The Surfboard/Snowboard

This is the coolest thing you might see in a while, a board you can use in the surf and the snow.

Neil Young's Electric Car Company Sued for Half-Million Dollars Over 2010 Fire

He was converting a 1959 Lincoln Continental into a gasoline-electric hybrid running on biodiesel.: http://www.treehugger.com/cars/neil-youngs-electric-car-company-sued-over-fire.html

FM goes LARGE..!

You know you've "made it" when in big print on a hwy billboard FOC, yew!
Check out the Clarence Valley  regional gallery for more...

Aspen.. White out :).

Jan 26th 2012 -First time in proper snow -- Aspen -- loving it!

Red Bull AThlete area at the X Games... so they can warm up to hit these sort of jumps below!!

So few people on the mountains.. its crazy ... so much fun!
Its snowing again here right now... so excited for tomorrow :)
will try and take some time to get pics haha.

Laurie and Barrels mix well....

Laurie Towner rips. Here's his clip from Blow Up, the barreling riding is amazing. Some Parko at the front to warm you up then its Lozza all the way..

Valley Of Scum, Here I come.

Friends of the Mullet, Ozzie Wright & and his family made this creative little number. Its got some great surfing through out the flick and gives and insight into Oz he's a creative positive guy, good luck to him.

Strongest Solar Storm Since 2005 is Hitting the Earth Today

A massive coronal mass ejection took place on the surface of the sun on Monday, and these charged particles will be hitting the Earth throughout the day today.: http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/strongest-solar-storm-2005-hitting-earth-today.html

Patagonia Stance - Claim it: there are no green wetsuits...

\Click to enlarge to read ad..

Want to know what's up with this ad? Continue reading to learn why we don't use bamboo fabrics in Patagonia wetsuits.
 

ON BAMBOO AND RAYON

Bamboo Becomes Rayon
Bamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world, capable of growing up to four feet a day. Most of it is grown organically (though very little is certified organic), and in most locations requires no irrigation or fertilizers. There are some concerns about its use focused on depleting natural bamboo habitat (for pandas) and clearing forests for bamboo plantations. But for the most part, the growing of bamboo can be considered sustainable.

Bamboo stalks contain bast fibers that can be processed into a relatively stiff and rough fabric like flax (linen) or hemp. However, most bamboo fabric in the market has a smooth, silky hand that feels similar to rayon – because that’s essentially what it is. Rayon is a regenerated cellulose fiber, which means that a natural raw material is converted through a chemical process into a fiber that falls into a category between naturals and synthetics. The source of cellulose can be wood, paper, cotton fiber, or in this case bamboo.

The Problem with the Viscose Rayon Process
There is more than one way to make rayon. The most common way – and the one widely used for bamboo – is called the viscose process. In this process, cellulose material (such as bamboo) is dissolved in a strong solvent to make a thick, viscous solution that is forced through a spinneret into a quenching solution where strands solidify into fiber. This is sometimes called hydrolysis alkalization or solution spinning because the fiber is “spun” in a chemical solution. The solvent used for this process is carbon disulfide, a toxic chemical that is a known human reproductive hazard. It can endanger factory workers and pollute the environment via air emissions and wastewater. The recovery of this solvent in most viscose factories is around 50%, which means that the other half goes into the environment. Other potentially hazardous chemicals are also used in the viscose process, including sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid. Because of these environmental issues, Patagonia does not use rayon fabric or bamboo fabric made by the viscose process.

Alternatives to Rayon
Patagonia’s material developers have been investigating bamboo since 2003, but since almost all available bamboo fabric is made using the viscose process, we do not use bamboo fabric in our product line. We are aware of some linen-type bamboo fabric that is processed as bast fiber, but currently we are not using it because we have hemp fabrics that perform well in this type of application. The appeal of bamboo fabric is usually the drape and the hand that is a product of the viscose-type chemical processing. We have searched for an alternative fabric with these attributes, but with less harm to the environment. The best we have found is called Tencel®, a branded name of lyocell fiber. Tencel is also a regenerated cellulose fiber, but processed with a non-toxic spinning solvent in a closed-loop system.

The raw material is wood pulp harvested from eucalyptus tree farms, and the pulp is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). It is possible to use bamboo, or other sources of cellulose, but eucalyptus yields the best quality fiber with the least amount of waste. Therefore we think this process is the best available option.

We do have to ensure that the processing of Tencel and lyocell fibers does not utilize any of the harmful chemicals sometimes used to treat the fibrillation of these fibers. Some factories use a formaldehyde treatment to avoid pilling and fuzz, but other formaldehyde-free treatments are available and are environmentally preferred.
[Source: On Bamboo and Rayon (PDF) from The Footprint Chronicles®]
Keep an eye out for our new R1® Wetsuits – lined with 100% recycled polyester fleece and good for 60°F+ water temps – coming soon to a Patagonia Surf/FCD Surfboards dealer near you.

Matt Corby, Brother & Live

We love our music this is some more gold!

Hawaii Getting Closer to be Plastic Bag Free !

Following Maui and Kauai's lead, the Big Island on Wednesday became the third county to adopt a ban on merchants giving out plastic bags. That leaves Honolulu as the only Hawaii county without such a ban.

The Hawaii County Council passed Bill 17 5-3, with Council Chair Dominic Yagong abstaining because he has ties to local businesses. Voting in favor of the bill were council members Fred Blas, Brenda Ford, Pete Hoffmann, Brittany Smart and K. Angel Pilago.

Hundreds of Big Island residents provided testimony for and against the controversial bill. Some said the plastic bags were useful and reusable, while others said the bags were a nuisance and more often ended up as trash.

But in the end, the Council decided to move forward with the ban in an effort to protect the environment and encourage recycling.

This bill states: "Businesses shall not provide plastic checkout bags to their customers." "Cloth or paper” bags are cited as preferable options to plastic bags.

The measure now goes to Mayor Billy Kenoi to sign into law. If the mayor signs, the ordinance would go into effect next year.

FM heart B&W 4eva..!

Kodak Files For Bankruptcy Protection; Nobody Notices Or Cares...
It was pretty much inevitable; the company just couldn't capitalize on the digital revolution. : http://www.treehugger.com/culture/kodak-files-bankruptcy-protection.html

Leyton Living Legend..!

We haven't posted anything tenis before but Leyton Hewitt's battle with the Canadian giant (Raonic..?) was pure David & Golieth stuff.

Now he's up against the undesputed world #1 Jockovich in the 4th round of Aust Open..

Come On..!

Kieren Perrow - Thoughts on Pipeline- An interview with Fresh Mullet

As a surfer, to watch one of your best mates win an event is such an incredible feeling because you know how much effort, love, energy and hard work has gone into that win... Imagine what that person is feeling! Imagine if it was the Pipe Masters!!!!

I spoke to Kp the other day and asked if i could send him though a couple of questions to answer.
I had goosebumps reading his reply today as i waited for a delayed flight out of Cooly airport!
These were his thoughts...

#What did you have for dinner the night before the final? :)
Ahh, good question... I think we made a chicken and veg stirfry. might have snuck a few mouthfulls of ben and jerry's after that! haha

#One minute to go in the final against Parko, who has snatched wins needing 9's 1000 times before!... what kind of thoughts were running through your head?
Actually with one minute to go I knew I was going to win... I had priority and was not going to let parko get anywhere near a good wave, plus I could see there were no sets coming. Before that though I was nervous... when he had priority and got that backdoor one with 5 mins to go I watched him paddle into it and thought I was done! when his board popped up in the foam and he didnt make the wave I was so relieved... thats when I knew I would win.

#My chairing skills on your two biggest wins .. The steps at Margaret River.. and then here Haha:)
Dan Ross is the best chair man in the business! haha mate you have been there for me both times in my life when I have won big events, and the chair up the Margaret River stairs is an absolute mission (maybe 100 wooden stairs?)... you are a legend and I will never forget it. My turn to chair you next, better make it a short one or I will probably drop you hahaha


#The heat against Dorian and the wave you caught outside of him to take the lead!!!!!!!!!! My favorite moment of the event!
Did Dorian say anything to ya?
It was a huge moment for me too, and kind of came as a surprise really... I thought dorian would run away with it after his first huge bomb, but then with 6 or 7 mins to go I thought to myself well its only one wave I need to win so dont give it up yet! that one wave was awesome, one of the steepest drops I have ever taken out there and such a rush to make it. I paddled back out beaming and when they read the score I just turned to shane and said sorry mate im gonna have to be a prick here (if I made that heat I was back on tour!!), and paddled past him for the inside! he just laughed and said no worries, I know what it means. He was genuinely stoked for me which was really cool... shane is one of my favourite surfers out there and such a great guy.

#What was your favorite moment on any level- a certain wave, family there to see it, something someone said.....?
The whole event was so emotional for me, I had prepared for it to be my last ever contest and though I was aware that could happen I was so excited that the surf was pumping and I had a chance to do well and save my career for another year... that took the focus out of the win really, and then once I had achieved that I relaxed and just let it take me where it would... and that was into the final and first place!
having my wife and kids (tosh and frankie) there with me was just perfect, they have shared all the ups and downs of my career so to win for them was special. My brother simon and his girl came over too and he was co-chair with you so that was amazing for him and me. TB was a legend, he carried my board up the beach behind me getting chaired... him and johnny were beaming for me it was epic. And to surf the final with Joel after we have spent so much time hanging out on the road with our families... I was bummed that he lost but he was so stoked for me too and that meant a lot, I hope he gets his lopez board one day too...

#Did kelly say anything to you, because i heard he was almost tearing up commentating,
(Mark Mathews texted me that day saying... Best sporting moment he's seen!!!)
Haha yeah he did, he said 2 things actually... before I paddled out for the final he said "your not going to be bridesmaid again this time hey?'' and I said definitely not...
after the final he came up to me and said that he had shed a tear he was so stoked for me... I was honoured, it was really cool of him to go and commentate the final when he didnt have to (danielle said he was just sitting down in the surfers area and without being asked got up and went upstairs to the booth to do it).

#Has the win effected your belief and fueled the fire to win more events or is it a feeling of fulfillment in that aspect of your surfing.
Its a bit of both I guess, I have always had that belief that I could win if given the right opportunity and without making any mistakes... now I have done it I for sure want to win again, and will be pumped to do that this year. At the same time it has given me the fulfillment of achieving my career long goal to win a WT event... Pipe especially! it has banished the demons that haunted me for a year, after losing pipe the year before, and just put a huge smile on my face!! I can retire a happy man, whenever that is...

My favorite surf shot.. probably that one you had on your email! the perfect pipe pit... my first scoring wave of the whole contest... and the byron boys got that shot blown up huge and framed for me as a surprise. stoked!

Maybe the best cover song ever!

This is amazing stuff, really amazing....5 people, 1 guitar and an awesome song!

No Words Needed...Teahupoo In Slow Motion....

Come Hell or High Water...

& Board Swap @ Patagonia Torquay - Saturday 21st January...

Here's the trailer...

Peace...

A film worth watching....

If your cruzing or need to cruz, have some time to chill for the next 24 minutes, then please watch this film its the essence of why Fresh Mullet was created. Enjoy, tell your friends, learn from it & take some rubbish with you when you leave the beach next!

Is it a bird, is it a plane...?

Its the future of travel and transport... Maybe... 

AN Australian adventurer is attempting to break the world speed record this year with a hybrid glider-boat which can reach speeds of more than 100km an hour.

UK-based Paul Larsen, originally from Healesville in Victoria, hopes to break the record held by a kite surfer with his Vestas Sailrocket 2 in Namibia, Africa.

"Vestas Sailrocket 2 is truly a hybrid glider-boat,'' Larsen said.

"It is currently banging its head against the conventional limits which it is designed to break through.

"We are still very much in development and still believe that we will make the breakthroughs that will yield massive performance gains.

"I hope 2012 is our year.''

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/aussie-adventurer-to-smash-world-speed-record/story-e6frfq80-1226239884127#ixzz1j6YKcUpA

O Brother

I posted some clips of Julian Wilson a few days ago ripping, it was the best of his 2011 clips, and I just stumbled upon this vimeo clip of Kolohe Andino...WOW, it looks to be 2 surf's, some amazing rail work and of course all the air's you can handle. Watch, think and project to the 1st ASP tour event at Snapper... J'Dub vs Brother final? Big call!

Week of the Eves from Kolohe Andino on Vimeo.

Being trained to hold your breath...

.. by one of the best instructors in the world was an incredible project that Sally Fitz, Maya, Myself and Andy Walshe were fortunate to experience in Hawaii earlier this year.
Red Bull's aim was to give their athletes the extra confidence in solid surf, through techniques they can apply to breath holding situations.
There psychology behind it all, and the way the body and mind work together to enable people to "free" dive to crazy depths is fascinating.
Being down on the ocean floor at 110ft on just a single breath was kind of freaky but soo peaceful at the same time. We would use weight belts to get down to depth and it was taking roughly 1 minute to get back to the surface!
Sally and Myself have trained with Nam Baldwin from www.equalize.com which teaches the ability to control yourself under stressful situations, and also recovery.
It was fun to take it to another level here at Kona.
Everyone held for over 3 mins in the pool! - 5.20 was the longest .. relaxxxxx :)






This one is crazy ....!

Tommy Walker Exhibition

Apparently the first surfing photos in Australia where taken at Main Beach Yamba a century ago & the local community celebrated with an exhibition of old photos and boards from past to present. Looking fwd to the comp next year.

Permission to surf...

From the Tommy Walker expo

Whats the hurry...?

What can you accomplish in 360 hours?
The Chinese sustainable building company, Broad Group, has yet attempted another impossible feat, building a 30-story tall hotel prototype in 360 hours, after building a 15-story building in a week earlier in 2011.

You may ask why in a hurry, and is it safe? The statistics in the video can put you in good faith. Prefabricated modular buildings has many advantages over conventional buildings.

Higher precision in fabrication (+/- 0.2mm).
More coordinated on-site construction management.
Shorter construction time span.
Lower construction waste.
Also many other health and energy features are included in Broad Sustainable Buildings (BSB)

The building was built over last Christmas time and finished before New Years Eve of 2012.

8 Star Housing, For under $200,000 for anyone!

Canberra-based design and building company Jigsaw Housing has created a series of affordable, energy-efficient house designs with the help of the local community.

The community-based project, called 8 Stars for $200,000, aims to design a house with an 8 Star energy efficiency rating (EER) that can be built for $200,000. The hope is that this will make efficient, comfortable houses accessible to the wider community.

Jigsaw Housing held a community workshop in September 2011 to find out what people wanted in a house. The workshop looked at a variety of topics, such as how people use space, the essential components of a home and accommodating changing needs over time.

Suggestions at the workshop were divided into three categories: needed, desirable and not needed. The results showed three essential criteria: 45 percent of the participants wanted light, 37.5 percent of the participants wanted warmth and 35 percent stressed a connection to the outdoors. Features that many people considered unnecessary included theatre rooms, large bedrooms, double garages, a separate laundry, formal living and dining rooms, en suites and baths. The information from the workshop was collated along with thoughts and ideas that were gathered from the project’s Facebook and Twitter discussions.

In December 2011, Jigsaw Housing presented the design concept at a community event where all previous participants were invited to take part. Once finalized, the community-owned designs will be available for anybody to build.

Given the design’s modular nature it can be configured and orientated in a variety of ways. This allows the design to be adapted for the different climates throughout Australia and EER Star ratings can be calculated for each option. The modules also allow the houses to grow and change as the occupants’ needs change.

Visit the Jigsaw Housing website for more information.

Dont Fear My Gypsy...

Ace Buchan the kid from the Centrl Coast of NSW, Australia has a new website www.dontfearmygypsy.com . Yet another avenue to get your fix of travel and surfing of the finest degree! Like it, Twit it, Fresh Mullet it!

Save Ball Bay

Ok, I have had an internal battle whether to post this because I grew up on an overpopulated point break and cringed anytime I saw it in a magazine, TV, and later the internet. However, I was fortunate enough to surf Ball Bay in 2011 (for 4 days in a row on my own) and if this little blog post can help raise some support for the local surfers to fight plans for a jetty that will destroy the break, I think its justified. In nutshell: the government of Norfolk wants to build a permanent concrete wharf for large ships right through the middle of this point break. To hear it from the horses mouth see the link below.

There are probably 10-20 local surfers plus grommets on the island (population approx 2000) so these guys are way outnumbered and need surfers from the mainland to join them in opposition of this development. The idea that a bigger jetty would lift their poor economy is ridiculous. The natural beauty of the island combined with some decent marketing would turn pick up the (eco) tourism much faster - but thats a rave for another day.

http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/public_submissions/published/files/91_norfolkislandharbourcorporationincorporated_SUB.pdf

J Dub, the real deal!

I had to put this on, i knew he was good BUT no that good..... They reckon Julian has a real hunger to be world champ, watch this clip and you might just think the same...

JULIAN WILSON 2011 WRAP UP from Julian Wilson on Vimeo.

Build your own Quarter Pipe

Bored? Need a something to do? Love to skate? Here's a how to build your own quarter pipe clip. Sure you need more info, but if it inspires there's lots of sites out there that can help, check out or www.xtremeskater.com/

One wave from the Jaws paddle session..

Check out this clip of Dave Wassel paddling jaws and locking into a beast of a drop.

Music.. tell us what you like and if we feel the same we'll post it!

Artist: Bon Iver
Song: Skinny Love
Album: For Emma, Forever Ago

Lyrics

Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in the moment this order's tall

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines

Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?

NZ Drink Driving Campaign! - "Ghost" Chips haha

I rode a Toothpick

I rode a 1930's replica surfboard on the weekend. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done in my surfing years. The board itself was about 11 foot long, hollow and made completely out of wood. It seemed like a pretty dangerous thing to take out in the ocean but once I got out the back all danger was forgotten and the board took control (sort of).
With no fin and no real rocker the pin tail is what you steer with, you don't really steer as such but just point and stand up. If your around Yamba there is a surfboard display at the top of town (Star in the Sea) it has boards from all era's and a very interesting look at the history of our lifestyle....

Creativity...

..has come back to Yamba with the return of Ben and Phoebe Ross.
Dave Nielson getting some work from Ben at Tattoo Destination in Yamba.

Fresh Mullét straight out of LAke Wooloweyah

Arrived home early this year to catch up with my new neighbors .. Jasp and Taiig Ross:)
So cool having my nephews living in the same street.. been hanging out not stop.
Here is a few pics from the end of 2011

Ben and Taiig using FM to catch a Jew.

I've been throwing Kale in the Banana Smoothies- Taiig loved them!!

Christmas day on the new boards

Taiigs first 6'3 dahlberg.. got it for cheap haha - Jaspurs- 6'2 Pukas..Frothing to Surf!

Kerby Brown, Madman

Australia has alot of what we call hellman, Kirby Brown comes in under that list. Here he is pulling in on a death slab and eating SHIT.....ouch!

One wave at the ledge from Tom Jennings on Vimeo.