The Nucleus Blog

Anyone that’s caught the surfing bug will have heard tales of global surf adventures in Europe, Australia and, of course, California. But you may be a little surprised to hear that you can in fact surf in the crystal clear waters of Thailand.

I know, I know, we’ve all seen how flat the surf is in Thailand, but hear me out. The storms which break out during monsoon season produce consistent waves across many of the Thai shores, turning them from crystal clear millponds into contest-worthy surf spots. Most of the local surfers can be found at the beautiful breaks of Phuket – here’s where to find them. Phuket – let’s surf!

1. Kata Noi Beach – Phuket
Head to the northern tip of this beautiful beach and you’ll find small but consistent waves here. It produces nice right hand waves and the small conditions waves make it a bit of a hotspot for learners. Be aware that the surf can get quite big (and dangerous) here after heavy winter storms.

2. Kata Yai Beach – Phuket
One of the locals’ favourite surf spots on Phuket, Kata Yai Beach has even played host to a Quicksilver surf competition. Powerful waves appear from nowhere as they hit the sand bar that cranks them u at the last second, perfect for the surfer looking for more of a challenge.

Kata Yai can get quite crowded when the surf’s going off, but the locals are warm and friendly so there’s always a pretty relaxed atmosphere in the water. If you’re just beginning, head to the north of the beach where the waves a smaller – you’ll also find a small surf rental company supplying all the gear you’ll need to get started on your Thai surf adventure.

3. Kalim Beach – Phuket
A powerful coral reef break which is exciting for even the most experienced surfer, Kalim is well protected and provides clean waves even when other spots are totally blown out.

As with all sheltered surf spots, Kalim can get extremely over-crowded and it can take quite a bit of determination to fight for a wave to yourself.

4. Surin Beach – Phuket
Perhaps one of Thailand’s most dangerous and heaviest breaks, Surin is the place to get barrelled in Phuket. Proving how underrated surfing in Thailand is, CNN Travel rated Surin Beach 46^th in their Top 50 Surf Spots in the World. It’s best on a big swell at high tide, but be careful surfing in the middle of the beach as there are a bunch of rocks which can cause some serious damage to your board, and your body.

5. Nai Harn – Phuket
Definitely one of Phuket’s most beautiful beaches, not only is it surrounded by lush green mountains but it’s also located next to a breath-taking freshwater lagoon that attracts Thai locals as well as tourists and expats. Yet, somehow, the beach never seems to be over crowded, even during the high season. Much like the other spots on Phuket, Nai Harn offers solid surf conditions during the monsoon season. There is not much to worry about in terms of rocks or reefs, but there are some hefty rips to be wary of during big swells.

What else you need to know
Thai people are generally very friendly and helpful, especially on the islands such as Phuket and Ko Samui. There are surf schools and places to rent equipment from if you don’t want to travel with your surfboard, and you can pick up everything you need for a day of surfing for less the £5.

Accommodation is famously cheap in Thailand, the islands, however, can be a little more pricey. Again, you could stay in a comfortable hotel, hostel or bungalow for less than £5 a night and a basic meal won’t cost more than £1 or £2. More and more travel companies are providing cheap flights to Phuket; companies such as Expedia also have deals which will help you save enough to pay for a couple of days surf hire! All in all, Thailand is one of the cheapest surf trips you’ll ever have!

By Ben Holbrook

It’s Time to Pack Your Bags……

The summer is in full swing (at least for the moment) and we’re all looking forward to an action packed summer. Whether you wanna get involved, or simply want to tag along and watch from the shore, with a couple of cold ones, here are 5 of the best Global Surf Events to look forward to in Summer 2012.

ASP World Tour – Global – On-going

The Associated Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour is the run-on event from the qualifying events held earlier in the year. As a worldwide competition, the tour carries on around the globe all year round, with the very best in world surfing talent competing to win each stage of the tour. By June, the fourth stage will have been completed in Fiji and for 2012 the winner of this stage was Kelly Slater. He scooped the $500,000 prize for this stage but will be looking to continue his winning streak at the next stage of the tour in French Polynesia, the Billabong Pro Teahupoo from August 16th – 27th.

His crown will be contested with this year’s other winners: John John Florence, who won in Brazil; Mitch Fanning, who scooped the prize in Victoria, Australia; and this year’s hottest talent Taj Burrow, who won in the Gold Coast event at the start of the year. After French Polynesia the tour heads to California in September, France in early October and Portugal a couple of weeks later, so if you can’t make it to Taiarapu in time, you can catch these surfing legends a bit closer to home!

Relentless Boardmasters – Newquay – 8th-12th August

As any home-grown surfer will know, you don’t have to go to Hawaii to catch the big waves. Right here in the UK, we are treated to some of the best surf in Europe, along with some of the most challenging terrain and powerful rip tides.

That’s why the Boardmasters competition, held annually in Newquay, Cornwall, is one of the favourites with pro and amateur surfers from all over the UK and beyond. This fast-paced event really sorts the men from the boys and because it is held in beautiful surroundings and accompanied by a thriving music festival at Watergate Bay, it’s a really nice event for spectators too.

Whalebone Classic – Cottesloe, Western Australia – 14th-15th July

If you happen to be on the other side of the world this summer, don’t think that you have missed all the fun just because it’s their winter time. Head on over to Western Australia in the middle of July and you’ll catch the best in longboard skills for yourself at the Whalebone Classic.

Set in a classically surf-orientated background, this event focuses on longboard surfing and features a range of competition classes, giving everyone a chance to participate. As one of the qualifiers for the following year’s ASP tour, this event attracts some of the best talent around. Previous qualifying winners include Taylor Jensen, Dane Pioli and the exquisite talent that is Georgia Young.

Roxy Waikiki Classic – Queen’s Beach, Waikiki, Hawaii

For a surfing event with a difference, this is definitely one that dedicated fans will not want to miss. Open to women from age 6 and over, this event is dedicated to the best in female short and longboarding talent around the globe.

Held at Queens Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii, the event has categories to give every surf-loving lady her chance to shine. Teenie Wahinies take in the 6 – 10 age group and the Groms lead the way in the 11 – 13 class. The Wahines are competitors aged 14 – 18 and the final junior division is for the Junior Queens at age 19 – 25. Above this, competing ladies enter the Queen’s division for everyone aged 26 and older.

As well as some amazing surfing action from all the age groups, the event also features a fantastic experience for the spectators too. With top musical acts, plenty of stalls to explore and the best in local food and crafts, this is a great place to get to know Hawaiian culture a little better.

This year the event will be co-sponsored by hairdo legend, Paul Mitchell, who will be giving out free samples and styling tips in person at the event. Added to this, surfing fans can visit the Quicksilver Foundation booth and find out about what it takes to make it as a professional in the surfing world.

East Coast Surfing Championships – Virginia Beach, Virginia – August 20th-26th

Held in August, this is one of the summer’s greatest surfing events. Taking place at Virginia Beach in Virginia, the competition this year promises to be hot and one of the highlights of the surfing calendar.

As well as both amateur and pro surfing events throughout the week-long event, there are also a number of exciting surf-related demonstrations. These include skate demonstrations on the vertical ramp, skimboard, beach volleyball, flag football and a whole host of other fun sporting activities.

Aside from the energetic displays, there are beer tents open from early morning until late at night each day and live music over the weekend from mid-afternoon onwards. Boys will enjoy the Miss Coastal Edge Swimsuit Pageant on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons and the girls will love picking up bargains at the many stands and stalls around the main arena. With sponsors such as Vans and Ripcurl, you know the giveaways are going to be awesome!

If you’re interested in checking out any of the above surf events, NOW is the best time to start trying to find cheap deals on flights. It’s gunna’ be an EPIC summer!

We are now running an ongoing monthly photo competition on Flickr, all you have to do is add your photos to our group pool and you’ll be in with the chance of winning a 10% discount code to use on our website! We will pick our favourite photo each month and contact you with your code as well as feature your photo on here.

To kick off the competition Skullcandy have very generously given us an Audio Link backpack worth over £100 for our favourite photo in April. The backpack has got built in speakers so you just plug in your iPod or other MP3/CD player and blast out the latest tracks by Lionel Richie or whatever the hell it is you crazy kids are playing this week.

This is a pretty snazzy prize so unless a lot of people submit it’s going to rollover to next month. If you are desperate to win it NOW then get submitting and get your friends to submit, and their friends, and their gran and her dog; you get the idea.

You will have to join Flickr to be able to add your photos but I think it’s worth it! I have added some of my own skate photos to kick things off, good luck, and happy shooting! If you have any questions post them in the comments below or hit me up on Facebook and I’ll help you.

Here’s one for all you iPhone and iPod Touch owners out there. MPORA, which is like the YouTube for action sports, has it’s own free app. In their own words “With the MPORA app you can now browse and watch movies from your favourite action sports. MPORA has one of the largest catalogues of action sport movies out there with over 25,000 videos at your fingertips.”

You can filter your videos by type which is really cool so if you only want skate videos you only get skate videos, if you want snowboarding and surfing but hate skiing then it will do that for you too. For more screenshots, info and to download the app go to www.mpora.com/iphone

Have you got this on your iPhone/iPod Touch? Love it? Hate it?

Gareth Winter, one of the dudes that works in the shop shapes his own boards. He’s just uploaded this video and we are proud to present it to you. It’s good to have people that really know what they are talking about working with us!

Gareth Winter shaping a 6″1 singlefin from Gareth WInter on Vimeo.