It’s the year 2022, Range Rovers out number Willzy-like souped up cars 10 to 1, there’s a Netflix series called byron baes, botox is in, affordable housing is out. The surf is more crowded than the boxing day test with Warney flipping a few, fires rage and floods engulf us but one thing will always stay the same: Rex Hunt is still a Desmond.

A local fast paced and electric surf film starring Soli Bailey, Kieren Perrow, Kyuss King, Garret Parkes, Joel Paxton, Zak Skyring, Duke Wrencher, Jhamil “Nuke” Coorey, Nick Colbey, Cash Cow, Piney Jyoti Walker, Torren Martyn, Finn Crisp, Hobbit, Brick, Crab, Tom Donny etc.

In loving memory of Ben King

Desmond – A byron bay surf film by Nick Colbey
Edit: Nick Colbey
Filmed: Milo Inglis, Nick Colbey, Grigs
Water: Nick Colbey, Grigs

The GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Rip Curl, the first stop of the 2022 WSL Longboard Tour, continued today with the Longboard Semifinalists being decided in super clean two-foot surf at Manly Beach. It was an interesting day of competition with a number of close heats seeing the cream rise to the top with the top seeds all finding their way through to Finals Day.  

Hawaiian Duo Set the Pace at Manly Beach
Hawaii’s Kaniela Stewart (above) staked his claim as the one to beat at Manly beach, booking himself a spot in the Semifinals with the two most emphatic heat wins of the event so far in the Round of 16 and the Quarterfinals. In his first heat of the day, Stewart overcame Brazilian competitor Augusto Olinto with a 17.20 two-wave total, the highest of the event so far. He then backed it up in his Quarterfinal matchup against good friend and mentor Kai Sallas (HAW) with Stewart posting another excellent heat total to progress into the semifinals. Stewart’s combination of  poise and grace on the nose along with smooth rail-to-rail transition is being rewarded and it will take a big performance from Ben Skinner (GRB) to stop him in their Semifinal matchup on Finals Day.

“I’ve looked up to Kai Sallas all my life and he’s taught me so much about Longboard surfing and I even ride his board designs so it was amazing to surf against him in the Quarterfinal,” said Stewart. “I’ve come out on top in that heat and I’m looking forward to finals day. We have a few days off before finals day now so I’ll try and see some of the great sights of this beautiful city and get more great waves each day as well.” 

Fellow Hawaiian and reigning three-time WSL Longboard World Champion Honolua Blomfield (above) continued her run to the Finals, progressing through her quarterfinal matchup with compatriot Sophia Culhane. Blomfield and Stewart are the sole Hawaii representatives left in the draw and both look to a strong chance of going all the way when the Longboard competition resumes early next week.

Surfer and Shaper Ben Skinner Flies the Flag for Great Britain Into Finals Day
WSL Longboard Tour veteran Ben Skinner (GRB, above) is one of the few competitors left at the World Tour level that competes on boards that he shapes himself, an art form that is as impressive as it is a throwback. Skinner’s boards seem to be doing the trick as the Englishman took down former World Champion Phil Rajzman (BRA) in the Round of 16, then Jefson Silva (BRA) in the Quarterfinals to progress into the Semifinals. For a powerful surfer, Skinner looked at home in the smaller surf at Manly, channeling the waves back home in Fistral on his way to consecutive heat wins.

“I’m loving it here at Manly Beach, this is like the best day at my home beach Fistral in the UK,” Skinner said. “I shape my own boards and I’m obviously very happy with my equipment. I stayed busy throughout that heat and that was a good strategy and I can now look forward to finals day.”

Local Hopefuls Keep Home Crowd Happy at Manly Beach 

Local favorites Tully White (AUS, above) and Declan Wyton (AUS, below) continued to storm their way towards the Finals, both posting some of the highest two-wave totals of the day in front of their home crowd to find themselves a spot in the Semifinals. For many longboard enthusiasts, these performances were a long time coming with the pair turning heads in the Longboard world for a long while now.   

“I’m super happy to make the Semifinals, I’ve only ever made the semi’s once before and to do it in front of my family and friends at my home beach is really special,” White said . “I watched fellow Manly surfer Declan Wyton win his heat earlier and that really got me excited before my heat and right now it feels great – there’s quite a bit of work ahead to make the Final or even win but right now I’m feeling great.”

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Men’s Longboard Round of 16 Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Skinner (GBR) 13.97 DEF. Phil Rajzman (BRA) 12.97
HEAT 2: Jefson Silva (BRA) 15.27 DEF. Taylor Jensen (USA) 13.27
HEAT 3: Kai Sallas (HAW) 12.47 DEF. Piccolo Clemente (PER) 12.20
HEAT 4: Kaniela Stewart (HAW) 17.20 DEF. Augusto Olinto (BRA) 13.00
HEAT 5: Harrison Roach (AUS) 13.37 DEF. Jack Entwistle (AUS) 13.17
HEAT 6: Cole Robbins (USA) 13.43 DEF. Lucas Garrido Lecca (PER) 12.74
HEAT 7: Declan Wyton (AUS) 16.96 DEF. Edouard Delpero (FRA) 11.90
HEAT 8: Taka Inoue (JPN) 16.27 DEF. Tony Silvagni (USA) 13.70

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Women’s Longboard Quarterfinals Results:  
HEAT 1: Chloe Calmon (BRA) 15.67 DEF. Natsumi Taoka (JPN) 9.23
HEAT 2: Tully White (AUS) 14.90 DEF. Mason Schremmer (USA) 11.57
HEAT 3: Honolua Blomfield (HAW) 12.17 DEF. Sophia Culhane (HAW) 12.14
HEAT 4: Soleil Errico (USA) 11.77 DEF. Rachael Tilly (USA) 11.73

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Men’s Longboard Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Ben Skinner (GBR) 13.50 DEF. Jefson Silva (BRA) 9.77
HEAT 2: Kaniela Stewart (HAW) 16.56 DEF. Kai Sallas (HAW) 12.70
HEAT 3: Harrison Roach (AUS) 15.60 DEF. Cole Robbins (USA) 10.80
HEAT 4: Declan Wyton (AUS) 15.36 DEF. Taka Inoue (JPN) 11.17

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Women’s Longboard Semifinals Matchups:
HEAT 1: Chloe Calmon (BRA) vs. Tully White (AUS)
HEAT 2: Honolua Blomfield (HAW) vs. Soleil Errico (USA)

GWM Sydney Surf Pro Men’s Longboard Semifinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Ben Skinner (GBR) vs. Kaniela Stewart (HAW)
HEAT 2: Harrison Roach (AUS) vs. Declan Wyton (AUS)

Watch LIVE
The GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Rip Curl runs through May 24, 2022, and will broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com, WSL’s YouTube channel, and the free WSL app. Check local listings for coverage from the WSL’s broadcast partners. 

It’s standard procedure for multiple surfers to paddle for the same wave at crowded Uluwatu – as was the case on the first wave in this edit.

But when one of those surfers is 2019 World Champ, Italo Ferreira, you’d better bring your ‘A-Game’, because he doesn’t miss too many waves that he paddles for.

Italo on fine form during this session at the Racetrack. Surfing with a lot of speed and sticking almost everything he went for.

The GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Rip Curl, The second stop of the World Surf League (WSL) Challenger Series (CS) and the Opening event of the WSL Longboard Tour (LT) has continued today with the Women’s Longboards seeing all eight heats of the Round of 16 running in super clean, one foot surf at Manly Beach.

Next Generation Steps up At Manly as Veterans Drop Out of Draw

Local hopeful Tully White (AUS, above) was the biggest winner of the day, clinching herself a spot in the Quarterfinals with a dominating win over French competitor Zoe Grospiron (FRA) much to the delight of her friends and family watching on the beach at their home spot. The heat was anyone’s to win with both surfers having mid-range scores to their names until, with less than 10 minutes left, White found one of the biggest waves of the day and took off, got straight to the nose for a long hang-10, then went back for a long smooth drop knee cutback, before finishing the wave with on the closeout. White was rewarded an excellent 9.10 point ride and is now guaranteed one of her best results with a spot in the Quarterfinals.

“It’s definitely super special to be here at home and have all of this support on the beach,” White said. “It’s been crazy seeing so many friends and family down here on a Tuesday afternoon, I really appreciate all of this support for sure. Everyone has been saying it’s super small but this is about as dreamy as logging gets here at North Steyne so I’m pretty frothy. I was stoked to get that bigger one – it gave me some good opportunities for sure.”

The second heat of the day saw Japanese competitor Natsumi Taoka (JPN, above) take a massive win over Californian competitor Lindsay Steinriede (USA) to book herself a spot in the Quarterfinals at the GWM Sydney Surf Pro. Steinriede came into the match up a favorite with over a decade of competing behind her and 2011 World Title, Taoka had her work cut out for her and she dug deep to take the win, posting an impressive 16.67 two-wave heat total. Taoka’s excellent total included a 9.00 point ride for a series of long nose rides in the critical section.

“The waves are small but it feels a lot like home in Japan so I was having fun,” Taoka said. “I woke up this morning early and warmed up then we went on hold for quite a while so by the time we got underway I was really ready to go. It was great to get some heats run today and it felt so good to go excellent on that one wave. My boards and surfing are feeling great so I’m so happy to get rewarded.”

Californian Mason Schremmer (USA) and Hawaiian Sophia Culhane (HAW) were the other two standout upstarts in the Round of 16 with Schremmer taking down veteran and 2021 title runner-up Alice Lemoigne (FRA) and Culhane overcoming fellow Hawaiian Kirra Seale (HAW).

Title Hopefuls Progress into Quarterfinals

It was a good day for a crop of recent world title holders with Current World Champion Honolua Blomfield (HAW, above), as well as the 2018 title holder Soliel Errico (USA) and 2015 Rachael Tilly (USA) all taking heat wins in the Round of 16 and progressing into the Quarterfinals. Along with the World Champions, perennial title threat Chloe Calmon (BRA) continued her charge towards Finals Day, claiming a victory in the opening heat of the Round of 16.

The next call for competition to resume at Manly will be at 7:15 a.m. AEST for a possible 7:35 a.m. start.

The 2022 GWM Sydney Surf Pro presented by Rip Curl Challenger Series and WSL Longboard Tour events will run at Manly Beach through May 24, 2022. For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeauge.com or check the free WSL App.