World-beaters, wandering souls and fabled moments in surfing history all get top billing in this issue. Here’s a sample of all the good stuff inside the mag.
LAURA ENEVER’S LUST FOR LIFE
The former world junior champ and CT star transitions effortlessly from the commentary booth to 30-foot lineups. Find out how junior gymnastics and a competitive brother helped Laura Enever break big-wave records and bound through life in giant, fearless strides.
WRITTEN BY LUKE KENNEDY
DARK LINEAGE: CHAPTER III: NICKY WOOD, SHANE HERRING & CHRIS DAVIDSON
The final chapter of Monty Webber’s provocative series on the struggles faced by some of Australia’s most celebrated surfers. This issue Monty follows the journey of Shane Herring, the boy wonder saga of Nicky Wood and the tragic trajectory of Chris Davidson.
WRITTEN BY MONTY WEBBER
CROSS ROADS: OSCAR SALT
Gifted, east coast natural footer Oscar Salt was at the crossroads. After lapping the QS circuit a few times he was over heat sirens, contest singlets and heckled, 30-minute tussles. Right when he was on the cusp of giving it all away, Julian Wilson threw him a bone and opened up the door to a Free Surfing reinvention. Â Â
WRITTEN BY KIRK OWERS
 THE INDO MOTORCYCLE DIARIES: PART II
After roaming Java and Lombok, Tom de Souza returns to Bali for some bike repairs at a local workshop and visits Jim Banks at the Bukit Peninsular to pick up a board, talk about Indo pilgrimages and discuss the merits of twin fins. Another instalment of honest and insightful observations through the eyes of an Indo, surfing nomad. Â Â
WRITTEN BY TOM DE SOUZA
EASY SLIDER: BLAIR CONKLIN
If it floats, Blair’s going to rip on it with style.
Originally from Laguna Beach, California, the blonde-haired 28-year-old has spread the gospel of the new age, multi-rider from skim, boog, to stand-up boog, soft top, thruster, you name it.
WRITTEN BY BEN MONDY
SURFABOUT ’79 :THE GREATEST SURFING CONTEST EVER
It’s 1979 and the 2SM Coke Surfabout is the richest surfing contest in the world. A full camera crew from Channel Nine is following the event to make a TV special, hoping to go one better than the ’78 contest, which had featured Wayne Lynch and Larry Blair surfing a famous final in barrelling waves at Manly. As The Channel Nine executives demand an even better scenario for the ’79 event, the waves go dead flat, forcing contest director, (and then Tracks editor) Paul Homes, to do something bold. Holmes reflects on the time pro surfing really took to the skies. Â
WRITTEN BY PAUL HOMES & PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER CRAWFORD
INFINTE WONDER: DEAN WILMOT
Dean Wilmot grew up on Sydney’s northern beaches, but from the age of twelve he was already doing weekend trips to Hawaii with his mum, who worked for the airlines. In his early teens Dean picked up a camera and was only 17 when he nailed his first Tracks cover – Martin Potter launching like an asteroid above a Whale Beach lip. However, it was Hawaii where Dean would really make his mark and in the 90s and early 2000s he became recognised as one of the best water-photographers in the world. We look back at his work.
WRITTEN BY LUKE KENNEDY
BONE DEEP AT SKELETON BAY
We’ve all watched on mesmerized as Skeleton Bay spins hypnotically across our screens, framed by the eerie backdrop of The Namib Desert (it’s in Namibia but it’s on the edge of the ‘Namib’ Desert). However, very few of us have ever bitten the bullet and chased the hollow fantasy to the west coast of Africa. Blake Thornton provides an honest account of the struggles and triumphs associated with a trip to the churning, leg-burning sand-bottom left.
WRITTEN BY BLAKE THORNTON
THE NEW WAVE OF INDIGENOUS TALENT
Gifted Indigenous surfers have always made their presence felt on Australian coastlines. However, Surfing Australia is now running a specialised program to help cultivate talent amongst First Nations surfers. Kate Allman talks to former Open World Indigenous champion, Rory Togo, who is on the committee for Surfing Australia’s First Nations High Performance Camps. We also meet two of the program’s rising stars, Bodhi and Taj Simon.
WRITTEN BY KATE ALLMAN
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