The Flyer: Two Decades Of Online Exploration
In 1994 I took my first Indonesian boat trip. Compared to what was published in the surf magazines of the day, it was a low-rent affair.
I'd met four people in West Java, two Aussies and two Americans, who wanted to head out to Panaitan Island. The plan was to get a bus north to Labuhan then pool our money on a fishing boat.
None of us had been to Panaitan before but it didn’t matter as we had the equivalent of a pirate’s treasure map - a hydrographic chart of the island.
When the only other alternative was a map of the whole country, having a detailed nautical chart was priceless. Indeed it was taken more seriously than a seaworthy boat.
Back then, whenever I saw one of those maps, irrespective of the coastline, I’d stop and pore over the details: the bends in the coast, exposure to swell, nearby reefs or other bathymetric features, then drift off in a reverie wondering what the waves might be like. The world was largely an unknown place with many secrets to unlock.
Meanwhile, around the same time as that Indo mission, a company called Intrinsic Graphics was developing 3D gaming software from their Silicon Valley office. Their demonstration unit, which they’d take to trade shows, featured a spinning globe that could be zoomed into.
Intrinsic’s demo proved more popular than their product so they spun off a new company, Keyhole Inc., that acquired map data from governments and other sources, then sold it on CDs to people who worked in real estate or urban planning.
For five or so years the company plodded along but in 2003 the CEO of Keyhole spotted a PR opportunity. The US had invaded Iraq and he made sure every major US network received a free copy of their ‘Earth Viewer’ software to present 3D flyby imagery of Baghdad or Abu Ghraib or wherever US troops were active. Interest in Keyhole exploded - ‘scuse the military jargon - and caught the attention of Google. They bought the company in 2004.
The following year - on June 27th, 2005, so twenty years ago today - Google Earth was released. It was immediately popular, being downloaded 100 million times in just its first week. Surfers, it seemed, weren't the only ones smitten by the Earth as seen from above.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin may have had a vision for the world, helping punters find the nearest McDonalds or whatever, but surfers found a whole new purpose for Google Earth. In one sitting you could retrace Bruce Brown’s path in Endless Summer or you could search for the next Jeffreys Bay.
The first big reveal of the Google Earth Era was Skeleton Bay in Namibia, the result of a Surfing Magazine competition. Google Earth was both a boom and a bust for surf explorers. They could plan the next adventure with military precision, but then so could everyone else. How can secret spots exist when anyone with an internet connection can also see it?
Over time it became clear that, for all its benefits, Google Earth can’t tell you everything about a coastline or the waves that break upon it. Sometimes a scalloped coast was bad, sometimes a straight coast was good. What was below the waterline couldn’t be seen by satellites, and if the satellite passed overhead in between sets then the whitewater didn’t betray the wave.
Twenty years on and scoring good waves still comes down to a mix of smarts and motivation. Yeah you can do online reconnaissance, but you also have to get off your arse and act on it. Find out if it really exists.
Actually, there’s a third thing scoring good waves depends on: a favourable forecast.
Unfortunately, in 1994 accurate forecasts were another thing that didn't exist. If they did we would’ve waited to take that boat out to Panaitan Island, because after a fortnight of flatness we felt the first roll of groundswell only once the food had run out and we were sailing away from Panaitan.
- Stu
The Flyer is Swellnet's weekend newsletter.
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Comments
Satellite images won't tell you everything about a location - but they do give information not available thru any other method.
A promising setup on a British Admiralty (UK) or Defense Mapping Agency (US) chart was just that - a promising setup, likely charted and logged a hundred or more years ago by bored Royal Navy sailors heaving the lead from a cutter, moving the boat a dozen yards and repeating the process, recording the coastal contours and depths rather randomly, in sketches and the depths in fathoms demarcated by knots every six feet in the hemp rope.
Satellite images are certainly far more accurate for coastal contours, but have one fatal flaw for surf exploration - it is not possible (yet) to position the satellite where you want it, when you want it there.
If the satellite is not passing over the target when a set is coming thru or even in the right six-month window for swell, it records nothing of particular interest other than pretty much what you got with a nautical chart - a promising setup.
your face is a promising set up.
'fatal flaw'? sounds favourable (aussie/SGP sic)
To put more clearly what you're ham-fistedly trying to get across, @john.calhoun,
"Twenty years on and scoring good waves still comes down to a mix of smarts and motivation. Yeah you can do online reconnaissance, but you also have to get off your arse and act on it. Find out if it really exists.
Actually, there’s a third thing scoring good waves depends on: a favourable forecast."
I did not mention (deliberately) the most important function of Google Earth for surfers, Stu does not mention it either in his Flyer article - so y'all will just have to put on your collective thinking caps and try to figure it out!
the biz. mark. is. a-goin' off..
(kane, biz, krs, jungle bros, epmd learned what flow waz. chah..
paul simon learned me how white boys can $$ appropriate other cultures
if they just put their mind to doing it well.. and have the talent).
I've edited out the link, John. Reckon you hit your limit for free promotion.
That's ok - interested parties know how to find the book listing by now.
You also refrained from hurling abuse and crude insults, so thank you for that consideration.
hahahahahaha, You, my friend, have had nothing but complex and thoughtful insults on here. It is the most civil website in the world of water. We, the subscribers, contribute to its civility so that it's not a headache for the showrunners (who could just turn around anytime and say 'fuck off, I'm gettin' too old for this crap, site's closed').
If you'll recall, our fist exchange, you and I, I raised an ethical question because some close UK surf mates resent your exposure and the subsequent cultural damage of a Mediterranean surf spot that they used to drive 4 days to get to a couple of times a year. Now locals hate anyone with a surfboard. Your fault. And you responded by bragging about some fucking book, (that a bunch of us probably would have bought out of interest before meeting you here), and telling me to 'shut my mouth' because i don't have a book (I do), insulted Australians, racially profiled your ex-prez and school chum, told a number of SN regulars they are fuckheads while repeatedly flogging how many words and pics you have. And that we shouldn't judge your book before we have read it.. (maybe I'll look it up at the library in a few years).
And then enlisted Brazzo Nick Carroll to help you in the schoolyard. I have also wished you well in your future, which I will do once again, @john.calhoun. Despite being a unit that the pros, the published, the guides on here have suspected as a troll-bot because of your spectacular unawareness, go well and carry on my wayward son.
"some close UK surf mates resent your exposure and the subsequent cultural damage of a Mediterranean surf spot that they used to drive 4 days to get to a couple of times a year. Now locals hate anyone with a surfboard. Your fault"
Wasn't me - our Mediterranean projects are on the OTHER SIDE of the Mediterranean Sea - you can't drive there in four days, even if you wanted to.
Besides, what rights do your British mates have to ANY AREA outside the UK other than Gibraltar? Absolutely none. They are just tourist, like everyone else.
Highly unlikely the locals "hate anyone with a surfboard" - most of the isolated communities we visit on surfEXPLORE projects welcome visitors as they receive very few and appreciate the money visitors spend in their community. Anyone with any knowledge and experience will say that statement is complete rubbish,
If you want to disparage me personally, go ahead - but you really should learn to spell my name properly - it is not John Calhoun, my professional name is JOHN SEATON CALLAHAN,
I use my full legal name and stand behind everything I write, unlike yourself and that other fellow who also hides behind a pseudonym. Grow the fuck up. What are you, a teenage girl?
Stand behind what you write here and EVERYWHERE else, like I do or please - shut the fuck up.
Since you and the other fellow have no idea what (or who) you are dealing with, I'll make it easy for you -
Here is the "about the Author" paragraph from THE BOOK -
About the Author
John Seaton Callahan has been a professional photographer since graduating from the College of Fine Arts at UCLA in 1987. His images, represented by Getty, appear globally with over 3,000 editorial pages and 125+ covers for major outlets like National Geographic, the New York Times, and the BBC. He is creative director of the surfEXPLORE® Group and a widely published contributor to major global surfing publications. Originally from Hawaii, where he began surfing at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki in 1969, John has lived in Singapore since 2001.
And her is a link to many Interviews and Portfolio features on flickr - the Interviews are in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Portuguese Brasileiro.
Do us all a favour and post a link with all YOUR published interviews, so we know exactly who you are also - thanks!
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjrQW7DL
my mates had friends there. youngsters that hoped to have less hardline-algerian-subsistence-fishing-village opportunities in life. now a bunch of rags bail through ever couple of weeks, even when the surf's shit, piss all the locals off with their blow-in disrespect.. the older generation get hard-nosed about the youth not doing starbelly-sneetch things.. a bloke burned his son's skateboard. Not good, what you did.
If I rattled off my accolade, you'd wet your pants. Thanks for the reply @john.calhoun. You sound a bit normal here.
Wow, so Calhoun is a published fuckwit. Congrats. Still a fuckwit but..
Calhoun is not the sharpest tool in the box.
They’ll never get it.
ding ding ding ding!!
Hyena number 2 and sister in arms.....incoming!!
Bullie girls representing!
Wondered why it took you so long @seeds!
What’s gone wrong today for you?
hmm. Maybe my memory.
See, i was Johnny boy once,...and i got bullied online by a group of faceless no name individuals, even though i shared my name freely...just like john c.
Does that compute with you.
Ya reckon that shit gets forgotten?
Whats your name again @seeds....or has something gone wrong today for you that you just won't share your real identity..but will happily throw stones at those that do.
Carn seeds
What kinda man doesn't reveal his identity! What is it you're hiding?
A smart man in this technology era.
You were never bullied.
You made outlandish claims against others that were so half cocked they could not but respond.
We, the others explained our position but you would never have a bar of it.
And you’re the aggrieved?
haha. Of course.
Just like your sister in arms.
Deflect deflect.
But never reflect.
I mean shit. maybe you're the problem!? Maybe you're the exception and not the norm??
It's entirely possble. I mean, no one's ever really held you two to acccountability.
By the way, cute how you rushed in on the speed dial of AndyM.
You twol So predictable. So adorable.
Speed dial? Haha
You’re the exception not the norm old mate.
Reflection is what you need.
My statement above is true.
The funny thing is I like your shtick, you’re a moral dude.
Its just a shame you won't actually listen @seeds.
There's wisdom in these words through experience and observation. 5 years worth infact.
Make of that what you will but as it currently stands. we stand in opposition.
And not many crew on swellnet i could say that about.
Reflect on that my friend. It aint spoken lightly. Andy M too.
Really about time you two schoolyard bullies were held to account.
My least favourite thing about swellnet is you two. Thats the truth.
edit: 10 years. My maths is fucked but further drives home the point. Not out to make enemies but i never forget bullies.
Always the aggrieved. Never the problem.
In a few years you’ll come good old mate.
We all do.
hmmmm.
I see patterns ....;)
Just wish you'd put your real name to your posts hey. Wouldn't that make things interesting. ;)
now, now @southern.. I have prepared my own accolades, to put this Calhoun feller in his place. You know I don't like to brag, but I have succinctly summed up my life achievements to date.. and have included my real name and occupation. I'm sorry to mic drop the feller, but Geez he's been grinding my gears. Hang on a minute, I'll try get it to 100 words exactly..
nah wasn't directed at you base. You fight your fights fairly online. Please don't take that as a swipe at you. You're a good egg as is John. Carry on as you were. I'd only be bummed if you were like Andy M and Seeds that thought it was their god given right to jump in and make huge personal character assasinations on people they didn't know when they weren't even involved in the conversation. How the fuck can you judge someone when you have a fake name yourself and you've never met the person nor understood their own hardships and road to glory. I have huge respect for John Callahan and his achievements. Way better than the deadshits that take up space on the swellnet forums.
And your personal indifference is not my business. I'll leave it to you lads.
agree, @southern.
Yours lovingly,
Barry Spigg.
Love a good Bazza @base
Onya legend Top shelfer all the way.
Christ almighty John, what a flog you are.
Some people are profoundly ignorant - and need to be educated.
This fellow cannot even spell my name properly -
see above.
You are funny Mr Igetaussies.
Ignorance is the word.
Say's you Andy M. The amount of condescension and belittling you've(and your mate seeds) extended to others is an order of magnitude much higher. Definitely a little girls club here that bitch and gang up on anyone thats the 'other' to what they perceive to be the right kind of commenter. I personally find you to be a right prick.
It’s wild how hot and cold you are SR.
Group pile ons are a scourge on humans AndyM. I fucken hate how crew do that on here. It's bullying. A couple of blokes are having it out. It's entertaining, i see merit from both camps. but the hyenas always wanna jump in and yap and stir shit up. You can double down or you can reflect on that's how it comes across.
No fear or favour.
I know how i'm perceived here and i laugh at that too. Cos i can. And i learn.
Can you??
I’ll double down thanks.
If someone’s being a turkey I feel obliged to say my piece.
Whether I’m first or second, I don’t really care.
Sure I’ve been first many a time.
So you might see it as a pile on but I guess I don’t.
That's your prerogative mate.
I think it's lame.
What I really think is lame is when people talk absolute unmitigated bullshit and people sit by and say “oh man that’s, like, so cool, you’re totally entitled to your opinion.
That’s what I think is a scourge.
Interesting.
Just for turkey mitigation purposes.
Amount of times you, seeds and a few others have piled on me....maybe 3 or 4 or more. Haven't really kept count but alot.
Amount of times i've been involved in a group pile on on you blokes. That'd be donuts.
Food for thought those donuts. ;-)
Change or don't change. That's just how it is. Online bullying is your thing.
Come on big fella, we’ve had one on one arguments quite a few times :)
No mate. That's a copout. And you know it.
Surprised your sidekick hasn't chipped in yet. That's a new record! Thought you blokes were on speed dial for any dissidents to your way of swellnet commenting!! ;-)
Tee hee, oh the wit, the vocabulary!
You just go for gold rousing on those naughty bullies.
And the yapping hyena just keeps on yapping.
No surprises you can't take some solid accountability.
In fact, i would have put money on it, and a handsome sum too.
love how you deflected the way you've gone in all guns blazing in a group beat down on me several times in the past....with your little mate sidekick. That's some solid avoidance right there. How come? Are you ashamed all of a sudden of your online bullying?
You’re deadset on glue.
Interesting.
I'll take that as a double, doubling down.
Keep inviting hate into your spirit world AndyM..
Online or not, it's real.
Consequences will come.
Your choosing is your losing right now.
Mate finish reading that $12.99 self-help book you got at The Channon markets a while back and get some sleep.
Sure thing.
No need to sabotage this brilliant article by Stu any longer.
Apologies to SN crew.
AndyM, it's a shame deflection gets in the way of reflection for you.
Could be life changing if it were the other way around.
I reckon you should really stop and think on this one
All the best.
you know I've got you, @southern,
been telling people to lay off you a while now,
and we've had our wagyu beef.. that's a good thing..
marbled for her pleasure : )
Hahah.. 'I'll double down thanks'.. classic @AndyM
I appreciate the little moments of ideological support,
I get that having a barney is entertaining to onlookers,
but it ain't me, I simply have no energy for that bullshit.
I'm a walk away guy.
But when my kids are out living their best lives,
I'm alone, with BritBox and my piano.
..in the middle of my 50 acres of hills and bush.
I don't do the standard internet socials, don't do phones.
Suddenly feeling an overwhelming 'whaaattt?'
about a fellow human while in my home is an unfamiliar feeling.
So I appreciate the solidarity of a few on here that I respect.
Letting me know what I'm feeling isn't abnormal.
Makes a feller feel a little less angry and mental,
knowing a couple others are frowning confusedly
about the fuckhead in the online room,
i.e. I appreciate the teeny pile-on. like, one person saying 'yep'.
All good @base.
You're a good egg.
But no need to battle for me.
If i have a problem with anyone i'll say it and cop it back.
Cheers though!
And fwiw....quarelling over surf spot exposure...on a website...with all due respect to swellnet...that is inserting cameras everywhere except where the sun don't shine.....just reeks of irony. If your point is to not expose surf spots....on a surf website that steers people to surf spots.....well you've already lost that battle.
Finding it incredulous that you lot can't see that obvious flaw in your argument here.
Algeria or a camera at Winki. Whats the difference??
And not having a go at Swellnet. Wouldn't be a subscriber if it bothered me.
ha, yep. It's a good point. Harder work than I'd bother with.. I admire the thermal imaging, lost the cam closest to me in west Vic, and the Winkistiltskins are still railing.. reckon my closest cams are maybe 500kms away.. kinda similar to driving across the widest point of england.. first world cameras in first world locations are first world problems. nothing I care much about.
haha 600ks is a good reasonable distance.
Good on ya Basey. Always an enjoyable experience engaging with you in convo.
Thankyou!! It's doesn't go unappreciated, trust me mate.
how far to your nearest cam?
No comment!! hahaha!!
ooff!! forgot you are managing Aquatic Visions through winter..
secret's safe with me, mate ; )
hahaha!
Be interesting to see if he sticks around after it's launched. Certainly not winning any sales with his demeanor on this site. Odd bloke.
I was here a long time before my book - and I will likely be here for a long time after.
Where were you?
Nice little yarn Stu, I feel it'd be worth a short story - the fact that you didn't score is beside the point.
Maybe. Did a lot of trips like that during mid-year break through mid to late-90s. Two months every year, cop the shit classes when I got back to uni a few weeks into the term. That particular Panaitan trip was a flop between two good side missions to Cimaja and the rivermouths nearby, then my first mish into Ombak Tujuh, which was the biggest waves I'd surfed in Indonesia at the time.
Got a message today from someone who read the email and mentioned how bad the boats were back then ("bad refrigeration").
"Oh to have refrigeration," I'll say aloud in my best Yorkshireman accent. No fridge, occasional generator electricity for lights, there may have been beds but I slept on the deck. It was an old wooden fishing boat with gunwales a few feet above the waterline. Cheap but.
Sounds an order of magnitude more interesting than watching the Insta Kids from the Gold Coast scoring perfection.
Sounds wonderful Stu, but did you have any rats scuttling around...?
Oh yeah, plenty of bilge rats running around when the sun dropped.
Ombak Tujuh - a wave I’ve always wanted to surf but for various reasons never got there.
Worth the trip?
I liked it. Surfed it in 97.
Get it big? On a big board?
I reckon it was just big enough to start breaking properly, so about 8ft. I had a 7'0". It's a pretty perfect setup. There's also a pretty hollow wave a bit further down the reef which I believe gets surfed from time to time. It looked like Bingin on steroids when we were there. I ended up hurting my knee on that surf so that was the end of that trip unfortunately. Best waves I had on that trip were on "Mummas" reef, which has a bit of a bommie when it gets big. Turtles was okay but not quite offshore in the trades when we were there. The other wave we surfed was the Genteng Harbour Mouth which was pretty deadly.
Not a typical Indo wave, it's shifty and thick-lipped, consequential if you make a mistake on a big day, but satisfying if you like waves you've wrap your head around.
It's a slopey wave, not much of a barrel, and I imagine way more fun as a goofy.
On the big day mentioned above I was on a 7'2" Banksy, which was sweet.
Thanks Stu
Pretty much in line with what I was thinking.
I’ve heard and read it gets lots of swell and a longer board is advisable.
Might get there one day.
Thanks for your surf story Stu.
Surf magazines created mythical perfect waves we fantasized & saved up to explore.
Indonesia has 13,000 Islands
Fiji has 300 Islands
Helps to research the culture, learn the lingo, take something useful to trade (eg.medicine, solar radio, torch, googles, books) & have a great adventure, waves are a bonus...
Bbb I think you’re about 4000 off the mark for Indo.
I was going to say something, but I restrained myself.
But as long as you brought up the obvious error in the number of islands in the Republic of Indonesia -
"Indonesia is made up of 17,508 islands. This figure is officially listed by the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs"
I thought @stu's pre Lopez thumbnail was some kind of marching frog warrior holding a ceremonial staff or weapon, and assumed @stu was some kind of gaming miniature enthusiast.. then one day looked at it properly and realised it was the iconic clash record cover. 'twas a revelation and explained to me why he rates Wire and issue 21 of B Side mag with the Psychos on the cover (possibly representing when magazine perfection was achieved.. instantly wet-dream punk grabbable, 2 bucks, and basically unreadable typeset)..
but you combine some images I've seen of him, the idea of 'Nettle red' boards for continuity, stick 'Me & Mr Jones' on in the background, low-fi and dirty like @dandandan's astonishing surreal world music radio station:
https://www.radioisaforeigncountry.org/
..maybe a Fugazi-style cover of it unless that's too much. But yeh, I'd buy the spoken word edition of @stu's exploits. If it was released on cassette especially.. (sooooo stoked my lad bought himself a sweet '94 magna with a tape player and can get into my tapes I've been hanging onto for no reason.. and that Knuckles on Stun type studios are bringing back the OG shit medium..)
speaking of Nettle Red.. here's the cover artwork for 'Stories From the Bush' (unless that's too cheesy, the 'nettle' thing..) can't you just hear 'what kind of fuckery is this..' in the background..?
might a durrie have ever tasted better, with wgaf-ness on overload..?
Hectic duzza drag !
Except Paul Simonon wasn't wielding a bass in that wee silhouette from the London Calling cover.
Swap Fender for Thruster, though both about to come off second best.
Great article Stu.
That one took me away as if i was there....which is what a great read should do.
Fuck rats though! I'd be overboard in a flash!
Loving these flyer articles.
Did you read the one about the cracked hulled boat geezus....
100 words for that Calhoun fellow:
I’m Barry Spigg, I used to be a country musician.. even played the invitation-only busker competition in Mortlake. But that was a lifetime ago. I’m currently finishing my biscuit-design apprenticeship. Gary Granita came out of retirement just to mentor me through to the end. I have been nominated for ‘most likely to become head of quality control’ by Biscuit Barrel Quarterly, and ‘most likely to have an inclusion in a family assortment’ by elevenses.com
I’m driving to NSW in September to officially receive an Honorary Advanced Diploma in Cookery at Dubbo TAFE. They only award three of these each year.
What is it with you and biscuits @base!!!
You got me uno on the biscuit spiel,
you won't get me vo vo though though!
It's my life's work @SR.. following in the footsteps of the greats like Gary, and sabotaging the half-arsedness of nepo biscuit babies like Brice.
I can't figure out that author guy. If I didn't know he was selling a book, I'd think he was a swellnet bot drumming up engagement.
Generally authors don't antagonise potential customers, they go on book tours, answer questions, are not universally derided by potential readers...
So this is a bold strategy! I have my popcorn and am awaiting the book reviews!
Buymyshit.com
This thread took a turn for the worst last night aye.
Saturday night shenanigans.
Nothing like getting on the piss and getting angry at midnight.
" after midnight YOU'RE gunna let it all ....hangout...."
I’d like it known that I was neither drunk nor angry last night.
Me neither; ]
fuck can't help yaself can ya bullie girl
pile on pile on, same ol fucktards welcome
Booze in, brains out.
An underrated part of surf exploration is having massive balls.
I spent two years travelling Aus in a 4wd and exclusively used google maps satellite view to explore nooks, crannies and tracks. Heaps of fun. There was at least a handful of times I came across pretty good waves that I turned my back upon because there was no one around. Of course solo sessions were a plenty and I love them but sometimes having the comfort of another soul in site is helpful when exploring.