Blog - Page 12 of 18 - Southern Man Surf Shop

Australia’s Three Newest WSL Events

28 March, 202118 March, 2021 by Martyn Saunders

The 2021 WSL Championship Tour will be unique for a range of reasons, but probably most notable among them is the format of the Australian leg of the tour. Rather than the Gold Coast/Bells/Margaret River ritual to which we’ve become so accustomed, this year we’ll, unfortunately, miss out on the first two courtesy of logistical issues relating to the pandemic, government regulations, and all that other jazz to which we’ve also become very accustomed over the past year. Those events will be sorely missed, but of course, the flip side to their absence is that we’ll be treated to three new events, and Rip Curl has jumped right in to sponsor all of them alongside their sponsorship of the new season-ending event at Trestles. Let’s take a look at where they are, and what we can expect from them.

The 2021 WSL Championship Tour – How Will it Work?

28 March, 202116 March, 2021 by James Salmon

Crowning World Champions on the iconic cobblestone point of Lower Trestles in Southern California, the Rip Curl WSL Finals will make history in 2021

The return of the World Surf League is nearly upon us, and as virtually every promotional campaign of virtually every sports league will tell you at the beginning of the season, it’s set to be a year like no other. This time, however, it’s safe to say that it’s true. In fact, already the season …

Trestles to Host New Season- Ending WSL Event

28 March, 202115 March, 2021 by Martyn Saunders

It’s been a period of significant change for the WSL. First they had to cancel the entire 2020 Championship Tour because of COVID-19. Then the 2021 season began in Hawaii, which for years has been home to the season-ending events at which the two world champions are found and crowned. That has left an unavoidable hole at the end of the calendar, and the WSL has filled it not just with a new tournament, but with a new event.

The Evolution of Surfing Equipment

28 March, 202110 March, 2021 by James Salmon

In the beginning, surfing was pretty straightforward. Accounts of exactly who was onto it first vary, but the generic image most people have is of a big guy wearing nothing but boardshorts slicing through the water on some sort of sculpted log. Over time, of course, that developed, and now it’s all a little more …

When Surfing and Technology Meet

28 March, 20212 March, 2021 by James Salmon

Surfing hasn’t escaped the technological revolution which is sweeping the globe at an exponentially increasing rate, with all kinds of new contraptions – both good and bad – popping up on the market in recent years. Certainly, some great developments have been made in terms of surfboard and wetsuit manufacturing, something we’ll discuss in detail …

Best Waves in Africa

28 March, 20211 March, 2021 by James Salmon

Outside of a handful of well-known breaks in South Africa, Africa doesn’t exactly scream ‘surf trip’ for most people. But as the world’s second-biggest continent, and surrounded on most sides by vast expanses of ocean, there’s bound to be an abundance of great places to surf. Below, we take a look at five of the …

The Best Waves in the USA

28 March, 202124 February, 2021 by James Salmon

Here in Australia, we are probably blessed with the best waves one single country could hope for, both in quantity and quality. If there’s a rival, however, it’s the USA, the birthplace of so much of the surfing culture that exists today. The Beach Boys didn’t write Surfin’ USA for no reason, and with its …

The Best Waves in Europe

28 March, 202124 February, 2021 by James Salmon

Europe is well-known for a lot of things – culture, food and history, to name a few. For most people surfing comes pretty far down the list of what they associate with the continent, but with a sizeable west coast which is at the mercy of the vast Atlantic Ocean, the cultural capital of the …

The Best Waves in Asia

28 March, 202113 February, 2021 by James Salmon

With so many islands dotted between Asia’s mainland and Australia, it’s little wonder that the continent is able to boast so many of the world’s best waves. And as one of the few parts of the world in relative proximity to us, it’s also little surprise that so many Aussies head there to enjoy them. …

The Best REAL Waves in Australia

28 March, 202112 February, 2021 by James Salmon

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve put up a number of pieces about the rapid growth of the wave pool industry and what it means for surfing. And while there’s no doubt that artificial waves are becoming an increasingly important part of the sport we love, they still can’t – and likely never will …

Wave pool technology – how does it all work?

28 March, 20214 February, 2021 by James Salmon

As the wave pool industry continues to develop, more and more high-quality artificial waves are popping up all around the globe. As we’ve talked about in previous articles, there are now first-rate inland waves on offer everywhere from Europe to the USA to Australia – and quite a few average ones as well. And though …

Wave Pools of the World

28 March, 202129 January, 2021 by Dannielle Saunders

The Wave is located in Bristol - Drone 4 credit Global Shots

As we’ve discussed in our previous couple of pieces, wave pools are becoming an increasingly prevalent part of the surfing community the world over. As of a few months ago there were 15 of them open and accessible and another ten or so under construction, so with that in mind let’s take a look at …

Wave pools – the good and the bad

28 March, 202127 January, 2021 by James Salmon

As we established in our most recent piece, wave pools aren’t exactly a new concept. They are, however, becoming an increasingly prevalent part of surfing with every passing year, and with change invariably comes controversy – and a whole lot of discontentment. Naysayers despise what (and who) they bring to the sport, while others see …

Wave Pools – Where and when did they come from?

28 March, 202119 January, 2021 by Martyn Saunders

When the World Surf League announced that in 2018 it would hold its first-ever event outside of the ocean, it set tongues wagging in a big way. Some felt taking the league to Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch would be a brilliant opportunity to see the world’s best surfers unimpeded by the randomness of the ocean, …

Best Sharp Eye Surfboards (2021)

14 June, 202318 January, 2021 by Martyn Saunders

The team at Southern Man Surf and Rip Curl Ulladulla are excited to see Shape Eye Surfboards added to our range in store. With limited space in our store, we spent a heap of time chatting with the guys at Sharpe Eye Australia making sure we get the styles of surfboards right for our customers …