I had the pleasure of meeting Andy on the North shore over 7 years ago and was pleased to see on SURFNATION that he is about to release a new book for a full review and information on how to purchase click here or on picture of book.
The Stormrider Guides are the ultimate surf travel companion, providing essential information about the coastlines of the world. Generally acknowledged as the finest surf travel books available and often referred to as "The Surfer's Bible". They will be available on surfgsd's online surfshop hopefully by this Friday the 1st of December just in time for your online Christmas shopping, why not add one of our surfing vouchers to your basket too, they can be used for surfing lessons on Gower, or learn to surf in Newquay, Cornwall and once purchased last for one year.
The new Stormrider guide Europe, The Continent
has now arrived.
Includes: Denmark; Germany; Netherlands; Belgium;
France; Spain; Portugal; The Mediterranean and
Morocco.
For Britain, Scandinavia, Canary Islands, Azores and
Madeira you will have to wait for our Atlantic
Islands companion guide due out Spring 2007.
These destinations are currently covered in The
Stormrider Guide Europe (3rd edition) below.
The World Stormrider Guide Volume One
Around the World in 80 surf zones
The first of a three volume set of guides. Each one cherry picks 80 world surf zones allowing surfers to compare destinations and plan their itinerary.
Price £ 24.95 buy now.
The World Stormrider Guide Volume Two
80 more reasons to go travelling
Eighty new and exciting surf zones for those looking
to escape the crowds and surf somewhere just a little
different.
Price £ 24.95 buy now.
The Stormrider Guide Europe (3rd Edition)
The Surfers Bible
Detailed coverage of the European coastline from
Norway to Morocco, including the Med and all the
Atlantic Islands.
Individual surf break reports with full colour photos
and accurate relief maps.
The Stormrider Guide North America
Surfin USA
Detailed coverage of the North American coastline from Alaska and Canada in the north to Baja California in the south including the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.
Individual surf break reports with full colour photos and accurate relief maps.
Price £ 24.95 buy now.
Foreword: The below article is courtesy of www.nctimes.com
Listening to your inner surfer: Brothers pen insightful book inspired by riding big waves
Surfing analogies roll in like a series of perfect waves in a new inspirational book by Milton and Michael Willis, who see their sport as a divine teacher of life's most important lessons.
"These philosophies are all from life," Michael said. "These lessons are learned from the ocean, from constant years of surfing, not only from ourselves but with the world's greatest surfers."
The Willis brothers, identical twins who turn 50 this year, are authors of "Discover the Greatness in You" ($10.95, Blue Mountain Arts), a 64-page collection of inspirational insights the brothers said they collected by conquering challenges in their own lives.
Those challenges include riding some of the biggest waves ever faced by a surfer. Growing up surfing on North County beaches, the brothers established the first surfing class for physical education in a United States public high school in 1972 and became pioneers in tow-surfing, where surfers are towed into breaking waves that they otherwise could not catch.
The brothers have surfed some of the largest waves on record and are among the few to twice surf in Hawaii during a Code Black, when beaches are closed to surfing.
Milton, a Solana Beach resident, said the achievements he and his brother have accomplished on the water inspired the book.
"Essentially, our words are meant to entertain and inspire and educate and inform many people who don't have perfect lives, who are in any pressure situation like a hospital, a jail, a negative relationship," Milton said, "people who don't have the perfect waves in front of them. This is meant to inspire them."
One inspirational passage in the book focuses on having a positive attitude.
"All successful achievement has come from a single thought: I think I can," the book reads. "In life, we help create our own triumphs and defeats, depending on how and what we think."
Milton wrote much of the book in longhand, and the brothers collaborated on the final text in front of a computer in the library at Earl Warren Junior High School in Solana Beach. Michael, a Del Mar resident, said the collaboration wasn't that much different from the way he works with his brother on other projects.
"A lot of times we collaborate in our conversations in life, such as tackling an activity like riding the world's largest wave," Michael said. "Through conversations and so forth, we collaborated. A lot of times, we'd write together, or sometimes I'd write and he'd rewrite."
The book is breezy but meaningful, sometimes with little text on the page and no perceivable order. The introduction challenges readers to open the book to any page for a positive message, and Michael goes one step further.
"Try this yourself," he said. "If you have something on your mind, put that on your mind and open the book to any page, and the book will speak to you personally and give you wise counseling that you can use."
The brothers find lessons in surfers who are experienced, novices who dare to try and even those who fool themselves into thinking they are trying.
"Experienced surfers have a term for those who appear to be trying a catch a wave but never do," the book reads. "They're called 'rubber arms.' Rubber arms are surfers who turn to catch a wave, making all the paddling movements, but never really go anywhere. Surfers who are rubber arms don't really want to drop in; the situation is much too intense. Many times, they experience some of the worst wipeouts. This is the price paid for not being fully committed and putting out a halfhearted effort."
Michael said when he was a child, a girl told him that she didn't like surfers because all they talked about was surfing. From then, he said he wanted his life to be about more than surfing, just as he wants his book to have wide appeal.
"Our book tries to go much broader and expand the experience of surfing," he said.
Contact staff writer Gary Warth at gwarth@nctimes.com or (760) 740-5410.
Related links:
Visit the Milton brothers' Web site at http://www.wbsurfing.com.
Milton and Michael Willis will discuss and sign copies of "Discover the Greatness in You" at 7 p.m. Thursday at Barnes and Noble, 1040 N. El Camino Real in Encinitas.
The brothers also are scheduled to appear 1 to 3 p.m. May 12 at Warwick's, 7812 Girard Ave., La Jolla, and at noon June 20, at Barnes & Noble, 5500 Grossmont Center Drive, Suite 223, in La Mesa.
