Allan Weisbecker is a writer, photographer, surfer, you name it. He created is label to publish a series of surf books and movies, and his going up against the big boys.

Weisbecker’s “In Search of Captain Zero: A Surfer’s Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road“, a sort of gonzo detective story blended with travelogue and peppered with hang-10 jargon, does many things, all of them very well indeed. It offers up a vision of innocent times brought to ruin by war and drugs; it recounts his search for his lost friend, whose life had gone from bad to worse far away from home; and it affords a look inside the strange culture of surfing, whose masters “understood, in a visceral and soulful and inexpressible way, the machinations of the sea, and, by subtle inference, the universe at large.”

In Search of Captain Zero is engrossing, invigorating, hilarious, and sad. It is a swift read, and I was sorry when it was over. All in all, it is more than the sum of its parts, and I highly recommend it.

This is a great book for anyone, not only surfers. It’s a life story that anyone can relate to.

Our charger, Who art in heaven, Shallow be thy game?? Cale Grigson prays to the God of Sick Joy at his favorite surf bungalows in Australia!

Photo: Russell Ord

Max Romeu War Ina Babylon is simply one of reggae’s finest moments. Along with The Heptones Party Time and Junior Murvin’s Police And Thieves, this album can be seen as part of a Black Ark “holy trinity”.

This album is perhaps the strongest of the three, with passionate vocals, powerful songwriting, and Lee Scratch Perry expert hand at the mixing board. Max and Scratch shared a common vision when it came to music, and you can certainly hear that in every groove of this album. The Upsetters put a fine gloss on Max’s diamond. Highlights include the moving “Uptown Babies Don’t Cry”, the militant “Chase The Devil”, and the film noir reggae of “Norman”.

Complete with rootsy scratch style guitar and the musicality of the Jamaican patois, this record is a classic example of what reggae used to be at its best. Essential listening.

Keali’i Mamala, a core Hawaiian surfer, eyes the future of his oft-invaded territory from behind the curtain at Backdoor Pipeline. The shooter comments:

“This cover shot was taken right before one of the contests. Tt’s pretty tricky swimming with a flash at that size because the water-housing is really large. I got caught by a few 2nd Reef cleanup sets. All of a sudden one swung wide and… Keali’i, who is Garret McNamara’s tow partner, dropped in with all the boys hooting, stalled, the wave heaved, and I took this photo, barely making it through. I’m sure he’s heard it a million times, but he looks like a young Buttons; his style and personality is just loaded with soul.”

Photo: Ben DeCamp

Then Mother Nature finally wakes up. After staying flat and windy for the big international contests this year, a few weeks later Pipeline went into epic mode. Echoing those backside poses of yesteryear (think Bustin Down the Door), Kahea Hart readies his rear foot during this year’s Da Huis Backdoor Shootout at Pipeline.

Photo: Sean Davey

While high performer Nathan Carroll prolongs his curtain call as much as he can, backstage, a shadowy figure exits through the tradesman’s entrance.

Photo: Russell Ord

An Irish wake-up call at the Cliffs of Moher, which drop 700ft vertically into the raging North Atlantic. Here, at the spot known as Aileens, millions of noisy, nesting gulls judge your every wave, like a wolfpack in nature’s Volcom house. Gabe Davies, impressive, at the base of a big cliff.

Photo: Bernard Testemale