U2

It ‘s been a couple days since my last blog,but seen as it was weekend thought I’d take it off.

Round 1 of the contest has come and gone and Jordy marched straight into round 3.

Round 2 is trying to get going but waves have been really small and tidal so after 3 heats the contest is on hold till possibly Thursday when the new swell arrives.

Theres still enough swell to shoot the shorebreaks of Hossegor and Jordy has been laying down and sticking some pretty mental turns.,see below.

The big news of the days past is that U2 where playing in San Sebastien Spain and hour away from where we are staying.

Quik France had organized tickets for all the event surfers,but with round 2 starting the next day quite a few surfers opted for the night in to be fresh for their heats.

This however worked in my favour and I was granted a free ticket to see one of the greatest bands in history.

We all experienced one of the most incredible nights of our lives,as this being the 32 anniversary of U2 being together and marking the end of their 1 year tour which started  in San Sebastien,U2 certainly ended with a bang.

They played 7 en cores and blew everyone away.

Anyways gotta head down and shoot now,so will catch ya all on the next post

Aurevoir

Jason

Africa Project - The final chapter

Welcome to Europe,more specifically Hossegor France which will be home for the next 2 weeks.

This is the final leg of ‘The Africa Project’ and we’re here to lock down number 2 in the world Jordy Smith’s section for the film.

People keep saying but France is not Africa,well theyre right,but Jordy is from Africa and thats all that matters.

You’ll be lucky to catch sight of Jordy riding a wave on his home shores as being apart of the world surfing tour his life is on the road year round .That is why I have come to France,to catch up with him,and document what his life surrounding competition is all about,and lets not forget he is in the running for the world title this year .

After 10 hours of flying I arrived in Paris only to be told theres a national airstrike,so no flights,no trains no nutting to biaritz my final destination.

I’ve learnt to deal with these situations  over the years  ,I guess this is  what stemmed my love for traveling in the first place ,the excitement of the  unkown .

So I just drifted  with the flow of people thru the airport still buzzing that I was in Paris  for the first time. Whats first on my list, the Eiffel Tower or a street café for a morning coffee.

Paul Dan was on same flight as me and as luck would have it we bumped into expat Martin Potter and the contest Web team who he is shooting for and scored a ride in one of their cars from Paris to Hossegor,which is an 8 hour drive,needless to say we had a flat tyre 1 hour into our drive(but who cares) we were coast bound.

On arrival I met up with Jordy and crew and we settled into our hotel.

Surf today was anything but great but that does not stop Jordy from hitting it hard ,he’s always amped.He thrives on onshore lips.

The Quik Pro contest Starts tomorrow and with big swell forecast things look to be epic,so log in daily as we enjoy a slice of Europe with Jordy Smith

Greg Ewing,the official stills photog on the project decided he was getting married during this time(congrats buddy) so I am here without his magical still images so will be bringing you frame grabs from the vid I shoot.

Below are couple from today

Enjoy

Off the back of the trip

Well we're back in good old S.A , the part of Africa we call home and looking back at where we have just been and what was captured,it can only be said , we had an epic trip.

Reunion was everything and more that i wanted from it as a location for the film,it sets itself apart from all the rest in a unique and interesting way which you will see in the film.It's actually mindblowing

The last couple days on the island started with a trip to the moon,(the volcanoe ) and then 2 days just shooting the right in the south.With so much footage from St leu it was nice to bank some more progressive punting at the right to really round off the surfing in this location of the film.

Anyways i just wanna thank the crew for being apart of another insane trip and look forward to the next one.Look out for Greg Ewings incredible images and Story by Andy Davis in an upcoming issue of Zigzag surfing magazine

I'm now on the South Coast for the next month shooting water for the film Blue Crush 2, so once this shoot is over i will keep you posted on our next African adventure.

Till then, see ya in da water
Jason

Short and Sweet

Dale Staples

It's been a long day so i'm gonna keep this post short and sweet,as a bit of shut eye is calling,knowing we have a 5 am start to head up to the volcanoe tomorrow.
We spent the morning shooting from the water until the wind came up round 12pm and then headed to a blow hole i had been to 7 years ago.
It's a full on lava tube setup,the ocean packs the cave underneath where you standing and then proceeds  to explode 50 metres into the air for up to 10 seconds.We got some incredible footage and pics,there really is no end to the beauty of this volcanic island.
Anyways i'm off, catch ya'll on the morrow
Jason

In all her glory

St Leu has not stopped churning waves down the point for the last 4 days but this morning was special.The direction was bang on and 4 to 6 foot waves were on offer all day,it's not often you get a swell with a 19 second period.
It's quite a phenomenon to witness the beauty of this wave in all her glory.We definately got what we came for,but i think the boys are now amped to go right,so we gonna hopefully get back to the right we scored at beggining of trip when swell backs down on tuesday

Yesterday with the wind up in the arvo,we headed up to the waterfall to shoot some scenics and just kick back.
All in all a great weekend

keep logging back in,see ya
Jason

Whats in the Bowl

Dave Weare Making the swim worth while

Well i can tell you whats in the bowl,3 hungry surfers spent the whole day unleashing in the St leu bowl as 4 to 5 foot waves peeled down the reef from sunrise till sunset.The magic of this wave surfaced today and is just the beggining of whats to come.

Myself and Greg took to the water today to capture some water footage,this place seriously has the cleanest water outside of Tahiti.Truly amazing being out there.

Dan unfortunately pintched a nerve in his back after doing a cutback , so will prob be out for a few days

Anyways we hopefully gonna hit up the volcanoe and waterfalls this weekend,and with another push in swell tomorrow ,fun should be had by all.

laters
Jason

The ocean woke up

Dan Redman Unleashing 

Bonjour from Reunion
Well today we woke up to the signs of a building swell at the famed St Leu and the boys got a couple waves under the belt,however the predicted 6 to 8 feet swell we were expecting was late.

We then headed off to surf a more barelling wave further north,but the wrath of local bodyboarders seem to frustrate the guys,allthough dale snuck a few barells under the radar(he allways seems to find the barell).
It was all in all a pretty unfruitfull day footage wise, but the good news is by sunset St Leu was 6 to 8 feet which hopefully lines up for some epic surf tomorrow.
The ocean has awoken and i am going to sleep now.
see ya tomorrow
Jason

Leading up to the swell

So Dan's boards arrived and after a traditional Reunion meal at a local restaurant we headed off last night to the airport . A 1 hour round trip turned into a 2 and a half hour nightmare lost in the city. The lower highway was closed and we were sent deep into the abyss. Anyways long story short,we only got home after 12 and thats the reason we never posted a blog last night.

So heres whats been happening.Yesterday we hit up the same right and the boys gained some more air miles,on return to St Leu a few waves were peeling down the reef and a couple of the guys and myself headed out and enjoyed a few magic waves.So good to be in the water again.

Romain our local friend who just happens to be an amazing surfer,guided us up to the middle of the island at 6 am this morning ,on my request to shoot some magical landscape scenes for the film.
The boys, Greg and myself were blown away at what we saw,it was like standing on top of the world looking down on a scene from Loard of the rings.Truly one of the most breathtaking views i have ever witnessed.

On return back to our camp it was clearly evident that the predicted swell was showing some forerunners,and with the buzz about the island and what we can see from the maps,it looks like tomorrow morning is going to be funneling 6 to 8 foot lines into the magical St Leu bowl.
This is just the start of the first of 3 swells that will run the coarse of the next 6 days.
Needless to say,Dave ,Dan and Dale are super amped. Will keep you posted on what these swells bring.

Over and out.
Jason

Welcome to Reunion Island

So the Africa Project finds itself on the island of Reunion.Reason being,well we felt like a bit of tropical perfection after countless Strikes up the frigid west coast lately.

Africa is blessed with incredible waves and this place is no different.

We arrived late last night and surprise surprise,one bag full of boards never arrived,who's the lucky winner....... Dan Redman.He was pretty relaxed about it... o well i'm on holiday anyway he explains.

Myself and Greg were clearly not amused,a surfer on borrowed boards aint what we came to shoot,but Dan was promised his boards would be here in 48 hours,we'll see. O he nailed a solid clip on one of Daveys boards.We're all very proud of him.

We woke up this morning and with St leu flat as we expected,local surfer Romain Cloite took us to the craziest punting wave you have ever seen,the one from  Modern collective with Jordy and crew.

It was only 3 maybe 4 feet but super fun and sent the boys flying.

Swell is expected to be bigger tomorrow and wed at same spot so it's game on in the air departement, before St leu shows it's true colours from thurs till monday if charts stay the same.

check in daily to follow our journey.

See ya.Jason

Giant Tubes

Greetings from the east coast of Africa.Well, when i said in my last post we were hunting giant tubes,that was what we were dreaming of at the time.
We woke up on day 1 to a 12 foot plus swell rocking the coastline and just to much water moving to even think of attempting to shoot the coast,so myself and Sean Holmes hit up the protected Durban basin were the piers were dishing up perfect 4 foot runners along an amazingly lined up bank.As a Filmmaker it's always good to get in the water and get a surf under the belt and out the way,it clears the mind,besides Franki Oberholzer being the most knowledgeable person on the waves in the area said "boys tomorrow is going to be all time".
To say Frank was right would be an understatement,we were greeted at first light to 8 to 10 foot gaping tubes and honestly some of the hollowest waves i have seen since my trips to hawaii 10 years ago.
Myself and Greg Ewing set up shop and captured a memorable session on what locals were saying, the most incredible barells they had ever seen here.

The charts look good for a couple more days this week so will keep you posted on what we find

Below are 2 shots of Franki Oberholzer feeling out his front yard.
Look out for the stills A grades from Gregg Ewing in an upcoming issue of Zigzag,they will blow your mind,as for the video footage,it's getting locked up in the volt till it's time to edit .
Over and Out,o waite,did i mention we scored 8 to 10 foot barells-Jason Hearn

A glimpse into the larger side of life

I write to you from Cape Town International,i am en route to a strike mission somewhere along the South African coastline,where if the maps are right,we are about to capture some truly incredible waves with a crew of top S.A surfers.It's giant tubes we are hunting and the swell is there,so lets prey the winds play ball.You can follow this mission daily here on the blog so be sure to check in,but before you leave for now check out below for a taste of what last winter dished up on the big wave side of things and with a fresh winter just beggining,theres loads more to come.Speak soon.Jason Hearn

Looking back in order to move forward

Hi all.

It's been a while since my last post - just been super busy with a reality TV show called "Way of the Warrior".

Anyway, winter - and best of all, wave season - is upon us, which means I can now start planning and shooting the rest of the destinations for the film. We have just finished sewing up the next location which will be one of the Indian Ocean islands off the east coast of Africa, home to incredible waves, good food and crazy landscapes. Dates are booked for the end of May, so super amped. I will however be hitting up the South Coast and a few new locations up the West Coast before the next major trip, just as soon as the swell maps give us the OK. Just adding to the incredible footage we already have of those 2 locations, as they're just a stone's throw away.

I will also be editing and posting some new teasers soon. Also, look out for the feature on our Morocco trip in an upcoming issue of Zigzag surfing magazine.

So before we move forward with the Africa Project Film for this year, lets take a behind the scenes look at our last location, Morocco. Below are some images from the memory bank.

ENJOY