Island Odyssey#4
foon
Truth be told, part of my Hawaii vacation was funded by
Surfoon Magazine. My editor told me while I was over there I
could slip in an assignment by covering the Vans G-Shock
Triple Crown of Surfing, held at Haleiwa's Ali Park. The
mission was to slip behind the scenes and get the real
story.
I'd never been to a big time surf contest. The one's I'd
been to on the Right Coast seemed more like a family picnic
in comparison. This ASP (Assoc of Surfin Pros) event was the
real deal. This is the Bizness of Surfing, big, colorful,
exciting and curiously strange.
For some reason my credentials were not at the media center,
so I was relegated to prowling the beach mingling with both
spectators and contestants, who for some reason did not hang
out in the contestants staging area, except to get a
massage.
Watching some early women's heats I quickly became disgusted
with the running commentary provided by two talking heads on
the PA system. Condescending, un funny, cliquish and boring,
the two would ramble on using surfer dude slang and
simplistic imagery, assuming the average spectator was a
total idiot. The only thing they were good for were
identifying which contestant was which. Also later in each
heat they would announce the standings based on wave scores
and tell each contestant what they needed to score on their
remaining waves just to place. Talk about pressure.
Though the surf was building, the conditions were
deteriorating due to wind. I spotted a particular
photographer who'd set up his camera and massive lens
nearby. Wearing a huge straw sun hat he would shoot nearly
every ride. I guessed he'd batch loaded his film so he could
shoot dozens of shots without reloading and asked him
simply, "What film you using?" He looked at me like I was
daft. "Film? No one uses film anymore mate, " he said with
a slight Aussie accent, "this is a digital camera. I can get
over 200 shots per disk and I shoot 2-3 disks a day."
Embarrassed by my naivety, I quickly began picking his brain
about his equipment, and shooting contest pictures. In all
I spent about 4 hours with "Pierre" who turned out to be the
official ASP photographer for the tour. He was very kind to
answer all my questions patiently and gave me a wealth of
knowledge in surf contest picture taking.
After spending the day shooting as many waves as possible
hoping to get a handful of good shots. He would go back to
the contest media center and download the pictures reviewing
them all. Selecting good ones, he would then mount them on
the ASPlive website. Pierre uses a Canon digital camera
with a 1000 mm lens that he often put a 2x converter on. He
shoots at 1/1250th sec, f-stop and focus are automatic. If
he holds the shutter button down, he can get 4-6 shots per
sec depending on the action he's shooting. After shooting a
bunch of Rochelle Ballard he backed up the disk and showed
me the sequence. Nothing special except one wipeout that
made her appear to be squatting and taking a dump on the
face of the wave. That would be saved for the "party
collection".
When I asked about the relative quality of his pics and
printing them in magazines, he claimed they are fairly small
files which came out at about 300 dpi. Then offhand he said
that he didn't need really high quality images for the
website and kinds of magazines who published these shots.
He conceded that the really high quality surf photogs still
use film for the coffee table book type pictures. For the
kind of work he did, digital was just fine. His rig cost
over $25,000 for camera and lens.
With the swell building, the break next to Haleiwa called
Avalanche, was getting some ooohs and aaahs as a couple of
riders were taking some 2-3xohead elevator drops. I watched
this action through my binoculars. Soon the contest
officials stopped the women's heats and started calling the
men's. It just so happened I'd found a bit of shade sitting
at a picnic table next to the Vans' Tent, which I found
amusing since I was wearing my red dirt filthy Airwalks.
While I was sitting at the table I sensed several guys
sitting down around me and talking about the woman's heats.
I looked up to see, Kalani Robb, Rob Machado, Mark
Occhilupo, and CJ Hobgood, all contestants. I'd some how
found the hang out table for the contestants to wait at.
We all watched as Trudy Todd of Australia did one of them 10
foot floater things. The guys hooted and I looked up to see
her countryman Occy smiling broadly. He winked at me and
said "Good 'un huh?" I nodded and immediately decided this
would be the ideal moment for a SurFoon exclusive interview
with the World Champion apparent, Mark Occhilupo.
Interview with Mark Occhilupo, Nov. 16, 1999 for SurFoon
Magazine as filed by Foondoggy:
SF: So Occy, what do you think of the competition and
conditions here at the Triple Crown?
Occy: This is a great contest. The ASP does a really good
job in Hawaii. All their contests are first rate and well
run. We have a splendid time here on the North Shore each
winter.
SF: What do you think your chances are this year?
Occy: Look, you know we all travel the tour together.
Everyone has their good and bad days. I've been especially
lucky this year, but often it comes down to the prevailing
conditions at the time of your heat. Haleiwa favors a
regular footer, but any good surfer is going to shine no
matter what the conditions. I have as good a chance as any.
SF: What do you do on the days the contest is canceled Occy?
Occy: Oh a few of us will check out other breaks where
future contests will be held like Sunset, and go out for a
surf. If it's really flat, we play golf.
SF: What kind of car do you drive Occy?
Occy: Uh, a 1980 Mercedes. Um, what magazine did you say
you were with?
SF: Thanks Occy, the readers of SurFoon magazine will be
rooting for you.
Editors Note: The following is the real transcript of
Foon's interview as transcribed from the actual minicassette
used in the interview:
Foon: Hey Occy, Howzit?
Occy: Uh yeah.......hi......are you......uh with the
contest?
Foon: Um...no. I'm just here on vacation.
Occy: Oh, that's nice...........having a good time?
Foon: Why yes, thanks for asking........Say would you be
interested in going over Chulo's for lunch? It's on me!
Occy: SECURITY!!!!!
Next: Seven days prowling the North Shore, Snapshots of
Surfing's Magic Playground
-Occy's NewBestFrenFoon
el_roca
> Contestland-<heavily snipped>
> Though the surf was building, the conditions were
> deteriorating due to wind. I spotted a particular
> photographer who'd set up his camera and massive lens
> nearby
> official ASP photographer for the tour.
>
many years ago.
So Foon,will you be posting any pics from your trip?
and.......
Did you bring a stash of Crispy Cremes with
you,or did you get by on malasadas?
--
><
el_roca
><
http://homestead.deja.com/user.el_roca/
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Lawrence Cook
foon wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> SF: What kind of car do you drive Occy?
>
> Occy: Uh, a 1980 Mercedes. Um, what magazine did you say
> you were with?
>
> SF: Thanks Occy, the readers of SurFoon magazine will be
> rooting for you.
>
Thanks Foon for asking the important questions. Though what kind of SUV
do you drive would be of more value.
LC
Rick Ciaccio
>
>
>foon wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> SF: What kind of car do you drive Occy?
>>
>> Occy: Uh, a 1980 Mercedes. Um, what magazine did you say
>> you were with?
>>
>> SF: Thanks Occy, the readers of SurFoon magazine will be
>> rooting for you.
>>
>
>do you drive would be of more value.
I got my wife's 4Runner up to 80 mph on a Mexican beach--- got it airborn a few
times... whew! Later that night, parked at the tide line doing hanky-panky...
realized that the rising tide was up to the running boards-- was lucky to not
get stuck.
>LC
>
Napalm Ž
South African English (± fourth most popular first language in this country,
easily most popular second language choice) accent is a smidgen British with
a heavy Dutch influence.
I'd consider Australian accented English a lot closer to US/Canadian
accented English than our own. Both countries chew their words - a "twangy"
sound to everything - whereas SA English requires loads less jaw
movement. Somewhere between bland and ugly.
Here...
The letter "R" is seldom emphasised
Hard letters such as "G" and "K" often have a harsh pronunciation
(German/Dutch influence)
The letter "A" is often pronounced "å" - as in "aaaah". Dance, ask, can't,
etc
Word emphasis is often different. You would say "A-dult", we would say
"Ad-ult"
Lots of Euro pronunciation still in place. Americans and Aussies have never
quite grasped the pronunciation of French- and German-based words.
Pierre the ASP photo guy is a South African. He used to be a travelling pro.
Some of you may recall at the BHP Steel event about 10 years back there was
a kid and on ASP contestant struck by lightning while standing on the beach.
His nic ever since has been "Toast".
Napalm
<bonus point question for Neil Me-yah-kay>
How do you pronounce "Botha".
foon wrote...
John Ferguson
> Pierre the ASP photo guy is a South African. He used to be a travelling
pro.
> Some of you may recall at the BHP Steel event about 10 years back there
was
> a kid and on ASP contestant struck by lightning while standing on the
beach.
> His nic ever since has been "Toast".
I remember when that happened! Small world.
Ferg.
Lemming®
developed and then Foon spends about 20 hours
sorting thru all the proofs and then another
10 hours on the scanner because HE REFUSES TO
BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA.
foon
el_roca wrote:
> Was that Pierre Tostee? He was a top competitor from SA
> many years ago.
Yes, sorry I thought he was Aussie. He did mention one of "our"
guys when he was talking about someone from Australia, but he may
have meant it as in "ours" meaning one of the WCT competitors.
> So Foon,will you be posting any pics from your trip?
MrsFoon spent the morning reviewing and purging some of the 200
pics from the trip. I have some very good shots of my morning sesh
(photo) at the Pipeline, a couple of shots of the alt.surfing
crew mostly coming out of the water (Jules, Neal Sorry folks, the
morning shots were in too little light and the slow speed I had to
shoot at blurred most of the action pics) and some contest shots
of the scene, Pierre, and a few contest waves. I have no way of
scanning these and other than the Pipe pics of no names, there
really isn't anything usual. I'm very happy about many of the pics
I did take though. It proved that my old Minolta XG-M coupled with
my new Sigma 70-210 zoom, and a little practice to get my photo
taking chops back, resulted in photos that will spur many memories
when I'm dozing and droolin (like tonight).
> Did you bring a stash of Crispy Cremes with
> you,or did you get by on malasadas?
I had no Krispy Kremes (that spelling anomaly is very important)
but I did get a taste of Malasadas in Haleiwa one morning. I like
them very much. Other cuisinal things I found pleasing were
several variations on the "lunch plate" or "cold plate" genre, and
some world class "shave ice" at Jo Jo's in Waimea Kauai. I managed
to avoid the dreaded poi and ate a lot of pineapple, mango, and
guava fruits. I extended my life long quest to find the perfect
Mai Tai, and had many good ones.I never ate fast food the whole
time I was there and tried to patronize locals type restaurants or
unique eateries while I was in Hawaii. By far some of the best
food I ate was at Neal's house. I wonder what he did with all the
leftovers, there was so much food.
Foon
Btw72
>many years ago.
>el_roca
I saw parts of the two Aloe Up Cup contsest in New Smyrna in the late '80s.
The single most memorable ride I saw was when I was walking on the boardwalk to
the beach; Tostee got a lonnnng howler and advanced out of the trials. He
then took out Shaun Tomson in a split decision.
BTWeaver
bt...@aol.com
Tom Keener
> I managed to avoid the dreaded poi
Does _anyone_ eat poi today, or is it (with any luck,) extinct?
Tom Keener
keensurf_at_cts_dot_com
Rod Rodgers
and even caught some of the Friday/weekend live entertainment.
Rod Rodgers
e-mail: rrod...@bcpl.net
homepage: http://www.bcpl.net/~rrodgers/rodpage1.html
On Sun, 5 Dec 1999, foon wrote:
>
>
> el_roca wrote:
>
> > Was that Pierre Tostee? He was a top competitor from SA
> > many years ago.
>
Lemming®
I like about Hawaii.
Tom Keener wrote:
>
> On Sun, 05 Dec 1999 00:04:04 -0800, foon <wfo...@nist.gov> wrote:
>
> > I managed to avoid the dreaded poi
>
Foon
Tom Keener wrote:
> > I managed to avoid the dreaded poi
>
> Does _anyone_ eat poi today, or is it (with any luck,) extinct?
A helicopter pilot we met on a tour of Kauai claimed he ate
2 pounds of the stuff every week. He called it the perfect
food, full of nutrients. I found an article in a local
paper saying around this time of year there's a "poi
shortage." HORRORS!!!! The pilot told me there are many
variations on recipes for poi, usually handed down by
families.
I'm thinking it's something like the Christmas Fruitcake
that travels around the family over a period of years.
-Christmas Fooncake
Süs
>foon <wfo...@nist.gov> wrote:
>
>> I managed to avoid the dreaded poi
>
>Does _anyone_ eat poi today, or is it (with any luck,) extinct?
Hey, Tom - bite your tongue!
... Sigh ... it is just as well you all don't develop a taste for it. (We
don't invite many of you to try it anymore!) It is getting hard to keep the
production up to the demand - the taro crops are always threatened by
development. So ... wishing it into extinction? ... sad ...
BTW, I had a sesh with a visitor from Canada this summer - we started our
morning with poke,lomi salmon and poi (from Ruger's market! da best!) ... he
was funny - tried it all and then after the surfing noted that he ususally
doesn't eat before surfing, but this meal seemed really good for him out
there. The first natural 'balance bar'? ... LOL ...
Mama Sus
... who not only loves her poi with lomi salmon (or poke!) -- but had a mean
addiction to poi mochi!
Neal Miyake
pronunciation:
: <bonus point question for Neil Me-yah-kay>
: How do you pronounce "Botha".
It's mee-YAH-kay, brah!
Ok, I'll take a shot.
Bo-ta (bo like boat, ta like ta-da!)
Very popular surname. There's Wendy Botha, former ASP Women's champ;
Andre Botha, current GOB bodyboarding champ; Francois Botha, boxing
heavyweight; and that infamous P.W. Botha guy (Mr. Apartheid).
sponge
Neal Miyake
: On Sun, 05 Dec 1999 00:04:04 -0800, foon <wfo...@nist.gov> wrote:
: > I managed to avoid the dreaded poi
: Does _anyone_ eat poi today, or is it (with any luck,) extinct?
I do, sometimes. Why, you like me bring next time?
sponge
Neal Miyake
: That and Kahlua(sp) pig are one of the few things
: I like about Hawaii.
What, you no like me and bud? I'm sad now.
sponge
Napalm Ž
Neal mee-YAH-kay wrote...
>Bo-ta (bo like boat, ta like ta-da!)
Close.
Bo is pronounced "boe" as in Boer (farmer).
Th as in Thomas
A as in "still A sponge"
Napalm
Tom Keener
Actually, there _is_ a wall in my house that needs re-papering.
Tom Keener
keensurf_at_cts_dot_com