Bilt Surf Blog by Davey Weare

New Blog for Davey Weare

2009-04-29T14:52:00.002-04:00

Hey Guys

I have a new blog which I'll be writing from now on.

It's davey-weare.blogspot.com

Please check out the new blog from now on...

Cheers

Davey

Melbourne Grand Prix

2009-03-29T06:11:00.003-04:00

Got pretty lucky this weekend and got paddock passes for the V8 Supercars exhibition race at the Melbourne Grand Prix along with getting to watch the Friday practice session of the F1. Crazy times, the loudest thing I've ever heard and I was blown away at the speed of those cars... TV does not do those cars any justice, so much faster in real life. All in all, really good expereince, met up with V8 SuperCar Oakley team riders Rick Kelly and Greg Murphy, legends of the super car series. Super cool guys. Added some photo's from the day and with the drivers. Stoked I got to do this while in melbourne...good times!

Sydney Holiday...

2009-03-26T05:45:00.003-04:00

So I just spent a week in Sydney, took a nice break off from surfing and pretty much became a full on tourist, checking out all on offer in and around this city. Posted up in Manly, awesome joint! Stayed 10 steps away from the sea (didn't have any surf the whole time there) and a quick ferry ride across the harbor to the hustle and bustle of Sydney city.

We did Zoo's, aquariums, wildlife sanctuaries just to name a few... Great to spend some quality time with the family without worrying about events or surfing.

Just flew into Melbourne today, staying with good friend and Oakley honcho, Seth Hulley, for a few days then off to Bell's on Monday. Should have just over a week in Bell's before the event starts to get used to the waves and my boards. So keen to surf though, always happens when you take a few days off from surfing, you get the hunger and fire back... feels great!!!

Added a few photo's from the trip...

Cheers

Davey

Onto the next stage...

2009-03-14T09:14:00.002-04:00

So the Quiky Pro has come and gone, equal 17th start, definitely not what I had in mind but it's happened and we must move on . Still on the Goldy at the moment, been having a few waves at snapper the last few evenings, still crowded as ever, this place is crazy crowded, not sure how these guys who live here handle surfing with this many people that often. I guess I'm really lucky coming from SA cause we think it's crowded when there's 20 guys out at new pier, whole lot different this side....

Got bit of a road trip ahead of me. Going to be doing the drive down to Sydney in the next few days, looking forward to it, get to check out that stretch of Oz with the family and see what's on offer. Then we'll end up staying about a week in Sydney, booked in to stay at Manly ( hopefully the shark sightings are at a minimum then). So these next two weeks are going to be pretty mellow, before getting really back into the contest mode and focussed for Bell's Beach.

I've added a photo from my round 2 heat against Kai Otton. Will check back in a few days time, make your dreams reality and make the most of everything that life throws at you!

Later

Davey

Boards finally here !

2009-02-23T07:47:00.002-05:00

So I made it safely to the Goldy last week thursday, trip over from South Africa was pretty good, my daughter slept most of the flight from SA to Sydney ( which helps a lot when you traveling economy and she doesn't have her own seat) but my boards never arrived when I did. Thanks to excess baggage and non sympathetic staff at the airport, SAA wanted to charge me R14000 for my boards, so I ended up having to mission over to the Cargo section and freight them to Oz. Still a good R5000 later and only today, did my boards arrive. 5 days later and thankfully no damage to them either. It's just crazy how these airlines screw with their clients all the time and especially with surfers!!!

Enough about that, Oz has been super fun so far. Staying in an awesome spot right opposite the event site at Snapper Rocks, killer view of the wave and literally ten steps from the beach. There's been a few ok waves so far, snapper hasn't turned on yet but they're expecting a little pulse in the next few days ( we hope) and we already checked out some koala's and kangaroo's at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary , crazy cool park with some great wildlife. So our 2 month Oz trip is off to a good start, comp starts on the weekend, ASP Banquet coming up soon , black tie affair just before the event starts and a whole lot of fun still to be had.

Adios

Davey

Bags packed ... ready to go!

2009-02-17T14:48:00.003-05:00

I can't believe how quickly it's come that I leave for Oz tomorrow, just mind boggling that we are already past the middle of Feb...

We're going to be in Oz for 2 months, starting on Goldy for the Quik Pro, then going to be doing a road trip down to Sydney and stopping on the way at a few of the really cool towns between the Goldy and Sydney and then the final leg will be in Melbourne and Bells. So it's a solid trip, but super excited and frothing for it!!!

Just picked up the last of my boards from Bilt this evening(they look amazing) , got 10 boards with me and picking up a few in Oz too. So boards are covered, bags are packed, just a matter of jumping on the plane now.

It looks like we're heading off for a year with the amount of luggage we've got but that's the way it is when you going away for long time with a baby too, need to have everything prepared and all the right meds with you etc. what's rad too is that this will be my wife and daughter's first time to Oz, so they'll definitely get to experience Oz and what it has to offer. Good times ahead!

I've posted a few pics here from photog Wade Howard, great lens man and solid chap. I just did a pretty cool interview with him on his website last week, www.wadehoward.co.za , and click on his blog.

Connect with you guys from Down Under next....

Cheers

Davey

2009-02-01T11:41:00.002-05:00

This year is definitely flying by. January has come and gone, but already some good stuff has gone down. I just finished a solid 3 day training camp up at my trainer's spot in Balito (north of Durban). A good mix of boxing/yoga/swimming/gym etc , to get ready for the opener later this month. He's got me on a really great program for the year, I'm feeling strong and fit and super amped and just really stoked I have such a passionate guy helping me with my campaign for 2009! Check out his website at www.russelwhite.co.za

I've been getting some amazing boards off Elton Fursman so far this year, he's been a real trooper over the years with all the time and effort he's put into my career. I owe him big time. We've made some slight adjustments to my last year's specs and the results are feeling great. One really good thing about Elton as a shaper is that if you ask him to do something, he does it. I've asked a few shapers over the years to do certain things to boards and you get something else, but he really puts a lot into each of his shapes and the boards speak for them selves.

Another person who's really been helping me and I couldn't have achieved half the things I've achieved or got to where I'm at right now is my wife Jayde. She's been such a solid rock in everything I do, been behind me 100% of the way and I really do take my hat off to her for all that she does for me.

I've added a photo from the training camp I just did. My trainer is the one in the middle and the guy holding the punching pads is Andre, a boxing instructor and former Sharks rugby player.

Less than 3 weeks til I'm off to the Goldy... the count down begins!

Later

Davey

2009...

2009-01-18T12:08:00.003-05:00

That's right, it's 2009 and good things are going to happen this year. It blows my mind how quick the years go by now, so I guess I'm going to try live each moment to the fullest this year.

Had an awesome break down in Cape Town over the New Year's period, that place is crazy, especially that time of year. Surf was pretty dismal the whole time I was there, but everything else rocked !

We've yet to get any decent waves in Durban this summer, but it is the right time for the cyclones to start happening, so it's just a matter of time now. A decent swell is actually expected for this week, so if we score anything, will try post some pics up.

It looks like I have exactly 1 month until I jet off to Oz for the first CT event at Snapper Rocks. So amped for it, this year is going to be awesome! So excited, my wife and child will do most of the events with me, we have a good schedule for the year, and I reckon we're going to get waves this year on tour.

My training schedule has started, the diet has started, things are definitely in place for the start of my year. My trainer, Russel White, has put together a great program for me, he really helped me last year and this year is going to be even better. Getting a whole bunch of new boards next week, been working on a few adjustments to my boards from last year with my shaper, Elton Fursman, just a few tweaks to my favourite boards, looking forward to how the new one's pop out.

So enjoy the moment, make the most of it and live with no regrets.

Peace out

Davey

2008-12-19T01:42:00.002-05:00

Here's some photo's from the day Emmo and myself requalified!!! Good times...was great to have Seth and Cuan with us on that day, good solid support crew in the mix and on the beach!!!

2008-12-17T13:56:00.003-05:00

Hey guys

The new 2009 ASP World Tour Top 45 Seeds have just been released, and I've been seeded at 34th for the tour opener! Last time I made the CT, I finished 13th on the WQS that year and I think I was seeded for the start at 42nd, so it's a nice jump up.

On a bit of a break right now, just got myself a new tattoo last week, so I'm just letting that heal before I get back in the water. Will be heading off to Cape Town the day after Christmas and when I get back, it's straight into the new training schedule and preparation for the assault on the 2009 WCT!!!!!!

Will post up a pic of my new ink once it's healed, until then , enjoy the festivities and have fun!

Later

Davey

2008-12-11T06:53:00.002-05:00

Here's BILT team rider and my brother, Brad Weare, getting up close and personal with water photog Mark Gardner. Both have been ripping lately, with Brad dominating the longboard scene and Mark out in every swell getting the shots! Keep it up guys!!!!

2008-12-08T23:02:00.001-05:00

Here is the latest 'Bilt' ad that'll be in the latest surf mags coming out now - was a pretty funny shoot, I TKO'd Dooma after this shot was taken.....

2008-12-08T23:01:00.000-05:00

Here's a shot from one of my heats at the O'neill Sunset Pro 08...

Qualified for 2009 WCT

2008-12-07T16:11:00.002-05:00

Yes, it official, WCT 09 is on. I must say it has been a very long hard year but everything has paid off. It came down to the wire in Hawaii this year, going into the last two events, I was ranked 9th, lost early in Haleiwa, dropped to 14th, then got a 9th at Sunset and moved up to 6th where I have finished now for the 2008 WQS ratings. Crazy time, stressful times but good times, great learning experience. I'm busy on my way home right now, in the business class lounge in Washington waiting to board my 18 hr flight back to Johannesburg. It's going to be really great just chilling off now for the next few weeks over Christmas and New year, take a proper break and then come 2009, start right back up!!!

Enjoy, will post some pics up soon from Hawaii

Cheers

Davey

Hawaii 08

2008-11-12T08:55:00.003-05:00

So I've arrived in Hawaii now, been here for 3 days now, had some pretty fun waves already. We were lucky enough to get Haleiwa the first day about 4 - 5 ft and cranking with relatively hardly any one out. The waiting period for the Haleiwa Reef Pro 6* Prime QS starts today with a massive swell predicted to hit tomorrow, this wave is like the Dairy bowl on steriods, will definitely be an interesting site when the swell hits. Looks like I will only surf around the third day of the event, so it gives me a bit more time to get into my bigger boards here and get prepared.

I'm staying at the Oakley house, right at Off The Wall, amazing location, brand new house, only built this year, and a cool crew of people sharing the pad. Hopefully I can get a few photo's off some photogs which I will post on this blog from this season here, and I'm hoping to get a few good waves too!!! Not the easiest feat especially out at joints like Pipe and Backdoor, but if you're patient enough ( and lucky enough ) you can snag a couple good ones...

Added a photo Baz Tuck sent me, just thought I'd drop it in... will check back in soon guys, keep rockin!

Davey

2008-09-27T10:01:00.002-04:00

Here's my latest board I just picked up from Bilt with my new design I'll be running for the next few months...will change the inside with different animal prints to represent Africa!

Let me know what you guys think

Cheers

Davey

2008-09-21T09:01:00.003-04:00

So I'm finally back in SA now, been home just under a week and it feels great to be home. Don't get me wrong, I love traveling but it is always great to come home to your home comforts and your family and friends...

The situation now is I have 5 major events left, one in Brazil, one in the Canaries, one in Portugal and two in Hawaii. Basically I want to seal the deal on my next trip before I go to Hawaii. There's just too many factors that come in to play in Hawaii that you don't want to leave your qualification up to those last two events....nothing is guaranteed there!

So I've got two weeks until I'm off to Brazil, two weeks of training, two weeks of getting my boards fine tuned and everything ready for my next onslaught on the WQS...

We have great waves at the moment in Durban, the piers were firing this morning, it's looking really good for the next few days so hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on one or two pics from this swell so I can post them up on this blog....

So keep checking back in, thanks to everyone for all their support and for all your comments and keep living guys, we only have one life so make the most of it!

Davey

Frank Soloman Charging Dungeons

2008-09-09T05:01:00.003-04:00

Here's a few pics of Frank Soloman going huge at Dungeons. This Bilt rider is not scared and is really making a name for himself with his go big or go home approach....Keep it up Frank, you're doing us proud!!!!

Bilt

2008-09-09T04:46:00.002-04:00

Yes , I know, I've been slack the last few weeks but I'm back and will make sure I keep this thing updated...

It's come to the stage where I only have one more event left in this mammoth European leg of the World QUalifying Series. It's far from over with 8 more events of 5* status and higher left for the rest of the year, so there's no time for rest, still a lot of work ahead of me. I'd say the top 4 surfers currently on the WQS are safe for qualification, with all four of them over the 11000 point mark for their top 7 results. I'm sitting at 6th but have three fairly low results that I'm hoping to replace and should see me move up a few spots too. Like I said, there's atill a lot of events left, it's just a matter of keeping your focus and riding it out til the end of the year...

I'm now in the north west of Spain, in the town of Zarautz, for the 5* Rip Curl Zarautz Pro WQS, it's right next to San Sebastien and about 80 kms from Bilbao. This area is actually known as the Basque country, where they see themselves seperate from the Spanish, but aren't officially recognised as their own country.

Here's a photo from last week's 5* Movistar Pro held in Pantin, Spain. It's a pretty cool sequence that ASP Europe have put together...

Until next time and as the Spanish would say....Adios!

Davey

2008-08-17T15:24:00.003-04:00

Here' s a pic from last week during the lacanau 6* WQS event. We went to my friend's restaurant La Cabanne, an Indonesian styled restaurant, amazing food and a very cool vibe. Here I am with my wife Jayde, wok, Emmo, Travis and Arnold (the manager).

The event was ok for me, finished equal 25th and added an extra 250 pts to my tally, hopefully I can add a few more points this week from the Rip Curl Pro 6* Prime WQS event in Hossegor, France.

3rd in Newquay

2008-08-12T10:42:00.002-04:00

Last week went well for me with a 3rd place finish in the 5* Rip Curl Boardmasters in Newquay, UK. I got 1500 points for my semi final placing which meant I added an extra 875 pts to my WCT requalification bid. The final day of the event was heavy, solid waves breaking very far out to see, very strong onshore winds and the water and air temp. pretty damn cold with some rain added in...but it was worth.

I've just arrived in the South of France for the 6* Sooruz Lacanau Pro WQS event, my family just joined up with me again and they'll be with me for the next month....awesome!!!! So will keep u posted on how things pan out over the next few events....and thanks for your support!!!! Appreciate you guys logging on and checking out this blog!!!!

Till next time,

Ciao

Davey

2008-08-09T05:53:00.002-04:00

It's saturday in Newquay, waiting to see if they're going to run our round 24 heats today but the surf is pretty flat and it looks like the swell is expected to build tonight and be some waves tomorrow, so it's a wait and see situation. There have been a few waves this year for the event, wednesday had some really good waves, swell was around the 4ft mark, but nice and clean with some power behind it...it was good fun. It's been pretty wet and cold here too this week, only about two days of sun and the rest has been rain....not unusual for this joint. I've attached a photo of Gozzy with his girl Megan and myself, sitting on the grass bank of Fistral beach where the event is being held, will try get some more pics of the place and surf....and will let you kow how things pan out here, made it through two rounds so far, hopefully can take it all the way...if they decide to hold the event off until tomorrow, the guys who make the final will surf 5 times...lucky I have been training.....

see ya

Davey

2008-07-28T00:47:00.002-04:00

Well the states was a great trip for me as far as spending time with my family and having a good time but had a shocker in the event, lost first heat which is never a good thing. But that event is done and gone and I've already got the next event in mind, the 6* WQS Billabong Tahara Pro in Japan. I leave LAX super early tomorrow so it's a 3am shuttle pick up from our hotel, which is in 5 hrs time, and then a day flight across to Nagoya, Japan. I'm looking forward to the cultural change for a week and to some fun waves, swell looks like it's slightly up for the week of the event so I guess we'll just have to wait and see if it produces some fun stuff. Dooma had a great result here in California, ended up equal 9th, a solid result towards his campaign, good job buddy!

So next time I log on will be from the land of the rising sun, adios fella's, speak soon!

Davey

2008-07-20T13:18:00.003-04:00

So it's been a week now since I got to Southern California, had a few pretty fun waves so far, pretty much have just been surfing around the San Clemente area, but off to Newport beach now where I'll may making camp for the week of the event. There's a little swell running at the moment and I heard there are a couple fun peaks up at Huntington, so it should be a blast!

Got some boards off Matt Biolas and Timmy Patterson since I've been here, got one really good one off Timmy, could be a keeper!!! But my elton's have been going really good here too, fitting nicely into these waves, even when it was small and flat, generated some good speed. Been awesome, also , having my family with me in the States, almost feels like I never left home.The rest of the Saffa's should start arriving for the event too, I know Dooma arrives today and Emmo tomorrow, so it'll be great to surf with them again.

I will get a few photo's of the comp site just so you guys can see what this place turns into when the US Open comes to town...

Keep it real, get in the water and have fun!

Davey

2008-07-12T21:16:00.002-04:00

New York has been insane! Spent the last 4 nights here and its been a crazy good time. Checked out most of the main attractions and sites, done ALOT of walking , got lost one of the days trying to get back to our hotel, our trip ended up being an 8 hr mission but we did get to see some parts of New York we would not have seen otherwise...

But off to LA tomorrow, will be there for a week before the event starts, just good to get used to the weaker waves and get into the tune of things there. ALso, my main sponsor, Oakley , are based in Southern California, so it will be good to go see the guys there and catch up.

It's been a good break from the ocean but I'm getting to that point now that I need to get back in the water. It gets you amped again when you take little breaks and rejuvenates the passion! Really looking forward to spending the next two weeks in Cali, having a good time, getting some fun waves and doing well in the event!

Here's a photo from one of New York's icons...

Hope you're having fun.

Davey