Endless Fun Productions, the filmmaking arm of Robert August Surfboards, headed up by Robert's son Sam August, has just released their sophomore effort, The Endless Journey Continues, Vol. 1. Following up their first release, The Robert August 30th Anniversary Tribute DVD, Sam and his associates, Shea McIntee, Brennan Slavik and Robert Klug have put together another surf video that strips the sport to it's bare essentials: surfing and fun.
Robert August, an icon in the sport of surfing and best known for both his starring role in the original Bruce Brown classic, Endless Summer and his success as a surfboard shaper, has been traveling to Costa Rica for over eighteen years. He keeps a second home in the Tamarindo/Playa Grande area and spends plenty of time on the nose, along with Endless Summer II star, Robert 'Wingnut' Weaver.
The Endless Journey Continues, Vol. 1 follows Robert and Wingnut, Sam August (a stylish ripper in his own right), Dodger Kremel, the unoffical mayor of Huntington Beach, Bud LLamas, Mary Osborne and Costa Rican (or Tico) ripper Brookes Wilson to surf spots in Costa Rica and the untapped Guatemalan coastline.
Everyone knows that Costa Rica is a go-to surf destination. The quantity--and quality--of surf breaks is no secret. It's easy access from both the East and West Coasts and it's selection of high-performance waves give average surfers and professionals an alternative to high-cost surf trips to Indo or Hawaii and little reason to bring anything bigger than a 6'6", unless you're a longboarder, of course. Based on the number of Israeli, Argentinian, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian surfers in abundance in Costa Rica, the word is out that it's the Central American mecca for consistent surf. (Nicaragua and El Salvador are lately diverting some of the traffic, but Costa Rica's infrastructure, people and quality of living are still attracting the biggest number of visiting surfers to Central America).
On to the surf dvd! 2006 was a great year for surf in Costa Rica, and the Endless Fun crew caught some beautiful days on film. From Robert August trimming in perfectly peeling knee-high Tamarindo to the fun surrounding the Robert August Charity Challenge to one of the best days ever caught on film at Ollie's Point, The Endless Journey Continues doesn't try to map the country and it's surf spots, but rather document the fun they had in the area that Robert calls his second home. The Ollie's footage is particularly good, as mentioned before. Having been there on a few occasions, I've seen it's potential, but the devilish offshore winds can turn overhead surf at this peeling pointbreak into an exercise in discretion, as a poorly executed turn will get you blown out the back while the rest of the wave fires away down the point. In all the surfing movies that I watch--and I watch them for a living--I can't say that I've ever seen Ollie's documented on a better day. If you're even considering taking a surf trip to Costa Rica, this surf dvd is worth a watch to get an idea of the variety and quality of the waves you can catch in this part of the country.
Guatemala is by far the high point of this movie, and as far as surfing dvds go, The Endless Journey Continues may be the first to document this largely untapped wave zone. Guatemala's glaring fault as a surf destination has long been it's unfortuitously straight coastline. Devoid of the peninsulas, bays, nooks and crannies that make for a prime surf travel destination, Guatemala has long been battered by the same swells that cause Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador to fire, but with none of the rewards. In an ironic twist, mankind has unwitttingly tapped into Guatemalas surf potential. As the country's infrastructure has improved, the creation of jetties and harbors has caused san buildup and, in turn, created epic surf where there was none.
Having been contacted by local surfer Pedro Pablo, who provided photographic evidence of Guatemala's spectacular surf and entreated them to visit, Robert, Wingnut, Mary, Dodger and crew forged ahead into an area primarily visited by backpacking, hacky-sacking hippies and were rewarded for their trailblazing spirit.
The (well) overhead waves peeling off a sandbar outside of two jetties in Guatemala give credit to the still-alive spirit of discovery in surfing movies. Rivalling any similarly sized wave for quality and machine-groomed perfection, this Guatemalan gem that the Endless Fun crew mined days on end may well blow open the doors to Guatemala as a surf destination. And it should be noted that Robert, surfing the biggest waves that he'd encountered in some ten years, according to long-time travel companion Wingnut, absolutely charged with grace and aplomb. Bud Llamas threw everything he had into his turns, leaving boat-wakes in his path. Wingnut, was his usual stylish self, adapting to this new wave like he'd ridden it for years, the sign of a great surfer. And Sam August, Mary Osborne (who deserves some credit for charging) and Dodger Kremel did a fine job, nabbing set after set.
The Endless Journey Continues, Vol. 1 is another fine production from the appropriately named Endless Fun crew. Not content to be relegated to formulaic surf movies, The Endless Journey Continues is chock-full of lifestyle, interviews and Wingnut's trademark velvety voice-overs, as if Bruce Brown's spirit and directorial sense has somehow rubbed off on Robert and been subsequently passed down through his bloodline. Cinematic osmosis, if you will. Call it what you like: Aloha, Good Vibrations or whatever. The Endless Journey Continues has it in spades and it's refreshing to spend an hour with smiling surfers that you wouldn't mind having on your next surf trip. Tough-guy tats, sneers and snide remarks need not apply. Let the Endless Fun continue!
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