Well, that was brutal. I think it’s safe to say that was arguably the worst winter for surf I’ve ever witnessed. Seems like everyone I ran into was onboard with that bleak assessment, but hey, there’s always next winter. Could it get any worse? Is this a result of global warming? Every rain storm this past winter possessed zero punch. For myself, it was tough stringing together consistent surfs, too many breaks in between sessions. The 2007/08 winter was a hoot, but this past winter laid a rotten egg.

At least we have DEEP Magazine! Another young surfing photographer’s work graces a few pages inside this issue. Will Adler hasn’t been shooting a long time (six years), but I liked what he submitted and we pulled together an interesting photo essay from his collection of work. Hope you feel the same.

Madagascar, the unique islet off the East African coast, might not be on too many surfer’s destination lists, but surf can be found just about anywhere the ocean meets a beach. I don’t know a surfer who has traveled to more far flung destinations than surfing/travel journalist Michael Kew, but he almost always returns with the goods. Gotta love the effort he makes to get to these places.

Finally, I had the opportunity to sit down with former world champ Shaun Tomson, discussing the history and current state of competitive surfing, his book Surfer’s Code, and the makings of his award winning documentary Bustin’ Down the Door.

Summer is upon us and I hope this issue of DEEP helps with those dog days of the season.