Meet Pro Surfer Maya Gabeira

Maya is drop dead gorgeous and deadly in the big waves!

Meet the hard charging big wave hell lady, who also happens to be a tiny and gorgeous women. Maya Gabeira comes from Brazil and learnt to charge big waves on the North Shore of Hawaii. This lady is not scared, even when asked to surf naked for ESPN...

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.

Billabong XXL Awards 2012 - The Winners

The 2012 XXL Awards went down last week (Due to my holiday, I am reporting late on this) and the ultimate prize went to Nathan Fletcher for his mind boggling wave at Teahupoo last year. I am still struggling to figure out how a wave not ridden out won, but hell it was crazy! Fletcher won the "Ride of the Year" and the "Monster Tube" awards with this wave. He also took the overall Men's Performance Award. So a good night for Nathan.

The 2012 "Monster Paddle Award" went to Hawaiian, Dave Wassel, for a huge wave earlier in the year at Jaws in Maui.There were stacks of entries from December and January from Jaws, as the world's big wave surfers descended on the previous Tow Surf Spot.

"Biggest Wave Champion" went to Hawaiian, Garrett MacNamara, for his "90"ft ride off the coast of Portugal in 2011. Many thought this wave looked very soft, but the size judges cleared it as the biggest wave caught. Garrett also took the "Verizon Wipeout of the Year" award for a horrible bail at massive Jaws. He was trying to surf the "JetBoard" and went over the falls backwards on a monster of a wave.

XXL Biggest Wave Nominees 2012

There are some gnarly entries for this year's XXL Biggest Wave category. The two irish entries are definately super big and heavy waves, but neither of them was ridden out. The entries from Spain are both big, but pretty flat and lumpy kind of waves. My vote goes to the Oz entry from Damien Warr. that is a huge wave and he even gets the cover up at the end. Who do you think should take it?



The five nominees for the XXL Biggest Wave category of the 2012 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards are put forth for your analysis: Andrew Cotton at Mullaghmore Head, Garrett McNamara at Nazaré, Axi Muniain at Agiti, Ollie O'Flaherty at Mullaghmore and Damien "Taco" Warr at Cow Bombie. For more details and to view all the still photos see the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.

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!

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  
 

Saffa charges Mullaghmore Tow Session

One of the Irish crew charging.

 South African expat in Ireland, Barry Mottershead, joined the rest of the Irish heavy water brigade and got an incredible 20ft tube and an entry into the Billabong XXL Awards.

Mullaghmore went for broke during a gap between two storm systems on Monday, December 12th. "Well what a day, it had it all, we all agree it was some of the hollowest nastiest 20ft plus barrels we have ever had out there" Said Richie Fitzgerald.

Worst wipeout ever? - James Mckean at Shipsterns Bluff

This wipeout simply sends shivers down my spine!!! Watch the slo motion as he hits the 3rd step and then gets swallowed by the biggest, ugliest tube ever!

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)