The Theremin.. Who Knew?

Crazy ass electro instrument, no touchies, no feelies, but still music. Wow. Has anyone else heard of this thing?

More March Madness With Fergal

I swear to god, Fergal Smith has seen more barrels than the lads that work in the Guinness factory. Nice GoPro footage in this one too. From his blog Lately

C-SKINS presents MARCH with FERG from allan wilson on Vimeo.

Hypnotised by the brass

Fairwell to the hood

Still catching up with some shots from the winter. I've been in the water so infrequently these last few months, but did manage a few glassy ones about a while ago in Sligo on a lightning strike mission. Photos courtesy of Sara H. Glassy waves courtesy of The Gods. And though this was a great winter for waves, I'm not sorry to see the end of hood season here in Ireland. Bring on those glassy summer sunset surfs.

Skate Madness

Indy Indo

Hard to believe it's been two years, but more archive pics made it my way today, this time from good ol' Dave VE from DVE Images who took some time out from top the foam to pick up the plastic and document our trip to Indo. Good mates, good times, great pics.

Peniche Tour Of Duty

Got sent some random pics from last year's tour of duty in Peniche. The ferry is booked for the return epic, The Surfcastle awaits. Accompanying tune by Iron and Wine, with his cover of New Order's Love Vigilantes.

March Madness

Things that go bump in the night

These fuckers still surf good in the dark. No fair.

If you were the last person left on an island...

Last year a lone super model decided, after seven years of being ridiculously ridiculously good looking, that she needed a break, a bit of time to herself away from all the flashbulbs and catwalks. So she read about a place in Tahiti whose name meant 'The End Of The Road' in Tahitian. It sounded perfect. Just what a jaded model needed: peace and quiet, away from her phone, stalker boyfriend and publicist. Unfortunately for her, the lovely lady in question went to that place called Teahupoo slap bang in the middle of the comp. And instead of listless days of lounging on an empty beach,  got 50 hyped up surfer dudes and all their circus sweating over her for a week. This one's for the ladies. Wonder if she'll be at Bells?

Girls_in_tahiti from Stab on Vimeo.

Little Bit of Decorating

So, newly jazzed up (but still sporadically updated) This Curved Coast moves out into the world with a new set of threads on. Like a new lick of paint, clean walls look great, but look better when you hang some pictures on them. Hope you like it!

Like Most Good Things..

They come from South By South West

Freelance Whales - Second Generator Floor

Laax Through The Eyes Of A Fish

My digital camera is resting somewhere 'neath the white snows of Switzerland, so all Ive got is my fisheye. Bendy pics of our trip be here.

In absence of Snow, Sigur Ros

Hello the internet. Just back from a little trip to Laax in Switzerland. Ended it all with a morning of fresh tracks and blue skies and finally cruised to the bottom of the mountain with feet throbbing and heart beating. If there's a better thing than snowboarding on a blue skied powder day in the world, I've yet to find it. 
Alas, I lost my camera to Rum Punch and an open pocket, so photo's are lacking. But in the mean time I read an article about Sigur Ros front man Jon Birgison's new solo album today, and it reminded me about my favorite Take Away Show. The amazing thing about the Take Away Show concept is seeing the musicanship of the bands up close, and realising just how talented they are in composition and performance. So, as the title says, no snow, but Sigur Ros. Enjoy.

Sigur Ros - Við spilum endalaust - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Saturation Point?

You'd sometimes wonder if pro's like Fergal Smith get sick of wave after wave of pitching emerald lips that could possibly maim you, of grinding slabs detonating inches behind you, of organ displacing drops down sheer faces, of the feeling of spray on the back of your head as you get flung out the front door of your tenth heaving pit of the day. You would wonder.. Doesn't look like he does though..

Fergal Smith - February from Astray Films on Vimeo.

My Eyes Found These Images

Quik Recap

Meanwhile, the slightly more conventionally inspirational Top 44 kicked of their year at a resurrected Snapper Rocks in Oz last week. WA boy Taj Burrows won it, and hopefully clears the way for the perennial runner up to have a good crack at the title this year. But watching the (very cinematic) footage, he may have a scrap on his hands. Next up, Bells, March 30th to April 10th.

Stab, Quik Pro, Highlights from Stab on Vimeo.

Birthright

This is probably one of the more amazing pieces of surf related footage any of us will ever see. It's a short film by a guy called Sean Mullins about his friend who is wheelchair bound, but still a surfer. Inspirational stuff. Sean also has a couple of other beautifully shot shorts here.

BIRTHRIGHT from Sean Mullens on Vimeo.

Lost your passport in Kosovo?

Then these guys probably can't help you. But they will invite you in for a cup of tea, and possibly even reward you with a Guinness pen. Class.

The Unofficial Irish Embassy Kosovo

Excellent News For Bundoran

It seems the standard is about to rise further up in the North West with the announcement of plans for a Surfing Center of Excellence in Bundoran. It's great news for Irish Surfing, and further evidence (for better or worse!) of surfing's infiltration into the mainstream of sport and culture here in Ireland. Just a number of years ago, even the thought of getting funding for anything surfing related would have been laughable. This, along with the slow rise of the skate park across the country means that non traditional sports (which are just as valid an outlet as Rugby, Soccer, Gaa etc. and just as beneficial in every sense) are finally getting a crack of the whip. The only other such center in Europe is in Portugal, so we are placing ourselves at the forefront of Surfing excellence development by doing this. 

Only problem now is the next time you paddle out within a ten mile radius of Bundoran you're going to be surrounded 20 air reverse popping groms and will probably have to drive to Dublin to get a wave off a local. The price of progress!


Pic from Mindscape.ie on Bundorandsurfco.com.