Kelly Slater is back on Oahu and everyone is stoked to have him here. After his hip surgery, surf aficionados were all curious as to how the GOAT would handle the recovery. Well, after watching this video, you would probably never guess that he recently underwent a heavy medical procedure. Today he displayed some knife like carves, typical Slater-esque aggression, and superb wave selection. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say… Kelly Slater is back!
Barbados, world-class waves and vibrant Caribbean culture, what’s not to love. Get your spoon, dig into Soup Bowl with Josh Burke as he showcases the aqua playgrounds of this jewel in the West Indies.
Steph posted on Insta
“ I am planning to take this tour season off as a refresh for myself physically, mentally, and to enjoy following swells and free surfing in new places. I have some projects and trips I want to do, which haven’t been possible while traveling for the tour season. I am still passionate and dedicated to competing, and I have goals and dreams that I am still chasing – I’m excited for something fresh this year and I look forward to returning to competition in 2025.”
WSL announced the departure and guaranteed Steph a 2025 wild card
“While we will miss Steph’s presence on the CT this season, we wholeheartedly support her decision to take this time for herself,” said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL Chief of Sport.
“Steph’s influence on surfing and sport has been profound, inspiring countless people around the world. We eagerly await her return in 2025, where she will be welcomed back with the season wildcard, ready to continue her incredible legacy.”
“Under the WSL Rule Book, Gilmore’s spot continues down the 2023 CT rankings, and it is not allocated to the first replacement as this is a pre-season withdrawal. The next qualifier on the CT is Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), who is tied with Brisa Hennessy (CRC) and wins the tiebreak due to heat wins (4 to 3). Fitzgibbons as Gilmore’s replacement via the CT opens up a spot via the Challenger Series. Luana Silva (BRA), as the next ranked surfer on the Challenger Series, then qualifies for the CT in Fitzgibbons’ absence on the Challenger Series’ rankings. Silva will start her 2024 season at Pipeline, marking her return to the CT.
“With Silva previously holding the WSL Replacement position and now gaining full-time entry on the CT, Sophie McCulloch(AUS) has been allocated the WSL Replacement spot by the WSL Tours and Competition team. Following Carissa Moore’s withdrawal from the 2024 CT season after the Pipe Pro, McCulloch will compete in Moore’s place as the first replacement.”
Enigmatic big wave surfer Tom Lowe has followed his own path from the heart of Penwith to surfing’s highest level through grit and determination – with a little help from his friends. Cutting his teeth in Ireland and pioneering unknown waves with a small group of surfers, Tom found meaning in pushing himself to the limit, and sometimes beyond. In 2023, Tom hit the reef hard at Teahupo’o and sustained critical injuries. “After surgery, lung treatment and a blood transfusion due to internal bleeding, a broken scapula, and many broken ribs, I truly do feel lucky to have made it,” he said.
Friday 26th January at Riverside Studios, London Surf / Film Festival presents a very special screening of remastered cult classic, ‘Free Ride’ Dir. Bill Delaney, accompanied by ‘Let Me Live’ – an award winning portrait of Tom Lowe, Dir. Keith Malloy.
Featuring the likes of Fergal Smith and renowned, multi-faceted creative Mickey Smith, this film is as much an exploration of community and kinship as it is about Tom. Ahead of the screening, we spoke to Mickey about Tom, his drive and his draw.
You talk about Tom having a special quality, a fire in him. As a photographer and a fellow waterman, what does that look like in the line up and what made you train your lens on him?
For me Tom has a natural cosmic way he can override instincts and open himself up to different dimensions of being human. In the sea that becomes like an innate ability to feel senses and fibres screaming no, weak with fear, and still override all that and be able to give it 110%. I feel like it’s a pretty rare skill. I’ve seen a lot of water folk who are pretty comfortable floating around in the heavy salt over the years who can’t do what Tom can.
It’s hard to explain how or why, but there’s moments amongst scary waves where things switch to another level, the sea gets primal. Situations where it’s far less than perfect, things are hectic and escalating, walls closing in type panic where there’s a uncontrollable fear that your life is at risk. Most of us tap out at that point. There’s not many who can deal with all that without survival instincts preventing us doing what Tom is able to open himself up to experiencing. To turn and go. It’s some kind of natural language for him maybe. He’s a wizard.
What do you think sparked that fire?
I just think it’s a part of Tom’s heart, right down deep. I have so much respect for what he’s achieved against all odds. Tom’s an incredible human, born to push himself in whatever way and thankfully it’s worked out that surfing is the way. He’s stoked when things are wild at sea, he’s happy, comfortable, at peace. He can handle that other level of adrenaline and all that goes with it. It takes its toll on him in many other ways for sure but out there in the salt he’s at home and he’s free.
Ireland, during your time there, and Penwith too seem to have sparked a special brand of creativity and a different type of surfer. What do you think it is about that time and place that is so special?
I don’t know really, energy is fickle but you can’t ignore how it affects our lives. It wasn’t easy or all roses but both Penwith growing up and Co. Clare when I lived there, these areas created a wild momentum through unique windows of time. Where the natural world & human interaction connected hearts through our weird little outcast sub cultures. Small scenes with good and pretty freethinking hearts around, all pushing each other to look for something beyond the every day for a while? Or just a little luck and enough spark to give it a crack maybe.
Tickets for LS/FF Presents include a free beer from the good folk at Sharps while Yeti and Foundation Roasters are sending up some goodies to stave off the winter chill. This is what dark January evenings were made for… gathering together with a crew of like-minded individuals for the finest cinematic surf session to salute the season ahead. See you there!
Coxos, the notorious world-class surf break really turned on this winter, epic conditions, 16 seconds with 8-9 feet pushing through. Surrounded by rugged cliffs and the scenic coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, Coxos is no playground, hit the link for the pleasure and the pain.
The TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge unfolded in epic, 30-to-40 foot waves at the world-famous Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal. Surfers woke up to a glorious day of high-performance, tow surfing with light winds and very clean wedges across the various peaks of the Nazaré lineup.
While the bigger sets were a little slow in the morning, forcing competition to go on hold for a couple of hours, the action got underway just after noon as massive crowds assembled on the headland and around the iconic lighthouse.
A little under five hours later, competition wrapped in fantastic fashion in massive waves and with enthusiastic crowds cheering on the world’s best big wave surfers at the awards ceremony on the headland.
Chianca’s Relentless Approach Wins It All Again
The defending event winner Lucas Chianca (BRA, above) put on an incredible show all day and could not be denied a second, back-to-back Men’s Best Performance Award in Nazaré. Despite a last-minute partner change due to Kai Lenny pulling out injured, Chianca wasted no time to find his rhythm with fellow Brazilian Pedro Scooby (BRA).
The pair were on point to identify the best waves in the ever-moving lineup and Chianca with his progressive approach to riding the massive peaks scored the event’s best two waves, one in each session. The goofy foot basically surfed these huge waves like they were your typical local beachbreak and laid back into big powerful turns, staying close to the wave’s power source despite the obvious risk factor.
“This is a dream for me, I never expected to win so many times here,” Chianca said. “This place is magical, Nazaré has given me everything in my life. This win is probably the most special to me because we were a 100% Brazilian team. It was such a pleasure to tow with Scooby, one of the guys who pushed me, helped me and inspired me when I started surfing big waves. I’m really happy to give him back a little bit with our performance today.”
Chianca is now a five-time winner in Nazaré, four times towing and he also won the event paddling a few years back. The crowd craze was never-ending when the Brazilian stood up proud on the podium in front of thousands of fans chanting his name.
Behind him, Clement Roseyro (FRA) and Sebastian Steudtner (GER) complete the podium in the individual men’s category with really intense rides of their own and a fantastic performance to rival with undeniably the best surfer out at Nazaré for the past few years.
Gabeira Secures Second Title At Nazaré
Brazil’s Maya Gabeira (BRA, above) successfully defended her title at Nazaré, a break she has dedicated most of her life to. Gabeira teamed up with local rising star Antonio Laureano (POR), and used the first session to fine tune their strategy.
“We realized that the judges were rewarding turns because the size is not that big, so we have to look for those smoother walls in our second session,” Gabeira reflected after their first heat.
Michelle des Bouillons (BRA, above) was right behind her after a busy first session with her tow partner Ian Cosenza (BRA). Despite focusing their efforts on Des Bouillons catching the best waves in the second heat, she couldn’t improve on her scores from the first session.
The energy and swell intensified in the second session and Laureano had one job, and that was to get Gabeira on the best waves. The start was a bit shaky, and Gabeira had to deal with a big wipeout on her first ride. Laureano scooped her up and she took a moment to reset, before swinging for the next set on the third peak. With a decent score on the board, she stayed patient and finally found the smooth gem she was looking for. It stretched out ahead of her as she made a committed cutback before going down the line and riding out safely, getting her best score and the Women’s Best Performance Award.
“I’ve been injured for what seems like forever now so it was great to compete again and to get the win is a great way to come back,” Gabeira added. “Teaming up with Tony, the youngest one, was special. Even after getting injured he continued to drive me and stayed focused and drove me into the waves I needed. Today was a very difficult day to surf and especially to perform rail surfing. And to do that under a time pressure is tough, normally in the free surf when you’re tired you rest, here you have to go and you tend to take more risk than you probably should. It’s very difficult but so very rewarding in the end.”
Scooby (above) Eventually Finds His Own Pace, Brings Team to Top of the Podium
For a long time it looked like a first-timer in this event, France’s Clement Roseyro (FRA) teamed up with local Nic Von Rupp (POR), were going to deny the Brazilian number one seed of the team’s award.
But towards the end of the second session, Chianca managed to tow his partner Pedro Scooby (BRA) into a huge ride which changed the situation and moved the pair into the lead with only one more heat left to compete. Eventually no other team could quite match the Brazilian duo’s flair and they took top honors in the Team’s Best Performance Award.
“I can’t believe two days ago I was super sick on my couch in Rio De Janeiro,” Scooby said. “My mom took care of me and Lucas encouraged me and I decided to come. I put all my energy into this and our team worked really well to take the win. Lucas is so talented, we’ve been surfing since his first big swells and we talk a lot about everything and we have a great connection so to win with him today is super special.”
Andrew Cotton above in action.
Much like in the individual category, Roseyro and Von Rupp placed runner-up, and Steudtner and his partner Eric Rebiere (FRA) took the third podium spot.
The TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge ran today and was broadcast LIVE on Red Bull TV, WorldSurfLeague.com, and the free WSL app. Watch highlights and replay all the action on worldsurfleague.com.
The 2023/2024 TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge is proudly supported by TUDOR and Red Bull.
