Surf Talk Guru

Holiday shopping season is already here. Wondering what to get for your favorite surfer? Here are some ideas for some gifts in the mid-level price range that any surfer is sure to love.

1.) Tide Watch $75-$150–A water-resistant watch that displays the tides and has lots of other bells and whistles. Quiksilver, Nixon, and Rip Curl are a few brands.

2.) Surf Racks $50-$150–For traveling with boards atop your vehicle, cheaper soft racks or more spendy hard racks are available. A little more money will get you the locking hard racks (more like $200).

3.) Sherpa Sweatshirt $40-$50–Warm fleecy hooded sweatshirts embroidered with their favorite surf brand or shop logo will be a welcome winter warm-up.

Hawaii’s North Shore at Waimea Bay is legendary for its massive waves and premier surfing. As the Eddie Aikau surf meet was getting underway this week, surfers were ecstatic to find record-breaking swells at the historic location. Literally thousands of surfers from around the world picked up their surf gear and headed for Waimea.

With waves reaching up to 50 feet, Oahu provided an ideal locale for the annual competition this year. Greg Long, a native of San Clemente, rode off with first place honors after scoring a perfect 100 on a 25 foot wave. Nine-time world champion Kelly Slater finished in second, ten points behind Long.