Pete Thomas Outdoors

Big-wave surfing's top five rides of past year revealed (video)

For the world's premier big-wave surfers, this is the time of year to learn who really stood out during the past 12 months: who captured the best ride; who rode the biggest wave; who tucked into the gnarliest tube, and so on.

Nominees in the top categories of the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards have been announced and fans can view photos and videos of the athletes' performances on the contest website. Winners will be named May 4 during an invitation-only ceremony at The Grove theater in Anaheim.

The most distinguished category is Ride of the Year. The five nominees are featured in the accompanying video and the winner will be paid $50,000.

Nathan Fletcher may look to some to be the obvious winner because he appears to have defied death on a massive day at Teahupoo in Tahiti. But Fletcher fell before riding the wave to completion, and that might cost him.

Garrett McNamara enjoys an edge because of the sheer size of the wave he was towed onto behind a personal watercraft at a spot off Portugal. But he was towed onto that wave, whereas Jeff Rowley paddled into his gargantuan wave at Jaws, Maui, a spot widely regarded as boasting waves too large and fast to be caught without the assistance of personal watercraft.

Additionally, the performances of Ryan Hipwood at Cloudbreak, Fiji, and Greg Long at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, should not be discounted. Both paddled into monstrous waves and both got completely barreled.

McNamara may look like an easy pick if you throw out Fletcher, but this is Ride of the Year, not Biggest Wave, so who knows. (McNamara's ride is also a nominee in Biggest Wave.)

Personally, I'd vote for Hipwood, for the simple beauty of his lengthy backside barrel ride; or Long, for his deep barrel ride on a massive and scary day at the "Mexican Pipeline."

But that's simply because I appreciate old-school simplicity and aesthetics.

That said, all five rides are amazing.

-- Pete Thomas

Two shark attacks occur within minutes off Florida beach

It has been said that a person's chance of being struck by lightening is greater than that of being attacked by a shark. But the adage might not apply to Florida or, specifically, New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County.

The oft-labeled shark attack capital of the world was the site Wednesday of two minor attacks within five minutes, believed to have involved two sharks. The injuries were not life-threatening, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

One of the attacks involved a 17-year-old male surfer who suffered a calf wound. The other involved a 15-year-old girl who suffered a bite to the ankle.

Both surfers were in the same general area. The sharks were estimated to measure 4-5 feet, suggesting that they were schooling sharks feeding on schooling bait fish.

The beach was closed, but only temporarily.

Interestingly, the International Shark Attack File lists the number of lightening fatalities in coastal U.S. states versus the number of shark attacks and shark attack fatalities, from 1959-2010.

Only Florida, California and Hawaii boasted more shark attacks than lightning fatalities. Florida lists 603 shark attacks and 459 lightning fatalities. California lists 89 and 30, and Hawaii lists 97 and zero.

Only Hawaii, with six fatal shark attacks during that period, boasted more fatal shark attacks than fatal lightning strikes.

As for Volusia County, the ISAF lists 242 unprovoked shark attacks on humans in county waters between 1882 and 2011. The next closest county is Brevard, just to the south, with 103 attacks.

Not one of the Volusia County attacks resulted in a fatality.

These attacks generally involve small sharks mistaking arms and legs of surfers and swimmers as possible prey.

Surfer Andrew Cotton rides massive wave off Ireland (video)

Andrew Cotton now holds the unofficial distinction of having ridden the largest wave off Ireland, but more important for the U.K. surfer is that his epic ride last week off Mullaghmore Head has placed him in the running for $50,000.

That's the prize for whomever is named winner of the Ride of the Year category in the year-long Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, a competition that culminates on March 19 and will declare winners on May 4.

Cotton and tow-surfing partner Al Mennie camped out at Mullaghmore the previous night in anticipation of a swell they had tracked for a week. They awoke to find some of the largest surf ever witnessed off Ireland, and surprisingly light and accommodating winds.

"All these swells that hit Ireland can be hit and miss with wind and this one couldn't make its mind up," Cotton said. "I've spent so many swells on that headland with the wind howling but not quite in the right direction and I honestly thought that this was going to be another swell like that.

"After watching for about 30 minutes and deciding to pick a few off, Al towed me into an absolute bomb. It was my first wave of the day. It felt like a reminder of how good it can get there and why I put the time and effort in."

After the epic swell passed Ireland it filled into the Bay of Biscay, producing giant waves off Portugal, Spain and France.

Other Ride of the Year candidates, along with nominees in other categories, can be viewed on the XXL website, and via its Facebook page.

Surfer Mark Healey free-dives with bull sharks to prove point

Renowned big-wave surfer Mark Healey is becoming nearly as famous for his free-diving exploits, and his latest adventure involved swimming with bull sharks, which have a reputation for attacking humans purely out of meanness.

It was this notion that Healey hoped to dispel and he did, in fact, emerge from very close encounters with large bull sharks unscathed and with his pro-shark philosophy intact. (Healey also has been free-diving with great whites at Guadalupe Island west of Baja California.)

My favorite line in the video, which I agree with, is this: "People have ulterior motives. I think people are way more dangerous than sharks."

I also enjoyed the snippet showing a logo on the back of Healey's T-shirt that reads, "Fins belong on sharks, not in soup."

Clearly, this young man is passionate about the ocean. Here's hoping the sharks continue to leave him alone.

-- Pete Thomas

Editor's note: Pete Thomas also writes for GrindTv and posted a different report on this topic on the website's Outdoor channel

Blind surfer travels to Hawaii, takes on legendary Pipeline

When Brazil's Derek Rabelo surfed the legendary Banzai Pipeline recently, it was a dream come true. But considering that Rabelo is blind, and that he paddled out and rode waves on his own, the feat also was amazing and inspirational (first ride is at 1:00 mark).

 

As reported last week on GrindTv.com, the waves were not large by Pipeline standards, and Rabelo was assisted by Makua Rothman and other locals who hold sway at the notoriously crowded Oahu surf spot.

But the concept of surfing anywhere without the benefit of sight seems incomprehensible to those who can see, and these were overhead waves at Pipeline, which is renowned for its ferocious power.

Rabelo, therefore, can be counted among those who refuse to let physical limitations prevent them from realizing their dreams and performing remarkable feats. 

Here's hoping, though, that he doesn't get the itch to venture down the highway and take on 20-foot Waimea.

Sean Collins, founder of Surfline, dies suddenly at 59

Surf-forecasting pioneer Sean Collins died Monday afternoon after suffering an apparent heart attack while playing tennis at a club near his home in Seal Beach, Calif. He was 59 and is survived by his wife, Daren, and sons Tyler and A.J.

Collins, a passionate sailor and surfer who traveled extensively in pursuit of perfect waves, will be remembered for taking the guesswork out of when and where storm-generated swells will arrive at destinations around the world.

As founder of Surfline.com, he had a knack for understanding weather systems. Collins, who had no formal training as a meteorologist, utilized an extensive network of buoys and computer models to predict the arrival and duration of ocean swells.

The website contains surf reports, features and forecasting tools, as well as industry news reports. It attracts about 1.5 million viewers per month.

Big-wave surfers have for the past several years relied on Collins' forecasts as they traveled the world in search of giant waves. Surfline, established as a website in 1995, also placed dozens webcams at well-known surf spots, enabling website visitors to see first-hand how the waves were breaking.

Collins was named one of the "25 Most Influential Surfers of the Century" by Surfer Magazine in the summer of 1999. He was inducted into the Surfers Hall of Fame in 2008. It should go without noting that he'll be sorely missed.

Details about services for Collins were not known at the time of this post.

Kelly Slater versus John John Florence again at Pipe Masters

Five rounds of the Billabong Pipe Masters have been held in two days in triple-overhead surf at iconic Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore. Standing out above a stellar field has been John John Florence, 19, who has scored two perfect 10s and on Friday defeated Kelly Slater, 39, in the non-elimination fourth round.

Now comes a quarterfinals rematch that might render the final anticlimactic.

Florence, a Pipeline local, is a rising star, and ratings leader of the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. The Pipeline contest is the series' final jewel.

Slater, 39, has won 11 ASP World Tour championships and has dominated pro surfing for two decades. The Pipe Masters also is the World Tour season-finale. Slater clinched his 11th world title in the previous contest.

But the Floridian has plenty to prove; he was trounced by Florence in the best-two-waves format in the fourth round, 17.67 to 8.50, at Pipeline.

So the burning question is, how will he respond, after winning his fifth-round heat to force the rematch?

"I hope I'm not peaking too soon," said Florence, sporting a swollen and bloodied face from a wipeout and reef face-plant Friday. "I'm just going out there to get the best waves I can. It's so perfect ... it's the best Pipe in a long time. You just want to go on every wave.

"This is definitely a dream, just surfing these waves at my home break, beating Kelly ... This has definitely been the best year I've ever had."

Florence knows Pipeline better than most. He surfs the notoriously hollow break just about every chance he gets. Slater knows the break, too, and has won heats at Pipeline against far more established surfers than Florence.

But Slater, who won his first world title at age 20, less than a month after Florence was born, is realistic. "I see John John as the guy to beat," Slater said. "He's had two 10s and he's probably the best guy all around out here now. I lost to him earlier — it was kind of a non-elimination thing. But if I were to lose to him tomorrow, it's definitely no shame. I think he's better than everyone else in this contest."

This helps set the stage for what promises to be another eventful day of competition.

While the swell is expected to subside beginning Saturday, organizers are optimistic that the final seven heats of the Billabong Pipe Masters will get underway at 8 a.m., with the Pipe Masters champion and the Vans Triple Crown champion crowned at midday.

Which surfers do you expect to see at the top spots on the podium?

— Image of Kelly Slater in action at Pipeline on Friday is courtesy of Kirstin/ASP

Giant surf generates thrills, spills on Day 1 of Pipeline contest

The first day of the Billabong Pipe Masters on Thursday will not soon be forgotten by any of the competitors who surfed in wildly epic conditions at the notorious Banzai Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore.

A fresh swell and thunderous 15- to 20-foot breakers greeted ASP World Tour competitors for the event's first and second rounds. Some scored amazing rides, including future superstar John John Florence, 19, a local who registered a perfect 10 after getting fully barreled twice on the same wave.

Many surfers struggled because of the incredible volume of water rushing shoreward and jacking up over Pipeline's series of shallow reefs. There were broken boards, bruised bodies and egos, and an overall feeling of trepidation mixed with exhilaration.

"It's as gnarly as Pipe gets," said Tanner Gudauskas, a Southern Californian who endured two broken boards and did not advance past the second round. "I was super nervous watching, so many gnarly wipeouts. I just wanted to make it down the wave face but then I didn't on one wave. It happens so fast in the moment that you don't think about it. I'm just glad to be back on the beach."

The Pipe Masters is the World Tour season-finale and the third jewel in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, led by Florence, who described conditions as "dreamy" after advancing to the third round, which will commence Friday with more large surf on tap.

Jamie O'Brien, another local, described conditions as deadly but added: "These kinds of days I'm scared all day, but it's so fun and exciting. It's kind of cat-and-mouse--you've got to watch out for the big ones, not get cleaned out, then you get a perfect one that comes through."

Hawaii-based surfers fared best, understandably, but the world's top-ranked surfers, including 11-time and reigning world champion Kelly Slater, were seeded directly into the third round and will compete Friday.

One can only imagine what was going through their minds watching the action on Thursday.

— Photo shows Ian Walsh amid a cascade of whitewater at Pipeline on Oahu's North Shore. Credit: Cestari/ASP

Surfers expect large swell for start of Billabong Pipe Masters

The season-ending Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons looks as though it will begin Thursday, the first possible day of competition, because of a large swell that already has arrived on Oahu's North Shore.

Waves were 8-10 feet on Tuesday and the Surfline forecast calls for sets in the double- to triple-overhead range on Thursday, with face heights exceeding 15 feet, and brisk offshore trade winds.

The swell will fade only slightly Friday, and slightly more Saturday, but overall conditions should be outstanding for the first three days.

Though Kelly Slater has already clinched the ASP World Tour title, there's plenty at stake for surfers hoping to improve their position in the standings, and for those in the running for the prestigious Vans Triple Crown of Surfing title.

The top five in the World Tour rankings are Slater, Joel Parkinson, Owen Wright, Adriano de Souza and Taj Burrow.

Leading the Triple Crown race is Hawaii's John John Florence, 18; Adam Melling and Michel Bourez.

The competition window for the event, which is being held in honor of the late surfing icon Andy Irons, closes Dec. 20.

-- Image of Pipeline as seen from the beach Tuesday is courtesy of ASP

Surfers hit the waves at Lake Tahoe, thanks to high winds

Southern California isn't the only region in the state enduring high winds. At Lake Tahoe it was so windy today that surfers ditched their snowboards in favor of surfboards and rode fair-sized waves generated by the ferocious gusts.

The scene represented a drastic departure from the famously blue and placid freshwater lake on the California-Nevada border, at 6,225 feet. The waves were far from perfect but, being so far from the ocean, any surfers in the region were not complaining.

The accompanying image was captured by Tim Rantz of Homeward Mountain Ski Resort, via the San Francisco Chronicle.