Some of the best waves from last winter with young Mr Barnaby Cox! Swell after swell lit up many of the spots during multiple lockdowns. With surf travel out the window, Barnaby was all over it, every cloud has a silver lining and all that malarky.
Uluwatu consistently produces more great rides in Bali than any other location. But for how amazing the waves can be, they're not necessarily 'perfect' and certainly less predictable in shape compared to neighbouring breaks like Padang Padang and Bingin.
On top of being a difficult wave to read, there's often a healthy crowd to navigate. So choosing a line requires not only predicting how the wave is going to break, but also where you'll be able to fit a turn without taking someone's head off - Corox's wave at 2:17 is a great example of juggling these two elements without missing a beat.
Rather than the wave making a surfer look good because it's so perfect, it's the surfer having such a good read of the wave (and the crowd) that makes it such a great ride.
Today marks a year since Alfie England spotted fellow surfer Jonathan Davies laying face down in large surf. What followed was the heaviest rescue I have been involved in where the casualty lived in 44 years of surfing. Fortunately thanks to amazing team work by the Porthtowan and St Agnes surfing community and the back up of St Agnes lifeboat, the Coastguard helicopter and team at Treliske Jonathan was somewhat miraculously back in the water in a week or so.
You can watch the reconstruction here at Close Calls Caught on Camera EP 1 here
The surfing community often goes unrecognised as the first line of defence in the prevention of drowning. Most surfers just pull the victim out of the rip, get them to the beach and carry on surfing. It's only if cameras are onshore that a small amount of incidents come to light. All in a day at the beach!
Incidents are on the increase though so as well as taking our hats off to all the heroes, I’d just like you to think about learning a few rescue techniques.
The surfing community often goes unrecognised as the first line of defence in the prevention of drowning. Most surfers just pull the victim out of the rip, get them to the beach and carry on surfing. It's only if cameras are onshore that a small amount of incidents come to light. All in a day at the beach!
Incidents are on the increase though so as well as taking our hats off to all the heroes, I’d just like you to think about learning a few rescue techniques.
In my own surfing community, as in a lot of coastal towns and villages, many surfers went down the surf lifesaving and lifeguarding route; more as cool summer job that would earn you enough bucks to escape winter than anything else. But those skills learned have saved many lives on travels around the world.
As I contemplated a parting shot for this issue (on newsstands today), the date seemed a bit of a coincidence, so I thought I would use it to encourage everyone to learn a little about rescue and CPR. You may never need it, but if you are ever faced with a friend in need of help, or even a stranger that needs rescuing on a foreign beach, you will be glad of it.
The feeling of helplessness or wondering if you could have done more is a terrible thing. The experience of saving a life, well that's pretty good.
For rescue techniques for surfers click here.
To find your lifesaving course click here
Many people in our surfing community have been outstanding in saving lives around the coast over the last challenging 12 months. There are a lot of heroes out there, so: “Cheers,” to you all.
Toes on the nose with some of the finest Cali stylers, Joel and Josh Tudor, Saxon Wilson, Ryan Conklin, Kevin Skvarna David Arganda, Trace Marshal and Devon Howard. Nicely done ya'll...
Sally Fitzgibbons and Gabriel Medina take the win Photo: WCT/Dunbar
ROTTNEST ISLAND, Western Australia, Australia (Tuesday, May 25, 2021) - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) and Gabriel Medina (BRA) have won the Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona, the fifth stop on the 2021 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) and the final event of the Australian leg. Strickland Bay turned on once again with four-to-six foot waves on offer for what was an epic final day of not only this event but also the four-event Australian leg.
Sally Fitzgibbons Photo: WCT/Dunbar
Fitzgibbons Earns 12th CT Victory, Climbs to World No. 2 on Rankings
Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) earned her 12th CT victory today after defeating Johanne Defay (FRA) in the Final. The win now puts Fitzgibbons up to World No. 2 on the rankings, behind Carissa Moore (HAW). En route to the Final, Fitzgibbons eliminated two-time WSL Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) in the Semifinals.
“It feels so good to be back in the winner’s circle,” Fitzgibbons said. “I set a goal to be in the Final 5 at the end of the year and I’ve been outside of it for a few events, so it's amazing to be rewarded for the work. If you give yourself every opportunity, every now and then the planets align and you can come out with the win.”
Fitzgibbons is a 12-year CT veteran who has come in second in the World Title race three consecutive times from 2010 to 2012. Now in 2021, this victory is critical to the Australian's World Title hopes as this season will host the new one-day format to decide the World Champions with the Rip Curl WSL Finals. Only the Final 5 surfers on the leaderboard will qualify for the Rip Curl WSL Finals, and now at World No. 2, Fitzgibbons is well in the race to take her maiden World Title at Lower Trestles in September.
“I grew up watching the Rip Curl Search events,” continued Fitzgibbons. “So many of them were in lefts, so it’s cool to have one back and it be in a left. I don’t get too many opportunities to use my strength, which is my backhand, and we may never compete back here on Rottnest, so this one really feels like a milestone. It just feels so good, I’m so stoked.”
Morgan Cibilic Photo: WCT/Dunbar
Medina Bests Rookie Cibilic for Win at Rip Curl Rottnest Search
Two-time WSL Champion Gabriel Medina (BRA) continued his blistering form with his second win this season and the 16th CT win of his career. The Brazilian has made it to four out of five Finals this year and has all but guaranteed himself a spot in the Rip Curl WSL Finals, the new one-day competition to decide the World Champions at the end of the season.
“I’ve loved my time here in Australia and especially Rottnest,” said Medina. “It’s a new place for me to visit and it’s so beautiful. The waves have been great the whole time and we have been so welcomed. This is a very special place and it’s been such a fun event for me. I made it through a lot of tough heats and am glad to win surfing the way I want to surf. I’m so happy.”
Medina in action Photo: WCT/Dunbar
Medina saved one of his best performances for last in the Final against rookie Morgan Cibilic (AUS). The Brazilian's commitment to rail and above the lip surfing, going both left and right, was a perfect match with the punchy walls on Rottnest. Medina's 15.50 two-wave combination (out of a possible 20) was enough to see him clinch his second Rip Curl Search trophy, almost a decade after winning his first at the Rip Curl Search San Francisco.
“It feels amazing to win another Search trophy all these years after my first,” Medina continued. “This has been such a good start to the season for me and I’m just so happy to keep the momentum going. My wife’s birthday is coming up and she said she wanted the trophy because it’s so pretty, so I’m so happy to have it now.”
It was the fourth time this season Medina and Cibilic went head-to-head, with Medina taking victory in every match-up so far. While Cibilic is still searching for a win over one of the best surfers of this generation, he now adds a runner-up finish to his equal 3rd and 5th placings from earlier this year and moves into the Final 5 on the rankings, whilst continuing to lead the race to the 2021 CT rookie of the year.
“This feels unbelievable, to be honest,” Cibilic said. “Coming into these last couple of events, I’ve come into them with a lot of confidence and a Final hasn’t felt too out of reach, but I guess if you asked me last year if I’d get a Quarterfinal, a Semifinal, and a Final finish from the four Australian events, I would have told you that you were tripping. It feels amazing, so I’m super stoked. I was really nervous in my Semifinal against Liam, probably more so than the Final. He and I grew up competing against each other and have a pretty good rivalry and always want to beat each other. In the Final, I felt ready to go but the waves were slow and Gabby was ripping so not much I could do there. I’m still stoked though.”
Johanne Defay Jumps Into Final 5
Johanne Defay Photo: WCT/Dunbar
Fitzgibbons and Defay are renowned for their confidence and finesse in big, lefthand reef breaks, so it was no surprise to see them meet in the Final at Strickland Bay. In the Final, Fitzgibbons looked unstoppable, finding the best waves of the 40-minute heat and surfing them flawlessly to post a winning heat total of 15.10 (out of a possible 20).
“It would have been good to go one step further, but this is so good to make the Final,” Defay said. “I’m already really happy with my Australian leg, so it’s so good to finish like that. I’m going home now to rest up and get some rehabilitation for my knee and make sure I’m ready for the Surf Ranch and for the rest of the season.”
Although Defay fell short in the Final, she didn’t give up until the final minutes, posting a 7.23 and a 4.00 to almost recapture the lead in the dying minutes of the heat. This Final marked a breakthrough for Defay after three straight Quarterfinal finishes on the Australian leg. Defay now leaves Australia sitting in fifth on the rankings.
“It’s not an easy lineup, but it was so good to have a good left on Tour this season,” continued Defay. “Something that I have learned to appreciate whilst being on Tour is discovering new places, and coming to Rottnest was like that for everyone. It was also a level playing field, which is rare for us on Tour and made it such an interesting event. I’ve had a strong start to the year, so I’m feeling like if I keep the confidence and momentum I have now, I can have my best finish to the year and be inside the top five.”
Italo Ferreira Photo: WCT/Dunbar
World Champions Fall Short in Semifinals
Four-time WSL Champion Carissa Moore (HAW), two-time WSL Champion Tyler Wright (AUS), and 2019 WSL Champion Italo Ferreira (BRA) all fell in their respective Semifinal heats today.
Wright was unable to find a rhythm in the 35-minute heat, only scoring a 7.64 (out of a possible 20) against a rampaging Fitzgibbons. For Moore, it was a much closer affair with the Hawaiian going down to eventual runner-up Defay by less than one point. Similar to Wright, Ferreira struggled to find a rhythm in his Semifinal against countryman Medina and took a third-place finish, leaving the Aussie leg still sitting second on the rankings.
Wildcard Liam O’Brien’s Run Ends in Semifinals
After an epic run in his first-ever CT event appearance, Liam O’Brien (AUS) was eliminated by good friend and eventual runner-up Cibilic in the Semifinals. O’Brien put on an amazing show over the last week at Strickland Bay and displayed why he will be a permanent fixture on the CT in the near future, leaving Rottnest with an equal third-place finish.
Bourez Wins Best Barrel of the Event, Awarded Handcrafted Didgeridoo by Ash and Kelly Collard
In addition to the highly coveted Search trophies, the Rip Curl Rottnest Search awarded Michel Bourez (FRA) the Rip Curl Search Best Barrel Award. Bourez was awarded a Didgeridoo that was handmade by Ashley Collard and Kelly Collard. The story for the Didgeridoo is about the Rottnest Island bushland that is surrounded by the ocean and waves. The white dots are the stars of the Aboriginal dreaming and stories that are shared on the Island. Within blue ocean are our spiritual Guardians that are represented by the different color dots.
Ashley is a Balardong Nyungar man from Kondinin Western Australia and an artist of 30 years. He was named 2013 NAIDOC Perth Indigenous artist of the year, runner up in the 2013 National Deadly awards (Education category) and winner of the Visual Art Award for the City of Kwinana’s Inaugural Arts and Culture Awards in 2018.
Ashley and Kelly, an artist of 10 years, now produce artworks together, which include paintings on musical instruments, surfboards, kangaroo skins, and clothing. They also create murals for schools and businesses around Perth Western Australia and are musical performers and artists.
Liam O’Brien Photo: WCT/Miers
Next Stop: Jeep Surf Ranch Pro
The next stop on the road to the Rip Curl WSL Finals will be the Jeep Surf Ranch Pro, which will run from June 18 - 20, 2021. The event will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and the free WSL app. Also, check local listings for coverage from the WSL's broadcast partners.
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Women’s Final Results:
1 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.24
2 - Johanne Defay (FRA) 11.23
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Men’s Final Results:
1 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.50
2 - Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 7.87
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Women’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.43 DEF. Tyler Wright (AUS) 7.64
HEAT 2: Johanne Defay (FRA) 13.50 DEF. Carissa Moore (HAW) 12.83
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Men’s Semifinal Results:
HEAT 1: Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 10.67 DEF. Liam O'Brien (AUS) 8.33
HEAT 2: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 13.70 DEF. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 7.17
WSL Women’s Championship Tour Final 5:
1 - Carissa Moore (HAW) 36,055 pts
2 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 28,185 pts
3 - Tatiana Weston-Webb (BRA) 27,540 pts
4 - Tyler Wright (AUS) 26,050 pts
5 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 24,645 pts
5 - Johanne Defay (FRA) 24,645 pts
WSL Men’s Championship Tour Final 5:
1 - Gabriel Medina (BRA) 38,920 pts
2 - Italo Ferreira (BRA) 30,325 pts
3 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 22,505 pts
4 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) 22,065 pts
5 - Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 21,290 pts
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
Thankfully we could still go surfing during the second lockdown in Scotland but without being able to travel as normal it meant surfing all types of conditions at home right through winter this year - Mark Boyd.
