It’s been a journey to finally get out and catch a few at the scariest wave that I’ve ever surfed. It’s amazing to me that I’ve been able to continue to find absolute dreamers of novelty waves along my journey for the dream! We’ve been experiencing some amazing surf here on the island and apparently there’s more on the way! Thanks for everything!! – Ben
@bengravyy
@jverni_
Yowalla Gana Warra “hello come dance”
Is a short film and a glimpse into the life of Tahlija Redgard.
Spending her adult life living out of her car from the age of 16 till the present days. Following her passion and love for the ocean surfing, fishing and exploring Australia.
Yowalla Gana Warra is Gunggari for “hello come dance”
Tahlija’s grandmothers nation
In saying “hello come dance” with me on this journey.
An independent film created and edited by Tahlija Redgard @livingsurfingfishing_official
Filmed by Charlotte Martin
All music rights to
Xavier Rudd – message Stick – Spirit bird
The waifs – Crazy train
Tijuana Cartel – Bharaivi Garden
Gurrumul – Wiyathul
Alan Watts
Gastavo Santaolla – endless flight
Kalandra – helheim (Extended)
Ben Harper- Giving ghosts
Serenity- fifth movement
It was a day full of contrasts, showcasing exciting back-to-back action and some slower heats, major upsets from some, and total domination from others. While the lineup was a little jumbled at first, it cleaned up throughout the day and offered some magic Pipeline moments from the best male surfers in the world. Upsets were trending in the Round of 32 with early exits from event favourites and WSL Champions amid stunning showcases from emerging and proven CT talents.
“Those heats are the ones I’m always happy to make it through because there’s just not a lot of waves coming through and it’s hard to have that kind of battle you want to have,” said Florence. “Earlier, Callum got that 9 right after I had my heat and he’s so scary in these conditions. All I can think about was that I’m going to need a better wave. I’m pretty excited for this year. My mind feels good, my body feels really good and I guess mentally I feel better than last year.”
Moody Pipeline Provides Shocking Eliminations of WSL Champions, CT Elite in Round of 32
In a relatively slow first heat of the day, World No. 2 Ethan Ewing (AUS, above) jumped a massive hurdle in trying to keep his 2023 momentum going into the season opener. The Australian eliminated 11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA) with a couple of great tubes at Backdoor, while Slater had a few close calls but couldn’t find exits in the bumpy lineup.
“It’s always nerve-wracking but also exciting coming up against Kelly,” Ewing said. “He’s always been one of my favorite surfers and probably the greatest surfer to surf this wave. I just tried to get as much time out here as possible. This wave is so challenging and has so many different faces, I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.”
Ewing went on to eliminate Liam O’Brien (AUS) in the Round of 16 with another solid two-wave combination to reach the Quarters for the first time in his career at Pipe.
Boukhiam and Smith met in the Round of 16 and Smith wasn’t leaving anything to chance again, this time garnering an excellent 16.50 heat total and surging into the Quarterfinals.
“I lucked into a 4.50 and I just started building my rhythm, and I’m a really rhythmic confident surfer so once I get those things going it starts going my way,” said Smith. “My first 8 was a great feeling. There’s been a lot of heats with guys losing with 8’s and don’t have a backup so that went to the forefront of my mind. The first heat this morning is when you’re feeling how it’s going to react and this one I wanted to push on my board and feel how far I could go.”
Rookie Crosby Colapinto (USA) delivered another massive upset by eliminating three-time World Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) in a set-starved heat, but was eliminated by an in-form Imaikalani deVault (HAW) in the Round of 16.
Remaining Hawaiian Contingent Surge Into Quarterfinals Amid Round of 16 Showdowns
Despite early success from the Hawaiian wildcards, Jackson Bunch (HAW) and Shion Crawford (HAW), both were eliminated in the Round of 32 by respective CT standouts Griffin Colapinto (USA) and Connor O’Leary (JPN). Rookie phenom Eli Hanneman (HAW) also fell in the Round of 32, but a surge of Hawaiian contenders held firm to join Florence in the Quarterfinals.
Representing Maui, deVault and 2023 Rookie of the Year Ian Gentil (HAW) overcame brothers, Griffin and Crosby Colapinto (USA), respectively, in the Round of 16 and will face off in the Quarterfinals. This marks deVault’s first CT Quarterfinal appearance after having to charge past CT veteran Miguel Pupo (BRA) in the Round of 32 before eliminating Crosby Colapinto in their Round of 16 bout.
“That thought was in my mind, I’ve been in that round before and never made it out,” said deVault. “I just wanted to make smart decisions. I knew against Crosby, he got a really score and took out Medina in the heat before, so he was looking really good. I knew it would be about wave selection and got lucky that my really good wave was under priority and he didn’t go so I’m super stoked.”
The North Shore’s own Barron Mamiya (HAW, above) adds his name to the Quarterfinal draw after a remarkable day of competition. Mamiya first eliminated CT threat Frederico Morais (POR) before taking on perennial standout Yago Dora (BRA) in the Round of 16.
For highlights and more information about today’s competition at the Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Men’s Round of 32 Results:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 12.66 DEF. Kelly Slater (USA) 4.27
HEAT 2: Liam O’Brien (AUS) 12.17 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 11.83
HEAT 3: Jake Marshall (USA) 13.77 DEF. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 7.84
HEAT 4: Connor O’Leary (JPN) 8.00 DEF. Jackson Bunch (HAW) 6.84
HEAT 5: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 10.83 DEF. Jack Robinson (AUS) 10.16
HEAT 6: Jordy Smith (RSA) 13.67 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.04
HEAT 7: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 14.16 DEF. Frederico Morais (POR) 7.00
HEAT 8: Yago Dora (BRA) 14.10 DEF. Jacob Willcox (AUS) 12.20
HEAT 9: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 11.17 DEF. Shion Crawford (HAW) 10.33
HEAT 10: Ian Gentil (HAW) 10.67 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 5.40
HEAT 11: Crosby Colapinto (USA) 8.86 DEF. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 2.73
HEAT 12: Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 10.46 DEF. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 10.10
HEAT 13: John John Florence (HAW) 17.34 DEF. Deivid Silva (BRA) 8.84
HEAT 14: Callum Robson (AUS) 13.83 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 10.67
HEAT 15: Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 10.00 DEF. Eli Hanneman (HAW) 5.50
HEAT 16: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 16.00 DEF. Kade Matson (USA) 9.40
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Men’s Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) 14.83 DEF. Liam O’Brien (AUS) 12.00
HEAT 2: Connor O’Leary (JPN) 7.93 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 6.43
HEAT 3: Jordy Smith (RSA) 16.50 DEF. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 4.17
HEAT 4: Barron Mamiya (HAW) 9.50 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 1.74
HEAT 5: Ian Gentil (HAW) 9.17 DEF. Griffin Colapinto (USA) 6.60
HEAT 6: Imaikalani deVault (HAW) 12.67 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 8.83
HEAT 7: John John Florence (HAW) 11.83 DEF. Callum Robson (AUS) 5.00
HEAT 8: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 11.90 DEF. Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 5.93
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Men’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Connor O’Leary (JPN)
HEAT 2: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Barron Mamiya (HAW)
HEAT 3: Ian Gentil (HAW) vs. Imaikalani deVault (HAW)
HEAT 4: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA)
Lexus Pipe Pro Presented by YETI Women’s Opening Round Matchups:
Heat 1: Tyler Wright (AUS), Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW), Luana Silva (BRA)
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW), Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Brisa Hennessy (CRC)
Heat 3: Caroline Marks (USA), India Robinson (AUS), Moana Jones Wong (HAW)
Heat 4: Caitlin Simmers (USA), Gabriela Bryan (HAW), Isabella Nichols (AUS)
Heat 5: Molly Picklum (AUS), Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA), Alyssa Spencer (USA)
Heat 6: Lakey Peterson (USA), Johanne Defay (FRA), Sawyer Lindblad (USA)
La Vaca Gigante launches what could be its 10th edition with a 3 month waiting period. Until May 20th, 2024, local surfers and wave forecasting experts will monitor all the swells that reach the Cantabrian Sea to decide when the best conditions are available for the La Vaca Gigante (The Giant Cow) dispute, a big wave surfing championship that will take place in Santander.
These conditions are waves that can reach 6, 7 or 8 meters in height, with the appropriate strength, winds and tide point. If this occurs, the organisation publishes a series of alerts – which can be followed on social networks – and so a frantic countdown begins to organise the event, which takes place on the cliffs of Cueto, in Cantabria’s capital city. The format of the championship remains invitational, and on this occasion, it will pit 9 local Cantabrian surfers against 9 surfers from the rest of the world. All of them will fight to win the €10,000 prize money. Always accompanied by a powerful and essential safety team, both aquatic (10 jet skis, hospital boat, etc.) and land (lifeguards, ambulances, etc.), as well as thousands of spectators.
During the full house presentation press conference in Banco Santander’s Work Café hosted by Banco Santander’s Territorial Director Manuel Iturbe, the president of the Santander’s Obsession A2 Club, Pedro García, recalled that “currently La Vaca Gigante is the only paddle-in giant wave contest in Europe” and he hopes that the event can be held soon: “Last year it was at the end of March, let’s see if the series of storms that we are going to receive coincides with southerly winds and the tide that we need.”
Among this edition’s news, García highlighted that there will be a streaming broadcast and the promotion of female participation: “We were pioneers, and on this occasion, we have three confirmed surfers: Shannon Marie Quirk, Katie McDonald and Laura Coviella.” There will be no shortage of local riders such as the current champion, Nano Riego, or the discoverer of the wave, Óscar Gómez Ibars, and even international stars such as Lucas ‘Chumbo’ Chianca, winner of the Tow-in Surf World Cup in Nazaré.
Gustavo Cubero, Cantabria’s Government Tourism General Director, stated, “La Vaca Gigante is sustainable and family tourism, so it is very important, and it’s a firm commitment to the future on our part.” The Sports Councilor of the Santander City Council, Beatriz Pellón, agreed: “For the city, it is a spectacular external promotion. La Vaca Gigante will continue and I hope that we can continue supporting it for many years.”
La Vaca Gigante is a big wave surfing championship supported by the Santander City Council through the Department of Tourism and the Municipal Sports Institute and the Government of Cantabria hrough the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, Cantabria Infinita and Lebaniego Jubilee 23-24. In addition, it is sponsored by Blue Banana, White Claw, Camarsa, Banco Santander, Estrella Galicia, Mini Grünblau Motor and Dysmetcant. Collaborators include Aemet, MarCa, Grados Deportivos, European University of the Atlantic, Costa Quebrada and the Cantabrian Surf Federation. The championship is twinned with Gigantes de Nazaré and El Buey Santos del Mar.
Two girls aged 22 set out on an unplanned journey throughout Indonesia with a goal to chase swells and create opportunities to make their first surf film.
Initially they flew into Indonesia for a 3 week trip to shoot for O’neill that further turned into a 2 month hunt for swells to make this surf film. Despite the season being very fickle and slow they managed to link a couple swells and get the ball rolling.
We bring to you “Twenty Two” a surf film made with love by Shannon Hayes and Anne Dos Santos!
“Surfing is my true love and I’m so grateful to be able to share this with you all. I hope that by sharing my dreams with you it also lights your inner fire to chase yours or if you are going through a hard time in your quest that you can gain strength and inspiration from this video.” – Anne Dos Santos
Two brothers and an unknown wave, I mean talk about living the dream. Hit play and watch Nate and John John Florence fine tune this pacific drainer, no tunes, no fancy edits, raw and uncut sliding at its best, you can almost feel the energy of the ocean.
