Machado, Frye, Dale, “Gidget”, Beacham, Fury and Hole in Wall Gang honored in 18th annual ceremony

The votes have been tallied and seven legendary wave riders will once again be forever enshrined in surfing’s history books. Through a selection ballot, a host of respected surf industry veterans, former professionals and surf journalists narrowed down a field of hundreds of candidates to name the seven 2011 Surfing Walk of Fame’s honorees in their respective categories – Rob Machado (Surf Champion), Skip Frye (Surf Pioneer), Dick Dale (Surf Culture), Debbie Beacham and Kathy “Gidget” Kohner (tied for Women of the Year), Bill Fury (Local Hero) and The Hole in the Wall Gang (Honor Roll).

The Surfing Walk of Fame is the only tribunal in surfing to award specific categories as well as require a 10-year margin since the commemorating achievement. This year’s recipients will be cemented alongside past inductees, earning their immortal place in the pavement on the corner of PCH and Main Street, directly across from the famous pier in Surf City USA — Huntington Beach, California.

“The Surfing Walk of Fame board of directors is very excited with this year’s voter-selected honorees for the 2011 induction,” said Don MacAllister, SWoF Chairman of the Board. “For the past 18 years, we mail ballots throughout the world and gather votes to make our selection.”

Rob Machado, a former Pipeline Master and World Number Two surfer, has a definitive history surfing in Huntington Beach. A well worthy Surf Champion, he won the U.S. Open of Surfing three times and finished runner-up three times. Even the lefthander south of the pier will forever be dubbed “Machado’s Peak” after seemingly magical waves appeared out of nowhere, propelling the stylish goofyfoot to victory.

“It is a true honor to be inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame and very humbling to be included alongside that group of people who have all made incredible contributions to surfing,” Machado explained. “Surfing has given me so much and I feel like my career is nowhere close to over.”

Earning the Surf Pioneer nod is San Diego’s Skip Frye — a legendary surfer, competitor and shaper during the 1960s. After a trip to Australia, Frye came back with knowledge of the vee-bottom design, which soon helped fuel the shortboard revolution.

Musician Dick Dale, largely regarded as the founder of surf music, is undoubtedly worthy of the Surf Culture recognition. He was once quoted as saying he was trying to “match the feeling I had while surfing” to his music.

The Woman of the Year goes to two honorees this time around — Debbie Beacham, a former world champion turned women’s contest promoter, and Kathy Kohner (also known as “Gidget”), who’s Malibu upbringing spring-boarder her into a pop icon.

Also in this year’s ceremony, surfer/shaper Bill Fury is recognized as the Local Hero. And HB’s legendary surf team “The Hole in the Wall Gang” earns the Honor Roll spot.

read more at surfline

After a near-drowning incident in 2010, big wave legend Shane Dorian wondered if he would ever be able to face 50-foot-plus waves again.  But today Dorian is back out in the largest surf he can find, thanks to greater peace of mind provided by his new invention.  Working together with Billabong Wetsuits and Mustang Survival Corporation, Dorian created the first wetsuit with a built-in instantly inflatable air bladder.  With a quick tug on a ripcord, the wetsuit quickly lifts the wearer from deep underwater to the surface.

The revolutionary suit has been dubbed the “Billabong V1” with the V standing for Vertical ascent and the 1 indicating positive altitude, or one foot above sea level.

Dorian, from Kona, Hawaii, is widely regarded as the best big wave surfer in the world today, having paddled into a half dozen of the most amazing waves ever ridden in the last 18 months alone.  But it was one of the waves he wiped out on which made the biggest impression on the 38-year-old father of two. The disastrous ride happened during Dorian’s first trip to Maverick’s, the notorious cold-water break south of San Francisco, California during February 2010.

“I took off on the wrong wave and had a horrible wipeout,” recalled Dorian. “The wipeout was terrible, I got held under for two waves, I almost drowned.  After that I had an idea to incorporate an air bladder, something like the airplane vests where you pull the tab and it inflates immediately with a CO2 cartridge.”  Dorian wrote an email to Hub Hubbard, the wetsuit product manager at Billabong USA, describing the idea, and the project was underway.

Hubbard’s research quickly lead to Mustang Survival Corporation, a well-known manufacturer of dry suits, flotation systems and other marine lifesaving gear.  While most of Mustang’s products are designed for use at the surface, they had experience in creating heavy duty polyurethane bladders for the US Military and fabricated a new bladder system for Billabong.

The design evolved over time.  “Their initial thought, as was mine, was to position the bladder on the chest of the suit so once the wearer surfaced  it would help them to be face-up,” said Hubbard.  “Not so, as Shane pointed out, because once you have surfaced you still need to be able to paddle your surfboard.  So logically we decided it should go on the back, which still keeps the wearer face-up while inflated.”

With the Mustang bladders in hand, Hubbard worked with Barbara Mau at Express Wetsuit repair to develop a prototype.

read more at transworld

After nearly 10 years of riding the Futures system, Rob Machado has signed off on his first ever signature fin. The collaboration between Rob and Futures is the perfect blend of cutting edge hydrodynamics and environmental sustainability.

Rob’s fin features a torsional flex pattern, thanks to Futures’ V2 foil and a layer of strategically placed carbon fiber. Combined with renewable, fast growing bamboo, the fin is both light and lively. Designed for Rob’s explosive style, the bamboo carbon matrix stores potential energy and releases it as a burst of kinetic speed.

FUTURES – ROB MACHADO SIGNATURE FIN from Futures Fins on Vimeo.

Rob had been riding the V2 AM1 BlackStix for years, he said, “I knew that was a good starting point for me in designing a fin. I just really liked the flex that the BlackStix had. I don’t know exactly what it does but it feels good. I am more of a feel kind of person, you know… sometimes it just feels good.”

“We have been lucky to work with Rob and we are proud of how this fin turned out,” says Head Designer and Founder Vince Longo.

Rob’s fin is made of a high quality epoxy resin, instead of polyester. Not only is epoxy resin stiffer, lighter and better performing, it is also more resilient and releases less VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds).

The Rob Machado Signature Fin represents a step forward in decreasing the environmental impact of the resin transfer process, while remaining Strongest, Lightest, Fastest.

original story from futuresfins.com