October 2008 Archives

It's hard to imagine you missed it the first time around, but for those who spaced on the 15-part extravaganza on VBS.com affectionately known as the School of Surf, there's hope for you yet. Next time you find yourself clicking about MySpace in the darkest hours of the night keep your mind out of the gutter. Instead get hyped on the Action Sports channel and get your slacker ass all caught up on  School of Surf. It's all there for you, go ahead, go check out all the dramas in the crazy world of high school surfing...the waves, the girls, glory. What the hell are you waiting for...just come back to RedBullSurfing.com when you're done getting weird. 

After busting up his ankle something bad a couple months ago, Julian Wilson is back in the water...sort of. The Sunshine Coast prodigy has been recently spotted carting his "lid"--or boogie board to the layperson--around town. Believe it or not, Julian has joined the rank and file of spongers, speed bumps, dick-dragers, or whatever other slurr you choose to use when talking about bodyboarding. He claims it's just a temporary thing and that belly spinners don't compare to a good, old fashioned cutback, but by the looks of this photo he's having a frighteningly good time. Word from Down Under is that he'll be cleared to stand on his own two feet (and a surfboard) in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully he kicks the sponge to the curb and get back to foam and fiberglass. Stay tuned for his triumphant return (or more ridiculous photos).

With a win at the six-star Onbongo Pro 18-year-old Wiggolly Dantes, one of the chosen few participating in the Red Bull Rising program, has slid into 32nd on the WQS rankings. "It's a dream come true - I'm very happy," Wiggolly would say immediately after the win. "I just can't believe it, and I dedicate the victory to two important locals: Scatena who passed away years ago and Aranha who lives here. They always supported me and I'm happy to win at home. I was focused on this event and to win here, with all the support from the people on the beach, it was amazing. It's the new generation charging. The heat was tough because Jadson was surfing pretty well too, but my high score switched the heat balance. I have no words to describe my feelings. I just want to party with my family here." That being said, the WQS season is quickly winding down and it's going to take another couple solid results for Wiggolly to qualify, but even if he doesn't make it this year, he's definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with as he comes of age.

• Watch The Video
• See The Photos

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity where a group of talented surfers were able to surf, hangout and learn from their heroes. About 20 talented young surfers of the region of Biarritz were invited on Saturday 4 October to spend a day with Red Bull athlete Tim Boal and some of Tim's pro surfing friends.  Top 45 surfer Ben Dunn from Australia, and WQS surfers Michel Bourez  and Matt Wilkinson, joined Tim in the very successful day.

Landing a solid third place finish at the 6-star Rio Surf International, held at Brazil's Arpoador Beach, Michel Bourez inches ever closer to his goal of joining the world's best surfers on the 2009 ASP World Tour. Locking down 1875 points for the result in Brazil, he's now moved up to 10th place in the WQS rankings. What exactly does this mean for the Tahitian upstart? Well, for one, at the end of the 2008 WQS season the top 14 athletes qualify for the World Tour. This means if nothing too dramatic happens in the home stretch Michel's qualification is as good as set. This makes him the second participant of Red Bull Rising program to qualify this year, after his mate Tim Boal, who's currently ranked 5th in the WQS. Click here to find out more about Red Bull Rising.

In case you've started this Monday morning off not really all that eager to get right down to work, might I recommend a few video clips to tune into first. By now you know that Pipe's had it's first legit swell, which means Jamie O'Brien's back in the spotlight and doing what he does best. That being said, click here, hold on, shut up, and check out some of Jamie's bombs. And while we're on the subject of Hawaii, don't miss Ian Walsh talking about his first time at Jaws, what it takes to ride the biggest waves on the planet, and why the hell he does it. I hope this helps kick start your week...now tell your boss you have to go home because you're not feeling well and sneak away for a shred session.

Last year Sofia made a hard end-of-the-year charge in 2007 for the women's ASP world title, ultimately finishing runner-up. What a difference a year makes. She's back and standing on top of ratings. By clamping down a solid third-place showing at the Beachley Classic, stop number five of eight on tour, Mulanovich is now 463 points ahead of the pack.

Succumbing to a minor injury in the semifinals, that all-important first place ranking was secured earlier in the contest after Stephanie Gilmore lost in round three to 14-year-old Tyler Wright--who would actually go on to crush everybody, win the event, and make history as the youngest surfer to ever win an ASP event.

How good has the last week week in France been? Well, after the world tour events ended some of the boys stayed over a few days and scored some ridiculous waves. Some are calling it the "session of the year."Aussie Kai Otton reportedly snapped his board in three places on one particularly heavy morning in close-out barrels. The boys have reckoned it so good that while California's been experiencing a hell of a run of it's own, Chris Ward opted to stay in Europe and have a field day. That being said, the editor of this site paddled out as well, and promptly got served. Making only 50% of his waves, he was humbled and regretted making so many tasteless French jokes over the course of his life. That being said, here's a few videos to check out from earlier in the month:

• Fall In France W/ Evan Geiselman and Kolohe Andino
• Hossegor Highlights

It's no secret that the French beachbreaks are some of the best in the world. Exposed to Atlantic swell, the shifting sandbars and tide swings mean that conditions are in a perpetual state of flux and if you know when and where to be you can score wide-open pits all to yourself. But riding waves is only half the trip, here are five ridiculous reason to go to the land of wine and cheese:

1. Topless beaches: I mean really, is there anything better than going out for or coming in from a surf and checking bare breasted women? Just be careful, some of the dudes get a little liberal and you may accidentely catch a glimps of some sunburned sausage.

2. The Vin: French wine is notorious for a reason, it's cheap and it's good. So after a long day of shredding, why not end it right with a bottle (or two or three) of some good red.

3. Funny cars: While Italians have Ferraris and Lamborghinis, the French have Citroens and Peugeots. Not to much to brag about there, other than the fact that they're pretty dang funny looking.

4. Speedos: If you're into rocking the banna hammock nowhere is more accepting than the French.
 
5. Pastries: You may not be able to find anything to eat during the day, but when you do finally stumble upon somewhere that's actually open don't miss the desserts. A lot's been said about French cuisine, but take it from somebody who's been here for the past month, dessert is the best part.

Ladies and gentlemen, the ASP's European swing is officially over. Setting the pace for the Red Bull crew was Brazil's Adriano De Souza, who's kept his career year raging. With a semifinal finish at the Quiksilver Pro France, and now a quarterfinal finish at the Billabong Pro Mundaka, Adriano has secured his spot as one of the top five surfers in the world. "That was a goal of mine this year," told Adriano. "I wanted to finish in the top five at the end of the year. I put in a lot of hard work training and working at it, but now I'm seeing the results and that's very good."

The rain fell, the tide dropped, and the waves pumped. After a near-tragic day yesterday, the Billabong Pro Mundaka found itself on remarkably better footing today. "It was unreal out there," cackled Parko after making his Round 3 heat, that classic shit-eating grin stretching from ear to ear. Four-to six-foot double-ups were aplenty, but for as good as the surf was, maybe the best call of the day came when organizers implemented the overlapping format, which for those of you who haven't been paying attention means that basically two heats are run concurrently with priority going to one pair of surfers for the first 20 minutes of the heat, then changing the second 20 mintues. "For a place like Mundaka, it's perfect," explained Adriano De Souza at day's end. "You can get 16 heats done in almost the same time as 8 heats, which means you can maximize the conditions."

I've got some good news and some bad from the Billabong Pro Mundaka. First the good: Round 1 is done and over. Kelly won, and now stands one heat away from claiming his ninth world title. Now the bad: The Red Bull crew had mixed results today. With Andy, Bruce and Mick absent fromt he competition, Round One saw Adriano De Souza, Ben Dunn and Royden Bryson stumble. Tiago Pires would be the only bright spot in arguably the worst day of surf in Dream Tour history. Last year's Mundaka contest was a rough one, and with all but the final taking place up the road at Bakio it had most of the ASP Top 45 begging not to come back. But Billabong staff and contest organizers figured they'd remedied the situation by moving the alternate site an hour away to a beachbreak near the town of Sopelana. Well folks, this call was 10 times worse than last years. It was miserable.