A thrilling story, which begins in the search for the best waves in the world, and ends in one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Failure is the key to success.
Film and Edit by:
Jon Aspuru @jonbakio
Starring:
Natxo Gonzalez @natxogonzalez1
Kepa Acero @kepaacero
Aritz Aranburu @aritzaranburu
HALF MOON BAY, California/USA (Friday, October 26, 2018) – The World Surf League (WSL) is pleased to announce that the official competition window for the Big Wave Tour (BWT) Mavericks Challenge will open on November 1, 2018, and run through March 31, 2019. Following final permit approval and coordination with the governmental agencies involved with the production of the event, the WSL is excited for the opportunity to run the inaugural Mavericks Challenge, including the first-ever women’s competition at Mavericks.
“Mavericks is one of the best big wave locations in the world and we are excited to open the holding period on November 1,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, WSL CEO. “Mavericks undoubtedly adds a new level to our Big Wave Tour, and we have a great opportunity to bring this event to the international stage. Hosting the women’s event at Mavericks has always been a priority for us when we acquired the event, and this year, conditions permitting, we could see the women’s event run for the first time ever.”
“Having Mavericks as one of three stops on the Big Wave Tour is very special,” said Mike Parsons, WSL BWT Commissioner. “With the Mavericks window opening next week, we will closely monitor all swells throughout the holding period to be ready to call the competition on within 48 hours’ notice. Mavericks will test the best big wave surfers, both male and female, and we are committed to holding the event in the best conditions possible.”
“Having an event at Mavericks for women is monumentous,” said Bianca Valenti, 2018/2019 Mavericks Challenge invitee. “This is a moment that I am really excited for. You have to have the opportunity in order to perform, so I think this is just going to be the beginning of really amazing women’s big wave surfing. I am just ready to go for it and explore the realm of possibility while everyone is watching and I want to put on a good show.”
Two-time WSL Big Wave Champion Greg Long said, “When I heard that Mavericks was on Tour, I immediately thought that it was the missing piece of the big wave competitive puzzle we’ve been trying to put together for the last decade. We now have the best venues of anywhere in the world.”
Prior to the Mavericks Opening Ceremony, the WSL hosted a pioneering Big Wave Water Safety Training program with a special focus for competitors in the new women’s division. Conducted in collaboration with the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group, the curriculum featured advanced high surf risk management, rescue techniques, and resuscitation training to prepare competitors for the dangers of the Mavericks break. The Hawaii-based instructors included world-class surf rescue experts Brian Keaulana, Danilo Couto, Kohl Christesen, and Andrea Moller.
The 2018/2019 Big Wave Tour hosts three events: the Nazaré Challenge, the Jaws Challenge, and the Mavericks Challenge. Starting November 1, all holding periods will be open and the world’s best big wave surfers will await conditions that will produce waves in the 30-to-60-foot range. Once the decision is made to run the event, a “Green Alert” is issued and competitors will have 48 hours’ notice to be ready to compete.
2018/2019 Mavericks Challenge Competitors
Women’s Invitees: Paige Alms, Keala Kennelly, Justine Dupont, Bianca Valenti, Maya Gabeira, Sarah Gerhardt, Emily Erickson, Andrea Moller, Jamilah Star, One wildcard to be selected on Green Alert
Women’s Alternates: Wrenna Delgado, Laura Enever, Felicity Palmateer, Raquel Heckert, Easkey Britton, Silvia Nabuco
Men’s Invitees: Billy Kemper, Kai Lenny, Ian Walsh, Makuakai Rothman, Lucas Chianca, Jamie Mitchell, Tom Lowe, Alex Botelho, Greg Long, Natxo Gonzalez, Will Skudin, Grant Baker, Nathan Florence, Jojo Roper, Russell Bierke, Travis Payne, Patrick Shaughnessy, Matt Becker, Anthony Tashnick, Jason Stark, Hunter Murison , Peter Mel, Nic Lamb, One wildcard to be selected on Green Alert
Men’s Alternates: Ryan Hipwood, Tyler Fox, Luca Padua, Ryan Seelbach, Colin Dwyer, Ben Andrews, Kyle Thiermann
Once called on, the WSL Big Wave Tour events will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the WSL’s Facebook page. Also check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
The circular lake of joy backed by Barton and Occy has been in the works for a while. Finally proof of concept testing has taken place over the weekend and it works. It’s not been tested at full size as things keep blowing a gasket, but that’s the point of a test rig. See what works, see what you need to go back to the drawing board on. The idea seems sound, even if it is all a bit Mad Max, interesting to see what happens when they get it up to full tilt.
–Surf Lakes Press Release–
Surf Lakes International is excited to release vision from the initial phase of prototype testing of their “5 Wave” technology, which produces five different levels of waves simultaneously around a man-made lake.
Earlier this week, as the sun set behind the mountains near Yeppoon on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast, a gathering of staff and pro-surfers, including ambassadors Mark Occhilupo and Barton Lynch, witnessed the first perfect waves peeling across the reefs of the private demonstration facility.
The 5 Waves concept rates each wave according to its level of difficulty, similar to snow ski resort. Each wave difficulty level is colour coded and caters for beginners, through to advanced and pro level wave riding.
The 5 Waves concept allows for learners, experienced surfers and professionals, to surf perfect waves simultaneously.
For operators this means that whole families with ages from five to 75 can enjoy the facility together, rather than waiting for different sessions to run.
At full commercial capacity, 5 Waves can produce up to 2,400 waves per hour, allowing for up to 200 surfers and learners each hour. This productivity translates into the highest possible return for operators.
Also, the five different levels of waves allows for a wide variety of watercraft. The Intermediate wave is perfect for short boards, long boards, SUPs and surf skis. The Advanced and Expert waves suit short boards and knee boards.
5 Waves world firsts
Simultaneous wave types: 5 types of waves, each of which vary in difficulty, size, length and shape, at the same time
Most breaks in a wavepool: 10 separate waves (4 left and 4 right reef breaks) plus 2 beginner waves
Largest surfing lagoon in the world: Water volume 80 megalitres
Largest wave face height: Up to 2.4m face height. 2.2m achieved at mid-level prototype testing
Highest wave productivity: At full commercial capacity, 5 Waves will be able to produce over 2,400 waves per hour, allowing up to 240 surfers in the lake at the same time, all catching 10 waves per hour
Artists impression of consumer version.
Founded by Aaron Trevis, the Surf Lakes team has been working hard to complete the full sale demonstration facility for the past two years. PHD Engineer and Surf Lakes Director Chris Hawley, oversaw the design, build and commissioning of what is essentially Australia’s first man-made surfing wave pool. Funding for the project was raised from private investors by finance expert and fellow Director Reuben Buchanan.
“After years of dreaming, designing, testing and building, to see those first few waves roll across the reefs was quite a site!” said Trevis.
Surf Lakes plan to license their technology to operators such as theme parks, resorts and developers around the world. Surf Lakes will also design, manage construction and commissioning of each facility, as well as providing ongoing services.
Demand for our product is strong, with over 150 enquires from more than 25 countries around the world. Over the next six months, we will be holding demonstration days to potential licensees.
1999 World Surfing Champion and 5 Waves ambassador Mark Occhilupo, was ecstatic after riding his first wave on “Occys Peak” earlier this week, a wave that he helped design.
“I can’t believe it,” said “Occy” with an ear to ear grin. “This is amazing, I knew it would be good… but not this good! People all over the world are going to be blown away when they see 5 Waves!”
Fellow 1988 World Surfing Champ and Pipe Master, Barton Lynch was equally excited.
“I get so excited about waves, so to have a variety of perfect waves at the push of a button is just unbelievable,” said Lynch. “And the fact that it’s Australian designed, backed and built, just makes me very proud.”
If It’s October, This Must Be Fistral….
Once again we reached the climax of the British Longboard Union tour with The Stable, Fistral Longboard Classic. A firm favourite stop of the more progressive longboarder, and despite the cancellation of the original running date due to non-contestable conditions, the north end of Fistral finally delivered in spades on the second attempt.
The forecast 4-6ft clean swell appeared on time, in the right place and with a big ol’ dollop of power to greet the first round of the Men’s Open as the tide started to bottom out. Local lad and Surf Relik standout Adam Griffiths went straight to work like a man possessed.
The reduced number of entries from the original September dates certainly didn’t detract from the quality on show, standouts of Day 1 including Wales’s Elliot Dudley taking out his Single Fin heat with power, grace and no leash despite the ever-present threat of a punishing swim. In the Women’s division, Jenny Briant and Claire Smail set their stalls out early, both dropping into some significantly chunky walls of water to rack up the points and cruise into their respective semis.
Things were a bit tougher for the Masters and Grand Masters, as the incoming tide seemed to coincide with an additional pulse of power that made the paddle out a coin toss. Those that made it out back were rewarded with some big drops, long hackable walls and another punishing paddle for dessert. Paul Keenan looked nothing but comfortable in the big stuff and made the Grand Master’s final on his first foray into the over 50s club, alongside regular finalist Adam Zervas. The first Masters semi was a very close affair but finally saw Colin Bright and Thomas Gibson go through to meet Damian Hooker and current champ Jason Gray.
Day 2 opened with equally powerful but slightly smaller surf, which definitely made every division that much more contestable. Becky Brown made the most of the bigger surf to take 2nd in her semi and make her first BLU final. Ultimately, former BLU Women’s Champion Claire Smail was able to dig deep enough into her bags of experience to edge out the two Jen’s (Pendlebury and Briant) and Becky with a well-crafted 15 point total that also sees her name back on the perpetual trophy.
The more forgiving conditions and less insane paddle gave the Masters and Grand Masters the opportunity to really get to work, and with Jason Gray’s local knowledge and a vaguely partisan crowd, the result of the Masters final was never really in doubt. The Grand Masters, however, turned up more plot twists than a whole year of UK soap operas. With regular finalist Colin Bright missing out on a place, it looked pretty safe that current champ Adam Zervas would take the win. Enter Paul ‘Keeno’ Keenan to throw the cat amongst the pigeons and take out his first ever final with some style. You couldn’t make this stuff up!
The Single Fin final saw Elliot Dudley continue his dominance since returning from a self-imposed leave of absence. It seems to have paid off, as he managed some of the biggest total heat scores of the weekend, finishing with a score of 16.75 and taking the event and tour wins.
A reduced U16 Cadets, U18 Juniors and U18 Girls field meant that all three divisions were straight finals. This didn’t detract from the quality on show, Jordan Zervas and Jack Gregorius going goofy-toe-to-goofy-toe in the Juniors in a battle which saw Jack take the win thanks to some powerful surfing off the tail in the somewhat wobbly lefthanders. Fistral locals and salt-encrusted beach urchins Joel and Sienna Morison took first in the U16 Cadets and U18 Girls respectively, both finals being man-on-man. Hopefully, the apparent lack of younger longboarders is a blip, rather than a worrying trend.
Last, and most definitely not least, the Men’s Open saw Adam Griffiths, Ben Howey, Jack Unsworth and Evan Rogers battle it out in the almost high tide in front of a genuinely enthusiastic beach crowd. In the end, and despite the best efforts of Adam in particular, this was the time for a fairytale ending 15 years in the making. In spite of his unquestionable ability as a longboarder, a very strong performance at the ISA World Longboarding Games and on the European circuit, Ben had never managed to secure a win at a BLU event. Well, today it all finally came together with a cool, calm and complete performance that only wobbled ever-so-slightly in the dying moments when it looked like Adam may have pulled something out of the bag. With his first place at Fistral, and a narrow defeat to Elliot at Saunton earlier this year, Ben also gets his name engraved into the annals of BLU history as Men’s Open Tour Champion. Congratulations, Ben!
A huge thank you to our event sponsors, judges, support and media staff and all the competitors and spectators who helped to make The Stable, Fistral Longboard Classic 2018 the great success it was. Special thanks go out to our main event sponsor ‘The Stable, Fistral’ who kept the judges and event staff fed and watered, ‘Fistral Beach, Newquay’ for location support and parking and ‘Ocean & Earth’.
As always, special mention to Contest Director Minnow Green and the BLU committee for their continuing and unwavering belief in British longboarding.
Report/photos: BLU/Farscapes Ltd
BLU Stable Fistral Report BLU Stable Fistral Report 
Results
Men’s Open
1. Ben Howey
2. Adam Griffiths
3. Jack Unsworth
4. Evan Rogers
Women’s Open
1. Claire Smail
2. Jenny Briant
3. Jen Pendlebury
4. Becky Brown
Masters
1. Jason Gray
2. Colin Bright
3. Thomas Gibson
4. Damian Hooker
Grand Masters
1. Keeno Keenan
2. Adam Zervas
3. Tim Quick
4. Stephen Stritch
U16 Cadets
1. Joel Morison
2. Matt Mitchell
U18 Juniors
1. Jack Gregorius
2. Jordan Zervas
3. Joel Morison
4. Matt Mitchell
U18 Girls
1. Sienna Morison
2. Stella Briggs
Single Fin
1. Elliot Dudley
2. Jack Unsworth
3. Evan Rogers
4. Lewis Stritch
To get you ready to take on the winter surf this season, performance apparel specials Gul are giving away a new Viper 5/4MM BS CZ Wetsuit worth £250.
Gul’s Viper combines the brands exclusive FX:LITE neoprene with Boltdry X thermal insulation, Razor thin liquid Seam Weld and an A.B.S Closure System.
Lighter, warmer, more insulating and quick drying with improved single sided easy entry. Viper is the latest advancement from the cold water specialist, leaders in innovation for over 50 years.
ABS
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NEOTAPE
NEOTAPE Thermo Seam Tape: 4-way stretch, lightweight, durable glideskin interior seam tape creates an even better seal that keeps warmth in and water out.
FX:LITE
Fx:light neoprene is 15% lighter than X-flex neoprene. Made with more air cells to increase warmth and decrease weight. It’s hydrophobic properties absorbs less water, providing superior warmth and durability.
To enter the competition just hit the button and follow the simple steps
A winner will be drawn on Friday 2nd November at 5pm and will be contacted via direct message on Instagram. Good luck!
For more Gul head to www.gul.com
Twelve junior surfers from across Europe won an all-expenses three day trip to beautiful North Wales; courtesy of O’Neill. All so they could surf with Jordy Smith and get elite level coaching from some of the best in the business. The #RookieRippers comp was open to young European surfers this summer and entries were submitted via Instagram. The cream of the bunch got the call to pack their board bags and prepare for three intense days of fun and waves. On hand to put the young crew through their paces were: -World tour surfer Jordy Smith. -Chris Gallagher Stone, Jordy’s coach and also the US Olympic Team Technical Coach. -Sean Hayes & Chris Drummy: Red Bull High Performance Three full days of surfing went down with the coaches polishing the kid’s acts while also ensuring fun was front and centre. Jordy gave them all a good slice of wisdom from his time as a pro. Video analysis, training routines, breathing exercises and more were all covered. All topped off with a wild presentation quiz night that was an absolute riot. The last day saw a contest with the winners receiving €1000 for their troubles. Portuguese surfer Mafalda Lopez took the ladies crown and Frenchman Tiago Carrique the men’s. The level was ridiculous, and the Welsh Surfing Federation judges had their work cut out to pick them apart. Everyone involved left with a smile on their face, friendships made, surf skills improved and good times had. So much so Rookie Rippers will return for a second instalment in 2019. Check the video for a flavour of the event… Surfers… Lukas Skinner (UK), Tiago Carrique (FR), Daniel Nobrega (PT), Noah Hecht Suarez (SP), Thomas Bebierre (FR), Lucia Machado (CNY), Mafalda Lopez (PT), Julia Gonzales (CNY), Janire Gonzales Etxbarri Lazcano (ESK), Lourenço Gathino (PT), Guilherme Ribeiro (PT) and Beatriz Carvalho (PT).
