July 2008 Archives
The forth incarnation of the Rip Curl Search is off and running..."somewhere in Indo" they're saying...and while it ain't hard to figure out where they are, it also ain't hard to argue with the quality of surf thus far. The waves "somewhere in Indo" have been absolutely bombing, and the performances the boys are putting in have been mind-boggling to say the least.
Continue reading Sweet Somewhere: An Update From the Rip Curl Search.
"Well
it's been a big day, I knew I had to surf four heats and I did that, so
it's cool. The boys went out last night, but I just went to a
vegetarian cafe and laid low and was pretty quiet and had a chilled
night. I didn't feel tired through the day, even though in the end I
surfed four heats. I probably felt the nerves in the semi more. I
actually fell a lot and in the end scraped through with a six point
ride with about five seconds to go. That
last wave, well I had a 1000 things going through my mind, I mean I was
thinking too much, which for me is bad thing and I didn't even know
what I was going to do on the last turn.
Even then I still didn't think I had the score, but I got it. I think I
had a few boos from the crowd in the stands, as I took out Brett
Simpson, the local guy.
Continue reading Tim Boal Shares His Thoughts After A Big Day Out.
By Ben Mondy"It
was a pretty surreal situation, just standing there at the water's
edge, surrounded by a full scrum of spectators and media and the Red
Bull guys, not knowing if I had won the whole event."
That
was Tim Boal, describing pretty accurately what was, by any stretch of
the bizarre, a pretty surreal situation. Tim had already surfed through
four heats today, progressing from the round of 16 all the way through
to final of the Honda US Open.
"Introducing Tim Boal," Andy King has earlier cried, in fierce pride when Tim had surfed with immense flair and huge composure to score a semifinal winning wave with less than ten seconds to go, overcoming home town hero Brett Simpson.
"Introducing Tim Boal," Andy King has earlier cried, in fierce pride when Tim had surfed with immense flair and huge composure to score a semifinal winning wave with less than ten seconds to go, overcoming home town hero Brett Simpson.
Continue reading Red Bull Rising: "Introducing Tim Boal".
It's
a Saturday, oh yeah, sunseekers, its super Saturday in Surf City. I'd
been kinda hazy on the chronological side of things. Every day here at
the US Open had been kinda bluring together into one long endless
summer's day. Each morning, for the last eon had been eerily,
uncannily, similar. A hazy dawn would reveal the same three-foot
running south swell. By midday the high tide and slight onshore would
have chased the haze and the clouds away, and the WQS high-speed
warriors would be detonating the Huntington left zippers into the pier,
or massaging the slower rights into the packed beach and bleachers.
Continue reading Red Bull Rising: Just another day in Surf City.
Well
it's been a good week. Before here, after Durban, I had a couple of
weeks back home in Tahiti, and oh my God, it was pumping. It really
was. We had a couple of sessions at Teahupoo - maybe six to eight feet.
The swell was a little west, but there from south ones and yeah it was
so good. So I was relaxed and happy and ready for the comps, ready to
do well. After this event we go straight to Japan and then on to
England and then Europe, so its a big leg and a pretty important one. I've
some had heat wins and I feel my confidence is way better. In
yesterday's heat I felt like I was just free surfing, you know for me,
that is the best way, when I am relaxed. I've had a really good board
over here and we've had some fun waves so its been good. After the
heats, even before, there are a lot of distractions - I had TV
interviews and its not something I really like. I'd rather just surf
and do well but here with the crowds and the noise it can be difficult,
you just have to really focus on the waves and your heat, I was talking
to Kingy, working out where to sit, what waves work, and I was lucky
that it worked. I was kind of on my own out there and I had some great
waves at the start and it all came together. I'd also been watching my
good friend Tim Boal and he'd been ripping and winning so that helped,
I wanted to do well too. And then today it wasn't so good. I fell on a
couple and it was close, but I went down. You get pretty angry and like
now I go like straight to another event, in Japan, so it's like, well,
it's just hard. It's never good losing, it sucks, but you just have to
move on. Maybe tonight I'll relax, have a few drinks and then tomorrow
support and watch Tim - he powered again today. That's about it, right
now, I don't want to talk about it. I just want to think about the next
event, that's it, that's what matters.
Continue reading MICHAEL BOUREZ: "right now, I don't want to talk about it.".
By Miles MastersonRead the whole story and see the photos here
Sat 26 July 2008 1530h- Red Bull Big Wave Africa 2008 is done and dusted. What an insane contest, the 15 to 20 foot sets and clean conditions a fitting way to celebrate the event's 10th year. The unofficial results are Twiggy Baker (RSA) in first, Carlos Burle (BRZ) second, Greg Long (USA) third, James Taylor (RSA) fourth, Anthony Tashnick (USA) fifth and Mark Healy (HI) in sixth.
South Africa's Baker, who hails from Durban, dominated the half hour final with two bomb waves, scoring 8.2 and 9. Burle spent the latter half of the heat chasing Twiggy's scores but couldn't quite find the big sets he required. Same counted for 2003 BWA victor Long, who scored a perfect 10-point tube ride earlier in the day and caught the first wave of the final, taking off deep on a massive wall and riding it high and critical in the pocket, but spent the rest of the time scratching around trying to find a back-up wave. Continue reading...
You've seen him on the Goldie. You've seen him in Huntington. You've seen him in all the magazines. The Wonder From Down Under, the Sunny Coast Super Star, yes ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's Julian Wilson. And now you have the chance to get your arms around him...or at least his surfboard. It's easy. For the next 30 days any time you text SURF to 32287 you enter to win Julian Wilson's autographed surfboard. 
So I'd always wanted to a pro surfer. I mean, who doesn't? And you know
I could have been a contender. If I only had the talent, and the looks,
and the drive, and the balance, and the stickers. Did I mention talent?
And yet I thought I'd dealt with those demons. Thought I'd driven a
sharp arsenic laced stake through the heart of the divide between what
I wanted and what I am. And then I came to Huntington, for the Honda US
Open. A place built, designed, refined, and aligned with the
Godification of the the pro surfer. Here these mini-gods are able to
walk around with shiny white new sticks, their brown skin and their
glittering futures, right through the adoring Californian mass
disciples. Knee tremblingly beautiful girls want to be with you,
mohawked nipple pierced 40-somethings want to be you and every one from
fat Montana mums, to 17th street bums to young surfie groms want to
know you.And well I figured if you can't beat em, join em. My simple plan was to tag along with a pro surfer for a day, just to try and soak up the adulation, share the pressure (heck, maybe even the prize money) and live the dream. I knew what it doesn't take, I wanted to find out what it does take, to make it, especially in this joint, this pro surfing high church.
Continue reading Red Bull Rising: Walking With The Gods.
Well I've been thinking about the heat for a while, I mean I've
traveled along way for this event, so you know it's there. But I
suppose it was yesterday I really started focusing on in it. We went
out for a surf in the competition area last night before dark, in some
of the worst conditions you'll ever come across, and I was checking out
how my board feels and getting ready and so its only human to go over
what might happen in the heat the next day. And then I went out for dinner with the rest of the Red Bull guys to a sushi place up near Seal Beach - I may have ordered the biggest plate of food I've ever seen, the leftovers could feed an army, so anyway that was that, I went to sleep, trying not to think about it too much.
In the morning I just got up and got my boards ready and tried not to eat too much - just an orange and some water and then went down the to the comp. I was in the third heat, so I didn't have that long to wait, so I had a little 20 minute free surf on the other side of the pier. I actually felt pretty good in the free surf, I finally have a good board and I've been feeling pretty good in the last few days, so it was a confidence booster. I've had a some pretty bad results in the last few comps which affects your confidence, so it felt good to be surfing like that.
Continue reading Tim Boal's Sushi Dinner.
Hout
Bay, Cape Town - There is a strong groundswell approaching Cape Town,
and this Friday and Saturday are looking like prime days to run the Red
Bull Big Wave Africa 2008. Event organizers only need one day of optimum surf to run the event, and Saturday is looking best. Organizers have called an Amber Alert and the
event is currently on 24-hour standby. "It's going to be very difficult to not call the event on Saturday judging by what the charts are showing," said official event forecaster Steve Pike. "The swell looks really good throughout the day."
Co-contest director Gary Linden from California is also upbeat about what the swell charts are revealing. "The swell is looking really good for Friday and Saturday, and we're all ready to go," said Gary. "We'll be on the mountain at first light Friday to have a look."
Attention: Should we have a green for go this weekend there will be a live webcast of the entire event at RedBullBWA.com, as well as image and video uploads throughout the event.
Check Out The PhotosWords by Ben Mondy
"I swear on my mother's grave, that's what I saw, why would I make that up? I couldn't even begin to make that up." I'm in the passenger seat being driven down from LAX to Huntington by Red Bull Rising coach Andy King. And I'm incredulous. Kingy had just told me that only an hour ago, in a mall, he had watched slack jawed, widemouthed and freaked out, as a dog came walking through carrying a cat. Now that, possibly, is weird enough, but not only was the dog carrying a cat, but the cat was carrying a rat. He was too stupefied to even take a photo. The dog, the cat, and the rat just walked by, no owner (or owners) in sight, off into the fluro lit distance.
Continue reading Red Bull Rising: From Gilligan's Island to the Holy Grail.
"I love coming to California, I really do. You know it's a good place
to prove yourself and even if the waves are sloppy, it's still such a
good place to do well. To me, down here, it feels like a real sport.
There's the infrastructure and the hype and just the interest, so I'm
always excited to come to California and try and win. Before here I'd been home back in Kauai for a little while, I went home to work on my boards and my surfing and gather my marbles and just get ready for this event, the Honda US Open. I came in about a week and a half ago - I came early as there was no waves in Hawaii and I heard there was swell here, so I got here as quickly as I could.
Continue reading Red Bull Rising: Gavin's Thoughts.
Well folks, we're off and running. The U.S. Open is back for another go and we've got ourselves a week's worth of mayhem, parties, and even a bit of surfing...and if this last weekend's warm-up was even a hint of what we're in for as the main event gets cracking, it's going to be a hell of a ride. Julian Wilson, who's been in the States for over a month now and recently won the Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure, is in blistering form. From Round One of the Honda Junior Pro all the way through the semis, Julian's proven to be the man to beat. The final is coming up this weekend. And as for the main event, well, considering it's the only six-star WQS on the U.S. Mainland, it's safe to say everybody's amped out of their gourd. The Red Bull Rising crew just moved into their temporary digs up on 15th Street. "The house is sick," noted Hawaiian representative Gavin Gillette. "The surf's been pumping, it's definitely summertime in California." That being said, the first Red Bull Rising installment's coming up tomorrow, so tune back in for fresh videos, photos, and the ever-classic blog by Rising's own Ben Mondy, as well as the surfers themselves.
Words and Photos by Greg WeatherallCheck out Final Day photos right here...
...and don't miss the video highlights either.
Another epic day in South Africa, for the Billabong Pro at Jefferys Bay, with Super Tubes providing an amazing playground for the surfers to battle it out in front of a huge local crowd. The swell was around for another day, and with light offshore winds for the majority of the heats, those watching on the beach and around the world on the web cast were treated to a truly world class show. The Red Bull crew were a huge part of the final day of competition, with Bruce, Andy, Fanning and Adriano all still in contention at the beginning of the day. Brucey got to surf the first heat of the day and got some of the biggest waves seen at J-Bay in quite some time, but Fanning the eventual runner-up, got the better of him. Andy boosted some huge airs, showcasing more of his free surfing prowess, than his usual competition style surfing. He rounded out the event in fifth place, not quite what the 3x world champion was looking for, but still a solid result. Adriano De Souza continues with his best season on the World Championship Tour. The rising star of the of the 2008 season, put his current 6th place ranking, down to consistently making it to the quarters and semi's, his fast, smooth style is getting solid recognition from the judges, the crowds and his fellow surfers.
Last season Fanning had a stare of confidence and determination that saw him take out the world title. The event in J Bay, along with the Quiky Pro at Snapper, are the only two times this season, Mick's had that same look in his eye and the result followed. Fanning was the man to watch throughout the contest, posting high score after high score, crushing the majority of his opponents on the way to the finals. He faced off against eight time world champ, Kelly Slater in the finals. Slater has been untouchable all season, not loosing a single heat to a WCT competitor. Mick Fanning, gave it his best shot, but struggled to get the waves that converted into high scores rounding out the event at J-Bay in second place.
Red Bull Surfers & The Current 2008 ASP World Tour Rankings
1 Kelly Slater
2 Joel Pakinson
3 Bede Durbidge
4 Mick Fanning
5 Taj Burrow
6 Adriano de Souza
7 C.J Hobgood
8 Andy Irons
19 Bruce Irons
26 Ben Dunn
34 Royden Bryson
39 Tiago Pires
Update and photos by Greg WeatherallSuper Tubes is living up to its name. A full day of round three and several heats of round 4 went down today, with perfect 4-5 foot offshore walls peeling down the line. The South African locals turned up to support and watch the heats go down, as well as enjoy some beautiful mid winter sun. Adriano is killing it, and will not be surprised to see him make the semi's or finals, Brucey had a slow heat, but showed moments of brilliants to scrape through. Fanning is Fanning, 'White Lightening' and with this wave being the closest resemblance to his home break of snapper rocks, he tore it apart. Andy also made it through to round four, but was not looking his best. The swell is meant to hang around tomorrow although the winds will be onshore. Hopefully just lightly, and if all goes well, the event will wrap up, tomorrow afternoon. See BillabongPro.com for further details.
After 10 years in the making, Red Bull South Africa is proud to
announce the prize money for the ten year anniversary edition of the
Red Bull Big Wave Africa. Over the last nine years the contest has only
been run three times, but this year expectations are high that good
conditions at Dungeons will be forthcoming, and the required conditions
met.First prize for Red Bull Big Wave Africa is R100,000 (US$12,500), second prize is R50,000 (US$6,250) and third prize is R30,000 (US$3,750). After this, every single one of the 24 invited surfers will receive prize money on a sliding scale related to their placing in the event. The prize pool is R300,000.
Continue reading Red Bull Big Wave Africa Set For Banner Year.
Congratulations goes out to Gabriel Villaran who was crowned Champion of the National Surf competition last weekend after winning the seventh stop of the tour hosted by Chevrolet in Punta Roquitas Bch, two stops before the end of the championship. This means Gabriel off the hook and doesn't have to complete the tour which finish this month in Huanchaco. Villaran beat Sofia's brother, Matias Mulanovich, German Aguirre and Red Bull grom Cristobal de Col (15 years old) in the final accumulating 4,980 points making impossible for the other competitors to catch him in the overall ranking. "I'm stoked of being here, I thought I was not going to be on time for this competition because I was in Indo. This victory comes in good time, I am going to Huanchaco with no pressure, thanks to all my sponsors, Quiksilver, Red Bull, Movistar, Motorola, DC & Oakley for the support and the trust they put on me" 
The Billabong Pro's coming to J-Bay here in just a couple of days, and after a nice little rest since the South Pacific leg the boys are fired up and ready to get back at it. Andy Irons is an obvious favorite, and after a slew of quarterfinal results he's more than eager to go a bit further...and by that I mean win the whole damn thing. Mick Fanning's in a similar boat. After making the final at Snapper at the start of the year he's intent on getting back in the saddle. And then there's the surging Adriano De Souza, it'll be interesting to see if he can keep his streak alive. He lit everybody up in Tahiti and Fiji, and now it's time for some quality point-surf. And of course you can't for get about local boy Royden Bryson. Royden, along with the entire South African contingent, have a good chance of knocking anybody out in any given round. And rounding out the crew is rookie sensation Tiago Pires. Stay tuned, shit's going down on the Dark Continent. 
Julian Wilson proved to be the form surfer of the day, claiming victory at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-4 Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure presented by Jack's Surfboards, in improved two-to-three foot peaky conditions over Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Head AUS), Chris Salisbury (Newport, AUS) and Andrew Doheny (Newport Beach, CA).
Wilson wasted no time in the final, acquiring two solid scores in the opening minutes to put his fellow finalists on the ropes. His performance topped off a flawless run of competition, which saw him win every heat he surfed in from Round 1.
"This win feels really good," Wilson said. "I've never had a good result here, and I thought if I came here and did this event it would be good experience for the US Open, and it's worked out well that I came here early. I'm pumped for the US Open, and I can't wait for it."
Wilson was a standout throughout the event's entirety, winning a total of seven heats over the stack of international talent. The young Australian posted the event's highest total heat score of a near perfect 18.35 out of possible 20 points in his Quarterfinal heat against current ASP North American Pro Junior Series ratings leader Cory Arrambide (Ventura, CA),
Hawaiian standout Kai Barger (Haiku, HI) and San Diegan Brent Reilly
(Carlsbad, CA).
"The waves have gotten a lot better," Wilson said. "I think there's still a bit of tide on it, but it's really clean, and there are more fun peaks, and not so many closeouts, and it's not too hard to get a score out here today."
