Home of, The Regular Guy and Adventure
Surfing the heaviest wave in Indonesia is a difficult task at the best of times, but when Murphy’s Law and Mother Nature team up against you then life can get pretty miserable. Undeterred, Ryan Hipwood, Mikala Jones, Riley Laing and Alex Gray overcome breakdowns at sea, dodgy backyard ski repairs and atrocious weather to score some outrageous barrels.
Ryan Hipwood almost died surfing The Right in 2012, but decided he wanted to conquer his fear and this deadly wave. Together with Mark Mathews and Dean Morrison and an assorted crew of charges, they went back out into the West Oz Ocean to charge what they call a “perfect Day” and we mortals call simply lunatic!
The whole world seemed to be going, the parking looked like Cavendish Mall and the swell arrived bigger than ever. Matt Bromley was there with camera guy, Steve Michelson in tow, to capture one of the biggest days ever surfed at Donkey Bay. Many tales of horrid thrashings came out from this day and of people being sucked off the beach by rogue white waters. So all in all it was a difficult day for both surfers and the media guys. I reckon the boys are pretty happy with the results though.
African Skeleton – With MONSTER ENERGY’S Matt Bromley from steven michelsen on Vimeo.
There were a lot of calls being thrown about yesterday, with many people saying the Dungeons Big Wave World Tour Event should have run. After the storm subsided though, it was a good thing it did not. The Swell was huge, but had way too much West in it and there were huge walls of water swinging wide of the peak. Made it quite interesting for those of us out on Whale Song, with Captain Spooner, and some of the newbies shooting the lineup were definitely looking nervous, much to Spoon’s enjoyment. A small crew were on it, looking to paddle, but the wind was up the face early and the conditions were very difficult. Twig called it, “Bloody scary and difficult!”
Mike Schlebach caught the wave of the morning with an incredible late drop (See the video) and also caught the hiding of the season! His wipeout mas met with a collective scream of awe from those on the boat as he free fell 3 stories to oblivion. This one is a serious XXL Wipe of the year contender. Jake Kolnik also had a horrible time, with a 2 wave monster set breaking on his head. Simon Lowe and Twig both had solid waves, but with only 7 or so waves ridden across 3 hours, it was not worth running the event.
You are going to have to wait to see the wipeout on video, but Zigzag will be running a photo sequence soon. I will keep you posted on the event and everything else happening out at Dungeons as the winter progresses. Check the video from Corne Snyders, who shot from the Sentinel yesterday… (Also the Cover photo with Jacque Theron’s board floating in the danger zone!)
DUNGEONS 29 MAY 2014 from Dianoua on Vimeo.
The Big Wave World Tour is ready for action at Dungeons and almost got the call for this week and the 2 massive swells on the way. The call being made that the winds are a bit strong and most of the “World” now headed for Donkey Bay. The only question really being raised after the announcement of the surfers eligible to surf for the event, where is Frank Solomon? The Hout Bay local and charger (Already ranked on the Big Wave World Tour), along with other local guy, Jeremey Johnson, have not cracked the list amongst much nay saying in the local community. Frank reckons he still has a good shout though as he is on the waiting list and should one of the foreigners not make it in time he will be in. (Much like myself on the webcast team.) So here is to hoping flights are booked and some guys from over the ocean don’t make it in time so we can get more locals in the mix. In the meantime check out this awesome footage from the big swell in August 2013 from Corne Snyders…
DUNGEONS 05 AUGUST 2013 from Dianoua on Vimeo.
BWWT SOLIDIFIES COMPETITORS FOR 2014/2015 SEASON
Saturday, May 24, 2014 – The roster for the 2014/2015 ASP Big Wave World Tour (BWWT) season has been solidified, featuring the best big wave surfers on the planet as they complete across six international venues for the undisputed big wave surfing crown.
“The ASP Commissioner’s Office worked long and hard to determine a BWWT roster that reflects the most current standouts in the sport of big wave surfing and also rewarding the performances of past champions of the BWWT,” Peter Mel, ASP Deputy Commissioner, said.
With the season split into two parts to take advantage of the Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere swell systems, the ASP BWWT Top 12 surfers will be joined by six international wildcard per event as well as six local wildcards to comprise the 24-man field. The 2014/2015 ASP BWWT Top 12 have been determined based off the previous season’s rankings.
Note: Gabriel Villaran, of Peru, has received the ASP BWWT Injury Wildcard and will be seeded into the ASP BWWT wildcard selections for all events.
This year’s Top 12 includes a ton of talent, including recent Billabong XXL Award Best Ride winner Greg Long (USA) and Overall Men’s Performance winner Grant “Twiggy” Baker (ZAF).
2014/2015 ASP BWWT Top 12:
1 Grant Baker (ZAF)
2 Ken Collins (USA)
3 Nic Lamb (USA)
4 Shawn Dollar (USA)
5 Kohl Christensen (HAW)
6 Alex Gray (USA)
7 Greg Long (USA)
8 Ryan Augenstein (USA)
9 Anthony Tashnick (USA)
10 Ramon Navarro (PER)
11 Jamie Mitchell (AUS)
12 Tyler Fox (USA)
Southern Hemisphere Wildcards and Local Wildcards
The Southern Hemisphere events consist of Dungeons in South Africa, Punta Lobos in Chile and Pico Alto in Peru with a window running between April 15 and August 31, 2014.
DUNGEONS, South Africa:
ASP WILDCARDS:
1 Kelly Slater (USA)
2 Shane Dorian (HAW)
3 Mark Healey (HAW)
4 Ian Walsh (HAW)
5 Gabriel Villaran (PER)
6 Matthew Bromley (ZAF)
LOCAL WILDCARDS:
1 Mike Schlebach
2 James Taylor
3 Simon Lowe
4 Josh Redman
5 Chris Bertish
6 Andrew Marr
One of the biggest names in Bodyboarding attacks the lineup at Puerto Escondido! Huge, gnarly beachbreak surfed without fear.
A few weeks in Puerto Escondido. Directed, edited and filmed by Richard Lornie from Chout Films. Additional footage by Noam Eshel and Reid Southall. Huge thanks to Clive and Adriana from Aqua Luna hotel.
Hubb’s Mexican Dream… from Chout Films on Vimeo.
It has been a while since I posted an episode of Who is JOB. This one definitely deserves it with Jamie O’Brien and the boys showing how they have fun when there are no waves o the North Shore and the rains come. First up they find massive puddles to winch while being sprayed by 4×4’s, then its off to make a standing wave at the Waimea River, followed by hot bikini girls and mental shorebreak action at Waimea. All in all not a bad way to stay occupied in the wet season…
Stunning, Perfection, Breathtaking – just a few words that describe this 3 minute surfing clip that shows Ian Walsh catching huge waves and making it look effortless. All shot on super slow motion allowing you to truly appreciate the elements involved i surfing these waves.
Dean Morrison, or Dingo, to his mates, was one of my favorite surfers on the World Tour for years. Looking to extend his career and still have loads of fun, which is the Dingo way, he has joined the hunt for the world’s biggest and meanest waves. Recently he scored what could be considered the wave of his life in West Oz…
Probably the most dubious award on the planet really! You win, but you actually lost, along with a whole lot of suffering and punishment. Some down right nasty entries this year and the top 5 were always going to be absolute nightmare wipeouts in giant waves.
All five nominees for the 2014 Wipeout of the Year Award are presented for your review. Featuring Shawn Dollar, Alex Martins, Jamie MItchell, Alain Riou and Koa Rothman. A category in the 2014 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, coming May 2. For more info see the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.