Make A Wave 2026: Donate for a Shot at a Mentawai Surf Trip

Six Days Left to Win a Trip to the Mentawais

September's nearly done and so is Make A Wave. SurfAid's month-long fundraiser has surfers logging sessions and hitting up their mates for donations, all in aid of clean water and healthcare in remote Indonesian communities. This year there's extra reason to chip in. Every donor between now and Sunday goes into the draw for a surf trip for two to the Mentawai Islands.

The Numbers So Far

With six days of September left, 1,822 surfers from 22 countries have logged nearly 8,000 sessions and raised over $800,000 for SurfAid's Make A Wave challenge. The money goes straight into clean water, nutrition and healthcare for remote communities in Indonesia.

Since Make A Wave launched in 2021, the challenge has raised over $3.6 million for SurfAid, including a record $1.1 million last year. This September, SurfAid and Perfect Wave Travel want to beat that.

Anyone who donates before midnight on Sunday 27 September goes into the draw to win a surf trip for two to the Mentawai Islands in 2027 with Perfect Wave Travel, worth $8,000.

Copy of MAW 2024 Resources - Image Gallery - Impact 7

Where SurfAid Started

The Mentawais are where it all began. In 1999, Dr Dave Jenkins went there chasing waves and found families losing children to malaria and malnutrition, largely preventable causes. Twenty-seven years on, SurfAid has worked throughout Indonesia, helping remote communities secure clean water, grow nutritious food and build more resilient livelihoods.

"Every session logged this month has meant something real for a family in Indonesia. Our surfers have shown up in every kind of condition, and because of them, more children will grow up with the basics they need to thrive." — Anna Bowden, SurfAid CEO

Matt Wiseman, SurfAid's Chief Fundraising and Marketing Officer, said the results this year have been driven from the ground up.

"The results so far this year are incredible. Some of our strongest fundraisers this year aren't pros or big names. They're kids, surf schools and boardriders clubs and a few legends who've now done the challenge for four, five or six years in a row."

"A few more days of people backing their mates' pages, and this could be the biggest Make A Wave yet. If you've been meaning to donate, now's the time, and you might end up in the Mentawais for your trouble."

How to Get Involved

Make A Wave runs until 30 September. Donate at makeawave.co/donate to back the surfers taking part and put yourself in the draw for the trip. Find out more about SurfAid's work at surfaid.org, or check out Perfect Wave Travel for the kind of trip that's up for grabs.

Donate now

The NoPro 2026

Ollie Birch reports from Gwithian on a weekend of grassroots competition, community, music and plenty of Cornish drizzle.

The 2026 NoPro surf competition, run by Gwithian Academy of Surfing in collaboration with Down the Line Surf, St Ives Brewery and the Red River Inn, landed in mid-September like a proper community session: equal parts anticipation, drizzle and stoke.

Friday: The Draw, the Music, the Calm Before
On Friday 18 September, the Red River Inn became the unofficial HQ. Competitors gathered to find out who’d be in which heat, with the draw done the old-school way: names in a hat, pulled by the athletes themselves, so it felt fair and transparent.

Once the nerves of the draw were out of the way, Angus the Wave Machine kicked off the weekend with live music, setting the tone for what was always going to be more than just a contest. Free camping through Prosper House Camping was offered to all competitors for the weekend, turning the whole thing into a proper surf-camp vibe before a single wave was ridden.

Saturday: Gwithian, Drizzle and 100 Athletes in the Line-up
By 8am on Saturday, the beach at Gwithian was already buzzing. The surf was questionable — head-high and onshore, with pretty inclement weather holding all day — but that didn’t thin the crowd. Around 100 athletes turned up throughout the day, huddled in the drizzle, supporting each other, anxious to get in the water and just surf.

Heats ran from 8am through to 4.30pm, and by all accounts the event couldn’t have gone smoother. Hours of preparation and set-up beforehand meant organisers were on site early; everything was marked, timed and ready, so the day flowed despite the conditions.

This is the point of NoPro: it’s aimed squarely at grassroots surfing. Anyone sponsored, or who’s received money through surfing in the last 10 years, is out. That rule keeps the playing field level and makes the event accessible, inviting people who might never step into a ‘proper’ comp to give it a go.

St Ives Brewery backed the whole day, rolling out a massive cooler of beers and soft drinks for anyone on the beach. It wasn’t just competitors enjoying it; it felt like a beach-day party with a contest running through the middle of it.

Evening: Prizes, Prizes and More Music
Once the last heat wrapped, everyone drifted back to the Red River Inn for the prize-giving around 6pm. Down the Line Surf generously donated prizes for the top four in every category: men’s, ladies’ and boys’ and girls’ U16.

With the awards done, Baby Brew took the stage to round off the weekend with live music, closing out two days built around surfing, community and local spirit rather than rankings and

Sponsorships.
In the end, the 2026 NoPro wasn’t about perfect waves or slick production; it was about a community turning up in the drizzle, drawing names from a hat and sharing a day of messy, head-high Gwithian surf because that’s what they love. From the music at the Red River Inn to the free camping, the beachside cooler from St Ives Brewery and the prizes from Down the Line Surf, every piece felt local, grounded and made by surfers for surfers.

By the time Baby Brew finished their set on Saturday night, the weekend had already done what it set out to do: remind everyone why grassroots contests matter, and why the heart of Cornish surfing still beats strongest when the barriers are low and the stoke is high.

Tom Lowe – Surfer of the Year

Cornwall’s Tom Lowe has spent decades chasing the heaviest waves on the planet, from the freezing slabs of Mullaghmore to Jaws, Nazaré, Teahupoʻo and beyond. A veteran of the WSL Big Wave Tour and multiple Big Wave Awards nominations, Lowe has built a reputation as one of Britain’s most committed big-wave surfers. Now, in 2026, he’s been recognised at the Big Wave Challenge, taking home Men’s Surfer of the Year — becoming the first Briton to claim the honour. A huge moment for one of the UK’s most committed chargers.

Well done Tom, amazing achievement pard.

“If this award represents anything, I guess it means after years and years of pouring my heart and soul into the place, Ive opened the portal at Mullaghmore”

“There’s no reason to tow those giant days anymore. I paddled the wave of my life during the biggest swell we’ve ever seen out there. It has shown me what is possible and needs to set the standard going forward for surfing to progress”

“When the Ocean goes into another dimension, for me that’s the frontier we need to keep pushing.” - Tom Lowe

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Photo: Yeti

Scotland Regional Report

North Shore Surf Club groms protest with surfboards

Regional Report — North Coast Scotland

North Coast Scotland

This region's report usually rounds up a spread of results, trips and comp news. This time there's just one story, and it's worth giving the full space to. Phoebe Strachan coaches at North Shore Surf Club in Thurso, and what started as a cancelled session because of a sewage alert has turned into something bigger. Here's her dispatch.

Sewage, Silence, and a Letter to Parliament

Three months ago, right in the middle of summer, we had to cancel one of our North Shore Surf Club sessions because of a sewage alert.

It's never an easy decision to tell a bunch of excited kids that they can't go surfing, especially when they've been looking forward to it all week. But when you're responsible for a group of young surfers, their health has to come first.

Rather than just packing up and going home, we decided to use the time to do something about it. We got the kids to put pen to paper and write to our local MSPs, David Green and Maree Todd, explaining why they were worried and what the situation was like for them as young surfers.

North Shore Surf Club groms writing letters

A few months went by without hearing much. Then, a couple of weeks ago, David Green got back in touch. He said he understood the kids' concerns and wanted to help take the issue forward.

On 15 September, he raised the issue in the Scottish Parliament, and, incredibly, quoted some of the letters written by our groms. He talked about Scottish Water recording more than 100,000 sewage spills last year, while pointing out that because not all overflows are monitored, we still don't have the full picture. He called for a Clean Water Act and for much more serious monitoring and regulation of Scotland's waters.

"They'd sat in the surf club writing letters about something that directly affects them, and suddenly their words were being read out in Parliament."

For the kids, that was pretty massive. They'd sat in the surf club writing letters about something that directly affects them, and suddenly their words were being read out in Parliament.

Letters written by North Shore Surf Club groms

The response from the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs, Gillian Martin, left me frustrated, though. Her advice was that people should avoid swimming or surfing after heavy rainfall. We understand the reasoning behind that advice, but for surfers in Thurso it isn't exactly straightforward.

We live in the Highlands. It rains. A lot.

And our best surf season is through the winter, when rain is pretty much part of the package. Telling young surfers not to go in the sea whenever there has been heavy rain could effectively mean telling them not to surf for a huge part of the season.

And that's really the bigger issue here. How are we supposed to make sensible decisions about using the sea if we don't have enough information about what's actually in it?

A Gap Between What's Happening and What We Know

Along the North Coast we have incredible beaches and blue spaces being used every day by surfers, swimmers, paddleboarders, kayakers, tourists and local families. But only a small number are designated bathing waters, meaning there are huge areas of coastline where people are using the water without the same level of information about water quality.

It feels particularly important as tourism continues to grow along the North Coast. The NC500 has brought huge numbers of people to this part of Scotland, and more and more people are discovering our beaches and coastline. Surely people should be able to find out what they're getting into before they get in the water.

You shouldn't have to wait for your local beach to become a designated bathing water before you get meaningful information about its water quality.

There's also the issue of monitoring sewage overflows. Scottish Water has been increasing the number of monitored overflows and now provides a near-real-time overflow map, but the data still only covers sites where monitoring is in place.

That means there is still a gap between what is happening in our sewage network and what we actually know about it.

For me, monitoring isn't about pointing fingers or saying that infrastructure investment isn't important. Of course investment is needed. But monitoring and investment aren't either/or. We need both.

We need to know where the problems are. We need to know how often they're happening. We need to be able to see whether investment is actually making a difference. And, most importantly, communities need access to honest, useful information about the water they're using.

The thing that has struck me most through all of this is how engaged the kids have been. They're not just learning to surf at North Shore Surf Club. They're learning to care about the place they surf, to ask questions and to stand up for their local environment.

These kids are going to be surfing these beaches for years to come. They shouldn't have to accept that sewage in the sea is just part of surfing in Scotland.

We're not asking for special treatment. We just want clean water, proper monitoring and the information we need to make sensible decisions about when it's safe to get in.

And if a bunch of kids from a surf club in Thurso can find the time to write letters about it, surely the adults making the decisions can find the time to listen.

Rip Curl GromSearch European Final

At O2 SURFTOWN MUC on September 19, the best young surfers from France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK gathered in Germany to compete in a new competition environment and surf one of the best wave pools in the world.

Under sunny skies, with many spectators gathered around the pool, each Grom had the opportunity to showcase their best surfing, with five left waves and five right waves available to them. They all showed their incredible talent, proving they had earned their place in this competition.

Discover below all the results from the Rip Curl GromSearch European Final, with the two U16 winners earning their spot to compete in the International Final in Narrabeen, Australia, from November 7 to 10, where they will face the best young surfers from each region around the world.

Congratulations to the U16 winners, Alvaro Casanova and Carla Morera De La Vall, both from Spain, who will now head to Australia in November to compete in the Rip Curl GromSearch International Final.

The 2026 European series featured five events in Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal and France, giving young surfers across the continent the opportunity to compete at some of Europe’s most renowned surf destinations.

The circuit kicked off in Tonfano, Italy, before heading to Somo in Spain, Newquay in the UK, Ericeira in Portugal and finally Lacanau, France. The five events paved the way for the European Final in Munich, where the season’s best performers came together for one final battle.

Last year, the Rip Curl GromSearch International Final took place in France, in the Landes region. Australian surfers Ocean Lancaster and Eliza Richardson claimed victory in the Under 16 categories at the Santocha break in Capbreton.

Since its creation in 1999, the Rip Curl GromSearch has played a key role in identifying and supporting the next generation of surfing talent. Over the years, the competition has helped launch the careers of many surfers who have gone on to become leading figures on the world stage, including multiple WSL World Champions and Olympic medallists such as Gabriel Medina, three-time World Champion, and Stephanie Gilmore, eight-time World Champion, as well as Kauli Vaast and Caroline Marks, Olympic Champions in 2024.

Thank you to the European Rip Curl GromSearch sponsors for their support: Citroën, SunBum, Fatboy Bikes, I Sea and FCS, as well as O2 SURFTOWN MUC and the Fédération Française de Surf, who help make this event possible.

U16 Boys

1. Alvaro Casanova (19.3)

2. Samuele Agliani (18.13)

3. Noah Jeannet (14.44)

4. Ze Maria-Antunes (14.3)

U16 Girls

1. Carla Morera De La Vall (18.2)

2. Charlie Leguay (17.2)

3. Ana-Mel Canhoto (16.6)

4. Lila Skinner (15.3)

U14 Boys

1. Stefano Mandozzi (19.16)

2. Liam Sham-Koua (18.84)

3. Rocco Rigliado (17.8)

4. Daniele Mereu (17.23)

U14 Girls

1. Vida Mendonca (16.53)

2. Carla Méndez Acebo (14.43)

3. Caterina Congiu (14.1)

4. Betsie Reay (11.4)

U12 Boys

1. Naue Brasil (19.04)

2. Kavei Pierson (17.9)

3. Oliver Fleiss (16.76)

4. Kelio Silva (13.84)

U12 Girls

1. Eva Rico-Basoa (17.03)

2. Katarina Roth-Gale (15.66)

3. Nemina Hanssen (9.9)

4. Lucia Alcalde (7.3)

Strike Mission Window

The Flat Spell Has Been Broken

NW swell forecast: why this week could be the best surf Cornwall's seen all summer.

A large NW swell is moving through the UK and Europe, and it's not done yet. Here in Cornwall we're not getting the full force of it, Ireland sits in the swell's path and blocks a chunk of the energy before it reaches us, but it's still looking like the best swell since the start of summer. Dust off the wetsuit and wax up your board.

We got the insight on this one from our friends at 4Shor, who track conditions in real time so you don't have to guess.

Over the weekend, 4Shor's read on Cornwall was this

"We're not getting as much of the swell as some other locations because of the swell direction, with Ireland blocking a good chunk of the energy, but conditions were still really good. At the time, Cornwall had solid 2m waves, a 12 second period, and wave energy of roughly 2,500 to 3,000 J/m², a measure of how much power is actually behind the swell rather than just its height."

The part worth paying most attention to is the wind. At spots like Newquay and Polzeath, 4Shor was forecasting it turning offshore or side-offshore. Based on that, 4Shor had Fistral scoring 97 out of 100 for advanced surfing on Tuesday evening, and 95 out of 100 on Wednesday morning.

However conditions move fast, so those numbers are a snapshot from over the weekend rather than gospel today. The smart move is to check the 4Shor app yourself before you head out, that way you'll catch every shift in the forecast and won't miss the best of it.

Overall, surf is looking consistent for the foreseeable, and Tuesday through to Friday is shaping up to be a fun stretch.

Get up to date info on the swell below:

Click Here

Live water-sports conditions by 4Shor