Rip Curl Pro Portugal highlights

Rip Curl Pro Portugal highlights

The second day of the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal wrapped up this Sunday after the Elimination Rounds and the Women’s Round of 16, in a tricky Supertubos that still offered surfers the opportunity to land committed manoeuvres!

Here are the highlights from Team Rip Curl:

• Samuel Pupo and George Pittar found themselves in the same Elimination Round alongside Ramzi Boukhiam. Samuel won his heat and continues his journey: “It’s my first heat of the year so far, two events in and I just haven’t really found my rhythm yet, but I really like this place. I was in a super tricky heat, with really hard conditions and against two amazing surfers, so I knew it was gonna be a hard one, but I feel like conditions were in my favor. I really like to surf in this type of conditions at home, so I felt like I was ready for it. It’s no big deal yet, but it’s still a heat win. There’s still so much work to do, but that is definitely a confidence booster.” Unfortunately, George Pittar was eliminated.

• Molly Picklum, Tyler Wright, and Erin Brooks have all qualified for the quarter-finals!
• Molly Picklum took the win against Luana Silva: “I had a shaky start here, it was scary yesterday, so I think particularly today I was excited to lean on my surfing and trust the ocean a little more than what I did yesterday, and process what I’m bringing to this year—like sticking and committing to what I know and what I have, and just having fun with it.”
• Erin Brooks topped her heat against Lakey Peterson: “The heat was so much fun, there were so many lefts coming through, so that definitely stoked me out, and I was so thankful to the Lord for bringing me these waves because it was definitely easy to get lost out there, especially with the tide coming in. I was a little bit nervous going out there, especially against Lakey—I’ve looked up to her for so long—but I’m stoked to get the win and to be in Finals Day.”
• Tyler Wright, on her side, eliminated Sally Fitzgibbons and also advances to the quarter-finals.

Here are the detailed results of the day and the upcoming heats:

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented By Corona Cero Women’s Elimination Round Results:
HEAT 1: Yolanda Hopkins (POR) 8.50 DEF. Bella Kenworthy (USA) 8.33, Brisa Hennessy (CRC) 5.30
HEAT 2: Luana Silva (BRA) 9.80 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 9.60, Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 8.56

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented By Corona Cero Women’s Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 13.24 DEF. Isabella Nichols (AUS) 7.90
HEAT 2: Johanne Defay (FRA) 9.37 DEF. Vahine Fierro (FRA) 9.00
HEAT 3: Molly Picklum (AUS) 11.03 DEF. Luana Silva (BRA) 8.87
HEAT 4: Tyler Wright (AUS) 10.67 DEF. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 6.54
HEAT 5: Caitlin Simmers (USA) 13.24 DEF. Yolanda Hopkins (POR) 8.03
HEAT 6: Erin Brooks (CAN) 13.67 DEF. Lakey Peterson (USA) 10.34
HEAT 7: Bella Kenworthy (USA) 11.33 DEF. Sawyer Lindblad (USA) 8.37
HEAT 8: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 12.06 DEF. Bettylou Sakura Johnson (HAW) 12.00

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented By Corona Cero Women’s Quarterfinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Johanne Defay (FRA)
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)
HEAT 3: Caitlin Simmers (USA) vs. Erin Brooks (CAN)
HEAT 4: Bella Kenworthy (USA) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW)

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented By Corona Cero Men’s Elimination Round Results:
HEAT 1: Deivid Silva (BRA) 12.43 DEF. Jake Marshall (USA) 9.73, Frederico Morais (POR) 8.07
HEAT 2: Marco Mignot (FRA) 9.40 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 8.50, Joao Chianca (BRA) 8.37
HEAT 3: Liam O’Brien (AUS) 11.63 DEF. Edgard Groggia (BRA) 11.27, Ian Gouveia (BRA) 6.80
HEAT 4: Samuel Pupo (BRA) 11.50 DEF. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 11.33, George Pittar (AUS) 11.06

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented By Corona Cero Men’s Round of 32 Matchups:
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) vs. Ian Gentil (HAW)
HEAT 2: Crosby Colapinto (USA) vs. Liam O’Brien (AUS)
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Samuel Pupo (BRA)
HEAT 4: Jake Marshall (USA) vs. Imaikalani deVault (HAW)
HEAT 5: Ethan Ewing (AUS) vs. Gatien Delahaye (FRA)
HEAT 6: Connor O’Leary (JPN) vs. Cole Houshmand (USA)
HEAT 7: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
HEAT 8: Jordy Smith (RSA) vs. Alan Cleland (MEX)
HEAT 9: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Jorgann Couzinet (FRA)
HEAT 10: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) vs. Joel Vaughan (AUS)
HEAT 11: Rio Waida (INA) vs. Deivid Silva (BRA)
HEAT 12: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Matthew McGillivray (RSA)
HEAT 13: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Marco Mignot (FRA)
HEAT 14: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Seth Moniz (HAW)
HEAT 15: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Jackson Bunch (HAW)
HEAT 16: Barron Mamiya (HAW) vs. Edgard Groggia (BRA)

Carve Magazine Issue 226

Carve Magazine Issue 226

Carve Surfing Magazine

Carve Magazine Issue 226

The new issue is out. You can get it delivered to door for by hitting this link here.

Wow… what a winter.
Some classic sessions in the east and south, with southwest England, Wales and southwest Ireland all on fire. I’m not sure I’ve seen a run of surf like it for many years – especially in the Southwest – with consistent swell and favourable wind conditions for weeks on end. Hope you scored!

So here we are with a packed issue 226 to entertain you between sessions. Alex Williams takes a look back at the birth of a UK professional surfing circuit in 1984, which evolved into an amazing European tour. These events brought the British surfing tribe together and raised the standard of our competitive surfers – both in the water and in the bar. Some classic moments were had, and it’s a shame that we don’t have a similar tour these days.
While it’s been pumping at home, there has also been the usual mass winter exodus. Van-lifer Ben Hartley has combined his love of surfing with work since 2021, when he set off to Nazaré in his trusty van to see what all the fuss was about. He’s been back every year since and now pays his way by shooting the tow teams. In Shooting Giants, Hartley takes us behind the scenes at the big wave capital of Europe.

Also travelling solo this winter was Ollie Sweet, who headed off to Indo, hitting some off-the-beaten-track spots, as well as the go-to off-season breaks. As you’ll find out in his write up on page 94, he made lots of local friends out there, scored some epic waves and had a great time doing it.

Also in this issue we have a great insight into surfing life, finding out what surfing means to Sally McGee, hearing Shane and Jackson Dorian discuss their father-son relationship, and seeing how Ben Skinner recreates a legendary 60’s mid-length made by Jack O’Neill.

And, of course, we have the best of an epic winter at home. 2025 has been pretty epic so far, so let’s hope that continues!

Steve 
Editor

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE NEW ISSUE AND GET IT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE NEW ISSUE AND GET IT DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

Para Surf Stars Set Up Fundraisers

Para Surf Stars Set Up Fundraisers

Two of Britains best para surfers have set up fundraisers cover the cost of competing internationally.

Peg Bennett missed some comps last year due to the costs.
“With what I have spent on competition so far and looking at the year ahead to do all the competitions I really need to it will be around 8.5K . To do all of the tour competitions this year would be around 15k.

“Last year I missed out on representing England at the ISA world championships due to a last minute invitation onto the team and a lack of time to raise the funds .

“I have already attended two events France (Brittany) and Portugal (Algarve) of the Para Surf League world tour 2024/25 and would love to attend the final 2 in Peru (Lima) and Spain (Câdiz). As part of Team England we are hoping to attend the European Para Surf Championships in September ( date and venue still to be confirmed) and the ISA World Para Surf Championships (date and venue still to be confirmed).

Added to this the added cost of specialised equipment such as boards, surf prosthetics and such it is becoming harder and harder to actually compete at the level I want to.”

I have a just giving page set up and any and all help is much appreciated.

Click Here TO SUPPORT PEG

Zoe Smith is a Para Stand 2 athlete (below-knee amputee) representing Surfing England, current ISA World Champion, a British Champion, and a two-time English Nationals Champion.

“Competing at an elite level in adaptive surfing comes with significant costs, including:
• Specialist Surfing Equipment – Custom surfboards suited to different event conditions.
• Prosthetic Maintenance – My surfing prosthetic costs £11,500, with annual maintenance expenses of £3,000–£5,000. A single liner costs £600 and lasts 2–3 months.
• Coaching & Support – My coach travels with me to provide essential therapeutic treatment and assist with heavy equipment.
• Travel & Accommodation – Flights and accommodation for international competitions and training.
• Training & Coaching Costs – Regular training sessions to stay at the top of my game.

“I am seeking sponsorship and fundraising support to help me continue competing at the highest level, representing the UK on the world stage. Any support, big or small, will help me reach my goals and inspire the next generation of adaptive surfers.”

Click Here TO SUPPORT ZOE
2025 Para Surfing Roadshow

2025 Para Surfing Roadshow

Ever wanted to try surfing?
Now is your chance, the Surfing England Para Surfing Roadshow is back for 2025.
After welcoming 70 new surfers with disabilities to our sport last year we are back for 2025 with the support of Saltrock. Come along to a taster day where you will join a session led by current Team England coaches and world championship medal winning athletes.

We are so stoked to launch the Para Surfing Roadshow and to have Saltrock onboard as our headline supporter.

“We’re honoured to be supporting such an important roadshow in the Surfing England calendar; helping people with disabilities give para surfing a go and highlighting the pathway for those who want to take it further.  Surfing is part of our brand DNA, and to help this side of it grow, we hope will bring smiles to a lot more faces.”
Head of Brand, Marie Clarke

A cost of £10 will secure your place and all money will go to the newly opening para surf clubs across England which you will be invited to join post roadshow.
No previous experience required and all equipment (including wetsuits) will be provided.

More details below and please fill in the sign up form if you want to join us on any of the sessions. Please contact Surfing England directly for further information, do not contact any surf centres.

Locations and dates:
• Saturday 10th May, Bournemouth
• Wednesday 2nd July, The Wave
• Saturday 12th July, Scarborough
• Saturday 19th July, Bude
• Saturday 16th August, Croyde
• Saturday 27th September, South Shields

Timings:
We will be at the beach all day, so you are welcome to come along from about 9am. We will run up to 3 sessions throughout the day depending on numbers.
Sessions will run at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Please arrive 1 hour before your session for an introduction and so that you can get kitted up in your wetsuit. Sessions will be 90 minutes long, which will include around 60 minutes in the water.
You can specify on the sign up form which time would work best for you. In advance you will be allocated a session before the day so you can plan accordingly. You can arrive early and stay to watch other sessions if you want to make the most of the whole day, but the volunteers and coaches will only be available to assist you during your allocated session.

Beach facilities:
All locations will have parking, toilets and changing areas available for you. These vary by location. We will send more details, including a specific meeting point nearer the time so that you can plan your day accordingly.
Beaches can be quite difficult to navigate particularly if you have a mobility device such as a wheelchair. We will do our best to make the day as accessible as possible and will provide beach wheelchairs to give access onto the beach and into the water.
If you need assistance with any personal care needs such as getting changed into a wetsuit, please bring someone with you.

Equipment:
You do not need any specific equipment for the day, but please make sure to have swimwear to wear under a wetsuit. If you have your own wetsuit, feel free to bring that to wear.
We will provide boards, buoyancy aids/life jackets (as needed), helmets (as needed), rash vests, beach wheelchairs and surfboards.
There will not be a hoist available to transfer you into the beach wheelchair but there will be coaches and volunteers around to help lift you as needed.

What to bring:
Please make sure to bring swimwear, a towel and warm clothes for when you finish your session. Please also remember to bring water and snacks to keep you fuelled throughout the day. It is likely you will be quite tired after you finish your session.
If it’s a sunny day, remember to bring suncream and a hat. Ideally make sure you have waterproof suncream for your face during the session.
Don’t forget to bring any medication that you require or may need throughout the day.

Final notes:
Remember to sign up for one of the sessions. You will not be able to take part unless you have registered for a session.

A huge thank you to Saltrock who are headline supporters of the roadshow.
A further thank you to all the fantastic surf schools who we are partnering with for the roadshow. To AdSurf in Bude, South Shields Surf School CIC in South Shields, Coastal Concepts X Wave Project in Scarborough, The Wave in Bristol, Surf South West X The Wave Project in Croyde, North Devon, and to Shaka Surf School in Bournemouth.
For all enquiries, please contact [email protected]

Madeira: Biggest Swell of the Decade?

Madeira: Biggest Swell of the Decade?

Jardim do Mar in Madeira has earned its reputation as one of the most intense spots for big wave surfing. The waves there are legendary—huge, powerful, and very unpredictable. When you get someone like Nic Von Rupp and his crew involved, you know it’s going to go off. They’ve been pushing the boundaries of big wave surfing, and the recent swell was nothing short of epic.

Madeira’s coastline is known for producing some of the heaviest waves in the world, often hidden away from the mainstream media. This recent swell was one of the heaviest in years makes it even more monumental. These waves aren’t just about size—they’re about raw power and the sheer intensity of what it takes to take them on.

Filmed by: Kenneth Kemp, Kristjan Taal, Hugo Almeida, Mendo Dornellas
Edited by: @iantavares

SURF! National Maritime Museum Cornwall

SURF! National Maritime Museum Cornwall

Making waves this spring, SURF! opens at National Maritime Museum Cornwall – a major new exhibition exploring the history and cultural impact of surfing in Cornwall.

Celebrating the culture, craft, art and activism of Cornwall’s surf scene, the exhibition documents a century of Cornish waveriding. From the wooden bellyboards of the 1920s made by local coffin makers, to charismatic stand-up surf pioneers of the 1930s and 1940s, through to the birth of the surf industry in the 1960s, iconic longboard artworks in the 2000s, to the para surfing World Champions of today, SURF! provides a unique deep-dive into how Cornwall has evolved into ‘the California of the UK’, becoming a breeding ground for world champion surfers and multiple creative industries, from board-building to wetsuit production, magazine media to filmmaking and fashion.

Surfers in Bude in 1950 Photo: Alex Williams collection SURF NMMC

Curated by surf academic Dr. Sam Bleakley, the object-rich exhibition will feature a vast array of artefacts with exciting human stories and hidden histories sourced from private collections around the UK. Many of the objects, including some of the world’s most valuable surfboards, original tools, photographs, videos and artwork, have never before been on public display.

Highlights include 100 surfboards that collectively tell the story of 100 years of Cornish waveriding, from early 4-foot wooden bellyboards to pioneering eco and adaptive boards of the future. Among them will be boards that have played a key role in Cornish surfing history, including those used by global surfing champions, such as Robyn Davies, Pegleg Bennett, Charlotte Banfield and Ben Skinner. Measuring in at an impressive 37-feet, the original record-setting world’s biggest surfboard will be displayed, able to carry 15 surfers at any one time. A testimony to the impact of surfing on culture more broadly, there will also be a display of original artboards, including the first-ever public exhibition of Damian Hirst’s stunning butterfly board on loan from the Maia Norman collection. Other artboards from renowned artists, such as Polly Morgan, Paul Smith, Julian Schnabel and Nina Blake, will also be featured, alongside a beautiful poetry-engraved wooden board from award-winning Cornish boardmaker James Otter.

BSA women’s surf club Photo: Ester-Spears BSA, courtesy of Alex Williams collection SURF NMMC

Harking back to the surf industry’s emergence in the 1960s, audiences will be invited to step inside a recreation of Newquay’s original Bilbo Surf Shop, a hub of the Cornish surf scene, before peeping into an original 1965 VW Transporter campervan brought to life with the sounds and smells of the 60s. Further surf ephemera will include a selection of iconic surf posters from the past 100 years, spanning everything from sport to travel and tourism to cinema; a selection of vintage swimwear and wetsuits from the 1930s-1960; an array of surf magazines; iconic vintage surf photography. There will also be a presentation of the first and only surf film narrated in Cornish, made by musician, filmmaker and champion bodyboarder, Mickey Smith.

As well as surf culture and aesthetics, the exhibition will also explore the politics of surfing. While tensions once existed between surfing and wider tourism, with surfing banned on some Cornish beaches (thought to attract the ‘wrong kind’ of tourist), today waveriding is hugely significant to Cornwall, generating £150 million per year for the county. Surfing is also playing a key role in driving blue health and surf therapy initiatives, as well as environmental activism.
Cascading into the exhibition space will be a specially commissioned six-metre wave sculpture by artist Abigail Falls, made of recycled plastic bottles, a homage to Cornish marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage and their work fighting to protect the oceans.

Izzy Henshall Photo: Luke Gartside SURF NMMC

Running until 2027, SURF! is a celebration of a unique pastime that has transformed Cornwall over a hundred years into a place of aspiration, art, and the buzz of the new. The exhibition will be accompanied by an ambitious programme including Museum Lates, lectures, film events, and surf art and craft workshops. Sam Bleakley, surf academic and curator of SURF!, said: “Cornwall has been shaped by the ‘cool’ of surfing for over 100 years. With its convoluted coastline, wide open to Atlantic swells, the region has become a breeding ground for blue health, art and activism. Cornish surfers were pivotal in founding Surfers Against Sewage in 1990 and in 2010, the NHS piloted the world’s first surf therapy programme in Cornwall, The Wave Project, which helped progress world champion para-surfers like Charlotte Banfield. It is no longer simply surfers against sewage, but surfers for sustainability and for public health, spearheaded by the blue health movement that calls for us all to reconnect with ocean-based activities and keep our shared coastline clean. SURF! will not only be an inspiring journey through Cornwall’s surfing heritage, but a sensory feast, celebrating the enormous impact of waveriding in Cornwall”.

Grishka Roberts Photo: Alex Williams SURF NMMC

Richard Doughty, Director of National Maritime Museum Cornwall, said: “SURF! explores how surfing has shaped Cornwall’s coastal communities and perceptions of Cornwall’s identity, how it is challenging stereotypes of disability and how it is changing public attitudes to water safety and the marine environment. At its core, the exhibition extends and deepens our commitment to genuine cultural co-creation, platforming different and diverse stories which celebrate the rich cultural, social, and environmental impact of surfing in Cornwall, as an innovative form of sustainable leisure, tourism, fashion and blue health.”

Grab a copy of the latest issue of Carve, issue 226 for more on the exhibition.

Click Here for more info