Surf Stories, Photos & Videos | A blog for surfers, sliders, short boarders & log riders
Gabriel Villaran, Cabo Blanco, Northern Peru
CAPTURE: A WAVES Documentary dives deep into the impoverished community of Lobitos, Peru and the experience of surf travelers who dedicate their passion to the youth.
Sneak Peak: Rough Cut from Capture Doc on Vimeo.
WAVES for Development creates life-enriching experiences in coastal communities through Educational Surf programs. These programs help develop local youth into healthy & empowered adults. They also engage travellers & transform their world view and appreciation of local issues. WAVES relies on volunteers, contributors and charitable donations to help deliver these programs.
WAVES is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt public charity in the state of New York, USA. Additionally, WAVES is a formalised not-for-profit association in Peru and Switzerland.
Photo © copyright WAVES for Development
In October 2010 I am taking two months off work and travelling to Lobitos in Northern Peru to help WAVES with the program. In the run up to my trip I am trying to raise funds and awareness for WAVES. That is where YOU come in.
Please help support WAVES by making a donation. Your money goes directly to WAVES (it doesn’t fund my trip) and helps them continue to carry out their important work within the communities of Northern Peru.
Here is what your donation can do:
All donations are greatly appreciated, no matter how small the amount is. Donating through First Giving is simple, fast and totally secure.
Many thanks for your support!
Ben
Testing out the GoPro HD Surf Hero again and trying my best to look like a bit of a kook on my 9’0 Bilbo longboard. Waves were generally small close outs with the odd peeler coming through (and then closing out). But nice to be out in the water all the same!
Wavetracks GPS, a new iPhone App for tracking surfing performance has just been launched on the iPhone App Store, it looks really slick and there is potential for the App to be used in contests and coaching as well as  individual surfers looking to track their surf performance.
Check it out!
“WAVES for Development offers Surf Voluntourism programs to travelers and Educational Surf programs for Peruvian youth. It’s a unique opportunity to volunteer (and surf) in the small impoverished town of Lobitos, Peru and teach the local children sustainable skills for a better future. WAVES aims to teach the locals how to create income from the growing surf tourism industry there”.
The guys are trying to raise awareness for their cause by creating a film documentary. They are currently trying to raise funding for this project and have 16 days left to raise their goal amount of $2900. If they dont reach their goal by Feb. 28th then they will not receive any of the money that has been pledged so far.
Get involved and make a donation to a good cause: http://kck.st/9LIb5j
I’ve been working on an project over the past few months creating an iPhone App that tracks your performance whilst surfing. It uses the iPhone’s GPS technologies to track and calculate your speed, distance, angle of ride etc. The app is currently under review from Apple and should hopefully be in the App Store in the next few weeks.
Here’s a sneak preview at some of the screen shots from the app. To find out more check out: www.wavetracksgps.com
This afternoon Mark Parry and I headed down to Whitsands Bay, Cornwall to test out my new GoPro Surf Hero HD waterproof video camera. It was a beautiful day, clear and crisp (albeit a bit cold).
The swell was small today so I took out the 9’1 Bilbo longboard and paddled around and got a few waves. I put together a little footage capture with the GoPro HD camera.
The sun was directly behind me, so it is pretty intense in the video at times, also I think I needed to adjust the tightness of the mount, so the camera didn’t move as much and possibly the angle so I was in the frame more. Also because the air temperature was only about 2 degrees, the casing fogged up a little, but for a first go we were pretty impressed with the quality of the video.
Check out the short video clip below. The footage has been optimised for the web and so isn’t as high quality as the original video.
GoPro Surf Hero HD, Whitsands Bay, Cornwall from Ben Ellis on Vimeo.
Paul the postman has just been and made a very special pre-Christmas delivery of my GoPro Surf Hero HD video/stills camera. The Surf Hero HD, is as you might expect the High Definition version of the much-loved GoPro Surf Hero, a digital video and stills camera that you can mount to your surfboard to capture amazing footage of you and your buddies pulling in to that next pit!
You can also get different mounts for the camera so you can attach it to a helmet, your chest etc. Handy for ski/snowboard movies. Dare I say 2010 will be featuring the 4th snow/surf movie from myself at some point :)
I can’t wait to test it out in the water, unfortunately a.) I have to wait until Christmas until I can open it, and b.) I need to get myself to the coast to make full use of it! In the mean time, check out the links below showing some test footage from the boys at GoPro, I reckon you’ll be suitably impressed!
GoPro HD HERO Camera: Surf Movie from GoPro on Vimeo.
GoPro HD Camera: Ski Movie from GoPro on Vimeo.
PS: Cheers to Magicseaweed for a stress-free and speedy delivery :)
We officially entered British daylight savings time today, meaning it now gets dark at 5.30pm and the nights will close in until the end of December. Unfortunately this means less time in the water, but on the bright side it means more time for other activities such as reading.
The list below is a small selection of some of the fiction and non-fiction novels/biographies that I have bought over the few years (and by no means exhaustive). So if you find yourself with a spare few moments then get your head into one of the books on the list below.
If you’ve got any suggestions then please feel free to leave a comment.
Speaking to my friend Mark the other day, who was on the beach (with binoculars in hand) when it happened, here is a little footage of Ben Skinner towing in at North Fistral during one of the recent pumping, autumn swells to hit up the South West of Cornwall.
