The surf session that has changed all the rules! Fiji Freight Trains 2012

They will be calling it the session and the day, that what was possible in paddle surfing, was rewritten. Sound epic and grandiose? Well it was...

Twig, Kelly and John John have called it that and they are the three surfers whose judgement on things ridiculous in surfing, I trust the most. Just watch the video from the water and understand what I am harping on about...



Then back it up with these angles. Your jaw on the ground yet?

Massive Cloubreak Free Surf on Day 6 - Volcom Pro Fiji 2012

Bede Durbidge winning the 1st of only 2 heats surfed on Day 6. After this the Free Surf began... (Photo:ASP)

The massive swell arrived as expected, but the contest only lasted 2 heats, with Bede and Kai Otton winning the heats and moving into Round 3. The ASP made the call to wait for today to start Round 3, which will probably go down at Restaurants. Once the tour had puled out, the hordes of big wave charges were out there, with some of the more core Tour surfers joining the fray in solid 15ft Cloudbreak. Luckily the contest left the live feed running and we got to watch a rare free surf in giant waves. Enjoy the video...

 

XXL Ride of the year Nominees 2012

Ryan Hipwood on one serious Cloudbreak Nomination!

The 2012 "Ride of the Year" nominations are in for the XXL Awards. My choice for this year is the wave above, Ryan Hipwood, at massive paddle Cloudbreak. That has to be one of the biggest grab rail tubes ever and it had the timer running for a solid amount of time. Greg Long's huge tube at Puerto was also solid and Jeff Rowley's Jaws Bomb was pretty amazing.

Interestingly, the 2 Tow nominations don't really deserve to be there in my opinion. While Nathan Fletcher's massive tube at Teahupoo is simply insane, he did not ride it out. Surely the "Ride of the Year" winner needs to be a made wave? Garret McNamara's giant wave in Portugal, while huge, looks pretty slow and flat. (This is the opinion of a couple of big wave chargers I have questioned on the subject.) It may have had the wave height, but it was not a great wave.

Have a look and let me know your thoughts!

Meet Big Wave Hellman, Ryan Hipwood

Not scared of a massive keg then mate!

Ryan Hipwood is one of the new breed of Ozzy Big Wave Hellman. He basically spends his life chasing rather large swells around to tow and paddle into very scary waves. Some of his exploits at massive Cloudbreak and the secret slab in West Oz, almost beggar belief. I might have soiled my wetsuit in his position to be frankly honest...