Ask Carroll

[jimmy]

Nick. What are your thoughts on Lewis Samuels' power rankings on the ASP website? Not the rankings as such as they are typical LS.. But more the inclusion of them on the site?

[Nick Carroll]

Hmm it might reflect Kelly's influence. ZoSea want the ASP website to become a go to and some strong editorial content is one way to help that happen, and KS is a fan of Lewis's. And anyone who reckons ZoSea is operating without advice and co operation from Kelly is a little bit retarded methinks.

ASPs media guy Dave Prodan won't have stood in the way either. Prodan is a smart and savvy person who would recognize Lewis's value as a site drawcard.

The more Lewis the better as far as I'm concerned. Pro surfing needs talented funny observers. I hope he comes to the same WCTs I end up going to.

[Buff_Brad]

Nick assuming Kelly actually wants to compete on and and and on to say set yet another record , at what age do you think he would be forced not only out of the WCT but high enough on the WQS to have a shot of making it back up there to the WCT?

I mean he only lost the last two WCT's by a bee's dick. How many conceivable years do you reckon he's got up there in that surfing stratosphere?

I mean I'm 50 I can still surf ok ride a 6'4" MR twinnie but very far from a WQS ranking in say the top 100.

Also have you ever pashed another guy? I know it's a little embarrassing. I'll go first though. I did once , ripped at a dance party back in the 90's it was you know a bit strange , kinky whatever but didn't do anything for me, Ironically I guess I knew right then I was straight. You don't have to answer this NIck I'm really only interested mainly in the Kelly question.

Cheers - currently reading your book. The photo of you guys in the Newport carpark is a classic - the fashion oh my God.

[el rancho]

I mean I'm 50 I can still surf ok ride a 6'4" MR twinnie but very far from a WQS ranking in say the top 100.

selling yourself short

[Battery]

Nick. What are your thoughts on Lewis Samuels' power rankings on the ASP website? Not the rankings as such as they are typical LS.. But more the inclusion of them on the site?

Total surprise and very clever, first time I have entered the ASP site in years, even more clever that I have to return next week for part 2 of the power rankings...

[Indo dreaming]

@ Nick

About the board test thing you have done the past two years for ASL.

Most surfers never get the chance to ride that many boards in such a short period of time, I have a few boards (5,3, 5,10, 6,0, 6,3) and at times can find the transition from one to the other a bit tricky, like even going from my 5,3 x 20.1/2 x 2, 3/8 grovel board to even my 5,10 x 19 3/4 x 2, 3/8 i find i need at least a full surf to get my sync bank with the board.

So what was the experience like?....was it hard to jump from board to board?, or was there boards you just couldn't surf or got frustrated on? or any boards you loved and wished you could keep?

[Nick Carroll]

Nick assuming Kelly actually wants to compete on and and and on to say set yet another record , at what age do you think he would be forced not only out of the WCT but high enough on the WQS to have a shot of making it back up there to the WCT?

I mean he only lost the last two WCT's by a bee's dick. How many conceivable years do you reckon he's got up there in that surfing stratosphere?

I mean I'm 50 I can still surf ok ride a 6'4" MR twinnie but very far from a WQS ranking in say the top 100.

Also have you ever pashed another guy? I know it's a little embarrassing. I'll go first though. I did once , ripped at a dance party back in the 90's it was you know a bit strange , kinky whatever but didn't do anything for me, Ironically I guess I knew right then I was straight. You don't have to answer this NIck I'm really only interested mainly in the Kelly question.

Cheers - currently reading your book. The photo of you guys in the Newport carpark is a classic - the fashion oh my God.

Ok well these are two quite different subjects.

KS, I think he is easily able to challenge for the world title in 2014 bar recurrent injuries, I don't think he will be interested in competing at a lesser level so you won't see him undergo a slow slide down the rankings or fighting it out on the QS. It's a year by year thing for him now, if he won number 12 this year he'd pull the pin most likely. I'm a bit suspicious of 42 as a surfing age, it tends to be a great year for a really good surfer but after that age does begin to have unavoidable effects; any changes thereafter tend to be based on slight technical improvements on what's often been a faulty style, which Kelly really won't have to make. I do hope he gets to make the choice though and doesn't have it made for him by injury.

I haven't pashed a man, but I'll happily kiss all my friends, man or woman, and give em a big hug, there was a fair bit of man kissing going on at the Aust Surfing Awards the other night.

[Nick Carroll]

@ Nick

About the board test thing you have done the past two years for ASL.

Most surfers never get the chance to ride that many boards in such a short period of time, I have a few boards (5,3, 5,10, 6,0, 6,3) and at times can find the transition from one to the other a bit tricky, like even going from my 5,3 x 20.1/2 x 2, 3/8 grovel board to even my 5,10 x 19 3/4 x 2, 3/8 i find i need at least a full surf to get my sync bank with the board.

So what was the experience like?....was it hard to jump from board to board?, or was there boards you just couldn't surf or got frustrated on? or any boards you loved and wished you could keep?

Oh I really like doing the board tests. I don't have much trouble switching from board to board, though sometimes a board will give you a surprise and do stuff you weren't expecting. I've been doing these tests for about a decade now and have found in that time the quality of board has improved enormously which makes the switching a lot easier, but it's never proved a huge problem; I like feeling out a board I don't know much about and sorta "listening" to it in order to find what it likes doing best. I haven't met a board I couldn't surf though there's obviously been plenty that I wouldn't have ordered for myself. There's probably been a dozen in the past three years that I badly wanted to have for myself; that's probably the biggest frustration of the Tests, riding a great board and having to give it back.

[Natho]

Nick, what are some examples of some boards you would have liked to keep.
Also do you feel obliged from ASLs point of view to write something positive about a board because the shaper has donated a board for the test and/ or advertises in the mag? I don't mean this in a smart way as all the mags do it and without the advertising and donated boards the test can't happen.

[damo666]

Nick,

Whats the feeling like amongst the WQS guys when the WCT 'stars' enter their events?

I'm sure outwardly they're all "its great, I can gauge myself against the best" etc, etc, but surely they must be pretty pissed at the tour guys taking the limelight & prize money? It seems a little Big Fish/Little Pond to me?

[Nick Carroll]

Ah I don't think there's too much of that, or there hasn't been in the past three years. It might change a bit this year since the tours split again; the WCT and WQS have separate rankings, rather than the old One World rankings where everyone was lumped in together, so the line between the two groups will become more obvious again. The WCT guys have to commit to a certain number of Primes each year so it's inevitable that they'll show up in the same draw at some point.

Fact is the WCT guys are expert in one on one heats but they're really no better in four man than a lot of the QS guys so the advantage is illusory at first. Only when you get to the last few rounds where a Prime or six star goes one-on-one do they gain a real ascendancy.

[steve shearer]

Joe Wilson or Clancy of the Overflow?

[ctd]

Nick

These are possible total kook questions but anyway

Do you ever feel that having you, and people of similar (high) skills doing surfboard reviews is of practical benefit to the average surfer? What you, as say a top 5% surfer, gets out of a board, what you can make the board do and what you notice it doesn’t (or is limited in doing) is going to be very different to what even someone who is a top 20% surfer feels about a board, let alone joe average. On the other hand, good design or shaping etc presumably carries over even if the rider isnt as skilled, so long as the rider recognises that s/he may have to get a marginally bigger board, for example, a good board for you is a good board for many.

On a slightly different topic, if you were handed say 3 boards all of the same dimensions, but not allowed to see the bottom of the board, could you tell from a surf what concaves or other bottom designs were being used? Obviously the number of fins it has is relatively easy to tell; but what about more subtle design work?

[Nick Carroll]

Joe Wilson or Clancy of the Overflow?

Joe. Fcuk those old Bushmen. Wandering around the back blocks terrified of women, it's no way to live. Charming the pants off Brahmin hotties in Washington while playing the big game of US politics, hell yeah.

[Nick Carroll]

Nick

These are possible total kook questions but anyway

Do you ever feel that having you, and people of similar (high) skills doing surfboard reviews is of practical benefit to the average surfer? What you, as say a top 5% surfer, gets out of a board, what you can make the board do and what you notice it doesn’t (or is limited in doing) is going to be very different to what even someone who is a top 20% surfer feels about a board, let alone joe average. On the other hand, good design or shaping etc presumably carries over even if the rider isnt as skilled, so long as the rider recognises that s/he may have to get a marginally bigger board, for example, a good board for you is a good board for many.

On a slightly different topic, if you were handed say 3 boards all of the same dimensions, but not allowed to see the bottom of the board, could you tell from a surf what concaves or other bottom designs were being used? Obviously the number of fins it has is relatively easy to tell; but what about more subtle design work?

q1, well I suppose that depends on the intention behind the testing. If you have it in your mind that the purpose is to assess the board on behalf of a wide range of surfers, then your surfing skills and board experience are hugely helpful -- you feel a lot of stuff about the board very quickly, stuff a more average surfer might only sense after months. The designing analogy holds true here, like a really good board maker will make a really good board for you no matter what your ability level, but an average one won't necessarily make a fantastic board for an average surfer -- more likely he'll just make a pretty shit one.

But if a highly skilled surfer is only pursuing his own personal interest in a board, his feedback won't always be useful or accessible to other surfers, sure.

On the three board comparison thing, I dunno, probably. Though I don't think such a test would be possible. You're in contact with the bottom of the board as soon as you pick it up. Also - I'm not sure what the point would be. There's a lot you can't really tell about a board just from a quick visual survey; some boards don't do what you expect, some boards do exactly what you expect. There's enough variables as it is.

[jimmy]

Hmm it might reflect Kelly's influence. ZoSea want the ASP website to become a go to and some strong editorial content is one way to help that happen, and KS is a fan of Lewis's. And anyone who reckons ZoSea is operating without advice and co operation from Kelly is a little bit retarded methinks.

ASPs media guy Dave Prodan won't have stood in the way either. Prodan is a smart and savvy person who would recognize Lewis's value as a site drawcard.

The more Lewis the better as far as I'm concerned. Pro surfing needs talented funny observers. I hope he comes to the same WCTs I end up going to.

The ASP have taken the power rankings off their website and removed all trace of them from twitter and FB.. Would this have been due to pressure from the surfers or sponsors or both Nick? It's a bit of a shame I reckon..

[Battery]

Hmm it might reflect Kelly's influence. ZoSea want the ASP website to become a go to and some strong editorial content is one way to help that happen, and KS is a fan of Lewis's. And anyone who reckons ZoSea is operating without advice and co operation from Kelly is a little bit retarded methinks.

ASPs media guy Dave Prodan won't have stood in the way either. Prodan is a smart and savvy person who would recognize Lewis's value as a site drawcard.

The more Lewis the better as far as I'm concerned. Pro surfing needs talented funny observers. I hope he comes to the same WCTs I end up going to.

The ASP have taken the power rankings off their website and removed all trace of them from twitter and FB.. Would this have been due to pressure from the surfers or sponsors or both Nick? It's a bit of a shame I reckon..

Weak, but not at all surprising... someone or someones sponsor's must have had a little cry.

[Nick Carroll]

Hmm it might reflect Kelly's influence. ZoSea want the ASP website to become a go to and some strong editorial content is one way to help that happen, and KS is a fan of Lewis's. And anyone who reckons ZoSea is operating without advice and co operation from Kelly is a little bit retarded methinks.

ASPs media guy Dave Prodan won't have stood in the way either. Prodan is a smart and savvy person who would recognize Lewis's value as a site drawcard.

The more Lewis the better as far as I'm concerned. Pro surfing needs talented funny observers. I hope he comes to the same WCTs I end up going to.

The ASP have taken the power rankings off their website and removed all trace of them from twitter and FB.. Would this have been due to pressure from the surfers or sponsors or both Nick? It's a bit of a shame I reckon..

A ha ha ha ha ha that's fcuken hilarious.

I'll find out what happened and report back, no doubt there will be No Comment from anyone, but then again there never is.