Angie Takanami: Firing on both barrels

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Talking Heads

9bdb35c8d239cbf27ecd804618249b57_large_0.jpgAngie Takanami is a Byron Bay-based travel writer, producer, and surfer who recently returned from a trip to Peru. While there she befriended a local surfer, Harold Koechlin, who told her of his concern for Lobitos, one of Peru's greatest surfing towns. Angie is hoping to make Double Barrel, a documentary about the environmental issues threatening Lobitos and is currently raising funds to do so.

After reading please visit Angie's Kickstarter page.

Swellnet: It’s a long way from Byron to Peru, how did you hear about the plight of Lobitos?
Angie Takanami: I recently spent two weeks traveling the north coast of Peru researching some travel stories and Lobitos was one of the destinations I hooked up some time in. I am a goofy footer and the the waves there are like my home breaks in Byron but reversed, and with far less people.

Lobitos is home to world-class waves but the town itself was made and then broken by the oil industry and war, lingering by a thread of surf tourism. Environmental issues plague this otherwise surfer’s paradise, and after evacuating my family from six months after the nuclear disaster in Japan I had a particularly emotional connection with this place…I don’t want to see another incredible surf destination lost to mankind’s greed. 

Similarly, how did you come across Harold Koechlin?
On the above trip Harold was my guide. A master in eco tourism and the best guide in Peru, we surfed the north coast waves like teenagers on their first overseas surf trip, filled with endless waves and laughter. When we were in Lobitos Harold and I shared our concerns for the area – the oil rigs are so close to the waves, old buildings destroyed in the war have never been restored, and there are a string of environmental issues as well as threats of unmanaged development that could destroy the town and we are like-minded in not wanting this to happen.

Harold told me his dream of putting a dollar value on the waves whilst at the same time ensuring the town is developed sustainably, and The Lobitos Project idea of turning the town into an eco surf village was born. As well as the environmental side of the project, Harold is extremely passionate about Lobitos not falling to the hands of rich investors and developers – we don’t want to see such a raw beauty with world class waves fall victim to capitalization like other areas of north Peru and the world. 

How much time have you spent in Lobitos? 
I have not spent enough time in Lobitos at all, just a few days on my travels recently, so am really excited to get back and get to work on the film and the community project. Our upcoming shoot will be a couple weeks back in Peru with a chunk of this time in Lobitos, and then we return early next year for the second stage of shooting. I dare say I will find myself back there in between these two shoots working on the community project with Harold and the locals, and surfing some of the epic lefts on offer. 

How are you finding the Kickstarter process?
Challenging to say the least. You may have recently noticed some guy posted a Kickstarter campaign to make a potato salad…he asked for $10 and his campaign is now sitting at around $45,000. It blows my mind how such a project can rake in so many donations, meanwhile we are here hassling all our friends to throw in $10 or more to get our stage 1 budget of $13,000 over the line…

Visit the Double Barrel Kickstarter page.

Comments

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 5:51pm

The Negative Approach : Eco surf village - now this I have to see.
Harold doesn't want rich developers ruining his chance to get rich through development.
Angie only spent a couple of days in Lobitos- just long enough to see that it needed more exposure.
Who uses a surf guide ?

The positive Approach : Angie seems like a nice person enjoying the world and trying to steer the locations she visits towards a more equitable and less destructive path that will hopefully be beneficial to the locals and the vibe of the place. The future is in safe hands with surfers like Angie taking the lead.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 7:51pm

Which dog are you gonna feed Blowin?

BTW tomorrow's WOTD may interest you. Adjacent establishment mentioned in a recent thread.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:02pm

They're both barking in my ear Stu. But I've got this fantasy that I like to entertain where I'm not a bitter , jaded wanker so I'm going to play nice guy. But only because she looks so cherubic.

WOTD - fun wave, but a man is not a camel. Is that where you had your second surf the other day ?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:11pm

Nah, I checked it about an hour after tomorrows photo was taken but between the wind and rabid holidaying lidders it didn't seem worth the effort. Found far better waves at a sand over reef set up a bit further south.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:34pm

I've heard rumours of Shaun Thompson getting a very long barrel at that spot years ago ( 7 seconds) .When the sand was just right. Apparently. Allegedly .

Whoops....the spot I'm talking about is north.
Rabid holidaying lidders - no doubt the boys were having fun, but a great mental picture nonetheless .

Go Angie. Stay positive and keep doing what you think is right.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:33pm

Blowin wrote:

I've heard rumours of Shaun Thompson getting a very long barrel at that spot years ago ( 7 seconds) .When the sand was just right. Apparently. Allegedly . Whoops....the spot I'm talking about is north.

Factor in Shaun's 'time slows down in the barrel' theory and you're talking at least a 21 second barrel.

Happens all the time around here

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:41pm

Did you hear about the time a shift working miner failed to come home to his family ? Everyone assumed he'd been lost under a roof collapse in a forgotten shaft. Turns out he'd just gone for a sneaky Dawnie out the point on a big east swell , pulled into a large tube and disappeared...For 3 days.
The boys swear it's true.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 3:37pm

I wouldn't have guessed The location Stu , if you hadn't revealed. The light and the photographer are telling but the angle is new. Even considering I punched a few bongs ( ok - a lot of bongs ) within 100m of the spot the photo was taken with the local champ of the day.

But don't forget kids - drugs are bad mmmk.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 7:07pm

Is Angie or her family from Fukushima?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 7:52pm

Don't know for sure Zen, but I gather her husband is from the area.

mundies's picture
mundies's picture
mundies Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:36pm

Catching up with her tomorrow apparently from a connection through my wife. Heading to Chile / Peru in 3 weeks with my wife's family residing in Santiago and a family friend from west coast SA living in Lima now. Any questions to put to her? Assuming I check this forum in time...

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:43pm

The surfing world is so small....

Sounds like a hell time Mundies.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 8:43pm

Sure Mundies, what part of Japan is her family from? Is her hubbie a surfer? If so, what part of Japan does/did they surf?

And of course, wish her all the best for her documentary.

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 5:49am

Kuni (husband) is a surfer/photog - he's got a website here: http://www.kunitakanami.com/

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 8:42am

Thanks Ben.

Itabashi is quite a posh area of Tokyo. Don't know if 'evacuate' was the right word regarding the nuclear disaster in terms of proximity.

Good luck to her though and I wish him continued success.

yogii's picture
yogii's picture
yogii Monday, 14 Jul 2014 at 10:08pm

Takanami = big wave... coincidence?

bonza's picture
bonza's picture
bonza Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 12:19pm

Whilst I don't know Angie personally I have worked on some small stuff with her over the years and have found her to be professional, honest and an all round good chick.
despite my yearning for some Peruvian beef, vino and waves.. I have yet to been. Nevertheless I couldn't imagine Angie embarking on anything false or misleading.. I wish her well..

mibs-oner's picture
mibs-oner's picture
mibs-oner Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 3:32pm

I'm thinking of going back to the ments next year. Last year when I was there we met some great local crew, concerned about reef bombing. I might start a kickstarter to pay for my flights and accommodation for a few weeks to make a doco, but of course sample the local waves on offer....
To me as much as i'd love to watch the doco, sounds like an all expenses paid holiday....

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 4:31pm

I'd like to know exactly how the oil industry is threatening the waves.

bonza's picture
bonza's picture
bonza Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 5:20pm

tough crowd

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 5:34pm

Not really mate, quite polite.

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 1:01pm

.

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 5:39pm

+ it's a crowded market.

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 5:56pm

+ what are the successes vs failures of these online public awareness type projects? Koni for example?

wildenstein8's picture
wildenstein8's picture
wildenstein8 Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 9:18pm

This thread is a great example of why people are zoning out of online forums, they're taken over by haters and trolls. From what I can see someone is trying to make a documentary using private funds, theyre not co-ercing anyone and nor are they wasting public money, yet if you read the comments you'd think embezzlement was the crime. Another charge was that they don't live in the country. I wish the same charge was brought to Stefan Hunt and Jonno Durrant then those pesky Aussies would never have made Somewhere Near Tapachula.

I don't know Mrs Takanami but a quick search shows she is a travel writer so I imagine she has a nose for a story. If the people who pay for the film want her to tell it then what exactly is the problem? Someone is making their small mark on the world and you lot arent....is that it?

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Tuesday, 15 Jul 2014 at 10:57pm
wildenstein8 wrote:

and nor are they wasting public money, yet if you read the comments you'd think embezzlement was the crime.

Well since you mentioned it, a goal of the first phase it to attract govt funding. Then they'll go to phase 2, another video. Under risks and challenges section, it basically just says trust us. Seems like there is a high risk of wasting public money actually.

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 7:52am

I just had a look at that kickstarter site,"WOW". Whatever happened to funding your dream by getting a second job knuckling down and skipping the latte after a surf.
Or what about the old way that film makers used to raise funds, where they would ask investors for money and would share any profits with them.

Note to Wldstein8 and Stu: Please stop using the derogatory label of "HATER" and "TROLL" . Stu every time that I voice an opinion that you don't agree with I'm labeled a troll, I feel that this is your intellectual way of bullying.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 8:04am

shaun wrote:

Note to Wldstein8 and Stu: Please stop using the derogatory label of "HATER" and "TROLL" . Stu every time that I voice an opinion that you don't agree with I'm labeled a troll, I feel that this is your intellectual way of bullying.

Ha ha...feeling sensitive now Shaun? That was the first time I've called anyone a troll. So you can anonymously question anyone's integrity and motivation, outright call bullshit on them, as you repeatedly and tediously do without any pretence of intellectual rigour, but get called a troll once and you're up in arms?

Nice one...

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 8:42am

You've labeled me a troll before, and there you go again with your brand of bullying. What's intellectual rigour mean?

All you swillnetters, keep an eye out for my kickstart site and kick in a few bucks to put me through school and finish year nine and stop Stu from bullying me with words and phrases beyond my comprehension.

Thanks spell check.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 9:06am

Put me down for a tenner Shaun;)

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 9:29am

Thanks Zen, $10 will get you a big smiley hello in the surf.

$25 and I wont drop in.

$100 I'll be a good friend and let you have the next wave.

$1000 I'll promise you will never see or hear from me again.

mcbain's picture
mcbain's picture
mcbain Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 9:49am

Looks like there is a fair bit happening in Lobitos already.

http://www.wavesfordevelopment.org/who-is-waves/#.U8W0afmSzTe

And a much more detailed summary of the issues here:

http://chocloproject.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/lobitos-story-behind-this-m...

I don't doubt Angies heart is in the right place, but the idea could definitely be more resolved, and I reckon you could have asked some more penetrating questions Stu. At the moment it just reads as an ad for a not very well thought through project.
But - good luck to her.

Potato salad on the other hand....

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 10:58am

Cheers McBain, read it all. Still nothing on how the quality of the wave might change unfortunately.

mundies's picture
mundies's picture
mundies Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 10:31pm

Caught up with Angie this arvo plus her Peruvian mate.. Most excellent crew. Actually turns out we went to the same school (few years apart, more than I care to share). From what I can gather she is a travel writer / journalist and was subsidised by certain travel type businesses to do a surf trip to Peru and document it, upon doing this she met local surfers - good people - and became aware of this issue of unregulated development and environmental pillage. She commenced this film and it was not looked upon favourably by the businesses who helped her get to the area. Maybe they wanted glossy wallpaper travel journalism, but sounds like she has an opinion and a spine.
By the way zenagain, re living in Tokyo during the tsunami / nuclear clusterfuck - she has young children and was pregnant at the time - I'd get the fuck outa there too...

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Wednesday, 16 Jul 2014 at 11:20pm

Wasn't judging her, just in her own words she 'evacuated' from the nuclear disaster. I inquired was she from the Fukushima area?

Good for her having the ways and means to evacuate allbeit living a couple of hundred kilometres from the actual area. Thousands didn't.

But, once again, I wish her success in her project.

mundies's picture
mundies's picture
mundies Thursday, 17 Jul 2014 at 9:31am

I think maybe she was living in Chiba at the time

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Thursday, 17 Jul 2014 at 9:49am

Ok, I'm not a vindictive person. I think it's great to see someone putting themselves out there and pursuing something they believe in.

And congratulations to her on reaching her target.

wellymon's picture
wellymon's picture
wellymon Friday, 18 Jul 2014 at 9:59pm

What the fuck does a dot mean....?
Anyone..! Heads up please.
.

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Friday, 18 Jul 2014 at 10:22pm
wellymon wrote:

What the fuck does a dot mean....?
Anyone..! Heads up please.
.

Just stare at it for a few hours welly, you'll work it out.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Friday, 18 Jul 2014 at 10:06pm

I think that in order to erase a post, it needs to be replaced with a dot or another character as the post cannot be entirely erased only edited.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Friday, 18 Jul 2014 at 10:07pm

;)

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Friday, 18 Jul 2014 at 10:34pm
zenagain wrote:

Morris you would have to be the smartest bastard on this forum you just keep on giving, your informative quotes are gold.

Thanks Zen.

southey's picture
southey's picture
southey Saturday, 19 Jul 2014 at 12:09am

Wildenstein & Stu .....

there is no problem with " trolls " ( your words ) , when people just show some spine and ignore it .
If its repeated just to be a nuisance then perhaps there needs to be some form of
" editing " ....
I see more problems in " forums " when some people think its just their rite to idealogically BLOG .... without people opposing ones views , and like minds slap each other on the back , and blow each other when in complete agreeance ... unfortunately I didn't bother to read any of the above until I just noticed that shaun had posted tonight ... up until then the picture and title just screamed " first world problem " , when in reality it most likely isn't ....
anyway , i'll let you guys get back to noble activism ....
for many years , ideologues owned the form of social forum media ...
now your just going to have to 'deal ' with Bogans like myself discovering the party .
please carry on Morris .
Shaun take heed , Stu waves a big stick ...

uplift's picture
uplift's picture
uplift Saturday, 19 Jul 2014 at 12:37am

'I see more problems'

One, or perhaps even two, (ones plural), may also see things, and expertly tease them out, like fake hailstones warrantees where they don't even exsist, and one may then become ones ...

.

southey's picture
southey's picture
southey Monday, 21 Jul 2014 at 9:51pm

Uplift . If you honestly understood what you were making fun of you would realise that good material suppliers will replace parts ( within reason ) to save face of their company name . To take beyond doubt ownership of any potential grey areas in warranty .
Of course you wouldn't know this , because your too busy lifting heavy things ... Shame you couldn't include your brain or your contribution to society , when it comes to heavy lifting .

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Saturday, 19 Jul 2014 at 9:05am

Hey Shaun whats a dollar get me?

wellymon's picture
wellymon's picture
wellymon Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 12:11am

A snarl and a faded bottom turned blatant drop in;)

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Monday, 21 Jul 2014 at 9:59pm

Shaun come bacccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 8:31am
simba wrote:

Shaun come bacccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

:(x)

uplift's picture
uplift's picture
uplift Monday, 21 Jul 2014 at 11:56pm

'Uplift . If you honestly understood what you were making fun of you would realise that good material suppliers will replace parts ( within reason ) to save face of their company name . To take beyond doubt ownership of any potential grey areas in warranty .
Of course you wouldn't know this , because your too busy lifting heavy things ... Shame you couldn't include your brain or your contribution to society , when it comes to heavy lifting . '

southey's picture
southey's picture
southey Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 12:10am

Haha ha . You'll keep Hulk ...

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 8:36am

Nice work Shaun. First you take this comments thread off rails, make it hostile and aggressive forcing me to react, then you alter quotes - including my own - playing havoc with the thread, and finally you accuse us of taking money from Patagonia for it. Only at the end do you ask if it's advertorial to which I answered with an emphatic no. So you then go and delete all your accusatory posts making the comment thread unreadable.

I see your self-proclaimed stance as the 'voice of reason' for what it is - a gutless coward throwing rocks from a privileged position of anonymity. You've got a problem? Take it to MediaWatch buster, or better yet just do what others do and ask me a direct question without the bile.

This carry on is repetitive and tedious and it's not going to wash anymore. I harbour no illusions about the purity of free speech and will censor people when they abuse, defame, or create havoc on the site. I could count the number of times I've done it on one hand but if this shit continues that number will rise.

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 10:29am

I spoke to Shaun Stu, he deleted his posts because he thought he was doing the right thing as he had Pissed you all off , but once again he misread it all, understand that he comes from a foreign world to yours waves before money.
Aren't you lucky that you can delist him, cost me grand, which I reminded he was breaking his kickstart promise.
Chill mate I don't think anyone defamed anyone just mocked them

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 10:32am

P.s. put the posts back up then

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:38pm

Haha sorry Stu turns out you didn't delist me my mistake, but every thing Morris said,

You. Could all kick in a grand and ill be off.
Just a thought

wellymon's picture
wellymon's picture
wellymon Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 1:20pm

Fuck you Shaun, you stole my grand that was sewn into my sleeping bag under the bridge that time, remember.....! You owe me.

Quote Stu, Mindfullness and Surfing by Mundies.
Well, we're not all like Shaun, Trippergreenfeet. I know exactly what you're talking about, and both subscribe and aspire to what you're advocating. There is, however, a way to deal with internet trolls.

.

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Tuesday, 22 Jul 2014 at 2:48pm

Fuck you welly, I was not going to come back to this thread but you have pushed my buttons. I didn't steal it, you said you were flat broke so I was making an honest man of you by taking it, see that's one of the many things I have done for you as a bro under the bridge that I get no thanks for. You better suck it up and get used to seeing more of me as with various restraining orders and now nearly everyone I know and a few I have never met pledging a G on kickstart, under the bridge is the only place left for me.

AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami Tuesday, 9 Sep 2014 at 2:01pm

Wow, come back from Peru and finally get a chance to sit and read all these comments.

I'll address a few of the repeated assumptions:

1. I was living in Chiba for 6 years. My husband (we are currently separated) is from Tokyo, but we lived in Chiba. We "evacuated" the day of the earthquake as all coastal towns were evacuated for the tsunami. Our home was not destroyed, however being pregnant and with a 1year old baby also, when news hit the next day that Fukushima was potentially going to "blow", we got out of there and drove all through the night south to Kyushu. We hovered around there for 2-3 months, spending every cent saved, because the radiation was spat out into the sky and who knows where it was going, not worth the risk. Also, what people don't realize, is just how many aftershocks there are after an earthquake that big.

Daily, for weeks, the risk of another quake that would push the already damaged power plant to further destruction and ultimately more invisible shit in the sky. What would you do? That doesn't matter. We did what we thought was the best thing for our family. My husband's mother was dying of cancer in Tokyo, so we couldn't just leave Japan. The Australian embassy did call us on day 4 of our evacuation south, asking me if we would like to board a plane to Oz that Qantas was offering (sounds great, but turns out Qantas hit all the flyers with a kind $3K bill upon their return to Oz) but we stuck put because of my mother in law's condition.

I returned to Chiba where I was not allowed to go into the ocean (check the map, Ichinomiya, Chiba, is close enough to Fukushima and a shit load of radiation got pumped into the ocean). On north winds it was best to stay inside. With a toddler, in a one-bedroom apartment. Epic. My mother in law passed away 7-weeks before the due date of my second baby, so we made the move back to Oz, spending the last of our life savings.

Luckily Dave Rastovich had space on his farm and was in Hawaii when we came back, so we hung there living off the grid with no running water or power for 4 months, the baby born during this time. Since then we slowly got our feet back together and picked up freelance work and started our lives again.

2. Peru. Wow, some of the assumptions are intense.

It is true, I was sent over as a travel writer to explore the north coast with a guide, Harold, to write some travel stories. What's inspired me to make a movie?

The fact that no-one else seems to be able to get rid of the sewerage pool in the middle of town, that the military are sitting on destroyed land just so they can sell it in a couple years when the government starts exploiting Lobitos for "surf tourism"; the fact that greedy holidayers from Lima and other parts of South America are claiming precious sand dunes so they can build multi storey villas and hotels to cash in on the surf tourism as it grows; the fact that the entire town's rubbish gets dumped in a whole in the dunes just behind the breaks that ends up straight back into the water; the fact that the oil rigs are so old most of them are literally falling apart and yes we are talking about an area in the ring of fire (repeat of Fukushima with oil...no thanks!); the fact those were the best left handers I have surfed in my life and my "guide" who I definitely needed being a female surfer travelling solo in Peru actually gives a shit about educating the government and locals about the importance of sustainable surf tourism so the place is not destroyed and crawling with small minded greedy surfers like so many other precious parts of the world.

The oil money doesn't go back to the community; surf tourism is bringing the town out of the darkness and as you can imagine there are a lot of people wanting to cash in on that, including the government. Building on the sanddunes will destroy the kind of waves that make Lobitos so special, all sand banks depending on the winds and movement of sand. I am definitely hoping the film will educate those with more cash than the average Peruvian to buy land for conservation, not development.

Why Lobitos? Why not? I fell in love with the surf, the locals, the raw beauty of the place and the fact I truly believe that a documentary will help raise international awareness and help save this place.

3. Funding. We were falling a lot short of the kickstarter goal so I went out and got my final line of credit and funded more than half of the campaign myself. Then we blew our budget with extra expenses on the road and I chipped in the rest there too. South America is bloody expensive to get to, and I also want to make a film as good as anything else out there so I'm working with the best filmers in the business. We never wanted to get government funding, we're actually pitching the full film budget to complete the doco to Patagonia, the brand I feel fits perfectly with what we are doing.

Feel free to shoot me an email with any more questions: [email protected]
We've made a private sizzle reel that was recently shown to Patagonia as well as all the backers from our Kickstarter campaign, very happy to share it anyone if you want a little look-see at what we got up to on our last trip. email me and I will shoot you the password for the Vimeo clip. For the rest of you, the film will be premiering next year, around August. In the meantime, I hope the concept of the film is enough to inspire you all to give a little back to the places in the world you really fall in love with that need some help from the rest of us a little more privileged.

Don't need a surf guide in Peru? Good on you. I did, and as fate would have it I happened to meet the most down-to-earth, genuine surf guide in the business. Someone who is willing to throw himself on the line to make a film with me despite the corruption and bullying that goes on over there. Ballsy, and pulls into deep tubes.

Cheers,

Angie Takanami

mitchvg's picture
mitchvg's picture
mitchvg Thursday, 11 Sep 2014 at 10:54am
AngieTakanami wrote:

Building on the sanddunes will destroy the kind of waves that make Lobitos so special, all sand banks depending on the winds and movement of sand.

I'd say the major controlling factor is "Small rivers draining high-rainfall basins and mountainous terrain west of the Cordilleras in South America have disproportionately high water discharge and sediment load..." Found in the paper "Water Discharge and Sediment Load from the Western Slopes of the Colombian Andes with Focus on Rio San Juan". They do talk about Peru and Rio Chira to the sth in there.

I really don't see how the oil industry is responsible for destroying the waves. You've asserted that it's greedy holiday makers from Lima that will do the developing. Even if they get their money from the oil industry, the oil industry isn't responsible for how they spend that money. Maybe complicit, at best.

Anyway, back to the actual shape of the waves, I think the sand dunes are insignificant. There's a high sand budget there, including in the dunes, because of the rivers. Also, the dunes are partially vegetated, partially trapping loose sand, so I don't see how sand blown from the dunes can affect the banks. Building training walls, etc, to prevent erosion is probably the biggest potential threat. This could be to protect oil infrastructure, but most of the area seems to be fairly rocky as opposed to loose sand. But even that is unlikely if I believe your video, because it says that the oil industry is on the decline.

Water quality will probably go down if there's an earthquake and oil well seals/caps are broken. But creating surf tourism won't save the waves from that. And it's not like a spill can't be cleaned up and/or dissipate with time. The waves are just waves, they don't need to be saved. They don't need anything.

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Monday, 15 Sep 2014 at 12:11pm
AngieTakanami wrote:

3. Funding. We were falling a lot short of the kickstarter goal so I went out and got my final line of credit and funded more than half of the campaign myself.
Cheers,

Angie Takanami

Does anyone else think this is wrong?

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Tuesday, 9 Sep 2014 at 5:19pm

Hi Angie,

Welcome back. I'm the one that questioned you about evacuating the earthquake because I experienced it too. I've been living in and continue to live in Japan for the better part of the last decade. I live in Northern Ibaraki very close to the border of Fukushima.

Please don't think I was insinuating that your experience was any less than mine. Sadly intonation is lost over the internet. I'm glad you could get out, I wanted to as well but my father-in-law is also bed-ridden and at that point in time i'd poured virtually every spare cent I had in starting my own business here. I'm happy to say a few years down the track we've hit our stride and are doing quite nicely, but it was touch and go for the first year or two though. I share your frustration at not being able to surf at that time, apart from one foolish go-out which I acknowledged at the time was selfish and disrespectful, we didn't get to surf until the end of May and we were still shit scared to go in the water. To this day, few surfers come past Chiba to surf our waters now when prior to the quake and Fukushima Daiichi they'd be in their hundreds. I'm sad to say I just found out a good mate and local surfer who was a fireman (saw a lot obviously) just recently committed suicide. He never seemed the same after that day and stopped surfing. Silly bugger, but I guess he had his demons.

Anyway, this isn't about me. Good for you and I hope your film is a success.

If you're interested, I kind of gave a running commentary of the aftermath of the quake for a couple of weeks after getting the power back on. It's on the Swellnet forum Japanese Tsunami as follows. In my first post I erroneously thought it was the Iwaki plant that went up which is only about half an hour up the road, it was actually the Daiichi plant which was, luckily for me, a further 50 clicks north. I'm sure you can relate to it.

Sincerely,

Dan.

PS The Oz embassy did nothing for me. My bro' called them and they were like 'who? really? Oh ok, cheers, no worries'.

http://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/11491

AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami Wednesday, 10 Sep 2014 at 9:33am

Thanks mate.

Kuni was up in Ibaraki, Fukushima and Sendai delivering goods and shooting photos for the Japanese surf industry shortly after the disaster. It was quite a period for all involved. Our best friends live in all three prefectures, so we definetely are sensitive to how much harder they got hit than us. However, like I said, being pregnant and with a toddler, whilst also working in the surf media (which pretty much fell apart after Fukushima) and wanting to surf pregnant like I did with my first son...well it all just seemed too big a risk. When the opportunity came to finally get back to Oz, we took it, debt and all.

Let me know if you want to check out the sizzle reel we have made so far for the Peru film. I'd be happy to share with you what we have been working on. After my experience with Fukushima, I'd just hate to see the same thing happen but with oil in north Peru. The waves are THAT good, the people much less wealthy and I don't believe the place would ever recover.

Cheers,

Angie

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Wednesday, 10 Sep 2014 at 9:46am

Cheers Angie,

I would have done the same.

Once again, all the best with your project. we've got our own little battle here with tetrapods. Sometimes I can't believe the apathy of the Japanese when it comes to the environment. The whole 'Shouganai' trip. On the one hand the Japanese are so obsessed with beauty and perfection and right before their eyes they're hell bent on surrounding their country with a big, grey cement wall. We've lost 6 good surfing spots in my local area over the last few years and now it looks like they have their eye on the jewel in the crown for 'erosion control'. Anyway, mix a billion dollar industry with corrupt pollies, dodgy construction companies guided behind the scenes by Yakuza and a population kept in perpetual fear of nature and what to you get? I've also been told that people who have spoken out before have quietly gone missing and end up entombed in one of these giant lego's.

But, I love Japan, just hate tettrapods.

Thanks for your reply.

AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami Wednesday, 10 Sep 2014 at 10:05am

So true.
When I was still in Chiba a month after the disaster the Japan Pro Surfing Tour of which Kuni used to be the chief photog decided they were going to hold a contest in Ibaraki - business as usual. A lot of the wiser pros pulled out, but there was some dodgy shit where those who stayed in the contest could pick up extra points on the tour, so a lot of the 16yo groms surfed. I started a petition asking the JPSA to postpone the contest until sufficient water testing was completed, or at least not let any of the kids surfed. I had signatures from the likes of Albe Falzon, Kelly Slater, Rasta, John Witzig, Dick Van Staalen, Andrew Crockett, Takayuki Wakita...just to name a few. I was ignored by the head of the association for weeks and weeks, despite the fact I used to teach English to his wife and child. I asked him if he was comfortable allowing his 10yo daughter to swim in the same place they were to hold the contest...

Needless to say, because the Government said it was "ok", JPSA held the contest...and the director never answered my hard questions.

Don't even get me started on tetrapods. All the breaks I surfed for 6 years in Ichinomiya are pretty much fucked now. I too love Japan, hate the tetras and the rest of the bullshit that surrounds even the surf industry.

Give me a yell if you are ever in Byron. Let's hook up for a tetra and nuke free surf.

uplift's picture
uplift's picture
uplift Tuesday, 9 Sep 2014 at 6:44pm

Gung ho Angie Takanami, awesome story. Courageous use of your talents. Strong lady.

So many 'projects'.

Courtesy of western intervention, of the 'enlightenment', 'advancement', 'science'. Makes you cringe when you read about the poor surfers, those dealing with the loss of their dog, or losing their sponsors, unable to get a good price for their 'crop', having a fight with their girlfriends, missing a swell, missing the shot of the day, losing their heat.

There's even worse than that though, horrific stories of enduring anguish, the incredible suffering, yet, the brave battlers just fight, and fight and fight, extreme courage.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2747661/Duchess-Cambridge-trea...

But, they've dealt with even worse.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/10/queen-s-james-bond-clip...

Yes, the west will shine a light onwards, thank God for advancement, for 'science!'

And as tone drops to his knees, on behalf of his loyal subjects, building on the genius, there's this.

60,000 years... pppffftt. If only they were us smart as us. Don't they know what those blocks are worth? Where's their queen anyway, or a corgi? Let us build a school, and educate you suckers! At least let us peer review you! Lucky they are good shots.

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Monday, 15 Sep 2014 at 12:13pm

AngieTakanami wrote:
3. Funding. We were falling a lot short of the kickstarter goal so I went out and got my final line of credit and funded more than half of the campaign myself.
Cheers,

Angie Takanami

Does anyone else think this is wrong?

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Tuesday, 16 Sep 2014 at 8:46am

Yes Shaun, most definitely. I can see your point, Angie has used Kickstarter but when it has not worked out the way she hoped, she has breached her contract with kickstarter by pledging funds herself so she can get her hands on the original pledged moneys, breaking the rules of the kickstarter campaign the way I read it. The whole project sounds a bit wonky, but what would I know? I work for a living.

stray-gator_2's picture
stray-gator_2's picture
stray-gator_2 Tuesday, 16 Sep 2014 at 9:11am

Dear Shaun and Morris,

I don't quite understand your respective points, but I do understand Asshat's and think he makes a compelling case.

Hey, but what do I know - I've been dropping acid since 1972.

Free love 4 eva,

SG

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Wednesday, 17 Sep 2014 at 5:36am

Gimme some of that acid so I can get just a smidgin of understanding the Asshat.

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Tuesday, 16 Sep 2014 at 10:29am

I was just pointing out that after Angie pointed out that she was a victim of circumstances and was doing it tough, her rather dodgy behaviour relating to her kickstart campaign casting a shadow on anything else said.

AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami Tuesday, 16 Sep 2014 at 6:59pm

In response to the funding comments, say what you will but this is a charity film in which I am not taking a wage. I believe in the project, and the good it will give to the people and the environment in which it supports.

I always thought stealing money was a crime...never thought donating to a worthy cause that a lot of people are depending on would cause so much backlash. We just want to be transparent in our filmmaking process, so far it's been nothing but a truck load of honesty but thanks for all the opinions, we can't please everyone ey?!

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Wednesday, 17 Sep 2014 at 5:34am

Lady, you should get into the profession of spin-doctor in Canberra, making a doco that you are going to sell is a worthy cause? Your not taking a wage but I bet you hope to make a profit from the sales?! And I might add, with no dividends to the backers.

A truck load of honesty? I don't really like the whole concept of kickstart , but I believe that if you accept terms and conditions you abide by them. You signed up to kickstart and when it wasn't working out to plan you broke their rules to get your hands on the funds that were in there, Truck load of BS I reckon ey?!

AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami's picture
AngieTakanami Wednesday, 17 Sep 2014 at 6:26am

The proceeds of the documentary go back to The Lobitos Project, a community project separate from the Government run by a governing foundation supporting the NGOs and local business and community in Lobitos. I don't make a dollar mate, but thanks for the assumptions.

Most of the backers were friends and family and surfers who strongly support the film and its cause, and those who were strangers to me were the biggest backers who are walking away with new surfboards after filming.

I am being honest in saying I invested to help the project get over the line because Kickstarter took out over $1000 in fees which brought us significantly below our filming budget for stage 1. I covered those fees personally, and racked up a decent credit card debt on set when we were hit with other on-set costs like getting hammered with over baggage fees for boards with the airlines, buying new hard drives when none of ours arrived from Amazon, buying air tickets at the last minute to change our route so we could catch the 10foot swell the day we arrived, etc.

I appreciate you like to make assumptions, but perhaps you'd like to message me personally if you have more questions you'd like answered rather than completely write off my character spinelessly on this online forum without knowing a single thing about me or the project?

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 at 7:25am

"I appreciate you like to make assumptions, but perhaps you'd like to message me personally if you have more questions you'd like answered rather than completely write off my character spinelessly on this online forum without knowing a single thing about me or the project?"

No Angie, it's fine. Let's keep it on the public forum, your the one who made it public by asking other people to pay for your travel expenses, also there are no PM's on this site.
You wrote off your own character when you admitted to cooking the books with a bit of creative accounting on your kickstart campaign and bending the truth. You gave your backers your old board, used not new.
I feel just terrible that you had to pay for your own air ticket because you had to catch a ten foot swell, I'm surprised you didn't post on swellnet asking us all to kick in.

Angie you remind me of a bloke I know, he loves traveling to indo every couple of years for the winter and his missus doesn't mind, they officially separate and she jumps on the single parents benefits with the 2 kids, but it's all okay they get back together again the day he gets back. Nice people, but they'll bend the truth and use any loophole to get what they want, I trust them as far as I can throw them.

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 at 8:22am

Gee Angie, if you had read the terms and conditions of kickstart you would have known that they take fees out, someone has to pay for their lifestyle. Sound to me like it would have been a better idea to go round to your friends and family and ask for money directly instead of involving a third party, how old are you? Is your dad still paying for the rego on the car he bought for you? Your life seems pretty dependent on other peoples hand outs.
Crying poor whist wearing a $900 wetsuit, c'mon?!

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 at 8:51am

C'mon boys, calm down. It's not as if she held a gun to the heads of the people that pledged cash. They chose to do so on their own volition and it doesn't affect you guys in any way. I've read some pretty dodgy requests for cash from kickstarter and gofundme, for example asking for twenty times the amount Angie did to cover the medical expenses of some pissed tool who crashed his scooter in Bali because he didn't have the brains to get travel insurance. Or the woman that was asking for 20k to take her baby to America to enter some baby beauty pageant. Whether you agree with this or not it's no real different to venture capitalism that's been around forever, just on a smaller scale. At least hopefully there'll be something to show for this at the end instead of the two examples I mentioned above. Which by the way are not as uncommon as you think.

morris's picture
morris's picture
morris Tuesday, 23 Sep 2014 at 9:25am

still it's dishonest isn't it?

charles-barkley's picture
charles-barkley's picture
charles-barkley Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 at 9:14am

I went to Peru a few years ago for a surf trip and it was amazing, basically an all round epic trip on every level. It was only after returning and in the years following that I realise how ignorant I was to a huge number of issues that exist in the country which don't affect me in the comparably pristine place I returned to. I went in, took what was good for me, then went home. I don't think i left the place in a better or worse position than if I hadn't gone.

I personally didn't get to Lobitos but from other first hand reports its quite an environmental shithole with no sign of improving and most likely getting worse for the reasons this doco is trying to bring into the light.

What I like about you Angie is that you live life with you eyes open and have the guts to try and do something to bring positive change to the world. As I live my life with an unintentional 'ignorance is bliss' style I'd be more than happy to throw some $ your way to put in the time and effort to highlight things in the world which can be changed for the better and which I and many others would have never known about or which more important people don't care about.

Keep up the good work Angie, in and out of the water.

Shaun try and find something positive to do with your time, Wanker!

shaun's picture
shaun's picture
shaun Thursday, 18 Sep 2014 at 12:16pm

Okay zen we'll call it quits, I just find it annoying that the sort of person that seems to be drawn to Byron Bay jumps on the environmental bandwagon to source funds to support their lifestyle, biggest and most blatant being Rasta.

I was just bought up to believe that if the bank wont give you a personal loan your not in a position to ask anyone else, and if you still really felt the need for the money you knuckled down worked more and spent less. To ask friend and family for money is distasteful especially with no agreement to pay it back. I would find it embarrassing to have to ask and believe it or not I do have a certain amount of pride.
And credit card debt young Angie, that's for dire emergencies or dumb people.

charles-barckley, if the badge of Wanker is pinned on my chest by a man with a hyphenated name, I will wear it with great pride! What's that I can hear in the distance? It's Byron-Bay calling out to you charles-barkley