Chip in here.

Sully was the surname of the US Airlines pilot who made a smooth emergency landing on New York’s Hudson River, saving all 155 lives on board. Sully Amico’s landing — the son of Surf100 host and Stab High Japan commentator, Josiah Amico and his wife Claire — by contrast, was anything but. 

The Amicos were expecting Sully’s first cameo on this planet somewhere around mid-July. However, on June 25th, Claire was hit by a car crossing the street and rushed to emergency to assess her and Sully’s health. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries as the car was moving fairly slowly, but physicians did discover she had preeclampsia — a serious pregnancy complication that can be lifethreatening for child and momma alike.

Being 37 weeks preggaz, they chose to admit her and by midnight began to induce labor. On Friday, June 27th, Sullivan was born but fairly soon after was transferred to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), as they noticed he was having trouble breathing on his own. They later found out that he had a hole in his lungs and would need to undergo emergency surgery.

Claire and Josiah also required a prolonged stay in the hospital due to Claire having dangerously high blood pressure and swelling. Her blood pressure has since stabilized and she is now happily home with Josiah. However, it’s been tough on the new parents not having their sweet boy also home with them. 

According to Josiah, ‘Sully boy’ is recovering well and has been getting a ton of facetime, milk and cuddles during his stay in the NICU. But, as per the United States’ fucked up healthcare system, it’s left them in crippling debt. 

While Josiah is not a full-time Stab employee with health insurance and a 401K, a ton of Stab employees have chipped away at the $50K target to help the Amicos get back on their feet. According to math, Sam McIntosh is at least 100x more generous than me, who’s measly $50AUD was squashed down to just $32USD. Mind you, better than Jack O’Neill’s contribution – who wasn’t aware of the default ‘tip’ to Gofundme and pitched just $26 towards Sully’s first Erewhon smoothie. 

Effective altruism, baby. 

No one should be forced into crippling debt for bringing life into this world. Least of all our guy Josiah, who is basically just a giant, walking human giggle who brightens up any room. And the internet. He’s really good on broadcasts, Tik Tok and Trump impersonations.

Chip in here.

Safe to say the bong is loaded. Billabong’s roster, that is. No need for any filler, just the green heads of the Moniz bros at Pipe, Ewe Wong at Rockies, and Jai Glindeman at Honolua Bay.

Others, too, and not one of em’ forgettable.

The recent Hawaiian Winter was, by all accounts, eventful. Broken skulls, snapped spines, and a relentless run of swell that, to an outsider at least, read like an anomaly in the archive. When I mentioned the sheer luck of it all to local Rainos Hayes, he shrugged and said it used to be like this all the time, back in the day.

Such is memory, sometimes. Fond of editing in a golden tint. But this Winter needs no excavation.

This edit, shot and chopped by Cole Yamane/‪@hammah_time, is well worth your time. 

This week on the podcast, we hear from Teva Dexter, founder of the enigmatic Blak Bear Surf Club.

“Marlon Brando had a lot of kids,” says Teva. “If you go out in Tahiti, and you see a good looking girl, chances are she’s a descendent of Marlon Brando.”

To find out how that, plus Tahiti’s Michael Jackson, led to the name, and where his traction cult is headed, read here.

We also discuss the best edit of the year (and some existential questions) from LOB. 

“This is the smartest Stab Edit Of The Year,” says Buck. 

“It blew my fucking mind,” says Mikey. “I’ve been out at Off The Wall with him, and when rogue sets come through, he’s the only guy that doesn’t even think, and just goes on them. The only time he surfs Pipe is when it’s maxing out and there’s nobody else out there.”

Also on the docket: Why Dane’s surfboard got roasted in Surf100 presented by Pacifico, and the best 16-year-old surfer on earth, according to Craig Anderson.

“Caity and I were always sparring partners growing up,” Lucas said. “Our coaches judged us on the same scale in practice sessions, there were no girl or boy divisions. She pushed me hard.”

If you’re reading this and live outside of San Diego County, it’s possible you haven’t heard of Lucas Owston yet. You should soon.

Lucas is a 19-year-old surfer from Oceanside, California — home to the Simmers, Stab‘s U.S. office, steady surfable waves, and the last un-gentrified bits of land west of the 5 in all of San Diego (not for long, sadly).

Lucas is an interesting guy. He’s rebuilding a 1986 Ford Ranger in his garage, he’s “wicked smart and has been talking like a 30-year-old since he was 12” according to a friend, and he’s taken a reverse path relative to other kids his age — focusing on turns instead of airs for his entire career thus far.

“I gotta learn how to do an air,” Lucas laughed. “I honestly think you can win a World Title without doing one single air all season — all the waves are long rights or barreling lefts — but you can’t qualify for the CT without airs. Most of the waves on the Challenger Series are air waves.”

Speaking of the Challenger Series, Lucas was one spot away from qualifying for the CS last year, mounting a formidable QS campaign despite being younger than most of his competitors.

“My favorite surfers are rail surfers — Jordy Smith, Taylor Knox, Bruce and Andy Irons — and here in Southern California, our only real option to learn surfing like that is to surf Lowers,” said Lucas. “Yeah, the wave is soft, but it’s so easy to get better at surfing there, you can do the same turn 50 times in a day and try to make it better each time.”

Judging by the 2-minute clip above alone, Lucas could be Ethan Ewing’s rail rival in a couple years’ time. He’s certainly surfing the A-frame better than some of the CTers back in June.

Though, he may need to reluctantly flick a few reverses to get there.

A 19-year-old surfer who failed to return home after heading out for an afternoon surf near Wooli Beach on the New South Wales north coast has been rescued from a remote island 14 kilometres offshore.

Darcy Deefholts was located on North Solitary Island, a rocky, uninhabited nature reserve, on Thursday morning after an extensive land and sea search involving NSW Police, Marine Rescue NSW, the Marine Area Command, PolAir, and members of the local community.

According to NSW Police, Deefholts left his home in Wooli around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, reportedly taking a cream Malibu surfboard and heading for One Tree Point. When he did not return, his family contacted authorities, and a large-scale search was launched.

His father, Terry Deefholts, posted a call for help on Facebook late Wednesday night, asking for assistance from local boat owners, drone operators, and anyone able to help with the search. “As far as we can tell, Darcy took a cream Malibu surfboard with him to One Tree at Wooli and went for a surf in very small swell some time around 4pm,” he wrote. “Of course we are fearing the worst. We are overwhelmed by the community efforts in the search so far.”

Darcy was found the next morning on North Solitary Island, located roughly 14km east of Wooli Beach. The island is part of the Solitary Islands Marine Park and has no permanent residents or facilities. It’s unclear how Darcy ended up there, but the ocean conditions at the time were described as relatively calm.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Northern NSW Local Health District said Deefholts was taken to Grafton Base Hospital and is in stable condition under observation. “The patient is in good spirits and is being supported by family,” they said.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Terry Deefholts described the outcome as “a one in a million miracle.” He said he had not yet spoken in depth with his son but was “over the moon” that he had been found alive and well. “I haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet,” he said. “I’m still processing everything. I haven’t slept.”

In March 2023, the body of a missing rock fisher was recovered near North West Solitary Island after failing to return from a fishing trip. The stretch of coastline is known for its natural beauty and recreational appeal, but also presents dangers due to remoteness and ocean currents.

Authorities have not yet provided details on how Darcy managed to reach the island or survive the night. NSW Police are expected to follow up as the incident is reviewed.

Gavrilo Princip (19) was just a few months older than Hughie Vaughan is now when he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, thereby igniting World War I’s short fuse.

Alas, how the passions of collegians so swiftly lead to violence.

Soon thereafter, the “powder keg” exploded — Germany attacked France at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914, Great Britain then declared war against Germany, and one of the worst tragedies in human history was underway.

In that vein, two weeks ago, a German college surf league held a contest in Seignosse, France. Now two decades into running this contest, the league (ADH-Open Wellenreiten) had permits to lock down that portion of the beach. But, locals weren’t having it. Tensions rose until finally one French local took off in the contest area and shoved a female competitor off her board, causing outrage and rumors to explode throughout Europe.

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Maya Sauer (@maya.fiona) • Instagram photos and videos

We did a full article that dives into the nuance of the skirmish here.

In the comments of that article, rising all-star Mr. Cheddar chimed in with the following quip — taking victory in this month’s COTM.

Mr. Cheddar, please send us another email at [email protected] with screenshot proof of your Disqus account. Since you won in April and thus already have a free year of Premium in your name, you can pass a free gift membership to another Stab Premium commenter that you admire. We will track down their email. And, you will be double-entered in the running for the mega-prize for “Comment of the Year” at then end of, you guessed it, the year.

If you remember from this article, Chuck E. Cheese will now be one of 12 commenters (one for each month) that will be a candidate for COTY. He’ll be sparring against 11 other keyboard vermin for top honors.

Happy gnawing.

John Florence just did something he seldom does: talked. 

We haven’t heard much from the 3x World Champ since he announced his year off, and set sail, baby on board, far, far away from the drone of the pro surfing circuit. “I don’t think anyone in the surf community was that surprised I took a break,” starts John, who identifies first and foremost as a “freesurfer”, with the important caveat, “who happens to be super competitive.”

Forgive my podcast naivety, but I assumed Rich Roll was merely the theme of the podcast and not the name of the host, who, apparently, is a rather well known ultra endurance athlete, and not a crypto billionaire platforming other cronies. Makes more sense why John’s a guest now. Anyhow, he asks about this tension – of the pursuit of competitive decoration and validating oneself in the WSL arena vs the pure joy of being wet on one’s own terms.

Interesting tidbits:

• How the WSL Finals in 2024 was “the most high pressure event” he’s ever surfed.
• What he gathered from his rookie season, which involved a lot of losing first round, and how he ameriolated it with surf trips.
• Breakthrough habits: meditation, better sleep, eating more, and DNS training with Chris Prosser. Tim Brown gets a mention too. 
• Growing Florence, “the right way” (we’ve got an article dropping on Florence’s growth spurt next week, btw).
• Keeping bees.
• Becoming slightly more risk-averse since becoming a parent.
• The Olympics.
• Content.

Good listen.

Place your bets over at Betonline.AG

The tall, handsome South African who helped smuggle Stab into the U.S. surf scene like a fine bottle of Chablis, Damien “Dooma” Fahrenfort—the velvety voice from Stab High Japan, Channel 51 and How Surfers Get Paid—has been deep in the analytics, trying to forecast the winners of this year’s J-Bay event. 

Dooma’s more than a crisp shirt and quick wit. He’s surfed CT heats at both J-Bay and Mundaka (2009), and by his own modest estimation, has won the J-Bay Trials four or five times. We’d fact-check that stat, if only the South African Trials archives weren’t harder to access than the true authors of the Rosetta Stone.

Five it is!

Here’s his Betonline.AG squad below.

Mens
Jordy Smith (2x winner)
Filipe Toledo (2x winner)
Ethan Ewing (1x winner)
Connor O’Leary

Womens

Molly Picklum
Caity Simmers
Caroline Marks

Place your bets over at Betonline.AG