There’s something special about surfing through the winter; empty beaches, quieter roads, cold fresh winds and consistent swells. The Atlantic Ocean comes alive, it’s a cold water paradise awash with surfers of all ages, check out the grass roots edit, filmed and edited by Caleb Giddens @calebgiddensmedia
A full day of action took place today at the 2022 Surf City El Salvador ISA World Junior Surfing Championship. Round 1 of Boys U-18 wrapped up at La Bocana before Girls U-18 kicked off to run through their Round 1, while Round 1 of Boys U-16 was completed at El Sunzal.
Wave selection proved to be the crucial factor at El Sunzal today. Jackson Dorian had no problems cracking the code in the first heat of the day for Boys U-16. The Hawaiian dropped two 9’s for an excellent heat total of 18.20 in his first international junior competition.
Excellent scores [RJF1] were delivered as Hans Odriozola (ESP) found an 8.67 and Lucas Senkbeil an 8.00 (MEX). Hughie Vaughan (AUS) also came close with a 7.83, but the rest of the Boys U-16 field were unable to find themselves anywhere near Dorian’s dominance.
Competitors at La Bocana had plenty of options with perfect, glassy 4-6 foot peaks rolling in. Shion Crawford (HAW) made quick work of it, sealing the highest single wave score (8.33) out of the four Boys U-18 heats held to complete Round 1. Nicolas Paulet (FRA) received the highest heat total (15.57).
The rest of the day at La Bocana belonged to the Girls U-18 division. Early standouts included Kana Nakashio (JPN) and Kiany Hyakutake (BRA), with Puamakamae Desoto [RJF2] (HAW) claiming a 9.00 late in the day. It was Janire Gonzalez (ESP) however, who collected both the highest wave score and heat total. Her searing forehand snaps lit up the left for two 9-point rides and the current top heat total of the event (18.40).
Heimiti and Kohai Fierro are enjoying competing in their first ISA event. Following in the footsteps of their older sister Vahine, the 2016 Silver Medalist, the sisters are proud members of Team Tahiti.
“It’s super exciting,” 15-year-old Kohai shared. “You meet new people, especially because I’m doing the two categories, U-16 and U-18. I’m super-stoked to be here and I hope I’m going to do my best and have a good result.”
The sole representative for the Philippines, Noah Arkfeld, is enjoying his first taste of international competition.
“It’s really fun to travel here. It’s really exciting. Especially because it’s my first time traveling internationally. I’m very happy to be representing the Philippines for the juniors for the first time. I’m super stoked.”
Recently surviving Typhoon Odette, which destroyed much of his home island of Siargao, was a scary experience for the 17-year-old who grew up walking distance from the fabled Cloud 9 surf break.
“It was pretty hard. We had no electricity for a couple weeks. The food was hard to find, and water. Our house was also partly destroyed.”
ISA President Fernando Aguerre said:
“It was amazing to see so many huge performances on day two of competition in the incredible waves of El Salvador.”
“With girls making up 45% of the championship we are seeing their surfing pushed to massive new heights. It is so exciting that we are closer than ever to our goal of full gender equality.”
“It’s also great to see so many new names surfing incredibly well, especially those from newer surfing nations.”
As Mr Slim Shady once enquired – ‘guess who’s back, back again?’. In this case, it was the muthaflippin’ BLU and they were back at Rest Bay in beautiful Porthcawl after a 6 year absence!
With a typical monotonous regularity that has dogged surf contests since the dawn of time, the forecast did not look great. Surfable, sure. Great? Nope. Competitors were greeted with steely grey skies and latte coloured cross-onshore chest high waves. It takes more than an unflattering forecast to stop this bunch of wild-eyed wax wranglers, so in went the first round of the Men’s Open. The tide was already on the high side and by all known wisdom should have quickly become unsurfably high, but the ocean gods were with us and we managed to surf on through. Early front runners came in the familiar shape of Evan Rogers, Sam Bleakley and Elliot Dudley, all of whom posted double digit heat scores in the first couple of rounds and secured their places in the semi-finals along with Jack Unsworth who pulled a full undercover ninja mission, silently passing from heat to heat in the shadows pretty much undetected.
The next willing victims to hit the water were the other large entry pool, the Single Finners. Many familiar faces from the Men’s Open and very cool to see Emily Currie and Beth Leighfield reminding everyone that Single Fin is an OPEN division. Emily won her first two heats, dispatching some heavy hitters on the way to the semis. Sadly, Beth had a slightly less fruitful time and managed to seriously blow her knee out within 10 minutes of starting her first heat. Best wishes to her for a speedy recovery. Another stand-out came in the form of Connor Griffiths, yes the one who glasses at Thomas Surfboards up in Noosa. Back for a few weeks to see the folks, it was great to see both Connor and dad Chris ‘Guts’ Griffiths powering their way into various finals.
The first day of competition ended with the U16 Cadets semis and finals. Although the level of surfing in the dropping mid-tide treacle-fest that is Rest Bay (the tidal range for those uneducated in such matters can be up to 11m, which does take a smidge of energy out of the swell as it drops) was fantastic, once again we had a noticeably low turnout in the U16, U18 Boys, U18 Girls and – most disappointingly – Women’s Open. The boys could be excused as Lukas Skinner and Arthur Randell are on international shortboard duties at the moment, and all the juniors did make each and every heat and final a genuine contest. Ted Pearson continued his excellent run of form with a win in the Cadets and second in the U18s, while local boyo Blake Jones secured first in the U18s and the honour of being the only surfer to crash into the fabled rocks at Rest (his home break).
Day 2 saw out the remaining semis in smaller but cleaner swell, starting with the Grandmasters and great performances from Chris Griffiths and Alan Reed which saw both of them into the final. It was Chris and his magnificent beard and dancing feet who took the title. The Single Fin semis saw the end of Emily Currie’s great run and the advancement of Elliot, Sam and Connor into the final along with BLU first-timer Ed Bresnan. Despite a busy home life and missing several sessions of leg day, Elliot put on a good enough impression of a wetsuited nose-riding hood ornament to take both the Single Fin and Men’s Open titles. Impressive stuff.
With the withdrawal of Beth Leighfield on the grounds of having no knee, the Women’s Open was a straight 3 way fight. Emily Currie on the right, taking on the surf as well as the ever-encroaching weekend crowd and Izzy Henshall and her cousin Lola Bleakley trading waves on the smaller but more consistent and definitely less crowded lefts. It was tight, but Izzy took it with some very graceful cross-stepping and nosework.
The U18 Girls saw Lola taking the title with some confident (and continuously and rapidly improving) cross-stepping, but the highlight for me was the two local girls Anna-Rose Merchant and Seren Davies who pretty much entered ‘for a laugh’, made a good contest of it and – rumour has it – are now super keen to carry on competing. Awesome.
That left the Masters. A couple of years ago this was a well-contested division but a tad light on superstars. On this occasion, we had two former multi-National, British and European champions, a BPSA Night Surf Winner and a Jesus Surf Classic Master’s Champion. No pressure to perform, then! It all looked to be going the way of another Guts Griffiths win, which led to a slightly early retirement to the beach. In classic Hollywood style, IOW boy and serial entrepreneur Chris Thomson in his first season of the Masters took off on the archetypal Hail Mary final wave and hang-fived his way to last second glory by 0.03 points! You could not make this stuff up.
In summary, the surf was fine, the weather good, the surfing great, the bants epic and the chili con carne? It came with half rice, half chips.
Massive thanks as always to our friends and sponsors for their unwavering belief that 9ft+ bits of foam, wood and fibreglass make a weird kind of sense.
Porthcawl Surf School
Welsh Coast Surf Club
Pura Vida Boardriders
Edwards Roofing Newport Ltd
Ocean & Earth
Welsh Surf Federation
Rest Bay Café
All the heroic support staff, you know who you are!
Men’s Open
1st Elliot Dudley
2nd Jack Unsworth
3rd Connor Griffiths
4th Evan Rogers
Women’s Open
1st Izzy Henshall
2nd Emily Currie
3rd Lola Bleakley
4th Beth Leighfield
Single Fin
1st Elliot Dudley
2nd Sam Bleakley
3rd Connor Griffiths
4th Ed Bresnan
Masters
1st Chris Thomson
2nd Chris Griffiths
3rd Sam Bleakley
4th Steve Horn
Grandmasters
1st Chris Griffiths
2nd Alan Reed
3rd Colin Bright
4th Richard Gowers
U18 Boys
1st Blake Jones
2nd Ted Pearson
3rd Joel Mew
4th Syd Randell
U18 Girls
1st Lola Bleakley
2nd Anna-Rose Merchant
3rd Seren Davies
U16 Cadets
1st Ted Pearson
2nd Lola Bleakley
3rd Syd Randell
4th Anna-Rose Merchant
If reports are to be true, Dick Brewer, legendary shaper, surfer, Innovator has sadly passed away. Considered as one of the most influential board makers of all time, and possessing a magic eye when it came to shaping in its most purest form. Dick has been regarded by many as the gurus guru, born in 1936 in Minnesota he started surfing in the early 50s when his family moved to California, eventually making his way to Hawaii in 1960, planer in hand, and the rest is is surfing history.
Our thoughts are with Dicks family and friends.
Dick Brewer 1936-2022
Photos: David Darling
• Nominees for Ride of the Year, Biggest Tow, and Biggest Paddle Announced Today, Winners To Be Revealed on July 7, 2022
• Germany’s Steudtner Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Men’s Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited) at Nazaré, Portugal in 2020
• View All the Nominated Rides at WorldSurfLeague.com
the World Surf League (WSL) released the official list of nominees for the 2022 Red Bull Big Wave Awards. $350,000 in prize money will be awarded across three categories for men’s and women’s divisions: Ride of the Year, Biggest Tow, and Biggest Paddle. The winning photographers and videographers will also be awarded prize money. In addition to announcing the nominees, as part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards, the WSL has officially announced the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Men’s Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited).
Sebastian Steudtner (above) Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title for Men’s Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited)
Sebastian Steudtner (GER) has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the largest wave surfed (unlimited) – male. As part of the Red Bull Big Wave Awards, the WSL has officially analyzed, measured, and verified Sebastian Steudtner’s 2021 Big Wave Award-winning ride at Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal on October 29, 2020 at 86 feet (26.21 meters) from trough to crest.
The ride won the Biggest Tow Award at the 2021 Red Bull Big Wave Awards making it eligible for World Record verification. Steudtner’s wave was analyzed, measured, and confirmed as the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest Wave Surfed (Unlimited) – Male.
The achievement was announced at a special ceremony upon the grounds of the famous lighthouse that stands watch over the waves of Praia do Norte. An official Adjudicator of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS presented Steudtner with a certificate declaring him as the current record holder for men’s largest wave surfed. Steudtner’s record beat Rodrigo Koxa’s previous record by 6 feet, which was caught on November 8, 2017 at the same location of Praia do Norte, Nazaré.
Several frames from the video footage were extracted and corrected geometrically based on the camera position and inclination. Using known objects such as the jet ski and actual measurement of Steudtner’s body geometry, it was possible to calibrate the images for conversion from pixels to feet. The location of the trough and crest of the wave was determined from analysis of the video from two different angles.
2022 Red Bull Big Wave Nominees Announced
This year’s Red Bull Big Wave Awards received over 300 submissions with some of the heaviest and most amazing big waves ridden during the April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 big wave awards season. All submitted waves were evaluated by a comprehensive judging panel formed by WSL judges, former pro surfers, and big wave specialists.
This year’s nominees spanned the globe, with surfers representing countries like Brazil, Australia, the United States, Hawaii, Portugal, and France. The majority of the nominated rides come from the infamous big wave breaks of Nazaré in Portugal and Pe’ahi (a.k.a. “Jaws”) in Hawaii, USA, but this year’s shortlist also sees rides from Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California, USA, Teahupo’o in Tahiti, Shipstern Bluff in Australia, Himalayas on Oahu’s North Shore, and Outer Reef Kahului, Maui, both in Hawaii.
The winners of the prestigious awards for some of the wildest rides of the year will be announced on July 7, 2022.
Ride of the Year
The Ride of the Year is awarded to the male and female surfers who demonstrate the most advanced and committed level of big wave surfing during a successful ride, as judged by available video footage. While raw size is taken into consideration, it is ultimately the level of performance that is rewarded.
Female Nominees
Annie Reickert (above) at Outer Reef Kahului, Hawaii on December 5, 2021
Justine Dupont at Teahupo’o, Tahiti on October 6, 2021
Justine Dupont at Teahupo’o, Tahiti on August 13, 2021
Michelle des Bouillons at Nazaré, Portugal on February 10, 2022
Paige Alms at Jaws, Hawaii on January 9, 2022
Male Nominees
Billy Kemper at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Francisco Porcella at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca at Nazaré, Portugal on February 25, 2022
Mikey Brennan at Shipstern Bluff, Australia on March 26, 2022
Pedro Scooby at Nazaré, Portugal on December 13, 2021
Nominees in this category include Justine Dupont (FRA), with two separate rides at Teahupo’o, and Mikey Brennan at Shipstern Bluff, in addition to three nominations each from Jaws and Nazaré.
Female Nominees
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Michelle des Bouillons at Nazaré, Portugal on December 13, 2021
Michelle des Bouillons at Nazaré, Portugal on December 11, 2021
Male Nominees
João Macedo at Nazaré, Portugal on February 25, 2022
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Mason Barnes at Nazaré, Portugal on February 26, 2022
Nic Von Rupp at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
Pedro Scooby at Nazaré, Portugal on January 8, 2022
The tow category exclusively features nominations from Nazaré. The women’s side features two rides from Michelle des Bouillons (BRA) alongside world-renowned Big Wave charger Justine Dupont (FRA). Dupont is setting a high standard this year, with nominations in each of the three categories.
The men’s category includes the winner of this year’s TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa, Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, along with his teammate at the event, Nic Von Rupp. Chianca showed how comfortable he is in the massive surf at Nazaré and continues to push the limit of what’s possible. One of the standout surfers at the famed Portuguese break, Pedro Scooby (BRA) also teamed up with Von Rupp during one of the first big swells of the year, and both earned a nomination for their respective rides.
Biggest Paddle
The Biggest Paddle Award goes to the male and female surfers who paddle into, and successfully ride, the biggest wave of the year.
Female Nominees
Annie Reickert at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Justine Dupont at Nazaré, Portugal on November 19, 2021
Katie Mae McConnell at Himalayas, Hawaii on January 22, 2022
Paige Alms at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Raquel Heckert at Himalayas, Hawaii on January 22, 2022
Male Nominees
Ben Andrews at Mavericks, California on January 11, 2022
Billy Kemper at Jaws, Hawaii on November 2, 2021
Jamie Mitchell at Nazaré, Portugal on February 9, 2022
Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca at Nazare, Portugal on January 12, 2022
Pedro Calado at Nazaré, Portugal on January 12, 2022
This year’s nominees include big names like two-time WSL Big Wave World Champion Paige Alms and four-time Pe’ahi Challenge Champion Billy Kemper. Hailing from Hawaii, both Alms and Kemper have stamped their authority in big waves with previous Big Wave Award wins and they continue to produce excellent rides at Jaws. No stranger to Jaws either, Raquel Heckert (BRA) has been putting in the time in Hawaii and it’s showing as she earned a nomination for her ride at Himalayas on the North Shore.
The 2022 Red Bull Big Wave Awards winners will be announced on July 7, 2022 on WorldSurfLeague.com/redbullbigwaveawards. The winning rides of the 2022 Red Bull Big Wave Awards will be eligible for World Record verification if the judging panel determines the wave(s) challenge the current World Records. World Record verifications will be announced on November 1, 2022.
To watch all the nominated rides, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com/redbullbigwaveawards.
For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.
