With a sensibility driven by the grain and grit of film, Dane Peterson gives us a glimpse into the universe in which he orbits and the spacemen he zooms in on.

Believe it or not, there are actually places in the Indian Ocean that are still more infested with mosquitoes than surfers. As roaming scribe Michael Kew came to find out, a quaint corner of Madagascar is one such spot.

Undaunted by the hyper-paranoid, 24-hour-news-cycle world in which we live, Sandow Birk remains true to his art. Some years back he put pen and ink to paper and created a modern rendition of Dante’s Inferno. Today the Long Beach-based artist has finished his own, surf-themed rendition of the Holy Koran—and if you think a cartoonist in the Netherlands can create a stir, just imagine what a California surfer’s capable of.

A flawless swell, an unnamed reef. One of the season’s true super sessions went down with nary a spectator

The winter of 2009/2010 was pocked with tremendous swell events, but at an undisclosed bend on the Pacific coast the brothers Long, Grant Baker and an ensemble cast quietly and contently gorged themselves on a bounty of reefy slabs—a reward of both good timing and dedication. It was a trip that had some calling it the defining session of an already top-shelf season.

Scoring in Hainan is no easy feat, but as with any surf mission to a sheltered coast, with enough time and patience eventually something’s bound to slip into your window. Ride along with San Diego shaper Joe Blair as he dodges rooster attacks and dials in the surfing life in the “Hawaii of China.”

From Newcastle to Indo with Peter McCabe

As one of the first surfers to set eyes on G-Land, throughout the mid-’70s Peter McCabe positioned himself on the frontlines of Indo exploration. From Bali in ’74 to Java in ’76 to a New Caledonia jail cell in the early ’80s, adventure was always close at hand. But throughout it all, McCabe’s always called Newcastle home, and that’s precisely where this story begins.

“Raymond Harbour, Richard’s father, was a master machinist and foreman of the tool and die shop at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach. He was also a renowned gunsmith, with clients from all over the country. The family garage at 1510 Ocean Avenue was stocked with precision tools such as a metal lathe, drill press, grinder, standing floor polisher, and two long vats with burners underneath that were filled with acidic chemicals and used to put the (almost black) bluing on rifle and pistol barrels. Was it any wonder that in 1960 the 16-year-old Rich Harbour would begin his industrialized life therein?”

Impressions and ruminations from a brief run to Cloud Nine and back.

Over the edge with Kerby and Courtney Brown

Growing up on the fringes of the West Oz outback, as Kerby and Courtney Brown got older they were faced with two options: One, get a “real” job. Or two, find a way to make surfing work. While more talented than most of the local blokes, neither of the brothers were blessed with incredible competitive acumen. That left but one alternative: find the nastiest, ugliest, meanest slabs they could, whip one another straight into the pit, get the shot, and pray they live to see the center-spread. That plan’s more or less worked out thus far, but as they’ll tell you, disaster’s always just a wipeout away.