair shop
This fisherman has been out of work for two months because he lost his motor to the tsunami
Ramon again, displaying local knowledge...
Jamie in the thick of it
Photo: Brody
John Maher is an elusive individual. One minute you see him. The next minute he is gone. Once again, Maher pulled one of his mysterious vanishing acts right in front of our eyes... He came into the factory, cracked a few jokes, gathered his mid range quiver, nonchalantly mentioned that he was taking off to Tavarua for four months that evening, and then he peeled out in his van into the evening sky.
We haven't heard from him since, but something tells me we might see a few photos pop up in the near future...
Josh Kerr had another explosive showing at the Nike 6.0 Trestles event with a variety of new school airs and tail wafts, securing his spot in the round of 16. Come down to Trestles to show your support or tune into the Webcast and root for Kerr online...
Josh Kerr
Nate Yeomans
Photos: Brody
Day two of the Nike 6.0 Trestles event displayed a perfect South swell with A-frames coming in consistently throughout the day. Some of the world's best surfers have all gathered for this beloved event and the level of competition is through the roof. Every preliminary heat could have been a final based on the talent level. In the early part of the day we saw Nate Yeomans take the win in his heat and the later part of the day Josh Kerr cut loose to advance through to the next round.
Nate takes the cake...
Kerr takes his progressive new school surfing to the contest arena...
William Cardoso...
Jake Halstead...
Photos: Brody
Recent addition to the Rusty Team, Damien Fahrenfort, surfed a very impressive heat on Friday, meanwhile down the beach Josh Kerr had a fun warm up surf where he threw some mind-boggling airs, preparing himself for his first heat. Featured below are a few images of Josh and Damien flaring up...
Kerr...
Fahrenfort...
Jayke Sharpe
Photos: Brody
Photo: Sheila
It's my 7th time to Chile. I guess you could say I'm a fan of the cold water Indonesia, as I like to call it. Why do I call it that? Well, its waves are 80% lefts and yes it's cold and chilly. Chile is one the places where I can find every type of wave that there is to surf: slabs, point breaks, beach breaks, reefs, and "almost waves" (i.e. if we could only blow that one rock up it would be rideable). Not only does the variety of waves allure me, but the minimal crowds and consistency of the coastline is also a main draw. Oh yea being a goofy foot and surrounded by endless lefts with practically no one out makes this place a dream situation. Add to that the culture, the friends I have here, the food and Its all good!
I'm based in Pichilemu right now an am staying in my friend Diego Medina's guest cabana with my girlfriend Sheila. It sits on the beach in front of Punta de Lobos, one of Chile's premier big wave spots. It's a left hand point break and can hold waves as big as 7 meters= 25 ft+.
My main purpose here in Chile is to compete in the Quiksilver Ceremonial: Punta De Lobos big wave invitational. We are in the middle of the 2 month waiting period. Event organizers want to wait for a 5-7 meter = 15-25 ft swell. It will be my first time competing at this surf spot so I thought it was a good idea to come down here early and practice at Lobos. I've also been surfing some other amazing waves in the local area.
Diego Medina has been a great host. I've been able to tag along with him and get the inside scoop on where to surf as well as where to eat. I have 31 more days in Chile so I'm sure there will be some adventures to write about along with some cool point of view photos that my girlfriend and I'll be taking.
Aloha,
Jamie