13 year old Landon McNamara makes a name for himself today at his home break, The Banzai Pipeline. Landon has been putting his time in at Pipe recently and it must have payed off.

The 5 star WQS Volcom Pipeline Pro started today and was nothing shy of deadly and intimidating to most people. Landon made his way out into the line up, the heat started and Landon took off on a massive set wave. Landon made it to the bottom of the wave before he was clipped by the lip and pushed into the reef to give it a little kiss. Landon came up with a board in 2 pieces and good cut on his head from the wipeout.

Landon didn’t waste anytime to go grab his backup board and get back to get another bomb set and get tubed and make it through to the next heat that will be going down tomorrow the 29th. Be sure to check out this young gun charge. Go to www.fueltv.com to catch the action. It starts at 7:30 Hawaii time..

No Fear surf team rider Trevor Thornton continues to progress though heats in New Zealand at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships. He surfs tomorrow January 27th and can be seen ripping live via webcast at – CLICK HERE

Here is the latest info from the event today January 26, 2010

Epic surf and the world’s up-and-coming junior surf stars produced an unforgettable day at the 2010 edition of the Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship in New Zealand today.

And what a show it was. With only two days to go in the prestigious tournament, competitors hit their straps, shredding apart the barreling 6-8ft (1.5-2m) waves that marched through for day six of competition at Piha Beach.

USA surfing sensation Kolohe Andino dealt with the pressure in a consummate fashion, setting the standard for the day with both the highest individual wave score (9.25) and two-wave heat total (18.00) in his main event round 4 of the Under 16 Boys´ heat.

The skilful natural foot continued on with the form he displayed in the opening rounds, backhand blasting the peeling lefthanders to beat fellow USA surfers Parker Coffin and Trevor Thorton and Tahitian Tefaafana Ariihoe. Final scores: Andino (18.00), Coffin (14.00), Ariihoe (10.65) and Thorton (9.00).

“The waves looked kind of hard out there,” said Andino. “They had a lot of wall and it was howling offshore, and not like anything I surf back home. But a bomb wave came through when I paddled out and it set up a good heat for me. It worked out pretty good for me.”

Andino, 15, added he’s not getting ahead of himself heading into the business end of competition. “The contest has really just started for me,” he said. “There are so many rounds and it’s really hard to get to the finals. I’m just going to take it heat by heat and make every heat count. I just want to make it through.”

Joining Andino as Main Event Round 4 Under 16 Boys heat winners included Australian Matt Banting and Hawaiian Koa Smith.

South African surfer Beyrick De Vries rose to the occasion in his main event round four Under 18 Boys heat, taking down Portugal’s Fredericko Morais and the Brazilian pairing of Gabriel Medina and Jesse Mendes.

In a heat marked by interferences, De Vries stuck to himself to amass a heat-winning 15.00 total. The Brazilian duo of Medina and Mendes both scored interferences in the heat to be relegated to the repercharge.

“It’s always nice to get through a heat,” said De Vries. “Especially to win gives my confidence levels a little boost. I’m feeling good.” Post heat, De Vries said he steered clear of his fellow competitors in the action-packed affair. “At this point of an event everyone wants it so bad,” he said. “It’s so close you can just smell the finals. People are willing to do anything to win. I just stayed away from my fellow competitors and tried to do my own thing.”

Tahiti’s double act of Tamaora McComb and Jocelyn Poulou also tasted victory, taking line honors in their main event round 4 Under 18 Boys heat.

Frenchman Dimitri Ouvre, who resides in Guadeloupe, impressed the large crowd that gathered with his classy tube riding ss in his repercharge 4 Under 16 Boys heat.

In a barrel-fest of a heat, Ouvre weaved through two Piha tubes to take the heat with the day’s second highest combined heat total (17.90). Ouvre scored an 8.25 and 9.00 to defeat Spain’s Kosme Molera and Hawaiian Kaimana Jaquias. “This was probably one of the best heats of my life,” he said. “I wanted to get out there again. It was unbelievable.”

New Zealand’s hopes remain with Sarah Mason (Cabarita, AUS), Ben Poulter (Raglan) and Alex Dive (Mt Maunganui) after all three surfers progressed through their heats today.

Mason won her sudden-death repercharge round 5 Under 18 Girls heat, Poulter progressed through his main event round 5 Under 16 Boys heat, while Dive took line honors in his repercharge round 5 Under 18 Boys heat.

Team Australia celebrated their national day with a mixed bag of results. Lennox Head’s Tyler Wright and Trigg’s Felicity Palmateer followed in the footsteps of Banting to remain in contention in the Under 18 Girls division.

Wright taking a win and Palmateer finishing in second in their respective main event round 4 Under 18 Girls heats.

North Stradbroke Island’s Tim McDonald was also victorious in his repercharge round five Under 18 boy’s heat.

Fellow Aussies Ellie-Jean Coffey (Crescent Head) and Creed McTaggart (Margaret River) were both eliminated from the prestigious event.

The semi-finals of the ISA Aloha Cup, where five competitors from the top participating nations battle it out in a tag-team format, were held on the main event podium to round out the day.

South Africa came up trumps in semi one beating Australia, New Zealand and Portugal. Team South Africa accrued a 52.40 total to progress alongside Australia (50.35) into the final.

Semi two was a tight affair, with Hawaii finishing in the lead with a 46.3 total. In second was France (40.60), with Tahiti just 0.45 of a point behind on 40.15 and Peru in fourth on 36.55.

Competition is expected to kick off at 8am tomorrow, with the ISA Aloha Cup to cap off the day.

homer henard from Josh Mulcoy on Vimeo.

No Fear Hawaiian grom team rider steps it up on the North Shore of Hawaii. Landon is only 13 years old but he is wasting no time following in his father and uncles footsteps. Its almost no surprise that the lanky kid has been getting himself into some heavy Pipeline waves that would make most people take a shit in their pants. Landon has some big shoes to fill with the last name Mcnamara. We’d say that he is more than on his way. Check out Landon at his home break Pipeline (below).

photo courtesy of Freesurf Magazine

Round of 64
First off, there are the Hawaiian ”CT dogs, who all want a shot at this — Freddy Pattachia, Roy Powers, Andy Irons, and recently made man Dusty Payne. Next, are a pack of top seeds including the hungry John John Florence and Flynn Novak, who did so well at the Pipe Masters a month ago.

Also in this group are a handful of former ‘CT-ers who you probably wouldn’t see in many five-stars — particularly Chris Ward, Cory Lopez. And Mr. Sunny Garcia looks to add another chapter to his ever-compelling biography.

Included in the Round of 64, we see a bunch of Wildcards selected by the ASP and Volcom, which include Hank Gaskell, Pancho Sullivan, Bruce, and Dean Morrison.

Round of 96
Gavin Beschen and Nathan Fletcher got wildcards for the Round of 96. We also see Rob Machado, Liam Macnamara and Outer Banks charger Brett Barley.

Round of 112 Surfing from the first round are such notables as Volcom Pipe chargers Marcus Hickman an Dave Wassell, who will likely break some hearts. You’ll also be able to see Ian Walsh and Derek Ho take a crack at it. The waiting period starts on Saturday.

NSSA Southwest Open #8 Scores Phenomenal Surf at Ventura’s C Street
January 14, 2010
PRESS RELEASE

The 2009/10 fall and winter season has delivered some of the best ever surf for NSSA events as powerful swells continue to pound the west coast. This past weekend was proof again of the phenomenal year for waves we have been blessed with. A huge west/northwest swell blasted the coast producing epic 6-8 foot waves at Ventura’s California Street Pipe surf break. The best student surfers on the west coast were treated to some of the best all-time surf conditions ever witnessed at a NSSA event. No Fear’s VP of Marketing Britt Galland observed, “I took a boat trip halfway around the world and didn’t get waves as good as this!” The crowd of spectators got into the contest watching the awesome waves and it fueled the competitors to put forth some of the best surfing seen all season. Many Gold Coast Conference surfers enjoyed standout performances utilizing their home court advantage including Parker Coffin, Andrew Jacobson, Nic Hdez, Antoine Allain, Lakey Peterson, Catherine Clark, Thelen McKinna-Worrell and Spencer Farrar. “I’ve competed six years in the Gold Coast Conference and never have got C Street half as good as this!” Coffin exclaimed.

It was a major breakout contest for Huntington Beach’s Clay Crandal who took his first ever win in the premier Open Men’s category. Crandal, whose real passion is to ride mammoth size waves, still gets the competitive juices flowing once a month in the Open Season and the pumping conditions at C Street were right up his alley. He won the final on a buzzer beater where he took off on a set right and pulled off an amazing floater netting the heat winning score of 6.0. “The waves were so fun for this contest,” Crandal said. “I’m more used to surfing bigger waves and really not good in the usual 2-foot contest conditions. This is my first win so I’m stoked for sure.” A junior at Edison High School, Crandal commented about contests vs. big wave surfing. “I travel with my dad (big wave pioneer Corky Crandal) a lot to Todos Santos and other big wave secret spots in Mexico. I just like surfing big waves because it’s super fun and kind of scary and intense. Certain days I like surfing contests but some days I get frustrated with it. But there is something about doing good in contests that feels really good.” The victory will shoot Crandal up the ratings to number 12. Andrew Jacobson was shining in the incredible conditions and put together his best performance of the season. Jacobson’s strategy of sitting on the right bowl section at the southern tip of the contest area paid off as his dynamic top to bottom surfing earned him second place in the stiff competition of the Open Men’s. He also posted the event’s highest heat totals-a 17.50 in one of his earlier Open Juniors preliminary rounds. Britt Galland had his best contest result ever in the Southwest Open Season placing third in the final. Galland, who hones his skills on the more robust waves at his home break Seaside Reef, was in great form and capitalized on the superior conditions at this event. Fourth place went to Parker Coffin who was on fire all weekend unleashing a monster surfing display in both the Open Men’s and Juniors categories. Men’s ratings leader Conner Coffin sat out the event to rest a sore ankle but he will maintain his number one position. Also of note is the impressive showing of Ian Crane who has been out of competition for nearly six months with a hip injury. Crane made it to the semi-finals and will hopefully build on his solid performance at this event.

The surfing in the Open Juniors division was as good as it gets. Parker Coffin’s exploding top to bottom backside attack was nearly flawless as he hammered the lip on the running right handers heat after heat. He ended the weekend reaping perfect rewards by posting the event’s only perfect 10 in the Juniors final and winning it with a blistering 17.17 total. Taylor Clark was another consistent standout during the weekend dissecting the rights and scoring his second consecutive runner-up placing. Tommy Wehsener and Nic Hdez delivered super impressive performances throughout the weekend advancing to their first Open Juniors final of the season placing third and fourth respectively. Coffin’s victory was his fourth of the Juniors division but he gained some serious ground on ratings leader Trevor Thornton who had a tough round 2 loss. He now trails Thornton by a mere 29 points so that race is going to come down to the wire! “After my fourth place finish in the Men’s, I was psyched to do good in the Juniors,” Coffin said. “It felt good to redeem myself in the final.” Coffin who lives up the road in Santa Barbara commented on the phenomenal conditions. “I’ve never surfed C Street half this good or half this big. I didn’t know C Street even barreled until this contest. The waves were awesome.”

The skill level in the Southwest Open Boys division has been the talk of the town and this contest was a showcase of their skyrocketing potential. In another stacked final, ratings leader Kanoa Igarashi matched up with number two ranked Jake Davis, San Clemente up-and-comers Colt Ward and Griffin Colapinto, and Malibu groms Thelen McKinna-Worrell and Spencer Farrar. 12-year-old Ward was in impressive form on the bigger waves combining solid top to bottom maneuvers. In a neck and neck battle for first place, Ward edged out Jake Davis to claim his first ever victory in NSSA competition and his greatest competitive achievement to date. “I’m so stoked to finally take my first NSSA win,” an excited Ward said smiling ear-to-ear. “I’ve been watching Parker (Coffin) destroy his heats all day and he inspired me. Everybody in the Boys division is ripping this year so it really feels good to win a contest, especially in perfect waves like this!” In another tight chase for the Southwest Boys title, the defending champ Igarashi will hold a slim 50-point advantage over Davis.

In a stacked up Women’s final, reigning National Champ Lakey Peterson matched up with Kaleigh Gilchrist, Lani Doherty and Ventura local Catherine Clark. Peterson demolished a right on her third wave earning an excellent 8.83 score. Gilchrist held the lead for nearly the entire heat with 6.83 and 4.33 rides as Clark struggled to find her rhythm and Doherty showing up late. Seconds before the final buzzer, Peterson paddled into a sweet right and ripped it to shreds with a mind-blowing blow-tail maneuver to finish it off earning an 8.33 for an amazing come-from-behind victory. The victory, her fifth of the season, puts her in command of the Open Women’s standings amassing a healthy 2,000 point advantage over number two rated Gilchrist.

In the Longboard final, Jason Schechter went huge on his opening ride scoring a near-perfect 9.43. He backed it up with a second scoring wave of 6.50 to take his second win of the season. “The waves here were insane, 600 yard rides!” Schechter said. “In the final, I got one of the bigger set waves right off the bat. I pulled off a couple really big turns on the outside and the judges rewarded it with the 9.43. I’m trying to make a comeback because Shaun (Thompson) started out the season dominating. He rips so it feels good to beat him.”

Because of the strong swell and heavy rip currents, the Mini Grom 10 & under division was postponed and has been rescheduled February 7 at Salt Creek.

COMING UP IN CALI: Southwest Explorer #6 heads to Oceanside Pier January 16-17. The Southwest Open Season event #9 will be held February 6-7 at Salt Creek.

THE SCOREBOARD
RESULTS
SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE OPEN SEASON EVENT #8
C STREET PIPE, VENTURA

OPEN MENS
1. Clay Crandal-Huntington Beach 11.30
2. Andrew Jacobson-Malibu 11.10
3. Britt Galland-Rancho Santa Fe 9.30
4. Parker Coffin-Santa Barbara 8.10

OPEN JUNIORS
1. Parker Coffin-Santa Barbara 17.17
2. Taylor Clark-Encinitas 13.77
3. Tommy Wehsener-Encinitas 11.33
4. Nic Hdez-Santa Cruz 4.43

OPEN BOYS
1. Colt Ward-San Clemente 12.26
2. Jacob Davis-Capistrano Beach 12.17
3. Thelen McKinna Worrell-Malibu 10.76
4. Griffin Colapinto-San Clemente 9.67
5. Kanoa Igarashi-Huntington Beach 8.93
6. Spencer Farrar-Malibu 5.17

OPEN MINI GROMS
(postponed until Open event #9 February 6-7 at Salt Creek)

OPEN WOMENS
1. Lakey Peterson-Santa Barbara 17.16
2. Kaleigh Gilchrist-Newport Beach 11.16
3. Catherine Clark-Ventura 9.90
4. Lani Doherty-San Clemente 1.33

OPEN LONGBOARD
1. Jason Schechter-San Diego 15.93
2. Shaun Thompson-Huntington Beach 13.00
3. Stephanie Schechter-San Diego 4.07
4. Lucas Foster-Carlsbad 3.76
5. Justin Brand-Seal Beach 3.33
6. Nathan Thompson-Huntington Beach 3.14

Maui surfer and No Fear team rider was featured on Surfline.com in a recent feature called Massive Monday. Swells have been pounding the Hawaiian coastlines and making headlines all the surfing websites. Kea (below) getting his share of the action.

No Fear team rider Flynn Novak has no shortage of great photos of him surfing. The Hawaiian charger recently got a few pics that are shown below. Check out Flynn surfing in the 1 star WQS event coming up from Jan 15 to the 22 in Hawaii at Sunset Beach. See aspworldtour.com for more info.