Table of contents for No. 574 in Tracks

Behind the Cover - Mikey February by Alan Van Gysen After many years of traveling the globe I’ve come to realise that there are only a handful of opportunities in life where you get to be a part of something truly special; seldom still to witness – and know you are witnessing, history in the making; both for the individuals directly involved and for the global surf community as a whole. Being led to West Africa with Michael February is perhaps one of the greatest to date in my life, and perhaps his if our conversations and reflections since are any indication. Contrary to what Jamie Brisick thinks and wrote in The New Yorker last month (August 2019), Michael February surfs, and surfs the way he surfs, simply because he…

Sammy Anani has a bushy moustache and large hands thick with callouses from working his fishing nets. “It is amazing to watch people like him surf these waves,” he says. “I would like to do that, but unfortunately I am ageing…” he laughs. We’re sitting in the shade of a big dugout fishing boat, knees up, scratching the sand with a stick. “So I’m not sure. But I will try influence my kids to get into it because it is very amazing, especially this guy…” He points to Michael February, as he bobs in the ocean waiting for the next set. “He is very wonderful. The way he surfs, I have never seen this type before. Some surfers have come here before, but he is different.” He smiles and claps…

Sea of Darkness is probably the greatest surf movie you’ve never seen. Directed by Michael Oblowitz, the controversial documentary focuses on the exploits of Svengali figure, Mike Boyum, a charismatic American who conceived and built the original Grajagan surf camp in the mid-70s. Boyum’s concept was visionary but the jungle setting had a darker purpose, doubling as the headquarters for Boyum’s international drug racket. Sea of Darkness, which is narrated by John Milius (wrote and directed Big Wednesday and wrote the screenplay for Apocalypse Now) endeavours to piece together the murky history between Boyum and some of his co-conspirators, Jeff Chitty, Australian surf legend, Peter McCabe, and US, east coast surfer, Ricky Rasmussen. Lauded surf explorer, Martin Daly (who now owns the major rights to Sea of Darkness) also features…

SURFING HAS EVOLVED A GREAT DEAL SINCE ITS SPIRITUAL GENESIS IN HAWAII, AND WHILE SOME OF THOSE ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHIES REMAIN, OTHERS ARE NO LONGER CENTRAL TO THE MODERN, EVERYDAY SURFING EXPERIENCE. IN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF NAT YOUNG’S NEW BOOK, CHURCH OF THE OPEN SKY, HE STATES EMPHATICALLY THAT SURFING IS NOT A SPORT. “I have never thought of surfing as a sport” writes Young. “Not a traditional sport anyway. It’s not something you do casually, like playing a round of golf with your mates on the weekends. It’s much more of a drug, a lifestyle, a religion.” If that’s the case, as our species manoeuvres its way into the Olympic arena, I wonder, have we lost our way? Historically, Nat tells us, surfing in Hawaii was a daily ritual…

AN UNDERGROUND WORLD TITLE IS RIGHT NOW IN FIRST PHASE TESTING FOR INTERIM RANKINGS. THE YEAR 2020 SIGNALS INVITATION FOR ANY INTERESTED SURFER OF ANY BEACH IN ANY COUNTRY TO CHALLENGE WITHIN A LEVEL SYSTEM WHERE, NO MATTER THE WEIGHT OF NUMBERS*. A SHOT AT THE ROOTS/ART TEST MATCH SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP (RAT) CAN TAKE PLACE VIA A MAXIMUM SEVEN-STRAIGHT SUCCESSFUL ENCOUNTERS AND GUARANTEED WITHIN A YEAR. Roots/Art Test is born as much for the capacities of Dave Rastovich, Frankie Oberholzer, Travers Adler, and Maurice Cole in the present as it is for future minimalist generations. RAT acknowledges Indigenous Country across the globe, respecting the urgency of low environmental and cultural footprint. This is change but not for the sake of change; for the necessity of change. It won’t play rival…

AS HARD AS IT IS TO BELIEVE, THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT WILL STILL SURPRISE YOU UPON MEETING KELLY SLATER, WHICH, GIVEN HE’S BEEN IN THE PUBLIC EYE NEAR ON FOUR DECADES IS A SURPRISE IN AND OF ITSELF. The first of which may strike you is his size; he’s a fraction shorter than you’d imagine but otherwise perfectly proportioned with thick, upper arms and broad, tanned hands which deliver a pleasingly firm handshake. Then there are those piercing green eyes, much deeper and more distracting than you’d imagine and able to add a weighty exclamation point mid-sentence once they lock in on you. Upon meeting Kelly though, I’ll admit to mostly being caught off-guard by his physical presence, or, ever so slight lack thereof, but it soon dawned on…

Last April the Surfing Heritage and Cultural Centre in San Clemente, California, hosted what was billed as a reunion of former staffers and senior contributors from Surfer Magazine’s nearly 60 years at the top of the surf media pile. Your correspondent, who laboured as the magazine’s North Shore correspondent from the late 1970s into the early 80s, received an invitation but missed the shindig by a mere 48 hours. However, he is reliably informed that most of the big names, past and present, of surf media were there, some virtually unchanged from their glory days, others almost unrecognisable, but only one-time editor Sam George refused to wear a nametag. If you don’t know Sam, you don’t know Sam, I suppose. The beer, wine, tequila, tall stories and bonhomie flowed until…

Nat Young has been one of surf culture’s most influential figures for over half a century. As a prodigious competitor, he won three Australian championships and two World Titles (1960 and 1970), before embracing the country-soul movement and inspiring a generation of surfers to follow him down the same alternative path. As his focus shifted away from winning contests, Nat dabbled in politics, became an author, a filmmaker and a father. Not surprisingly all of Nat’s four children Naomi, Nava, Beau and Bryce became exceptional surfers. Most recently it has been youngest son, Bryce, who has helped Nat stay connected to a dynamic era of surf history, where interest in classic surf craft has been reignited. In Church of the Open Sky Nat calls upon all his personal experiences and…