Northcore Blog

Northcore East Coast Drift

2009-07-13T14:43:00.004Z

The Annual Northcore Boardriders sponsored East Coast Drift surf competition was held this weekend Saturday 11th July. The event was open to all Lincolnshire Surf club members and was held in almost perfect conditions at Sandilands beach, Sutton on Sea. Competitors from all over Lincolnshire took part surfing under sunny blue skys, on clean 2-3ft waves. Of the fourteen surfers who competed four made the final with the eventual top three winners being 1st, Ed Firth (Louth), 2nd Richard Ward (Grimsby) and 3rd Simon Needham (Alford).

East Coast Drift surf comp this weekend

2009-07-09T08:07:00.002Z

The Northcore sponsored East Coast Drift surf comp
is to go ahead this Sat 11th July. After a long spell of poor North Sea wave conditions the event scheduled for Easter is to run this weekend with a 3ft groundswell and light offshores expected.

Latest independant Northcore product review

2009-07-03T13:16:00.002Z

Check out the latest independant Northcore product review for our surfboard/ SUP carry sling. The test and review was conducted by SUP Global.com

For the full review click on the link below:

http://www.supglobal.com/stand-up-paddle/reviews/129-northcore-stand-up-paddle-board-sling.html

Lewis Clinton makes Quarters at Gul Open

2009-06-15T08:13:00.002Z

Big up to Lewis Clinton for making the Open quarter finals at last weekends Gul event at Fistral Beach

*image Copyright: Les Clinton

Trees for Jet skis: Big wave Tow-in Jet ski goes Carbon Neutral

2009-06-09T12:46:00.001Z

Northcore made the announcement today that they are extending their annual CO2 offsetting program to cover the Jet ski (Personal Watercraft- PWC) used by their brand Ambassador Richie Fitzgerald, by neutralising its annual Carbon emissions by investing in a tree adoption and re-forestation scheme.

Northcore spokesman said of the Jet ski- initiative “Richie Fitzgerald and his tow-in partner, Gabe Davies have a Jet-ski on permenant standby on Ireland's West coast which they use for charging some of the biggest waves on the planet at places like Aileens in Co Clare.

However the use of Jet Skis can pose a moral environmental dilema for tow-in teams worldwide. Its no secret that the use of Jet Skis isn't the most eco-friendly addition to the surfing way of life, so until a viable “green” alternative to internal combustion for PWC's is available these vehicles and the emissions they create will remain in the line ups as essential equipment for chasing down monster waves. So Northcore in conjunction with Richie have taken the decision to offset the annual CO2 emmissions of his and Gabe's PWC by extending our tree planting scheme administered by the Dutch based organisation, Climate Neutral Group.

The CO2 offsetting is based upon the annual fuel usage for Richie's Jet ski which creates approximately 1.28 tonnes of CO2 and it requires 64 mature rainforest trees to offset this emmission. These trees are growing in a re-forestation scheme in Malaysia and through the adoption programme both offset the PWC's CO2 and allow continued investment in the scheme with the planting of new trees extending the project”

Richie Fitzgerald says of his Jet ski going Carbon neutral “Jet Skis are a ‘necessary evil’ in the pursuits of big waves, so I am really delighted to be working with Northcore on their initiative to offset the annual emissions of our ski .”

The Climate Neutral group are in permanent partnership with the FACE foundation who manage the reforestation project in the forests of Sabah in the Malaysian part of Borneo. Here the forests are being seriously damaged by intensive and large-scale logging. The area has become overgrown with lianas, preventing the natural re-growth of most trees. The FACE foundation set up a project to recover the damaged tropical rainforest by planting trees and through sustainable management. Left to its own devices the rainforest would not be able to return to its original state. Besides extracting a volume of CO2 from the atmosphere each year, this project is preserving the outstanding biodiversity of the area. Moreover, the project provides jobs for local people in tourism, research and nature management.

For more information on Climate Neutral Group and it’s projects visit:
www.climateneutralgroup.com

Richie Fitzgerald joins Northcore

2009-06-02T08:33:00.003Z

You may have noticed from the Northcore website updates that Richie Fitzgerald, big wave surfer, has become the Northcore Brand Ambassador. We are stoked to have Richie on the team, his abilities both paddling and towing into some of the planets largest and heaviest waves in the cold waters of Irelands North West coast have secured him a place as one of the worlds elite group of big wave riders so we are proud to be working with him.

check out his Northcore page here fro more info:

www.northcore-europe.com/richie_fitzgerald_northcore_ambassador.htm

Photo shoot

2009-05-26T08:22:00.004Z

Surfers in Ireland are some of the most welcoming in the world but show some respect when surfing their breaks as consequences for anyone who drops in may be damaging!!

....This is one of the pictures from a recent Kathrin Baumbach photo shoot with Ritchie Fitzgerald. For more on her work visit www.kathrinbaumbach.com and for Richie www.richiefitzgerald.com

Lewis Clinton Wins Saltrock open

2009-05-26T08:08:00.001Z

A Big shout out to Lewis Clinton for winning the Saltrock Open in Croyde this weekend:

"The UK Pro surf tour got off to a flying start with great weather and good surf conditions. Starting the day with a small but clean 1-2ft the waves built to a solid 3-4ft by the afternoon. Spectacular surfing from Lewis Clinton from Newquay helped him clinch the pro junior final. 2^ndwas Luis Eyre followed closely by Jayce Robinson and Toby Donachie"

Saltrock Open 2009 Croyde

2009-05-15T15:07:00.003Z

Kathleen Spears will be in action at this years Saltrock Open- Northcore wish her all the best for a great event

Saltrock open
Stop No 1 of 9 on 2008 UK PST
Croyde Beach, North Devon
23 - 25 May 2009

Win a Northcore Surfboard: Wavelength comp

2009-04-23T15:03:00.002Z

This month Wavelength Surf mag are running a comp to win a Northcore mini-mal. Check out the latest issue online http://www.wavelengthmag.co.uk/

or grab a copy to enter the comp.

World Juniors- Winners announced

2009-04-06T10:59:00.002Z

Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Ecudador.

Team Australia wins fifth Team Gold medal - Dean Bowen (Aus), Tyler Wright (Aus) and Keanu Asing (Haw) win individual gold medals.
Team Hawaii places second, Brazil third, USA fourth and France, fifth

Quiksilver World Junior surfing championships begin

2009-04-01T10:33:00.002Z

Salinas, Ecuador -- The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championships returned to Playas de la FAE today for the second day of competition. Girls Under 18 made their grand debut, running all 24 heats of round one at the secondary contest site – a right and left beach break on the south end of the beach.

Contest organizers also held the remaining heats of round one and all of round two for Under 18 Boys at the main contest site at the point. The surf was two to three feet in the morning but steadily rose throughout the day to a solid four-to-five feet by the afternoon.

Gabi Rowe and Karma Worthington kept the Great Britain team in the main rounds, taking second place in their heats. Many of the team’s Boys Under 18 surfers made it through round one but were unable to advance through round two and must now battle it out in the grueling repercharge rounds.

Best of luck from Northcore to all of Team GB

*photo ISA/Lobo

Lewis Clinton makes finals of Barbados Open

2009-03-10T15:36:00.002Z

The Barbados Surfing Association recently held their first event of 2009, the open surf series at South Point. Lewis Clinton entered the under 21 boys division competing in 2-4ft waves. Lewis scored an excellent 3rd placing overall.

World Junior Surf championships 2009

2009-03-04T10:53:00.004Z

Both Lewis Clinton and Kathleen Spears will be joining the British Junior team in Ecuador at the end of this month for the World Junior Surfing Championships and we'd like to wish the guys the very best of luck. Heres some more info on the event:

Upcoming: The Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship

From March 28 to April 5 the waves of the Playa de las FAE in Salinas, Ecuador, will host the greatest junior surfing event in the world: the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship.

More than 200 of the best athletes of about 30 different countries will be competing for one of the greatest honors to which a junior surfer can aspire: a podium in an International Surfing Association (ISA) event. The ISA is the World Governing Authority of Surfing and all its disciplines, recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

The event will crown the world champions in the categories Boys Under 18, Boys Under 16 and Girls Under 18, as well as the World Junior Champion nation, after the results of all its participants have been added. Each team will be represented by four members in each of the categories; therefore, a complete team will be composed of twelve athletes.

Salinas is a beach resort located 136 km from Guayaquil, the second largest city in Ecuador. Its main and most renown surfing spot is the Playa de las FAE (FAE meaning Ecuadorian Air Force, for its initials in Spanish) will be the event scenario.

The wave is a long, perfect and consistent left-leaning point break that maintains the good shape in swells of up to 8 feet. The beach acquired fame after the World Surfing Games were held there in 2004.

Northcore Pro-pockets features in French surf magazine

2009-02-16T08:43:00.003Z

The Northcore Pro-Pockets heated neoprene sports belt features in Trip Surf, one of Frances biggest surf mags this month. Check it out here:

http://www.trip-surf.com/jeu-concours.html

check out Kathleen Spears latest blog entries from the North Shore

2009-01-30T12:55:00.002Z

"...the last few days on the north shore have been probably some of my best yet, its been crazy! The waves have been absolutely pumping!"

http://www.kathleenspears.com/html/hawaiian_blog.html

Kathleen Spears in Oahu

2009-01-12T09:51:00.000Z

Follow Kath's adventures in Hawaii on her blog:

http://www.kathleenspears.com/html/hawaiian_blog.html

Kathleen Spears selected for World Surf Games

2009-01-06T09:27:00.003Z

Congrats to team Rider Kath Spears who has been selected for the team going to the World Surf Games in Equador late March early April 2009. Right now as part of her training she is on the Northshore of Oahu, wisely avoiding the sub-zero British weather!

Exploring the Orkney Islands

2008-12-02T19:28:00.007Z

Big waves, unsurfed/undiscovered locations, huge swell windows, vast ocean fetch, endless variety of set ups, constant waves....its like a mini-Hawaii, so who wouldn't want to go to the Orkney Islands?!

For those who dont know, the Orkneys are a group of islands situated north of Scotland and the fabled reefs at Thurso. They lay on the same latitudes as Northern Canada and Greenland but although the islands do get bitterly cold in winter, the gulf stream tempers the climate and the ocean enough to mean that icebergs and polar bears arent local hazards!

We were lucky enough to visit one of the outer islands recently, partly to visit friends and partly to check it out for a possible future Northcore team trip and after days of looking at maps and swell charts I was dreaming of the seemingly limitless surf possibilities.

The main drawback other than the aforementioned cold, is the length of the journey there, for us it meant a 450 mile road trip, a flight, a cross island drive, a ferry and a long walk, which meant that we could have flown to the other side of the world in a similar amount of time. The journey is worth it though as the huge skys, vast seas and remoteness of the Orkneys is stunning.

The drive around the whole island we were staying on is only about 45mins and a few potential surf spots can be seen from the road but most are well hidden and all involve long walks across steep fields, stone walls, dead sheep and streams. Winter swells regularly reach 20ft+ (it was only a 12-14ft swell when we were there) and all of the spots we saw were rock reef set ups, some only accessible by boat or PWC. This place is hardcore!

I'm not going to give away anymore for now but watch this space for a possible trip in 2009.....

Northcore Team riders in Euro Junior surf championships, Morocco

2008-11-25T19:01:00.002Z

We'd just like to wish team riders, Kathleen Spears and Lewis Clinton all the very best as they compete as part of the English Junior Surf Team in the European Surfing Championships, this weekend. The Championships are being held near Agadir in Morocco between November 28th and December 6th.

Watch this space for more updates....

New Distributor for Benelux

2008-10-27T09:50:00.004Z

Northcore Europe are pleased to announce a new distribution partnership with Peak Distribution based in Holland. Headed by Jordi De Koning, Peak Distribution are now working with the full range of Northcore products supplying retailers in the surf markets of Holland and Belgium.

In the last few years surfing has really taken off in the Northsea nations of Holland and Belgium and the values of the Northcore brand and the quality of products have been readily embraced by the ever growing band of local surfers.

Jordi DE Koning said of the partnership "Peak Distribution is stoked on this new cooperation and will help spreading Northcore’s top end products in the cold water area’s of Holland and Belgium."

For more information on stocking Northcore's products in Holland and Belgium contact:

peakdistribution@gmail.com

Northcore Rider Kathleen Spears wins 2008 BPSA Welsh Open

2008-10-13T13:18:00.003Z

Congratulations to Kath Spears for picking up first place in the womens division of the 2008 BPSA Welsh open. Weather and waves all came together for the event which also saw Kath collect a prize cheque for the highest scoring wave of the womens comp at huge 9.07!

*Image Vici Walker/UKPSA

British longboard club championships are a great succes

2008-10-06T16:43:00.003Z

The British longboard club championships held at Scarborough's South bay last weekend were a great success. The Scarborough Malibu club always host well organised, friendly and professional events and this one was no exception. The comp was held in conditions which ranged from classic 4-6ft offshore in the morning to 1ft crosshore waves in the afternoon. The event was well attended with the North Devon Based "Hotdoggers" club securing first place, followed by Scarborough in second and the Royal navy surf association taking third place.

Image Copyright Northcore: Ryan Hammond, North Yorks local and Northcore sponsored rider

Kathleen Spears secures third place in British Pro Juniors

2008-09-24T10:52:00.003Z

Congrtaulations to Kathleen Spears who successfully secured third place in last weekends British Pro-Juniors held at Fistral beach, Newquay. Its also the XPY surf comp this weekend 27th/28th Sept, at Fistral so good luck to Kathleen Spears and Lewis Clinton in that event.

British Juniors 2008- Fistral Beach Newquay

2008-09-17T17:08:00.002Z

This weekend 20th/21st Sept see's an important event for young UK surfers as the British Juniors kick off at Newquay's Fistral beach. Two of our team riders, Lewis Clinton and Kath Spears will both be competing and we wish them both the very best of luck.

Press release

Britain’s top junior surfers will gather to battle it out for the prestigious Billabong British Junior champion titles in the Under 12’s, Under 14’s, Under 16’s, Under 18’s, Girls Under 14’s, and Girls Under 18’s. Over £2000 worth of prize money is also up for grabs thanks to Billabong.

It’s a busy time for the top rated juniors as The British Surfing Association (BSA), has also started its intensive, bespoke winter training programme.

The BSA is also grateful to the RAF Waveriders Association and to the Station Commander at RAF St Mawgan for the use of their facilities where a full activity programme has been implemented for the squad training. The Junior team members have certainly been being put through their paces with early morning runs at 7am, low ropes team building exercises, circuit sessions, bleep tests as well as surfing drill sessions and heat drill sessions.

A follow-up weekend at Fistral has also been run with intensive heat drills run under contest format, enabling the squad members to sharpen their own contest tactics and for the squad coaches to assess squad members fitness commitment and consistency of their performances.

The training weeks and Billabong Junior Championships will form a strong basis for the selection process for the World Championships in Ecuador in March 2009 which will occur after this weekend’s contest so there is everything to play for.

Karen Walton, National Director, BSA said, “The Billabong British Juniors is always such a great event and the enthusiasm at last year’s event was just phenomenal. This is an important competition because the results will have a heavy bearing on the selection process for the World Junior Surfing Games next year so we look forward to the weekend and seeing everyone compete at their best, in the highly charged conditions.”