December 2008 Archives

As you've seen here on RedBullSurfing.com, Julian Wilson has not surfed a contest in four months due to nagging ankle injury. In fact, in Hawaii he was complaining that he "couldn't go left yet." But proving he's certainly on the mend, yesterday he rose to the top at the Ocean and Earth International Teenage Rampage.

This year Portugal's Tiago Pires set out on his maiden ASP World Tour voyage. By year's end he was suffering from a bulged disk in his neck, more broken boards than he cared to count, and a rightful spot on the 2009 tour. That being said, the good folks at ASP Europe tracked down their superstar and posed a few questions. Here's what they talked about:

Let's start with a look at the season you have been through, surfing on both ASP World Tour and ASP World Qualifying Series.
I think it's been a very positive year for me. I managed to get a few good results for my first year on tour, got through several heats at various events so I am happy with this first experience. I would have preferred to start off the season strong with a couple of good places   because it would have given me a better seeding and probably a better rank in the end. I finish 2008 just outside the requalifying Top 27 guys without even surfing the Pipeline Masters because of that injury so I am definitely satisfied with that rookie season. I knew it was going to be tough doing both tours but it was my plan since Day 1 so I went for it. Lots of travel, lots of heats and a lot of pressure on the WQS events because I really needed to do well at these events.

Check Out Video From Trestles

"The Department of Commerce today upheld the California Coastal Commission's objection to a proposal to construct a 16-mile toll road connecting California state Route 241 to Interstate 5 in southern Orange and northern San Diego counties. The commission objected to the proposed project under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) on the grounds that the toll road was not consistent with the state's coastal zone management program."

In plain English, the planned toll road that was going to run right through Trestles and San Onofre is a no go. It's been a long, hard-fought battle, and everybody from the big names like Kelly Slater and Eddie Vedder to the local salts like Grumpy Ron and the Death Weasel chipped in, and proving that if you standup for what you believe in sometimes good things happen.

For the fifth consecutive season, worldwide professional surfing begins in the United States and specifically in Florida with the commencement of the O'Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro Presented by Ron Jon Surf Shop.  The event is scheduled to run between January 11-18 and is once again timed to coincide with the semi-annual Surf Expo show in Orlando.  

The 4-star Association of Surfing Professionals event will feature more than 200 of the best and best emerging surfers in the world as they battle for an $85,000.00 cash purse and valuable points leading to a berth on pro surfing's elite World Championship Tour.

Check The Sofia Trailer

Sofia, the award winning, 52-minute documentary that uncovers the spirit of surfer Sofia Mulanovich, can be taken home on DVD this holiday season. This 16mm film tells the story of an unlikely heroine who inspired a new energy within her developing nation of Peru.

"This film is about more than just me or surfing, it is an inspirational story about a movement in a whole culture. My favorite part of the film is that it features people so close to me, who are a big part of who I am today," Mulanovich says of the film's story line that follow seven people, who have influenced or been influenced by the 25-year-old. "Hopefully, by sharing this story more people can enjoy the beauty, energy and love of the people and the country of Peru."

"I've been scoring some great waves so far this winter. I'm living in a little studio at Rocky Rights. I've been surfing Rockies on the small days. On the big days I've been charging Pipeline and Phantoms.  Last week was super action packed. I spent a week up in Alaska scoring a 10-foot left point break with the Red Bull crew. Upon arriving back to Paradise I was greeted with a 15-18ft NW swell that lit up Phantoms, my favorite outer reef.  The winds were ultra light and made for some superb big wave paddling. I towed it that Tuesday evening. Those are the days I live for.  The rest of the week was all about Pipeline with my new Go Pro Camera. I've been scoring some awesome shots and video from using it. Here's a few samples. I just have a little lens mounted on the front of my board, and it's been capturing some pretty nuts images. Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them." Jamie Sterling

"I don't understand it," stammered Ian Walsh, in his ever-present sarcastic tone, the first semifinal--Kelly Slater vs. Timmy Reyes--in the water. After battling back from a bad bout with food poisoning Ian had just gotten out of his upstairs bed at Red Bull's Off The Wall house. He continued, "I go down to Micronesia with him, he gets the best waves, I get skunked. He gets back just in time and barely makes his Round 3 heat. I miss my heat. He wins the Pipe Masters. I get food poisoning. Now look, he just dropped a 10, what is it with that guy?" And that was pretty much the day's theme: whatever anybody else can do Kelly does better. Today he mowed through Kieren Perrow, Jamie O'Brien, Timmy Reyes and Chris Ward to claim his sixth Pipe Masters crown, and prove once again that he's just better than everybody.  

You've seen it here on RedBullSurfing.com, now you can get as weird as you want from the comfort of your living room. To sound like a bad sales cliché, just in time for Christmas the much anticipated film Inside Tahiti is now ready to be suffed in stockings. So go ahead, spread a little Christmas cheer and put somebody you love right in the pit at Teahupoo. It's available world-wide, and yes, you can gedt it on Blu-Ray too.  

For Day One the swell was pumping and everybody that surfed had no choice but to push themselves, but for Day Two the swell on the decline, the show was more based around ability and technique. You could make the argument that nobody in the world combines ability and technique better than Joel Parkinson, and if you were looking for something to support this argument all you had to do was watch his Round 3 heat against Dusty Payne. But we'll talk more about the Parko/Payne heat in a few minutes. There was heaps of other intriguing stuff on the day, and the following are a few notable highlights.

Day One of the Billabong Pipe Masters is in the books, and thanks to a throbbing northwest swell and light trades, we were treated to a hell of a show. As to be expected the local contingent dominated the dojo. Out of the 24 heats that were surfed today only four were won by world tour surfers, the rest all went to "wildcards." That being said, here's a few highlights from Day One:

Expedition surfing is forever evolving. It's a great big world being made smaller by the use of modern day technology. The ultimate adventure is still out there to be found, and as we always know, discovery is unpredictable.  

But with discovery comes risk and reward and no other athletes were more up to the task then the Red Bull crew of Jamie Sterling, Maya Gabeira, Carlos Burle, Raimana Van Bostaloer and Quiksilver's Jamie Mitchell on a recent trip chasing big waves in Yakutat in Alaska.

Words: Ben Mondy
The North Shore has been thumping to a raw energy over the last couple of days, with yesterday peaking in terms of intensity, swell and action. After watching two footers lapping the shore the night before, sunrise bought a new ten foot swell, washed clean by a straight easterly offshore. Every hour the swell would build, lighting up every inner and outer reef on the North Shore.

Down at Pipe a crowd of 20 guys tried to dodge and weave between 15 foot second reef chargers, some being way more successful than others. Michel Bourez, fresh from his win at the Reef Hawaiian Pro last week, was one of the less successful surfers out there, being handed a thorough beating that left the Tahitian rattled for a variety of reasons.

It's easy to forget exactly how angry the sea can be, but one look at Sunset yesterday and it was more than apparent just how mean things can get. With 20-foot bombs hucking one the outside bowl and a freight train current running through the lineup just surviving your heat was a feat in and of itself. But then you throw guys like Mick Fanning and Jordy Smith into the mix and not only do they survive, they absolutely shine. Yesterday at Sunset was, to borrow a bad cliche, a day that separated the men from the boys. Both Mick and Jordy made it through their heats, and now we're down to one more day of competition left. Will the surf be booming like it was yesterday? Only Neptune can tell, but given the luck the Triple Crown has had thus far, I'd say it's a pretty good possibility. Stay tuned as this thing wraps up.

This December Red Bull will be conducting a series of round table discussion with  the best surfers in the world. One will be based around the big-wave frontier, while the other will be about what constitutes state of the art surfing. Everybody from Bruce Irons to Julian Wilson to Jamie O'Brien will be in attendance. This is your opportunity to pick their brain. Go ahead, ask a question. It's easy, all you have to do is post your question in the comments section below and we'll ask it for you. Your answers, as well as much more, will be broadcast here on RedBullSurfing.com. Remember, the only dumb question is the one you don't ask, so what are you waiting for?