TW Blog :: Tom Wright's Web Voyages of Discovery

The word freedom has no meaning Denis Diderot

Ruarri Joseph plays Princess Pavilion

Relates to Music

Local singer/songwriter Ruarri Joseph launches his new album Shoulder to the Wheel with a live performance at the Princess Pavilion in Falmouth on June 11th. This guy has been round the mill a bit with since his last album but is back with some excellent uplifting funky folky songs. Sneak a preview on Ruarri's MySpace page.

One not to miss!

Posted on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 08:15:38.

Pororoca Circuit 2010 - Rio Maranhao

Relates to Surfing

The last full moon heralded the Mearim stage of the 2010 Pororoca Circuit with local surfer Álvaro Bacana taking the trophy on the Maranhao Pororoca.

Once the home of exploration and the location of the inaugural meeting of the international bore riders community it is nice to see Arari become part of the national circuit and I hope the people of an otherwise impoverished village have benefited well from the presence of the surfers and media. Nice to see a few of the old regular faces in these photos from the Mearim event.

Meanwhile, Sergio has been holed up in the Amazon jungle capturing the Pororoca for film and reel. Watch out for a slew of videos to be released later in the year from an extraordinary season on the Araguari Pororoca.

Posted on Monday, May 10, 2010 at 06:38:00.

iPad at a Premium

Relates to Hardware

Are UK taxes that high that it warrants a $1.15 dollar to the pound exchange for the British iPad?

And what's with the data carrier charges in Britain? No unlimited plans, bar O2's daily plan (which isn't enough for an SD movie download anyway), kind of cancels out the iPad as a medium for streaming movies from the iTunes store.

Might have to wait on until the furor subsides and the age old version 2 Apple price drop!

Posted on Monday, May 10, 2010 at 06:09:48.

Tidal Bore Surfing on Batang Lupar Benak

Relates to Surf and Travel

Check out the full set of photos from Antony's historic surf on the Batang Lupar Benak in Sarawak earlier this month. The slideshow paints a wonderful picture of the welcoming and warm hearted town of Sri Aman along with the festivities surrounding the arrival of the Lupar Benak - the largest tidal bore in Sarawak.

A summary of the trip and a few photos of the waves and the town are available here.

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 15:59:27.

Video footage of Yep's historic Benak surf

Relates to Surf and Travel

Here is the video footage of Yep's historic first surf on the Batang Lupar Benak on 16th October 2009.

It surprises me how long it has taken for someone to finally pioneer the largest tidal bore of Sarawak province on Borneo. The Benak was high up on our (being Wizard King and myself) agenda when we mapped out a tour to surf all the great tidal bores of the world back in 2000. At the time sponsorship and interest wasn't forthcoming and as the years rolled by plans changed, people moved and we settled on the Mearim river as our culmination of global bore surfing in 2005. At least for the time being! That in itself a trip we shared with Yep, his brother Fabrice and the stylish silver surfer of the French Mascaret, Bruno Boue.

It was a shame none of us could find the freedom to share Antony's current expedition due to family and work commitments. But I am stoked to learn it is one of the global bore surfing pioneers that has taken the initiative before the Batang Lupar is swept up by the Surf Industry as nearly befell the Silver Dragon.

Posted on Saturday, Oct 17, 2009 at 16:22:41.