Greatest Wipeouts of 2012 - Surf

Mark Mathews on his way to a royal hiding in Oz. (Photo: O'neill)

Every year Surfline puts together a compilation of the worst wipeouts in surfing. This year was no different and there are some real cringers in there! Nice to see Grant Twig baker representing for the Saffa contingent...

Red Bull presents Jaws Paddle Competition

Welcome to the next limit in Big Wave Surfing. Red Bull, together with team rider, Ian Walsh, present the Jaws Paddle Contest. This contest will help to significantly push the boundaries in paddling giant waves. Thus far only a few invites have been released, among them our very own, Grant "Twig" Baker. A big uproar started brewing in South Africa as Chris Bertish has not, as yet, been invited, but he was the first person to paddle into waves at Jaws and is a winner at Mavericks. We cant speculate, but perhaps his invite is in the mail.

The event will run a waiting period over the whole Hawaiian Winter and will require clean 30-50ft Faces to run. They have also confirmed they will not run on the same day as the Eddie if this clash becomes reality.  21 Surfers will be invited.

Invited so far are host Ian Walsh, Twig, Greg Long, Dave Wassel, John John Florence (Yes please), Jeff Rowley and Kala Alexander. Most of these guys being proven chargers out in the Jaws Lineup. One thing is for sure, you dont want to miss this one. Follow the event at Red Bull USA.

A Jaunt at Jaws with Ian Walsh and Shane Dorian

The 8 and 9th of October started the Northern hemisphere big wave season with a bang at Jaws on Maui. Amongst the crew of big wave surfers charging gaping tubes and 50ft faces, were Ian Walsh and Shane Dorian. Check out their video from the mammoth day and let your jaw drop to the floor when you see the tubes that were made and the wipe outs that could kill a man!

Seared Peahi from ACL Digital Cinema on Vimeo.

The Friday Mix - Portugal freesurf, Red Bull Stratos & Greg Long at Jaws

Greg Long getting a serious shack at early season Jaws. (Photo: Billabong XXL)

Its Friday and that means peeps everywhere are stoked! So to make you even happier here are three videos from the world of action sports to amp you for your weekend.

First off is Greg Long, getting an early entry into the Billabong XXL awards with this massive tube at early season Jaws. The world was going crazy for Shane Dorian's wave, but then this one came along and blew it out of the water.

Red Bull Stratos was called off during the week due to wind conditions, but has been rescheduled for this Sunday, so watch this space.

The Rip Curl Pro in Portugal has had 2 lay days already, but may go live at 1pm today. Check out all the best surfers having a warm up session on Day 1.

The Friday Mix - Jaws charger Kai Lenny, Aspire kiteboard, Wizard of Oz BMX & Craig Anderson Surf

Welcome to the Friday Mix, where I give you the finest selection of Action Sports videos on the web for the week. First up we have a 19 year old waterman from Hawaii, Kai Lenny. This kid inspires me no end as he surfs, tows, kites and windsurfs massive Jaws, all in one day. This is the premier of his new Web Show, Positively Kai. (Pretty cool he shares my name to.)

Next up we go BMX with the "Wizard of Aus", Corey Bohan. After some serious injuries, he is on the road back to XGames and has his own Web Show so we can tag along. This is the teaser for the show, Wizard of Aus"...



Craig Anderson has to be one of my favorite surfers and is a really nice guy to boot! Born in South Africa and now living in Australia, he lives the free surfer life and travels the world surfing perfect waves.



Aaron Hadlow is the best at what he does, but now he is developing new technologies to enable him to grow the sport of Kite Boarding. Introducing rails and jibs to the technical riding disciplines. Check it out...

Billabong XXL Awards 2012 - Monster Paddle Nominees

The five nominees for the Monster Paddle category of the 2012 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are presented for your evaluation: Ken "Skindog" Collins at Maverick's, Danilo Couto at Jaws, Shane Dorian at Jaws, Jamie Mitchell at Todos Santos and Dave Wassel at Jaws. For more details and to view all the still photos see the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.

Personally, my vote goes to Shane Dorian. His wave is massive, he makes a crazy take off and rides it out. Ken, Danilo and Dave's waves are great, but they don't make them.  The outside shot is Jamie Mitchell on one of the biggest waves to ever get ridden at Todos for sure! Which wave is your choice?

Worst Wipeout Nominees - XXL Big Wave Awards 2012

Marc Mathews heading for the caning of his life at "The Right".

As the XXL Awards sneak ever closer I continue my previews of the nominations and this week we look at the "Verizon Wipeout Awards". There are some horrific wipes in this batch, with Teahupoo serving up ywo of the nominations and they are absolute horror wipes. Jaws and Shipstern's Bluff both have 1 nomination a piece and they will make your toes curl while watching in sick fascination. However, in my opinion the wipe of the year must go to Marc Mathews for his absolutely crazy wipe at the even crazier wave of "The Right". I don't even want to imagine what it must have felt like to be swallowed by that warping, mutant beast of a wave! What are your thoughts...

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!

Giant Jaws Paddle Session - with Grant "Twiggy" Baker

The recent paddle session at Jaws, Maui, has the whole world fascinated. The videos have been doing the rounds and the youtube views multiplying. Our very own Twig and Kate were there for the action and while Kate filmed from the safety of the cliffs - no doubt holding her breath anyway, every time Twig got hammered - Twig was out there with the boys charging.

I caught up with him online and got his feedback on this historic session...

Cpt Kai: How big was it out there?
Twig: Pretty dam big to be paddling, but what made it worse was how strong the offshore was and this is the most difficult wind to deal with in big waves.

Cpt Kai: It looked pretty crowded - is this common in surf this size?
Twig: It's becoming more and more common and that's why it's been a mission of mine to move out from the more popular big wave spots trying to find something new and less crowded. Saying that only, 10 real waves where ridden that day and only 3-5 of them where completed so the crowd wasn't the issue, the wave was!!

Cpt Kai: How bad were the beatings?
Very bad, I saw so many guys tombstoning for what seemed like an eternity, but because it was my first time out there paddling I was pretty conservative and didn't get beaten to badly.

Cpt Kai: How were your waves?
Twig: I had three waves in 6 hours, one I shared with another surfer, one I wiped out on the takeoff and one I took off behind the bowl and made it so all in all it was a good day.

Cpt Kai: Is this a sign of things to come, less tow on the really big days, as more guys start paddling?
Twig: Yes, tow surfing is a dying sport and from here on out there will be guys paddling every big swell at the known spots. We had a day at Dungeons this year that we should have paddled but ended up towing and I can't see that happening again.

Cpt Kai: What was the biggest wave made that day?
Twig: Dave Wassel had the biggest wave and will probably be the new world record holder, but he just went straight and Dorian had a huge one that he made around the corner.

Cpt Kai: Where to next Twig?
Twig:  Just traveling the world surfing and trying to find new uncrowded areas to hang out and get some waves with a few close friends...

We hope you find those waves my man and good luck on your travels (Lucky Bastard, hehe).

Jeff Rowley ‘paddles-in’ to historic 50-foot plus waves at “Jaws”

Big wave surfer Jeff Rowley ‘paddles-in’ to historic 50-foot plus (15m+) waves at Peahi “Jaws” and becomes the first Australian to ride the waves without Jet Ski tow-in. Our very own Grant "Twig" Baker was there too and you can check some great photos at Surfline - HERE  
 

Jason Polakow and wave sailing Jaws

This is a pretty amazing video of Jason and his relationship with the behemoth known as Jaws. I really like the style of the edit as well as the classic voice over (Pretty sure that's the same guys as the Dirtbike movie Life Cycles.) Enjoy

Red Bull - Windsurfing world champion Jason Polakow has been on a search for the biggest, most gnarly waves until he found JAWS - which has shaped his life and become his sole obsession for the past 20 years.

Watch as Jason attacks the unbelievable waves on the North Shore of Hawaii.

The sights and sounds of surfing Jaws

The lads at Red Bull push the envelope once again, recording sound on the surfers as they surf very big and very windy Jaws.

Soundwave is the first production in history to record comprehensive audio in the big wave surfing arena.
Soundwave gives us an inside look at what really happens as surfers risk it all while riding 50-foot waves.
Stay tuned as we follow surfers Ian Walsh, Carissa Moore, Carlos Burle and Maya Gabeira as we get a unique perspective on the action.

http://RedBullSurfing.com

Giant Stair Olly with Aaron "Jaws" Homoki - Thrasher July 2011 Cover

How this guy did not break his legs is beyond me? It is simply one of the biggest Ollies I have ever seen, maybe ever made - see for yourself. It made the July 2011 cover of Thrasher Magazine.

XXL Awards - all the winners of the years biggest waves

The XXL Awards have come and gone this past weekend and there was no victory for the South African big wave contingent this year. Jeremy Johnson, of Hout Bay in Cape Town, had a serious Wave of the Year contender from late last year in Ireland, but unfortunately did not win. Oh, well, always next year!

NEWPORT BEACH, CA – (April 30, 2011) – The eleventh annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards fueled by Monster Energy climaxed in Anaheim, California last night as Brazilian Danilo Couto scooped top honors for Ride of the Year.  Couto earned $50,000 and the keys to a new Toyota Tacoma truck for a paddle-in wave conquered at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii during one of the biggest swells of the year.
Couto, who has been living in Hawaii for many years in his personal quest to ride bigger and bigger waves, was ecstatic as he accepted his award from skateboard legend Tony Hawk.
“I’ve been feeling really good for two months, ever since I caught that wave,” said Couto. “I couldn’t sleep for days, knowing I had done something so special. To be a part of surf history, to have an impact … it’s special.”
Prior to this winter’s paddle-in assault, the Jaws break had long been regarded as a spot so difficult to ride a jet-ski tow in assist was required.
Couto's winning wave -

Hawaiian Shane Dorian officially surfed into the record books for paddling into his own outrageous wave at Jaws, Maui (judged to be 57 ft on the face), easily winning the Monster Paddle Award. Dorian also captured the Monster Tube Award for his heroics later on the same wave, as he pulled into one of the greatest barrels of all time.
“It was an epic swell, a real late season swell,” recalled Dorian. “I didn’t really catch a lot of big waves throughout the whole year…I was just stoked the swell came my way, near my house in Maui, and we scored. The Monster Tube award is pretty special –I mean every surfer wants to get tubed, right?”

Benjamin Sanchis, flying all the way from France to attend the festivities, took top honors for the Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award with a wave measured at 67 feet on the face.

“I’m not only happy for myself, but I’m stoked for Europe”, said a beaming Sanchis. “This is a big win and I’m really proud, I’m really happy. The wave, Belharra, is about 30 minutes from my house. It wasn’t even a big day for that spot, it gets bigger for sure.”

Rides at Belharra Reef (in the Basque Country near the French/Spanish border) have been nominated numerous times in XXL history, but this was the first victory for the famed European break.



Kauai surfer Sion Milosky — who tragically drowned last month at Maverick’s in Northern California — posthumously won the Surfline Best Men’s Performance Award for a string of outstanding high surf sessions. Milosky was the first top-level big wave surfer to die while surfing big waves since the XXL awards were established in 2000.

Milosky’s wife, children and father accepted the award on Sion’s behalf following an emotional tribute by friend and previous Ride of the Year winner Ken “Skindog” Collins of Santa Cruz. Several winners donated their prize money to the Milosky Family Fund, including Shane Dorian and Australian Mark Mathews, who captured the Verizon Wipeout Award.



2011 Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards Results:

BILLABONG XXL RIDE OF THE YEAR AWARD

WINNER: Danilo Couto (Bahia, Brazil) at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on February 8, 2011. ($50,000 plus a year lease on a 2011 Toyota Tacoma truck)

Video by Elliot Leboe ($5,000)

SECOND PLACE: David Scard (Caloundra, Queensland, Australia) at Cloudbreak, Fiji on September 20, 2010. ($5,000)

THIRD PLACE: Mark Healey (Sunset Beach, Hawaii, USA) at Outer Reef, Oahu, Hawaii on January 20, 2011. ($1,500)

FOURTH PLACE: Michael Brennan (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on April 10, 2010. ($1,500)

FIFTH PLACE: Benjamin Sanchis (Hossegor, France) at Mullaghmore Head, Ireland on February 13, 2011. ($1,500)

MONSTER PADDLE AWARD

WINNER: Shane Dorian (Kona, Hawaii, USA) at Jaws, Hawaii, on March 15, 2011. ($15,000)

Photo by Batel Shimi. ($4,000)

BILLABONG XXL BIGGEST WAVE AWARD

WINNER: Benjamin Sanchis (Hossegor, France) at Belharra, France on February 16, 2011. ($15,000)

Photo by Bastien Bonnarme. ($4,000)

MONSTER TUBE AWARD

WINNER: Shane Dorian (Kona, Hawaii, USA) at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii, on March 15, 2011. ($5,000)

Photo by Bruno Lemos. ($2,000)

SURFLINE BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE AWARD

Sion Milosky (Lawai, Kauai, USA) – $5,000

FIVE BILLABONG GIRLS BEST PERFORMANCE AWARD

Keala Kennelly (Honolulu, Hawaii, USA) – $5,000

VERIZON WIPEOUT AWARD

Mark Mathews (Maroubra, New South Wales, Australia) at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on April 6, 2010. ($2,000 and a Samsung Tab by Verizon)

Video by Andrew Chisholm. ($1,000)

The next level - Paddling Jaws

It all started a couple of years ago with our very own local crazy man, Chris Bertish, deciding he would be the first to tackle Jaws, the notorious tow surf spot in Maui, paddling in. He got caned, made history and it has been rather quite on the paddle in front since then. But I did a little digging and it turns out there are a bunch of guys still tackling Jaws for the paddle.

For more photos check out Surfer Magazine's Slide show - Paddling into Jaws