AUSTRALIAN SURFERS AMONG FRONT-RUNNERS FOR BILLABONG XXL GLOBAL BIG WAVE AWARDS

Burleigh Heads, AUS — Two months remain in the yearlong period for the Ninth Annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards and a swag of Australia’s top riders are well in contention.

The $USD 130,000 Billabong XXL Awards are the Oscars of big wave riding, with eligibility open to big wave surfers at every break around the globe during the one-year contest window.

The event closes at the end of the Northern Hemisphere winter on March 20, followed by the award ceremony in California on April 17, where the gladiators of big wave riding meet. 

West Australian Damien “Taco” Warr is among a host of Aussie daredevils leading the way for XXL contention after tackling a monster ride at a secret offshore location on the West Australian coast.  Warr’s ride, currently entered in the $USD 15,000 Biggest Wave Category, is over 50ft (15m) tall on the face, similar to a five story building, and was tackled in April of 2008.

“The conditions were perfect that day, the wind was light offshore, the sun was out and it was the first swell of the year so there was no one else around,” said Warr.  “I remember going across the ocean heading out to the reef, which is about 3km off shore and from side on we were watching these monstrous waves breaking top to bottom.”

“I jumped straight off the ski when we got out there and as we were making our way out to the take off zone, a series of sets came through. We let the first set pass and the second one was just absolutely huge,” he said.  “It was the biggest wave I had ridden by far and at the time I didn’t realise just how big it was because I hadn’t surfed out there for a year and a half.”

“You are so focused on what is going on at the time that everything around you is a bit of a mind blank you are just so intent on making the wave and making sure it doesn’t land on your head.”

“I would hate to think what a lip like that landing on you would do to your body.”

“The South West of WA definitely has some of the biggest and most consistent swells in Australia and it is on par with the other big wave locations around the world for sure.” 

Warr joins a list of surfers, including tow partner Alex Cater, to have had solid waves entered in the awards from the West Australian outer bombie.

“I’ve never thought of myself as being on the same level as the great big wave surfers from the USA, Europe and Hawaii,” he said.  “To be recognised in these awards is fantastic, when I first put that wave in for contention I didn’t think it would come close because people always seem to be riding bigger and better waves in California and Hawaii, but to even be in the running is insane.”

The reigning champion in the XXL Big Wave Award division is Californian Mike Parsons for his world record Cortes Bank wave which measured in excess of 70 feet on the face.

Another popular favourite in the Biggest Wave category is another Southern Hemisphere resident, Grant “Twiggy” Baker (South Africa), who rode a massive wave at Tafelberg Reef off Capetown, South Africa, on the biggest day ever challenged in his home country. 

Baker is also considered a likely nominee for the Monster Paddle category along with fellow South African James Taylor for a wave they shared in the semi-finals of the Red Bull Big Wave Africa contest at Dungeons in July.  The South African also paddled into several enormous waves earlier this winter in the USA at Maverick’s, near San Francisco, California, further advancing his reputation in that discipline.

Among the other Australian favourites for the $USD 50,000 Ride of The Year category are Ryan Hipwood (Gold Coast, Qld.) for his airborne jump into the tube at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania, along with Sydney surfer Mark Mathews for a thick tube at a newly discovered wave in Western Australia dubbed “The Right.”  Also contending thanks to a long and brutally thick barrel at Shipsterns is Hobart’s James Hollmer-Cross.

“It would definitely be a crazy thing to make one of the top five nominees in any of the categories,” said Hipwood.  “I would love to get nominated and go over to California for the award ceremony.”

Both Hipwood and Mathews could also be contenders for the Monster Tube Award which honours the most remarkable still photo of a surfer riding inside the barrel of a big wave.

The Shipsterns break in Tasmania has consistently fielded entries in the XXL awards with Australian surfer Dylan Longbottom winning the Monster Tube Ride category for a ride there in 2005. 

“Shippies is definitely one of the heaviest waves in the world,” said Hipwood.  “When you are out there and you see just how much power some of the waves break with, it just blows you away.”

Other Australians with solid entries in this year’s Billabong XXL Awards include Kerby Brown (Kalbarri, WA), Andrew Mooney (MacMasters Beach, NSW), Josh Kerr (Tweed Heads, NSW) and Michael Brennan and Marti Paradisis (both of Hobart, Tasmania). 

Their rides are among the over 330 entries received to date from all around the world including Australia, Chile, Tahiti, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, South Africa and Oregon and California along the USA West Coast.  Interestingly, Hawaii – normally a mainstay of XXL content — has yet to register a solid entry this winter as a La Nina weather pattern begins to take hold.

It may be a bit early for any of the Down Under surfers to begin packing their bags just yet as the month of February tends to statistically produce some of the most intense storms and high surf of the year in the North Pacific and North Atlantic.  Europeespecially has seen a series of enormous swells the last few weeks, but they have been accompanied by poor weather with only brief windows of quality conditions. 

The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards is the original and most prestigious competition of its kind and the only event to honour the extraordinary achievements of all big wave riders at all breaks around the world over the course of the full year. 

The event period ends with the Vernal Equinox on March 20 and the nominees will be announced that week in all the categories including the Billabong XXL Ride of the Year, the Billabong XXL Biggest Wave, the Monster Paddle-In, Monster Tube, Surfline Best Male Performance and the Billabong Girls Best Performance.

The Ninth Annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented by Monster Energy.  Surfline is the official surf forecaster, Verizon Wireless is the official communications provider and Honda Aquatrax the official watercraft.  The event is sponsored by Surfing Magazine and Hawaiian Airlines.

For full details on the Billabong XXL Awards, including format, rules and all the latest photos, visit the event website atwww.BillabongXXL.com.

Nice morning (DYSH)

same same but slightly bigger?

Seems like its been NE/NE for days. Swell is slightly bigger this morning 2-3ft and not bad surface condx with barely any wind. Water temp has dropped a degree or 2. Doesnt look that appetising – bumpy and very little definition but probably worth a splash. Rosco.

Bikes for the Beaches…PLEASE READ!!!

Two men, two bikes, a couple of tents and a hell of a lot of coastline…Dave and Foulsh are two men foolishly giving up a summer of surf trips in the car, to ride their pushies around the coast of Oz. Dave from Sydney to Adelaide and Foulsh from Sydney to Perth.

Introducing David Barrett-Lennard and Ian Foulsham and their epic cycle ride along the Australian south coast commencing Sunday 1 February from Cronulla, Sydney. The aim of the trip is to bring attention to, and raise funds, for Surfrider Foundation and their cause, that is: C.A.R.E. (Conservation, Activism, Research and Education) for one of our most precious resources – the ocean and coastline. 

The guys will be stopping at a number of significant spots along the way, aiming to raise awareness of prominent coastal issues (details and itinerary below). 

www.daveandfoulshadventures.com: follow the journey, stay updated and make donations.

All funds raised will go to support the non-for-profit organisation Surfrider Foundation Australia: www.surfrider.org.au 

Julia Chunn, General Manager of Surfrider Foundation Australia, said:

“Surfrider is thrilled to see that two dedicated surfers are taking to the road to raise funds and awareness for the work of the Surfrider Foundation. We encourage all surfers who love their breaks to take action to preserve our beaches and coastlines. Surfrider’s goal is to encourage beach users to care and then act. We encourage all beach lovers to become aware of local beach issues, we encourage them to become members and find out how they can do something to make a difference.”

Dave – David Barrett-Lennard

Foulsh – Ian Foulsham

The mission by numbers…

Ok, here’s the task at hand:

Distances: Sydney to Melbourne – 906km

Melbourne to Adelaide – 1040km

Adelaide to Perth – 2716km.

Total – 4662km

Dave’s Mission: Sydney to Adelaide: 1946km over 14 days = 139km/day 

Foulsh’s Mission: Sydney to Perth – 4662km over 36 days = 129.5km/day

That’s not going to be too hard, right?

The battle for the ocean and coast…

Surfrider members in Australia and their friends in branches world-wide work on a volunteer basis to protect and enhance the world’s oceans, waves, beaches and surfing spots. They work for clean water, beach access, beach preservation and to protect places of special significance.

The Surfrider movement in the US now lists more than a hundred campaigns they are actively involved in to preserve the coast. 

Here in Australia, Surfrider is engaged in many similar battles, some of which the guys aim to visit and highlight on their trip:

An itinerary…

•  Sunday 1 February – Wanda Beach, Cronulla, NSW

The boys will be commencing their ride from Wanda Beach, Cronulla, Sydney. They are hoping to raise awareness of the drastic impact that sand mining has had on the Kurnell Peninsula. The sand hills have been mined for the Sydney building industry since the 1930’s, removing 170 million tons of sand, which has had various drastic impacts:

• - Numerous deep-water pits
• - Reduction in sand quantity and hence quality of waves/ banks in Cronulla
• - Only a few remnant dunes left
• - Weakened the peninsula’s ability to defend against storms and hence threaten the internationally protected Ramsar Wetlands of Botany Bay

•  Friday 5 February – Bastion Point, Mallacoota, VIC

A proposed 150m long and 3m high breakwater and boat launching facility fails the test on environmental, safety and economic grounds. 

It will also destroy the local surf break. The massive concrete breakwater will completely destroy what is otherwise a pristine coastline, including the dynamiting of a pristine reef.

Bastion Point is the main surf break in town. It is the only surf break within 100km of Mallacoota that can hold surf when the wind and swell comes from the southwest, the dominant wind and swell direction, as the breaks are protected from direct southerly winds. 

The proposed breakwater will cut the surf break in half. It’s time surfers put a stop to the government’s destruction of our recreational assets.

•  Thursday 12 February – South Australia

Location in South Oz yet to be confirmed…

 *Please note dates are approximate and dependant on the boys travels. For updates on their location and ETA please contact Amy Glancey (details above).

Surfrider’s Ongoing Public Awareness Campaigns…

Surfrider actively promotes a number of public campaigns including:

•  Rise Above Plastics- highlighting the destruction caused by dumping plastic into the ocean.
•  Project Blue – Be true blue. It’s not a charity. It’s a plan of action! Buy Billabong boardies made from recycled plastic bottles!
•  Hold On to your Butt! – Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. 2,000,000,000 get tossed each day. Surfrider reminds all smokers that their habit can have a massive impact on marine life. http://www.betruetoblue.com/2008/

•  Ocean Care Day – it began in Manly, NSW, as an initiative of the Manly Environment Centre and Surfrider Foundation and is now a national day. The theme for 2008 was Melting Ice – A Hot Topic & Climate Change. 

For more information on campaigns go to:  www.surfrider.org.au/

Contacts:

Amy Glancey will be acting as a media contact in relation to the ride. Amy can be contacted at:

Amy: amyglancey@hotmail.com
0402 181 555

Dave and Foulsh are both available for interview during their trip and can be contacted at:

Foulsh: ifoulsham@hotmail.com
+65 813 82553

Dave: davebaro@three.com.au
0414 779 029

About Surfrider Foundation Australia:

Surfrider is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of Australia’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people through Conservation, Advocacy, Research and Education.

We have 29 chapters nationwide, international affiliates in the USA, Japan, Brazil and Europe, and over 80,000 members worldwide. 

Surfrider advocates for the sustainable management and use of the coastal zone, including coastal river catchments and offshore activities. 

Our opportunities to enjoy the coast: its clean water, its biodiversity and its spectacular landforms, are influenced by the actions of individuals, the aspirations of business and the policies of all levels of government. 

Surfrider aims to increase awareness of many issues impacting on our enjoyment of the coast, and to ensure that our children have similar opportunities to enjoy it as we have today.

While Surfrider has members from all walks of life, 70% of our active members are young males and females aged 16-35. During the last two years, Surfrider has established itself in this market through active promotion of programs in both the surfing and mainstream media.

Surfrider is a company limited by guarantee, and is registered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. A.B.N. is 86 061 168 527. www.surfrider.org.au 

Corporate Sponsors:

Opening up a world of opportunity in financial markets. www.cmcmarkets.com.au 

FCS is dedicated to the design, manufacturing and marketing of innovative and quality surf products. www.surffcs.com

Gorilla accessories are of the highest quality with a fashionable edge that is unlike anything on the market. www.g-grip.com 

Small, that’s all

Lone surfer picking up the little ones up the beach.

Hello Friends,

Went for a bit of a drive this morning and as my earlier reports have indicated, there’s not much going on. Fortunately it is not utterly and completely flat at those spots that like a bit of  east to their 1 metre, 7 sec period windswell. Overall not that many people in the water either. When I saw Dee Why for instance there were about five people from kiddies to well past the pole.

Wind is set to get up to 13-18 kts from the N-NE ahead of a similar speed S-SE change (and possible thunderstorms) this afternoon.

Pulling back to look at the big picture, we can see Huey’s making a few minor adjustments over the next few days. Here’s the latest summary from the Bureau with more comments from me following…

A slow-moving high pressure system over the southern Tasman Sea is moving east of New Zealand. Another high will move into the southern Tasman behind a weak southerly change which will affect the southern half of the coast today. Northeasterly winds will re-establish along most of the coast on Thursday, before another weak southerly change is possible on the southern coast on Friday.

Between now and Friday, Sydney looks like having S-SE wind light tomorrow morning, switching E-NE in the afternoon but with minimal swell. Ditto for Thursday and through Friday.

With luck, Saturday will see the swell push up a bit as the NE’r kicks into gear. The models show it being pretty short period (like what we have now in Sydney) but getting up close to the two metre mark on set wave faces at the most exposed spots. Can you say “onshore, but fun”?

Looking further ahead, it seems that we might get something in the way of a proper NE swell early in the new week. The models are showing a broad area of swell developing off SE Queensland over the weekend and then rolling southward along the coast toward us…

If this development plays out as the models currently suggest, it could be all-time on the Goldie with light SE winds and 10 sec 3-4 metre ENE swell. (Anyone up that way want to give us an eyewitness account??)

Have yourself a top old day!

Twitter? Check my tweets at mr_realsurf

Collaroy-Narrabeen uncrowded

No one out, but certainly no worse than most other spots this morning.

The Collaroy to Narrabeen stretch is distinguished by two features: a lack of any crowd and a lack of anything much in the way of a wave. But… while it’s damn small, there are a few little things to be had if you are extra keen. Just figure you’ll be catching them in really, really close to the beach at southy and that they’ll be soft, gentle rollers in the knee to waist high range up at Northy.

Curly lookin’ very small

Breaking pretty close to the sand 0740

Curly’s not curling too spectacularly. Hardly anyone in the water up the north end and just two mad bodyboarders trying to dash themselves to death on the rocks south of the pool at south Curly. Sets at North Curly were struggling to get to waist high at around 0740. The only catchable ones were breaking pretty much on the sand. Surface conditions were similar to those at Freshy, ie lightly chopped but nothing to put you off if you’re keen.

Here are the bodyboarders…

Bodyboarders hang in the impact zone in front of the rocks at South Curl Curl

When the waves bounce off the rocks at South Curly, you can catch them out to sea and into the oncoming swell - assuming you're crazy!

Still the same

Yet another day of sunny, warm weather, knee high waves, nor-east winds. The lack of decent waves is getting pretty annoying, but how can you complain when it’s so nice and summery outside!

Freshie wrap

About 0730 at Freshwater

Bloke in the parking lot says it was fun out there and the water’s super warm. Reasonably busy, but not ridiculously so. Would be most fun on a fishy, lid or mat as windswell is mostly knee high and pretty gutless looking. Surface a bit choppy, but not too bad.

C C Warm and Small

Some scattered cloud banks, dry and warm on the Central Coast this Tuesday morning.  The swell is smooth and small at 1 – 2 feet from the northeast.  There is no breeze at the moment but forecast to go north northeast then some sort of a southerly change this afternoon.  Low tide 0905 and high tide around 1455.  Local barometer 1005 hpa, 95% humidity, 20 degrees C.  Have a good one.