Puerto Challenge goes nuclear on Day 1

WOW, what an incredible day of big wave surfing. South Africa can be proud as we watched Matt Bromley charge one of the biggest tubes of the day before the contest started, followed by Grant Twig Baker charging into the semi finals – which will go down today! Check out the highlights video below, i know its 16 minutes, but it is so worth it, I promise!

PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Oaxaca/Mexico (Friday, June 24, 2016) – South Africa’s Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker started his campaign for the 2016/17 World Surf League (WSL) Big Wave Tour (BWT) title with a solid second place finish in his Round 1 heat of the Puerto Escondido Challenge in Mexico on Friday.

Held in monstrous 10 metre (30-foot-plus) unruly waves and challenging beach break conditions, the 2013 BWT champion from Durban showcased his big wave skills, finding several huge hollow tubes, and demonstrating his commitment and bravado by taking several bone-crushing wipe-outs.

Will Skudin (USA) claimed the heat win with a 22.07 heat total over Baker by only 0.74 points. Rogercin Ramirez (MEX), event wildcard and local favorite, opened Heat 2 with a huge barrel, pulling off a technical exit to earn an authoritative 9.00, which brought the large hometown crowd to their feet.

Ramirez held the lead against the field, but with 15 fifteen minutes left in the 75 minute heat, Skudin and Baker fought back to secure the first and second positions. Skudin, Baker and Ramirez advanced to the Semifinals while BWT heavyweights Billy Kemper (HAW) and Damien Hobgood (USA), along with local wildcard Coco Nogales (MEX) were knocked out of the competition.

“It was hard to find those corners out there,” Skudin said. “It was big and heavy, and I just put my head down and kept on going. I was hoping that eventually I’d lock one down and make a good barrel. Unfortunately, I didn’t make a really good barrel, but I made it through the heat.”

Reigning BWT Champion Greg Long (USA) led the field with back-to-back solid scores in Round 1 Heat 1 and was the first surfer to secure his place in the Semifinals. Long set the pace for the opening heat of the event by picking off multiple right-hand barrels to earn a 20.01 heat score (out of a possible 30).

Albee Layer (HAW) secured a 12.83 heat score and the second position. Kai Lenny (HAW) and Gabriel Villaran (PER) battled for third place, but it was Lenny who showcased full commitment as he pulled into a deep barrel and edged out Villaran by only 3.10 points.

“The waves are really good right now and there are a lot of corners if you know where to sit,” Long said. “I actually deliberately rode a much bigger board than I ever do out here. There is a lot more volume so I could cover the ground that I needed to. It is something new for me, but in a heat if you can’t catch a wave, nothing else matters. My strategy was to keep moving around wherever it was clean and I locked in four waves.”

2014/15 BWT Champion Makuakai Rothman (HAW) charged through Heat 3, with Pedro Calado (BRA) and BWT veteran Carlos Burle (BRA) close behind. Rothman, last year’s BWT runner-up, locked in a near-perfect 9.50 and a solid 7.80 back-up score. Calado fired with an excellent 9.07 and 6.93 to earn the second position. With only 0.29 points between Burle and event wildcard Angelo Lozano (MEX), Burle’s 23.56 heat total was enough to advance to the Semifinals.

“This is my second time to Mexico and the waves are really fun,” said Rothman. “I was just in the right place at the right time. I am not thinking about the end result. I am just thinking about my first wave tomorrow morning and hopefully I am in the right spot. The local boys charge.”

Jamie Mitchell (AUS) netted the highest single-wave score of Round 1, a perfect 10.00, with an extremely technical barrel ride in Heat 4. Mitchell’s final heat tally, a near-perfect 29.03, was the highest of the day, earning him the heat win and a place in the Semifinals. The bout also saw high-scoring rides from local wildcard Jimel Corzo (MEX) and Rusty Long (USA), who will also progressed to the Semifinals.

“I think we were all worried about the fourth heat with the wind coming up, but I think we scored the best conditions of the day,” Mitchell said. “The tide was dropping, the winds stayed glassy and the swell was peaking. I found an early right hander and nearly made it out, which put me into a good rhythm. I found that left and didn’t think I was going to make it, but somehow I pulled out of that. It was an historic day. Incredible surf and incredible barrels.”

Event officials will reconvene tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. local time (about 3pm SA time) for a possible 7:30 a.m. start.

For more information, log onto WorldSurfLeague.com where the Puerto Escondido Challenge will be webcast LIVE.

Congrats Makua Rothman – Big Wave World Champion

The Big Wave World Tour did not have the best season with many of the “Jewel” events not running, but there were some crazy events and there must be a World Champion. With solid performances in the contests that did run and with one of the craziest drops in competition history, Hawaiian, Makua Rothman was named the Big Wave World Champion for 2014/15.

“We take our sport seriously and we want to be at that elite level,” says Makuakai Rothman about the world’s perception of surfers. We’re not beach bums. We train. We want to win.

And this year Makuakia Rothman wanted to win the WSL’s Big Wave Tour.

Raw and Stormy Dungeons – Contest does not Run

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.

Dungeons – Big Wave World Tour ready for 2014

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