Emmy Awards Nominated filmmaker Mikey Corker’s multi award-winning documentary SAVAGE WATERS starts its UK and Ireland theatrical release with a special string of pre-release screenings in Cornwall and Devon over August and September.
The film chronicles renowned sailor Matt Knight’s quest to use a 19th century treasure-hunter’s journal to seek out and surf a mythical, never-ridden wave in some of the most remote and dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Accompanied by world-class big wave surfer Andrew Cotton, Matt, along with family and friends board the catamaran Hecate and follow clues to this ‘perfect wave’. However, life never goes exactly to plan with injury and life-threatening challenges testing the crew’s resilience along the way.
SAVAGE WATERS is narrated by the legendary actor Charles Dance and beautiful scored by AVAWAVES, the duo composed of prolific violinist Anna Phoebe and pianist/producer Aisling Brouwer.
Ahead of the film’s October 27th release in the UK and Ireland by UK distributor Tull Stories, a series of summer previews across Cornwall and Devon take place.
Director Mikey Corker will be present at the first screening at the Lighthouse Cinema in Newquay, on Sunday 27th August at 7pm.
“I’m delighted to have Savage Waters’ UK release on the way and we’re thrilled to kick things off with this tour of one of our favourite parts of the world. We can’t wait to take our film to cinemas all over the UK this autumn!”
Joel Parkinson (AUS) defeats Adriano de Souza (BRA) in the Single Fin Final.
The Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy kicks off in fine fashion in flawless four-foot Sultans, with single-fin surfboards the order of the day at the world’s most luxurious surfing event.
The Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy kicked off in fine fashion at flawless four-foot Sultans on Tuesday August 22, with single-fin surfboards the order of the day at the world’s most luxurious surfing event.
“Look at this, it’s incredible!” said Adriano de Souza as he saw the empty lineup for the first time. “Just to be in this contest is a blessing, but with waves like this too? Wow!”
At day’s end 2015 world champion De Souza finished runner-up in the single fin division to 2012 world champ Joel Parkinson, who as a previous Surfing Champions Trophy competitor looked comfortable both at Sultans, and with the format. The Surfing Champions Trophy sees competitors battle it out in single fin, twin fin and thruster divisions. Start times are staggered from oldest to youngest and in 2023 Joel Parkinson will surf 31-minute heats while Adriano de Souza will enter the water at the 28-minute mark, Mason Ho a minute later, Coco Ho and Hood Ahmed a minute after that, while Conner Coffin joins the field at the 25-minute mark.
“Today was firing!” said Parkinson. “It’s amazing to be back here. I know it’s a competition, but it only goes for three hours every day and it feels like a holiday the whole time. To make the final and get the win after coming second to Josh Kerr the last time I came here was really rewarding. I feel like I’ve put a lot of time into my single fin surfing these past few years. Hopefully I can be as competitive in the next rounds but once the boards get a little more high-performance I think my surfing might get left behind.”
De Souza started the day with a win over Hawaiian surfer Coco Ho and local wildcard Hood “Hoobs” Ahmed, who unlocked plenty of opportunities on his backhand. While De Souza needed the first half of his first heat to adjust to his equipment, once things clicked he engaged contest animal mode, finding barrels and aggressively attacking the lip to comfortably advance with a 15.50 two wave total.
Ho quickly found her groove atop an XOCOCO single-fin, one of many offerings from the new surfboard brand she has founded with shaper Matt Parker. “It’s about time surfboards were designed for women,” said Ho, “and that doesn’t just mean ‘shrink it and pink it’, that means making boards that actually work.” Ho’s words rang true, the tubes she weaved through the course of the rounds the ultimate proof of concept.
In the second heat of the day Parkinson came up against Ho’s brother, renowned Hawaiian freesurfer Mason Ho, and Californian style master Conner Coffin, who only recently announced his retirement from WSL competition. “I’m new to this,” laughed Coffin, “so I thought I’d better get over here and let Joel show me how it’s done!”
At day’s end 2015 world champion De Souza finished runner-up in the single fin division to 2012 world champ Joel Parkinson, who as a previous Surfing Champions Trophy competitor looked comfortable both at Sultans, and with the format. The Surfing Champions Trophy sees competitors battle it out in single fin, twin fin and thruster divisions. Start times are staggered from oldest to youngest and in 2023 Joel Parkinson will surf 31-minute heats while Adriano de Souza will enter the water at the 28-minute mark, Mason Ho a minute later, Coco Ho and Hood Ahmed a minute after that, while Conner Coffin joins the field at the 25-minute mark.
Parkinson did just that, blazing through the opening rounds with a pair of eight-point rides to take the win. The Surfing Champions Trophy came alive at the 15-minute mark of the affair with a four-foot set broadsiding the Sultans reef and rousing the early morning crowd in the channel. Parkinson, already sitting on an 8.5 opener, pulled into a long, deep tube, backed up by a series of trademark carves on the first wave of the exchange. Coffin let his rails sing on the second, before Ho wrangled the foamball on the third. As the judges went to work another three waves turned inside out and spat into an empty channel. With minutes to go Mason found another gem, navigating a long tube to kick out in the channel with the 7.3 he needed to relegate Coffin to third place safely secured.
In the first semi-final Ho and De Souza went back and forth exchanging exquisitely ridden barrels and vicious carves from start to finish. While Ho threaded the best wave of the heat to lock in an eight after bowing to the Gods while kicking out, Adriano’s mixture of turns and tubes saw him advance with a pair of sevens.
The second semi saw Parkinson put on a tube riding clinic. The opener, a barrel sandwiched between trademark swoops earned him a 6.5 before Ho had entered the lineup. Once she did, Ho sat and played the waiting game while Parkinson went to work under priority, a 7.5 for a smaller yet hollower inside drainer putting plenty of pressure on the Hawaiian. Ho’s opener was a long, deep tube that she just missed the finish of, leaving a huge score behind as she got a little high and cartwheeled away.
Parkinson’s technical takeoff skills then earned him an 8.1 for a deep drainer that he threaded from the moment he found his feet. On the wave behind, with Parkinson looking straight into it, Ho again flew threw a huge tube, before again getting clamped.
The last set of the encounter saw Parkinson take off deep on a boat wake-ribbed wave, come from behind the peak and thread the pit to perfection. This resulted in the best wave score of the day, a 9.27, and a front row seat as Ho threw peace signs in the tube on the wave behind, her never-in-doubt exit earning her a 7.1 and plaudits from her opponent, and the channel. “I saw that barrel from the boat!” said de Souza, “It was insane, so good.”
In the all-world champion final, Parkinson (2012) took on De Souza (2012), though the three-minute head start for the elder statesman from Queensland amounted to nothing when the ocean went flat for the duration. After a slow start Parko got the ball rolling with a wider wave that didn’t look like much off the bat, but ended up a 6.43 as it grew down the line and let Parkinson sink his JS single fin into a series of strong turns. De Souza replied with a big set that offered no wall after an impressive drop, and he quickly aborted the mission to regain priority.
Parkinson took up residency on the wider peak while de Souza stationed himself at the top off the lineup. The contrasting tactics were on full display on the next set, de Souza taking off deep and reaping little reward, while Parkinson threaded a deep tube to perfection for a 9.07 and a handsome lead. With Adriano needing two fresh scores tube-pig Parkinson went to work burying his snout in every barrel that dared rear its head, occasionally paying a visit to the open face for a turn or two. Adriano found a late consolation 8.43, for a series of wild hacks, but to the victor go the spoils and Parkinson took out the single fin division to light up day one with his Cheshire Cat grin.
A win is the best way to kick off the working vacation, isn’t it?” laughed Parkinson. “I’m really looking forward to enjoying the afternoon, and doing it all over again tomorrow. You beauty!”
The Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy runs from August 21-28. The forecast looks good for the rest of the week so stay tuned for more updates when competition resumes with the twin fin division.
It’s not often a World Title contender goes on The Search mid-season. But, when Mick Fanning let Gabriel Medina know where he was heading with Mason Ho, it was too good for Gabby to pass up. Medina adjusted his plans, slid into the mission, and shifted gears to hunt some wild slabs in the wildly remote coasts of Australia.
This was no luxury trip either. The crew stayed in vermin-infested cabins in the middle of nowhere and survived off two-minute noodles and sausages in bread for dinner. Medina ate nothing but cheese sandwiches for most meals. Mason Ho even woke up one morning to find his toothbrush had been totally devastated by rats. Despite these challenges, the surfers had an incredible time. It’s what The Search is all about.
“That was the stuff I dream of,” says Mason Ho about the trip. “I couldn’t believe, not one person around or out. Then surfing with those two guys, they’re not only surfing world champions, they’re like human world champions too.”
The Kangs takes you on The Search through a wide, open land…
Directed by: Vaughan Blakey and Nick Pollet Filmers: Nick Pollet, Mikey Corker, Rory Pringle and Stuart Gibson Photography: Hayden Richards and Stuart Gibson Producers: Johnny Hawken and Lachlan McNish
18 seconds period, straight south swell, high-tide in the morning, very raw, almost out of control sets. That's what I'm talking about, hell yes. They do say if you don't go, you wont know, click into the highlights from 6 hours of footage of this epic Nias session.
Skeleton Bay, located on the southwestern coast of Namibia, is now renowned for being one of the world's premier surf destinations. The name "Skeleton Bay" is derived from the nearby abandoned diamond mining settlement, but the bay itself is pumping with the energy of powerful waves generated by unique sandbanks and ocean currents that pound the coast. Surfers are drawn to this natural endless wave pool and its ever-changing ocean conditions, hit play to watch Nate Florence dig in.
Jack Robinson (AUS) and Caroline Marks (USA) won the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro Presented by Outerknown, the penultimate event of the World Surf League (WSL) 2023 Championship Tour (CT). The pair overcame Gabriel Medina (BRA) and Caitlin Simmers (USA), who finished runners-up, as Teahupo’o delivered windy four-to-six foot surf on Finals Day.
With the completion of the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro Presented by Outerknown, all the spots in the WSL Final 5 have been clinched. The final Olympic qualification spot for the women representing the United States will be against winner Marks and runner-up Simmers, and will decided at the Rip Curl WSL Finals. The last spot in the men’s Final 5 came down to a surf-off between Medina and Robinson with Robinson emerging victorious.
Jack Robinson Claims Famous Victory in Tahiti to Clinch Spot in WSL Final 5
Ahead of the men’s Final, the equation for Jack Robinson (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) was simple: win the event and and clinch a spot in the Rip Curl WSL Finals. The pair were the last two still in contention after Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA), John John Florence (HAW), and Yago Dora (BRA) were all eliminated in the Semifinals and Quarterfinals, respectively. Both Robinson and Medina were the men to beat on Finals Day and seemed destined to meet in the Final.
In true Medina fashion, the two-time Teahupo’o winner got off to a busy start, catching multiple waves to take a solid lead with a 15.00 point (out of a possible 20) heat total. Robinson opted for a more patient approach, waiting for particular waves that eventually came, giving him long hollow tube rides for a pair of 7.83s (out of a possible 10) which gave him a slim win with a two-wave combination of 15.66.
“I was so in ‘it’ coming into this event and so focused – but I was still enjoying myself, it’s so hard to describe the feeling. I don’t know what it is but I feel like It was meant to be,” Robinson said. “I just never stopped, when it was down through the year I pulled it back up and with the help of the people around me who know who they are – it’s a small crew but it has a lot of ‘mana’ (good energy) like this place (Tahiti). I felt like it was my time. You never know when it’s your time, but I felt like I envisaged it was my time now and I’m so happy. After starting this year the way I did then dropping off then coming back and all of that stuff I feel like this was my time. I always said that the Finals would be my last event for the year and I can’t wait for it. I’m excited.”
After winning the first event of the year, then claiming a third and a second-place finish to back it up and head towards the mid-season cut wearing the yellow Leader’s Jersey, Robinson suffered multiple injuries through the middle of the year and came into the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro in 8th place on the rankings. Robinson needed to win the event to secure his spot in the WSL Final 5 and that is what he did, overcoming fellow Final 5 contenders Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) and Yago Dora (BRA) in the Semifinal and Quarterfinal to set up his matchup with Medina. Robinson will finish the season in 5th on the rankings, having already provisionally qualified for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Today saw Gabriel Medina (BRA) contest his sixth Final in Tahiti having won the event in 2014 and 2018. The three-time WSL Champion was fresh off a third-place finish at the Corona J-Bay Open last month and was looking to add another victory to his Western Australia Margaret River Pro title from earlier this year. The exciting goofy-footer was on fire all event, posting some of the highest scores for his deep technical tube rides but his runner-up finish wasn’t enough to see him move out of 6th place on the rankings.
“This is a special place to me and a place I love to come to,” Medina said. “I love my time here and love the people here so it’s nice to make another Final in Tahiti. Teahupo’o has given so much to me over the years so it’s great to be here and just enjoy the place and getting barrelled. I did everything I could to make it tough for everyone but in the end, it wasn’t enough but that’s life – I’m happy.”
Caroline Marks Wins All-American Final For Second CT Victroy of The Year
Caroline Marks (USA) claimed her second event win of the season today at Teahupo’o. Marks finished 5th here last year and today she demonstrated an increased level of confidence and dominance in waves of consequence. Marks’ road to the Final was not easy as she had to take down two Tour veterans, Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) and Tyler Wright (AUS), along the way. After taking time away from the Tour at times in 2021 and 2022, this is Marks’ first full season back and her most successful to date with two CT victories from three Finals in 2023.
“I’m stoked – this is like a dream event to win so I’m super pumped,” Marks said. “The waves got a little weird with that wind and after I fell on that barrel I had to go to turns on my second to last wave. It was good to be able to change the plan and see it work out. To win this event as a goofy footer is a real feather in your cap.”
In the Final, Marks came up against 2023 CT rookie Caitlin Simmers (USA) in an all-American match-up. With both surfers having already locked in spots at the Rip Curl WSL Finals all that was on the line was a prestigious Teahupo’o title. As a rain squall came through the lineup it, was Marks who successfully changed tact and posted her winning score with turns on the face rather than in the tubes Teahupo’o is known for.
“Surfing against Caity in the Final was super cool, she had a really good Semifinal heat so I knew it was going to be a tough match-up with her. She’s had such a stellar year and has that real rookie energy with no pressure and nothing to lose which is really cool. To have an all-American final was really fun. I’m super grateful to have Luke (Egan) in my corner. I think he made a Final out here with Andy (Irons) so it’s amazing to have all of his knowledge. It’s been such a rad year and I’ve got more to look forward to at the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lowers."
Rookie Caitlin Simmers Clinches Last Spot in Women’s WSL Final 5 With Runner-Up Finish
Rookie Caitlin Simmers (USA) clinched the last spot in the women’s WSL Final 5 today with her runner-up result. The 17-year-old put the Tour on notice this year, winning the CT events in Portugal and Brazil. This week was Simmer’s first event at Teahupo’o and she was a clear standout, taking down chargers Molly Picklum (AUS) and Vahine Fierro (FRA) on her way to the Final as well as posting a 9.23 (out of a possible 10) for a late, deep, critical tube ride, the highest single-wave score of the women’s event. Simmer’s home of Oceanside, California is just up the road from Lower Trestles and she is sure to be a threat at the Rip Curl WSL Finals.
“There were a bunch of implications in that heat,” said Simmers. “I was watching Steph (Gilmore), she's my favourite surfer so I wanted her to win but If she didn’t win I would make it to Lowers so it was weird. My heart was racing watching that heat. Lowers is pretty close to where I live so I’m excited. This has been a rad event. Getting barreled and tested by such an intimidating wave has been enjoyable and I'm looking forward to coming back here next year."
WSL Final 5 Set for World-Title Deciding Rip Curl WSL Finals
Following the completion of the SHISEIDO Tahiti Pro Presented by Outerknown, the WSL Final 5 have been determined and are ready to compete at Lower Trestles in San Clemente, California for the Rip Curl WSL Finals. The one-day winner-take-all event will crown the 2023 World Champions. The competition will run on the best day of waves determined by the WSL Tours and Competition team between September 8 - 16, 2023.
WSL Final 5 Women 1 - Carissa Moore (HAW) 2 - Tyler Wright (AUS) 3 - Caroline Marks (USA) 4 - Molly Picklum (AUS) 5 - Caitlin Simmers (USA)
WSL Final 5 Men 1 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) 2 - Griffin Colapinto (USA) 3 - Ethan Ewing (AUS) 4 - Joao Chianca (BRA) 5 - Jack Robinson (AUS)
