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...

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...

Shipsterns is not a friendly wave!

This is a very cool video shot from above the cliffs at Shipsterns Bluff, an angle not seen to often. One thing that is glaringly obvious, is that this wave takes no prisoners. Couple of mental waves made, including some crazy tubes, but way more horrible wipes!

"Fighting Fear" - The Bra Boys are back...

Mark Mathews surfing "Ours" at night! Pretty scary really...

To say the Bra Boys are not my favorite is simply true. The movie of the same name did not make me feel for these guys at all. In fact I thought some of them deserved exactly what they got. This movie however has a somewhat different feel. Instead of playing the sympathy card, it simply shows the life and bond of 2 truly good mates through their trials and tribulations and missions surfing giant nasty waves. I am amped to see it.



Mark is a Big Wave Surfer. He dreams of being the best.
Richie, Mark's best mate shares his love of Big Wave Surfing but has his own ambitions. A carpet layer by day, Richie dreams of becoming a MMA Cage-Fighting Champion. Both are fearless, living life on the edge, daring each other to surf bigger waves, party harder, take greater risks. But when their adrenalin-seeking antics & hardened partying turns sour, it sets in motion a dramatic and life-changing series of events that threatens to derail everything they have worked so hard for.

In an instant, Mark's Big Wave surfing career is in tatters & Richie is facing a jail term. But for these two friends, giving up is not an option. It's not the mistakes you make but how you overcome them. Their unwavering friendship gives them the courage to battle their demons, rise up from their troubled past & conquer their fears. One good friend can Change your life.



This feature-length docu-drama, told through the eyes of the two friends, Pro-surfer Mark Mathews and MMA fighter Richie Vaculik & filmed over three years, provides a unique & candid insight into the tumultuous life of two world-class athletes facing against-all-odds personal challenges.

This is the second feature film by exciting new Australian talent, Macario De Souza, co-director of BRA BOYS, the highest grossing Australian documentary (non-imax) of all time. Aged just 28, Macario not only wrote, directed, edited, shot & produced FIGHTING FEAR but as Kid Mac wrote & performed 5 songs on the soundtrack.

With a rip-roaring soundtrack and featuring entertaining & insightful interviews from some of the world's most influential action sports athletes, including ten-time World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater, two- time World Surfing Champion Mick Fanning, Big Wave Surfer Bruce Irons, three-time Women's World Surfing Champion Steph Gilmore & two-time UFC World Champion BJ Penn, FIGHTING FEAR is a jaw-dropping action-packed documentary that is surprisingly emotional, powerfully uplifting & utterly compelling.

FIGHTING FEAR is inspirational, heart-stopping entertainment.

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)