Manoa Drollets Wins Air Tahiti Nui/Von Zipper Trials

Manoa Drollet, from Tahiti, defeated Anthony Walsh, from Australia, in the finals of the Air Tahiti Nui Von Zipper Trials.

The day was filled with 8 foot barrel waves creating the perfect surfing conditions. On the last wave of the final Drollet went into a heaving tube to get a 9.6 out of 10.

Walsh achieved a secondhand score of 8.57 and the local Tahitian took the trials title.

Both surfers will continue on to compete in the Billabong Pro from May 4th to the 14th.

Nathan Hedge Wins WQS 6* O'Neill Highland Open

At the final day of the WQS O'Neill Highland Open Saturday, Australia's Nathan Hedge takes the crown winning $15,000 and 3000 WQS ratings points.

Hedge 'Hog' sealed the win against USA's Shea Lopez in the quarter final heat moving him to face former top 45 surfer Kirk Flintoff. Flintoff was defeated by Hedge moving Hedge to the finals.

Hedge then faced Jarrad Howse from Australia for the win, 13.50 to 10.93.

Other than winning $15,000 from O'Neill, Hedge also won a sword. "I'm not sure how I'm gonna get this sword home-- I think I'll need to check it in cargo."

Results:
FINAL
Nathan Hedge (Aus) 13.50 pts beat Jarrad Howse (Aus) 10.93 pts

SEMIFINALS
Jarrad Howse (Aus) 15.83 pts beat Ben Bourgeois (Usa) 14.66 pts
Nathan Hedge (Aus) 17.40 pts beat Kirk Flintoff (Aus) 12.03 pts

QUARTERFINALS
Ben Bourgeois (Usa) 17.50 pts beat Jay Thompson (Aus) 17.04 pts
Jarrad Howse (Aus) 11.27 pts beat Jordy Smith (Zaf) 9.34 pts
Nathan Hedge (Aus) 15.16 pts beat Shea Lopez (Usa) 13.30 pts
Kirk Flintoff (Aus) 14.84 pts beat Asher Nolan (Usa) 9.67 pts

The Jetset Collection Party

Etnies and Stereo had a get together April 22nd showcasing their Jetset collection of collabo shoes and to show the new Stereo video, A Journey Through Sound.

The new Jetset shoes had a pair of slip ons with Jason Lee's photographs repeated on them. Also some of Stereo's new "funky shaped decks" were put on display. The new video from Stereo was also looped through the whole party. The video was good and was filled with new footage from the team.

Fishbone performed as one of the entertaining acts. They have been credited a lot with the skating world and it was a real honor for Etnies and Stereo to have them. They played an almost hour long set with the Stereo video looping through each plasma screen.

Jeep Body Glove Surfbout Round 4 Update

In San Clemente, California round 5 of the Jeep Body Glove Surfbout will take place. The waves will be showing about a 2 - 3 foot surf.

"The waves are a bit sloppier today and slightly smaller," ASP North America Tour Manager Mike Martin said. He says that the Surfbout will continue and it should make it a bit more contestable. They plan on running through all of Round 4 and halfway to Round 5.

The ASP World Qualifying Series 4-star event will begin this morning with 16 heats in Round 4 and completing 8 heats in Round 5. The top seeds will take the water first in the opening heats of Round 5. Major players include Mike Losness, Anthony Petruso, Gabe King, and Damien Hobgood. Also surfing, will be the Surfbout's defending champion Dustin Cuizon.

ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS
Heat 1: Julian Cuello (CNY), Kieran Horn (USA), Jeremy Sherwin (USA), Heath Walker (AUS)
Heat 2: Chris Waring (USA) Kahea Hard (HAW), Wesley Larsen (HAW), Charlie Carroll (HAW)
Heat 3: Brad Ettinger (USA), Aaron Cormican (USA), David Rutherford (MEX), Ted Navarro (USA)
Heat 4: Tonino Benson (HAW), Tommy O’Brien (USA), Peter Mussio (USA), Dillon Perillo (USA)
Heat 5: Mikey Bruneau (HAW), Bobby Morris (USA), Kilian Garland (USA), Jason Collins (USA)
Heat 6: Jensen Hassett (HAW), Matt Keenan (USA), Micah Byrne (USA), Devon Tresher (USA)
Heat 7: Eric Geiselman (USA), Sterling Spencer (USA), Cory Arrambide (USA), Peter Mel (USA)
Heat 8: Josh Montgomery (USA), Chaz Chidester (HAW), Granger Larsen (HAW), Bud Freitas (USA)
Heat 9: Gavin Beschen (HAW), Nick Rozsa (USA), Chris Abad (USA), David Giddings (USA)
Heat 10: Dean Randazzo (USA), Randall Paulson (HAW), Adam Virs (USA), Jason Miller (USA)
Heat 11: Justin McBride (USA), Liam McNamara (HAW), Travis Beckmann (USA), Corey Garcia (AUS)
Heat 12: Matt King (USA), Noi Kaulukukui (USA), Brandon Ragenovich (USA), Adam Wickwire (USA)
Heat 13: Dane Johnson (USA), Love Hodel (HAW), Ricky Whitlock (USA), Tevita Gukilau (AUS)
Heat 14: Flynn Novak (HAW), Peter Devries (CAN), Chris Dennis (TTO), Sean Hayes (USA)
Heat 15: Gavin Gillette (HAW), Blake Jones (USA), Layne Harrison (USA), Jesse Heilman (USA)
Heat 16: Tyler Anderson (USA), Mitchell Coleburn (AUS), Brandon Guilmette (USA), Wesley de Souza (USA)

ROUND 5 MATCH UPS
Heat 1: Gabe Kling (USA), Jesse Merle-Jones (HAW), 1.1, 2.2
Heat 2: Shaun Burrell (USA), Daniel Jones (HAW), 1.2, 2.1
Heat 3: Dustin Cuizon (HAW), Mike Losness (USA), 1.3, 2.4
Heat 4: T.J. Barron (HAW), Che Stang (USA), 1.4, 2.3
Heat 5: Shaun Ward (USA), Cheyne Cottrell (USA), 1.5, 2.6
Heat 6: Joel Centeio (HAW), Ian Walsh (HAW), 1.6, 2.5
Heat 7: Kyle Garson (USA), Anthony Petruso (USA), 1.7, 2.8
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA), Myles Padaca (HAW), 1.8, 2.7

WMG Signs 9-year-old

Kalani David, 9-year-old surfer from Oahu, Hawaii, has just been signed with the Wasserman Media Group under Director of Surf, Blair Marlin.

He is not only a professional in the surfing industry but also in the skating industry. His days consist of surfing and school during the day and at night he goes to the local skate park. He is respected by many of the top surfers in the world as he can surf the North Shore with ease.

He has even caught the eye of 3-time ASP world champion, Andy Irons. "I can't believe Kalani is only 9. He goes out and rips Backdoor, does huge airs at Off the Wall, and then comes in and plays tag with all the little girls from his elementary school on the beach. The kid is classic!"

Both, Irons and David, are signed to WMG.

David is sponsored by Monument Clothing, Nike 6.0, Sobe Energy Drink, and Santa Cruz Surf and Skate.

Virginia Tech Shootings

I know this is a blog about surfing, skating, and extreme sports, but this also has to do with humanity so just bear with me about this topic.

I was very shocked when i saw the shootings on the internet and on TV. I didn't know what to think but I researched and researched and RESEARCHED this topic.

The shooter has been identified now as a South Korean, 23-year-old undergraduate majoring in English named Cho Seung-Hui. The story the police want to go by is that he went to West Amber Johnston Hall and shot the girl and male R.A. The reason why is still yet to be determined.

Earlier in the month 2 bomb threats had been made on the school which they presume to be Cho's doing. Their reasoning behind this was to check the security of the campus and to his delight, the cops did not do much about it.

At 7:15 A.M. the first shooting occurred and 7:19 A.M. a 911 call was placed. At this time no warning or e-mail had been sent out to students. At the time President of Virginia Tech, Charles Steger, and his staff were finding a way to let all students know including ones on the way to school.

Around 9:00 A.M. the wave of second shootings began in Norris Hall. Cho ran through the first floor in classrooms shooting and then, to the second floor doing the same. At this point students knew there was gunfire and some began jumping out windows and many tried to escape from the terror, but their doors were chained shut. One student had heard Cho running down the hall and heard him coming closer to his room so he ran to the door barricading the door but Cho managed to squeeze his hand and gun in the room and fired shots hitting a couple students. He then went to the last classroom. He shot and killed some and then turned the gun on himself.

This just came as a shock to me. I could not get my mind off of it. All I did Monday after my classes is watch FOX News.

This can happen anywhere. There are people out there that are like this. They are depressed or angry with society because they are not accepted. I'm not blaming society for this, but they did play a role in Cho's personality. What he did was terrible and should have seeked therapy or something, but what we need to do now is to respect all types of people, even the ones that you think are the weirdest on campus.

I know this is an overused quote, but it does help... "Put yourself in their shoes."

Fisherman Dies Due to High Surf

In Corona del Mar a body was discovered from the surf on Friday. The body has been identified as Sean Shungfei Yeh, 53, from Fremont, California. He and a companion had been missing since Tuesday and were expected to be dead due to drowning.

The police received many 911 calls around 11:15 a.m. about the body near Inspiration Point. Two lifeguards found the body an hour and fifteen minutes later. The body was found underneath a lookout point in a rocky area. The other body is yet to be found.

4 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage Dumped In Oceanside

Surfing wont be as beautiful as it used to be at Oceanside for a while. Over 4 million gallons of raw sewage was dumped into Oceanside on April 2 to wipe out 5 species of fish in the area.

A main sewage valve broke Sunday night.

The spill has closed over a mile of the beach and officials are warning tourists and citizens to not fish, swim, surf, or go in the water until it has been cleaned up.

There hasn't been any sicknesses or effects to humans caused by the spill although over 5,000 fish have died. The spill will be cleaned up but at the time it is just asked that no one be in the area of the spill.

The spill ranks as one of the worst spills in North County in the last decade.