A huge fin whale has stranded and died on the south coast of Cornwall. It is estimated to be be 40-60 feet in length.
The creature washed up at Nare Point on the Lizard this afternoon (14th Feb). British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) members tried to keep it alive through the low tide but it passed away at about 3.45pm.
Julia Cable, national coordinator at BDMLR, said
“Our team are recording data. It will be passed into the standings network. They will do some sampling and maybe a post-mortem.”
“We don’t get them in our waters. I can’t remember the last time one was recorded down here. It is really really thin so it’s likely it hasn’t eaten for some time.”
A Hastings surfer scrambled ashore after being dragged file miles by a current after snapping his leash during Storm Ciara.
The unnamed man appeared to get into difficulties in the shorebreak at Rock-a-Nore, Hastings after snapping his leash and losing his board coming in. He is seen to swim out of the shorey and try and swim away from the rip, but got stuck in a current.
Coastguards, a helicopter and two lifeboats were all called into action but couldn’t find him. The surfer then drifted five miles to Pett Level to the east of Hastings before managing to get ashore. He was then taken to local hospital.
The video show she surfers entering the water and getting into trouble.
This is the surfer when he lost his board and it went from bad to worse for him. He even refused help from standers by. He could have prevented this whole scene with the rescuers. pic.twitter.com/8JgZXEjO7Y
When the lifeboat tried to return to Hastings, a large wave almost capsized the vessel.
The surfer has copped a lot of grief on social media. We can’t judge what surf conditions were like when he got in, but the incident looked like it was caused by a leash snap which can happen to anyone, and certainly he had enough about him to survive the situation. What we would say however is don’t surf alone in challenging conditions.
Many thanks to the RNLI and search and rescue teams as always
Today, the World Surf League (WSL) Big Wave Tour (BWT) has issued a Green Alert for the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge pres. By Jogos Santa Casa at Nazaré, Portugal to run on Tuesday, February 11, 2020. The first call will be made at 8 a.m. local time (GMT) on Tuesday.
“We have been tracking this weather system for a few days and conditions seem to keep improving with very large swell and light winds,” Bill Sharp, Big Wave Tour General Manager said. “This looks to be the best opportunity in the season so we have decided to call the Green Alert.”
“There has been so much progression in tow-surfing these last few years that it is great to finally have a format that really suits it,” Sharp added. “Everybody will surf several times and at the end of the day will get together to decide the winners, this is really exciting!”
Tow Teams: A Unique New Format
The first-ever event of its kind, the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge will feature 10 teams comprised of two athletes, alternating between surfing and driving the team’s ski. Each team will compete twice in an hour-long heat with a priority system to ensure all riders get their shot at some of the best and biggest waves on the day.
The event will be captured from multiple angles and broadcast LIVE, with Big Wave legends Peter Mel and Garrett McNamara calling all the action. When the competition wraps, a nominating panel will examine the video evidence and select the biggest, best-ridden waves of the day as finalists. At an awards ceremony later in the day the athletes themselves, along with a group of expert judges, will review the nominated rides and place their votes in an assortment of categories including Men’s Wave of the Day, Women’s Wave of the Day, Team Champions and the Jogos Santa Casa Commitment Award with the winners being crowned at that time.
Maya Gabeira and Justine Dupont Make History at Nazare
For the first time, two female big wave chargers will compete at Nazare among the best surfers in the world. Gabeira will compete as Team World alongside Sebastian Steudtner, while Dupont is the only rider on her team, driven by her companion Fred David on the ski.
Here is the full list of competitors:
Team World: Sebastian Steudtner (DEU) & Maya Gabeira (BRA)
Team Brazil: Rodrigo Koxa (BRA) & Pedro Scooby (BRA)
Team Great Britain: Andrew Cotton (GBR) & Tom Butler (GBR)
Team Australia: Ross Clarke-Jones (AUS) & Mick Corbett (AUS)
Team Portugal: Alex Botelho (PRT) & Hugo Vau (PRT)
Team Young Bulls: Lucas Chianca (BRA) & Kai Lenny (HAW)
Team Europe: Nic von Rupp (PRT) & Francisco Porcella (ITA)
Team France: Benjamin Sanchis (FRA) & Eric Rebiere (FRA)
Team Atlantic: Grant Baker (ZAF) & Antonio Silva (PRT)
Team Justine: Justine Dupont (FRA) surfer only/Fred David driver only
Surfline Forecast for the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge
A very active storm pattern in the North Atlantic will set up a series of XXL swells for Nazare during the next week or more, with Tuesday and possibly Wednesday likely the best days of the bunch.
Thanks to a storm now rapidly strengthening off the US East Coast, we expect a solid northwest swell to build Monday night and peak into the early morning hours on Tuesday with 40-to 50-foot faces expected. Local wind looks good to excellent Tuesday morning with light and variable to possibly light offshore wind, before trending lightly onshore for the afternoon.
A reinforcing, long-period northwest swell is expected to build late Tuesday and peak early Wednesday morning from a potentially hurricane-force low that should develop off Greenland late this weekend. Similar size surf should continue Wednesday morning, although we may see an increase in the side-shore northerly wind on Wednesday.
For more information, please visit worldsurfleague.com
The Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa is organized by Ocean Events with the support Visit Portugal / Portuguese Waves, West Tourism, Nazaré City Council, Jogos Santa Casa, MEO, Corona and Hertz.
Filmmakers Mike Bromley and Ryan Meichtry follow the Icelandic duo, photographer Elli Thor Magnusson and pro surfer Heidar Logi, into the deepest parts of Iceland's frozen wave country, along with international pros Conor Maguire, Natxo Gonzalez, Russell Bierke, and Noah Wegrich. On surf trips like this, it's as much about the epic waves you score as it is about the adventure getting there and the company along the way. Don't miss one of the year's best far-flung surf explorations.
“I’ve always had a special connection with La Gravière,” Jeremy Flores says. “I’ve been surfing there since I was super young, but I used to feel like I had a love/hate relationship with the wave. I would have so much fun free surfing there, but would seem to struggle in contests.”
That suddenly changed last October.
Jeremy won the 2019 Quiksilver Pro France in a rowdy way, dropping the highest heat totals in nearly every round leading up to the final. He had found a rhythm, a zone. He was unstoppable.
“Ever since I won, I feel like I have more of a supernatural connection to the waves here.”
Want proof? France has been firing lately and Jeremy has been on it. Press play to watch one of this generation’s best tube riders do his thing.
But before you do, here’s one last note from Jeremy.
“I think the best thing about surfing in winter is being able to share an uncrowded lineup with your friends [like Marc Lacomare, who has a cameo in this clip]. Even though I’m an island guy, I had a day where I surfed for six hours in a five mil. Years ago, there’s no way I would have done that — but suits are just so good these days.”
We agree. Now, get to frothing.
Filmed by: Andy Benetrix // Laurent Pujol // David Rip It Up
Edited by: Andy Benetrix
