I don’t understand all the disrespect skimboarders seem to get from surfers, as seen from this recent DailyStoke article. You can get the same enjoyment out of either sport and many people both surf and skimboard. Skimboarding has a fairly steep learning curve to become comfortable at riding waves but once your there you just get so stoked on riding more.

Surfing is definitely easier for beginners to pickup as long as you have good waves. Getting barreled and going down the line is also way easier in surfing. Skimboarding rides are usually really short and aggressive since you can really whip the board around the wave while with surfing you get the much longer ride and less maneuverability from having a fin.

Bill Bryan, the guy in the videos you posted does in fact surf and does about every other board sport you can name. He’s an expert in flowrider and has pretty much dominated the skimboarding world for some time. The guy was and even was ballsy enough to get towed in to Teahupo on a skimboard.

Either way quit the hate, there’s no sense disrespecting someone for holding a skimboard, especially since they probably have a surfboard in their car ready to out ride you. Both board sports are cool so master them both.

The New York Times writer Matt Higgins has analyzed the falling economy and its effects on surfing. He talks about Quiksilver and Pacific Sunwear’s fading stock prices and finds out for the most part that surfers don’t really care. He points out that its really the fashion industry having problems and not surfing.

Randy Rarick, the executive director of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, taking place on the North Shore of Oahu this week, said: “I have a little saying, ‘The stock market is down; surf is up.’ No matter what, you don’t have a paycheck coming in, you’re not doing anything, you can still go out and catch a wave.”

[Source: The New York Times]

So what guy doesn’t like a hot girl in a bikini who can surf? Heres some photos for you to check out.

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So it looks like theres no swell for the ladies of the Billabong Pro Maui 2008 yet but it’s only a matter of time before Honolulu Bay gets fired up. Stephanie Gilmore has claimed the first spot position but the second is still up for grabs. This is the last event in the Van’s Triple Crown of Surfing and the last event in the 2008 Women’s World Tour.

“We’re obviously off today as the Bay is virtually flat,” Dino Andino, Billabong Pro Maui Contest Director, said. “That being said, it’s only Day 1 of the waiting period and we’re anticipating a fetch of swell to come through mid-week. We’ll just be monitoring the winds to see what happens.”

Event organizers will convene tomorrow at 7am tomorrow morning for a possible 8am start.

The waiting period for the Billabong Pro Maui will run from December 8 – 20, 2008.

The Billabong Pro Maui will be webcast LIVE via www.billabongpro.com

[Source: Triple Crown of Surfing]

So if you were looking to follow the 2008 Quiksilver Big Wave invitational in memory of Eddie Aikau, your in luck. The guys over at Quiksilver were nice enough to give the fans something to share the stoke of such a great event.