Buy-Rash-Guards.com Blog

Southern California surfers are having been watching all the recent activity ‘down under’ and are awiting the arrival of a fairly significant south swell in about 4-5 days.

As you can see in the above wave measurement graphic there’s been quite a bit of wave making activity in the Southern Hemisphere during the last few days and surfers are waxing up their surfboards in anticipation of the swell which is expected to reach 1-2′ overhead around Monday or Tuesday.

Time to grab your boardshorts and rash guard shirts and hit the water – COWABUNGA, dude!!  

Tonight at the Shore Lounge in Long Beach, CA, you can come hear some great bands AND help raise money for the local Long Beach Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation!

What else you got going on for a Thursday night, anyways, (except the Laker game of course)!!! But you can head down after the game becasue this party doesn’t get started until 8pm. They’ve got 3 local bands and it’s just $12 at the door – that’s only $4 per band PLUS you’re helping the Surfrider Foundation. 

The third day of competition at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star O’Neill Cold Water Classic found itself at its third new location where surfing’s big names took to the water.

With conditions easing ever so slightly, contest director Matt Wilson chose Marrawah’s exposed Lighthouse Beach as the spot to finish off the Round of 96.

In this isolated northwest corner of Tasmania, the likes of Jordy Smith, Cory Lopez, Ben Dunn, aerial master Josh Kerr, and Damien Hobgood made the most of the powerful beachbreak.

There are high expectations for the 21-year-old South African surfing phenomenon, Jordy Smith, winner of this ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) tour two years ago, and he didn’t fail to disappoint, waiting until the second half of his heat to pull out his high scoring waves.

“It’s interesting being back on the ASP WQS,” Smith said, “because you can go through with 5’s. I can’t get away with that on the World Tour.”

This is the first time for Jordy on Australia’s island state, but he is fitting right into the Tasmanian waters,

“I met a few of the locals yesterday evening out in the water,” Smith said. “I was asking them how to get back because it was getting pretty dark and we were pretty far from anything. They were like, no worries catch a ride with us. It was crazy driving through the night with all the Tasmanian Devils about and stuff. We almost hit something the other day – I would have felt bad. We didn’t though, we stopped and let it cross the road.”

The heat of the day was a battle of spectacular young talent, with 19-year-old up-and-coming Australian star, Owen Wright taking it out ahead of Dusty Payne, Lincoln Taylor and Wiggoly Dantas.

“It was a pretty close heat,” Wright said. “The first day was incredible – the Bluff is an awesome wave. But it’s great it’s mobile. It keeps all the options open and you can get the best waves every day. I’ve been over to Tasmania before. But never to this corner. It’s a nice untouched place – it’s an awesome place to have an event.”

As Rob Bain, O’Neill’s Asia/Pacific Marketing Manager said, “It’s not just about the surfing here. We’ve had amazing waves and most of the surfers are discovering them for the first time ever. But this is also more like a road trip – it’s about the different experiences.”

This week we’ve selected this kid’s long sleeve rash guard shirt for our weekly special.

This adorable pink child’s rash guard will protect your kids with SPF 150+ protection you can count on!

From now until this Friday you can get an additional discount simply by using coupon code kids-rash-guard when you checkout. Please note this coupon code does NOT go in the Promotional Code box but in the Coupon Code box after you have added the rash guard shirt to your basket.

Pink not your color? No problem because we’ve got a huge selection of rash guard swim shirts for kids so you’ll sure to find one that your child will love.

OK, these guys are hardcore surfers! There’s a group of guys up in Montreal, Canada who actually surf on the St Lawrence river in the dead of winter – BRRRRR!

Led by local surfboard shaper, Corran Addison, these guys suit up and hit the 4 degree, (yes, that’s FOUR DEGREE), water where the biggest danger they face is the large pieces of floating ice and can go form damaging your board to causing serious bodily injury if a surfer happens to get pinned between two large icebergs.

“It’s just like an obstacle course,” says fellow ice surfer Christine Pinsonneault, 25. “You’re basically doing a slalom around the blocks of ice as they come down the river. You can’t miss them all so you have to be willing to have a board you don’t mind destroying.”

“It’s not just about being an expert surfer, it’s also understanding the dynamics of this unique situation,” Addison says. “There are some things you would never think are dangerous until they happen to you. There could be 100 metres separating two big icebergs and you wouldn’t think twice about it until you have a friend who has been squashed between the two because he wasn’t paying attention.”

You can read more here at the Montreal Mirror…

Shown picking up her winner’s check wearing a bright red rash guard surf shirt,  surfer Pauline Ado (FRA), 17, has just made Association of Surfing Professionals, (ASP), history as the first non-Australian female to claim the undisputed ASP Junior World Title, defeating opponent Bethany Hamilton (HAW), 18, in a hard-fought Final at the Billabong ASP World Junior Championships.

Clean three-to-four foot waves were on tap at Sydney’s legendary North Narrabeen Beach yesterday where Ado surfed her way to the crown and became the newest ASP World Junior Champion.

“I’m speechless,” Ado said. “I am so stoked. This is a dream come true. I can’t believe that I won. When I woke up this morning, I never imagined that this would happen.”

While her opponent Hamilton exhibited patience throughout the day, Ado wasted no time in surfing both the lefts and rights and although the lead flipped back-and-forth it was the young Frenchwoman who sealed the deal with a solid 13.43 out of a possible 20.

Congrats Pauline and nice women’s rash guard if we do say so ourselves. 

Just a friendly reminder that the Surfrider Foundation Long Beach Chapter’s 2nd Annual Breakwater Bash is happening Saturday, November 15, 2008 7PM-midnight at Smooth’s Sports Grille (144 Pine). $10 per person to benefit their “Sink the Breakwater & Restore the Shore” campaign.

They’re celebrating the 70th anniversary of the 1938 Surfing & Paddleboard Championships – the first national surfing championship ever – held in Long Beach, California way, way before the City Council voted Long Beach “The Aquatic Capital of America” and when there were waves in Long Beach. Two fabulous local music groups – the Lap Steel Duo and Swingin’ Tikis – will rock the crowd and set the mood to celebrate surfing history in Long Beach.

They’reproudly celebrating this event with the Long Beach Jr. Chamber of Commerce, one of the original co-sponsors of the Surfing & Paddleboard Championship way back in 1938, along with The District Weekly and Smooth’s Sports Grille.

Smooth’s will be featuring a special Surfrider dinner menu and 10% of the meal will be donated to Surfrider Foundation in Long Beach.

Just a reminder that tonight the Long Beach, CA Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation will host a special evening with Surfline Forecasters who will discuss the basics of wave formation, what swells and wind conditions are best for the surrounding area and can also certainly throw in some info on what the surf would be like if the breakwater was no longer there.

So if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to forecast our great waves here in Southern California, here is your chance to learn and ask as many questions as you’d like.

The meeting will start at 7pm and will be located in the downstairs portion of the Barnes and Noble bookstore in the Marina Pacifica Mall (near 2nd Street  PCH).

On Sunday, July 27th, Nathaniel Curran (Oxnard, CA), claimed the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing presented by O’Neill and the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) ratings lead. The win marks Curran’s first major event victory and his first time atop the ASP WQS ratings.

Curran beat France’s Tim Boal (Hossegor, FRA) in one-to-three foot surf at Huntington Beach Pier Sunday afternoon – the final day of the 10-day competition. His ASP 6-Star victory saw him defeat a field of 192 competitors at the biggest WQS event in North America and the most attended event in professional surfing.

“I’m so pumped I don’t even know what to say,” Curran said. “Everyone was getting me really pumped up because I really wanted to win and I’m stoked. I just tried to keep myself cool and composed the whole time. I was just trying to keep it in rhythm and keep going.”

Surfing ace Shaun Gossmann beat some top surfers to win the Billabong Winter Classic down in Gold Coast, Australia on Sunday.

Gossman let rip in the onshore conditions, mixing explosive backhand blasts with rail-to-rail carves to beat Alexandra Headlands surfer Blake Wilson, Currumbin star Corey Ziems and Sunshine Beach ripper Ryan Campbell.

However, it was no walkover with Gossmann coming from behind to finish with a 17.70 two-wave combined total to Wilson’s 17.35. Wilson was on fire in the 20-minute exchange, netting a 9.00 and an 8.35 to setup a commanding lead and leave Gossmann requiring a 9.3 for victory.

On the back foot and in need of a big score, Gossmann jagged a set wave with only four minutes remaining. And he made every inch of it count, tearing it to the beach to steal Wilson’s thunder with a final-winning 9.5 ride.

This week we’re featuring a sale on this pink rash guard for kids!

This girls rash guard is one of our most popular sellers and like all of our rash guard shirts it provides SPF 150 protection for your little ones while they’re in the water.

Just use coupon code girls-rashguard when you checkout to get an additional discount until Friday, July 11th.

Don’t forget we have rash guards for the entire family too – so we’ve got you covered all summer long with the best UV protective clothing around. 

“Surf Evolution – 100 years of Vintage Wooden Surfboards” officially opens June 19, at the Exhibit Space at 1132 Bishop St, Honolulu, second floor lobby and will run through August 25, 2008. The exhibit is being curated by surf historian Mark Fragale, surf promoter and vintage surf auction organizer Randy Rarick, and made possible by the submissions of over a dozen island collectors. This once in a lifetime surfing exhibition brings focus to the history of the wooden surfboard up to the cusp of the introduction of the foam boards in the late 1950’s. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Before plastic, the authentic first surfboards were made of wood. Crafted with crude tools, the designs evolved, as did the construction techniques. For over half a century the evolution of the wood surfboards reflected the changing nature of surfing itself. Boards with a heart of wood reached their zenith in the late 1950’s, prior to the introduction of the modern foam surfboard.

The exhibition will feature approximately 35 surfboards that range from ancient, turn-of-the-century boards to post-WWII balsa wood creations. Among the collection: a 16-foot redwood paddleboard that was worked on by Duke Kahanamoku himself; a Tom Blake designed “cigar box” hollow paddleboard; an early “hot curl” board crafted by George Downing and Wally Froiseth; a Joe Quigg post-modern balsa; and an original “Surfboards Hawaii” model shaped by Dick Brewer that helped to usher in the “big gun” era on the North Shore of Oahu.

Displayed with each board will be an explanation of its historical significance and timeline.

Following the hugely successful display “Nalu – 40 years of Big Wave Guns” in 2006, the Exhibition Space at 1132 Bishop Street, Douglas Emmett and curator David Behlke are proud to present the second exhibition in an ongoing series bringing attention featuring a time “When surfboards were made of wood and the men who road them made of steel”.

Aloha – Just checking in during vacation to make sure things are OK back at the ranch!

Been in Hawaii for 4 flat days now and we finally got some surf today – yippeee!! Went out this morning in some 3-4 surf at Canoes in Waikiki. It was very fun, very crowded and very sunny.

I was super comfy and super protected wearing both my long sleeve rash guard shirt and some new organic and biodegradable mineral sunblock I’m trying out. I’m testing out 3 different brands during the 2 weeks I’m here in an effort to find a product that works AND doesn’t harm the environment or contain harsh chemicals that hurt ME, so check back as we may start carrying sunblock at Buy-Rash-Guards.com.

I have to admit the warm water and surfing sans wetsuit is VERY nice but it does leave you exposed to the harmful UV rays of the sun. All I can say is I’m glad rash guards and UV protective clothing were invented otherwise I’m not sure how I could protect my skin from the sun and potential skin cancer while I surf for hours in warm, sunny places like Hawaii.

Sunday, May 11th, Harley Ingleby of Australia, (shown above wearing a bright red rash guard shirt), was crowned Oxbow World Longboard Tour champion in fun two to three foot waves at Les Dunes, France. The win gives Ingleby the lead in the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Longboard Tour (WLT) ratings.

Ingleby, 24, who defeated rising French star Antoine Delpero at his home beach, won the 35-minute final cheered by the Australian contingent in front of a numerous French crowd. Ingleby, who defeated reigning ASP World Longboard Champion Phil Rajzman (BRA) in the semifinals, posted a solid 16.65 point heat tally to best Delpero’s 14.50 point score (both out of a possible 20) in the last heat of the week.

“I am the happiest kid in the world right now,” Ingleby said. “I had a very testing semifinal against Phil and that win gave me a lot of confidence for the final. I found the better waves against Antoine (Delpero) and it ends up just perfectly for me in the final.” Ingleby betters the equal 5th place he got last year at Anglet and now stands as a potential 2008 ASP World Longboard Champion before the final stop in California next November.

“It is really good to have this second event this year,” Ingleby said. “Right now I will just enjoy this one and celebrate with the Australians and will start thinking of the next event later. So stoked to grab it.”

FINAL
Heat 1: Harley Ingleby (AUS) 16.65 pts Def. Antoine Delpero (FRA) 14.50 pts

SEMIFINALS
Heat 1: Harley Ingleby (AUS) 15.00 pts Def. Phil Rajzman (BRA) 13.50 pts
Heat 2: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 18.25 pts Def. Bonga Perkins (HAW) 17.05 pts

QUARTERFINALS
Heat 1: Harley Ingleby (AUS) 13.65 pts Def. Carlos Bahia (BRA) 11.25 pts
Heat 2: Phil Rajzman (BRA) 14.85 pts Def. Matthew Moir (ZAF) 14.85 pts
Heat 3: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 16.75 pts Def. Amaro Matos (BRA) 10.85 pts
Heat 4: Bonga Perkins (HAW) 16.25 pts Def. Colin McPhillips (USA) 13.90 pts

ASP World Longboard Tour Top 5 After Oxbow WLT pres. by Orange
1.Harley Ingleby (AUS), 1200 pts
2.Antoine Delpero (FRA), 1032 pts
3.Bonga Perkins (HAW), 876 pts
3.Phil Rajzman (BRA), 876 pts
5.Carlos Bahia (BRA), 732 pts

Registration is now open for the 2008 Clean Water Classic to be held in Westport, WA on May 16-18!

The Clean Water Classic is Surfrider’s annual surfing contest that raises crucial funds for their chapters in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The weekend will feature great surfing, ocean education, silent auction, live music, raffle, and collection of some of the coolest folks in the Pacific Northwest.

We’re guessing you’ll need a rash guard shirt for the trip.

Click here for more info and to register…

This week you can get this bright and colorful yellow kid’s rash guard on sale!

This bright yellow swim shirt will make your child easy to spot at the crowded beach or pool as well as provide SPF 150 protection to their tender skin.

Just use coupon code kids-rashguard-yellow when you checkout before midnight this Friday and you’ll get a special discount on this rashguard swim shirt for kids.

The Cape Fear Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation deserves a big shout out for successfully aiding the city of Wrightsville Beach, NC, in their struggle to keep Access 33 open to the public so the public can have a pathway to the beach. After two year’s of negotiations, the parties involved were finally able to come to an agreement and the Cape Fear Chapter donated $15,000 to help close the deal!

Read the full story here…

The Monster Energy Pipeline Pro starts this Sunday, January 27, at Hawaii’s world famous Banzai Pipeline.

This ASP, (Association of Surfing Professionals), sanctioned WQS, (World Qualifying Series), event will run during the 3 biggest and best days of surf between Jan 27 – Feb 6.

The star-studded field of 128 surfers representing 10 nations will be headed up by 3-time World Champion, Andy Irons, (of Hawaii). Irons will be joined by a slew of proven and talented surfers along with Pipeline Masters Rob Machado, (of California), Bruce Irons, (of Hawaii) and Derek Ho, (of Hawaii).

Well, today I’m a little older, a little wiser and now a little wetter.

While much of the California coast is getting pounded by huge surf I managed to find some fun, head high rights at one of my favorite ’secret’ spots here in So Cal, (some DO still exist believe it or not!)… (more…)

The first thing you need is the right length surfboard. Most people make the mistake of trying to learn how to surf on a board that is too short. They see pros riding short boards and think that’s what they need. This is wrong and will only make you frustrated and give up trying to learn. (more…)