For if you dig just a few inches under the worldwide annual mortality stats you’ll see some shocking comparisons that beg the question, who has the most to fear – Man or Shark?

The land of love, France, boobs are the inspiration for the European wetsuit.

New York, Matt Wilkinson cashes in with the dollar bill wetsuit.

In San Francisco, peace and love is all around the flower power. 

Wilko debuts his signature wetsuit series with a leopard skin, at Jeffreys Bay.

Sunny Portugal, Wilko helps the local fishermen sell their fresh sardines. Source: SurferToday

Naish Mana Air: a SUP in a bag

It had to be marketed. Naish has unveiled Mana Airs, the inflatable and super rigid Stand Up Paddleboards that can fit into a portable bag. Yes, it’s true.

Naish Mana Airs are designed with extra thickness and width for unmatched firmness and stability. They are incredibly stable, durable and compactable for traveling paddlers riding in whitewater, rocky bottom flatwater or surf conditions.

Olympic skier, Resi Stiegler, tested the freedom of being able to carry her Naish Mana Air inflatable SUP board around on her bike at home in Jackson, WY – finding lakes and rivers to cruise on before race season starts in full force.

The Mana Air 6” is hands down the most rigid, stable, performance-oriented inflatable SUP board on market. The Mana Air 4” is for lighter riders and for paddlers needing the transportability of an inflatable board while on a budget. Both the 6” and the 4” come complete with a high-pressure gauge pump and a durable canvas carry case.

In the near future, we will be carrying a surfboard in our pockets. Any doubts? Source: SurferToday

Degree33 Surfboards

The funboard and hybrid fish surfboard are perfect for the surfer who needs a board to tackle multiple types of waves and conditions. Designed to be wide and thick for stability and ease of paddling but shorter in length for great maneuverability and rocket-like response as you turn up and down the wave.

Both types of surfboards could be called transition boards as they could be used to transition from a longboard to a shortboard. Great for surfers of all levels.

Artificial waves: boats can give a helping hand | Photo: Ryan Williams

The Webber Wave Pools have announced the launch of the first commercial artificial wave model for theme parks and resorts.

Greg Webber, the man behind this Australian project, has been working hard on the concept since 2002. He has been testing the breaking waves produced by a boat wake in a river and then tank testing and computer modeling the final design.

Webber worked through the research and development phase with the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in order to fine tune the commercial concept. Clear blue water, perfect waves, size of your choice, no crowd and no sharks.

This unique surf pool will provide unlimited and infinite rides in waves that can reach one meter per 10m of pool diameter. The waves break constantly around a circular island within a doughnut shaped pool. Each hull continuously generates 2 waves. The more hulls you have, the more waves you will get.

Full US patent has been awarded to Liquid Time Pty Ltd, the company behind Webber Wave Pools. The Australian brand is already open to installment proposals anywhere in the world and will be a serious competitor to Wavegarden. Source: SurferToday

Bodyboard Pro Festival: sunny Venezuela

Venezuelan bodyboarders are dominating the 2011 Bodyboard Pro Festival, as competition enters quarterfinals in the Men’s, Women’s and Drop Knee divisions.

Damian King, Alejandro Hernandez, David Mantellini, Leoylan Monasterios, Leonel Marcano, Eder Luciano, Enyer Moncada and Sergio Alonzo are set to battle for the trophy.

Eunate Aguirre is in the hunt for her first world title and is definitely the one to beat in the Women’s event, but she faces a tough heat against Neymara Carvalho and several of the top women riders still in the competition.

Riders are enjoying 3-4 foot waves and some good ramps for aerial spectacle, in Parguito Beach, Venezuela. Source: SurferToday

Waikiki, 1945: surfing has always been a national sport, here

Hawaii has become the first US State to make surfing an official high school sport. Neil Abercrombie, governor of the Pacific Islands, announced a project to allow Hawaii public high school students to be able to compete in school sanctioned surf competitions.

The contests will kick off in spring 2013 and will result in having surfing and surfers ranked alongside with other popular sports like football, basketball and soccer.

Despite support from parents and students, funding for programs and other challenges kept surfing from becoming a sanctioned high school sport in 2004, the year when the Hawaii State Board of Education approved surfing as a high school sport. All young surfers competing through high schools will be covered by family insurance policies. “Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing. From Duke Kahanamoku to the thousands of residents and visitors who surf both recreationally and competitively, the sport is rooted in our culture and way of life,” said Abercrombie.

“Bringing surfing to our students is another step in our collective goal to transform public education and provide our children with rich and diverse educational opportunities”, he added. The announcement was made near the statue of Duke Kahanamoku, father of modern surfing, in Waikiki.

Carissa Moore, 2011 ASP Women’s World Tour champion, joined the special event. “Surfing has been a really big part of my life growing up and has taught me so many life lessons,” said Moore.

“I think surfing is definitely a really good outlet for a lot of teens and young kids. And it’s a way to channel a lot of energy into something positive. So yeah, this is really awesome”. Source: SurferToday

Grenadines: lovely place for kiteboarding

Jeremie Tronet, Linn Svendsen and Nicolas Bascunana Dulac have opened the JT Pro Kiteboarding Center in Union Island, in the Grenadines archipelago, lower Caribbean.

“We want to share our lifestyle in the Caribbean with everybody”, explains says Jeremie. The playground, as Jeremie likes to call Union Island, has everything you can dream of to spend an amazing holiday, whether you want to learn kitesurfing, become better at it, surf or simply relax.

The JT Pro Center is located on Clifton Beach, 200 meters from the beach bungalow. The amazing transparent lagoon makes it a perfect spot to learn in perfect conditions from December until the end of June. There are also a few waves for surfing or playing around in on the outer reef.

For all the wakeboarding enthusiasts, a kicker and slider will be built during the season. Associated with Ocean Rodeo, the JT Pro Center will also be an international Ocean Rodeo test center with all the 2012 gear available to test.

The JT Pro Center on Union island is the first of a series of key kiteboarding spots that are planned for the following years. Source: SurferToday

Sun, Moon and Earth: the tidal variables

Tides are the sum of the effects caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and the Sun, as well as the gravitational force of the Earth.

The Moon’s gravitational force is only 17% of the Earth’s gravity. The Sun’s impact over the Earth is 46% of that caused by the Moon. This means that the Moon tries to pull everything from the Earth, our planet holds everything, except water.

When the Moon is in line with one side of the Earth, it pulls the water causing the high tide. Because the Earth rotates on its axis the moon completes one orbit in our sky every 25 hours, we get two tidal peaks as well as two tidal troughs, every 12 hours.

Since the Moon moves around the Earth, it is not always in the same place at the same time each day. So, each day, the times for high and low tides change by 50 minutes.

When the Moon, Earth and Sun are perfectly aligned, the sum of the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon cause maximum tide or extreme tides. When the Moon lies between Earth and the Sun we get the New Moon. When the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun we get the Full Moon. In these cases both tides are 20% higher and lower than the usual tides.

The Guinness Book of World Records declared that Burntcoat Head, Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world. The Bay of Fundy holds a measurement of a 17-meter (55.8 feet) tidal range.

In many surf spots, surfing is only possible in low and high tides, when combined with a determined swell and wind. In other wave peaks, middle tide conditions may be the best moment to hit the surf. All these variables can be combined with the ocean floor and the shore geography to establish standard patterns for above the average surfing days. Source: SurferToday

The Surf Girl Handbook: women's surfing bible

More than 500 colour photos and 160 pages of pure stoke will pump all surfer girls’ hearts taking their surfing to the next level.

“The Surf Girl Handbook” is the new surf book published by SurfGirl magazine, in association with Roxy. It covers everything you need to know about surfing and takes you from total beginner through to standout ripper at your local break. You can buy it here.

Packed with priceless information, amazing photography and insider tips from the pros, “The Surf Girl Handbook” really is an essential reference for any surf girl. It’s like having your own personal surf instructor, lifestyle coach and fitness guru all in one book.

“‘The Surf Girl Handbook’ provides an invaluable guide for the novice right through to the semi-pro surfer wanting some tips to take their surfing to the next level,” writes top Australian surfer and world title contender Sally Fitzgibbons in the foreword.

“The book isolates the key manoeuvres and breaks them down, offering just the right amount of guidance so as not to make it too confusing. The photos of the pro’s performing manoeuvres really get your adrenaline pumping. The Surf Girl Handbook will inspire you to get out there and do it yourself.”

“The Surf Girl Handbook” includes sections on fitness, diet, travel, equipment, swell prediction, surfing etiquette, technique and the ocean environment. Source: SurferToday