No real waves for today’s warriors even though there were about 20 people on the Nth Cronulla peak doing their best this morning. After a few days of small but good waves the swell has gone along with all the love.
In another first, I was dropped in on by a Fish fingerling this morning - after his father pushed him into it - we bumped rails and I told his father Big Fish that I now can drop in on him with impunity!
Swellnet predicts this tiny swell pattern to hang around another day until the wind swings from the West to the South on Friday morning, then instant results when the swell should jump to 5-6ft and give us something to play with on the weekend.
Congrats to Dylan Hayllar who leaves for Nicaragua on Friday, a last minute withdrawal from the National open age division team saw him join fellow South Coast surfer and now Cronulla resident, Hayden Blair in the Australian team that leaves for South America. The competition goes from May 31 to June 7 for the upcoming 2015 ISA World Surfing Games at the world-class surf break of Playa Popoyo, Nicaragua.
Dylan has to self-fund his trip and is currently working seven days a week at Cronulla’s Triple Bull surf shop to be able to make the most of the opportunity given to him. Cronulla boardriders club will chip in to help him achieve this goal which could literally propel him from local hero to World champion in a matter of weeks.
Meanwhile in Brazil in front of an amazing capacity crowd, an electrifying final day at the Oi Rio Pro, the fourth stop on the Samsung Galaxy World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour ,saw Filipe Toledo (BRA) and Courtney Conlogue (USA) reign supreme, claiming victory at Barra da Tijuca in front of a thousands of passionate fans. Toledo defeated Bede Durbidge (AUS) to win the men’s event while Conlogue got the better of Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) to claim the women’s event, each securing their second CT win of the season and putting themselves firmly in the world title race.
Filipe Toledo claimed the second CT victory of his career following his inaugural win at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast at the start of this season and continuing his exceptional run of form with a win at the WSL Qualifying Series 10,000 event in Lower Trestles earlier this month. Previously at third place on the rankings, the result sees Toledo move up to second place on the Jeep Leaderboard behind Adriano de Souza (BRA) .
“I don’t know what to say,” said Toledo. “The first thing I did was cry because look at the crowd, I’ve never seen anything like that before. It’s been such a blessed week and I have such amazing friends and family. I need to be grateful for everything I have and everything God has done in my life.”
The next stop on the 2015 Samsung Galaxy WSL Championship Tour will be the Fiji Pro from May 31 - June 19, 2015.
The world’s best big wave surfers are on heightened alert as the World Surf League commences the windows for the Billabong Pico Alto and Puerto Escondido Challenge Big Wave Tour (BWT) events.
Having already completed the Quiksilver Ceremonial Chile at Punta de Lobos, won by reigning WSL BWT Champion Makuakai Rothman (HAW), the 2015/2016 WSL BWT season is off to a strong start.
“Our goal this season is to run as many Big Wave Tour (BWT) events as possible in the largest surf on the planet,” Pete Mel, WSL BWT Commissioner, said. “We had great waves in Chile and we’re very excited about what looms on the horizon - including the addition of Puerto Escondido.”
They should have been there last Month when the biggest swell for years smashed the place and surfers to pieces! Literally hundreds of surfboards were broken and a few bodies.
In more bad news, team USA broke Australia’s winning streak and won the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard championship in Mexico.
Coming into the week of competition it was known that Team Australia had their work cut out for them as the defending champions for the past three years running. The debut of the Hawaiians at the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship was certainly thought to be a threat, but it turned out to be the Americans with the most dominant showing and eventually taking the title.
Kicking off the final day of competition was the ISA Team Relay Race. Four members from each team united in the name of their country to take to the technical course alternating between SUP and Paddleboard Racing.
The first team to complete the course was the dynamic Australians that earned their fourth repeat victory. Rounding out the rest of the team relay results were New Zealand in second, USA in third and Hawaii in fourth, respectively.
The first individual event of the day was the Women’s Paddleboard Technical Race, and it was with little surprise that Australian Jordan Mercer –daughter of Iron man Darren, earned the Gold Medal. Mercer is the most decorated athlete in the history of the ISA and took home Gold Medals in every discipline she competed in.
Americans then won the men’s Paddleboard and the women's SUP further distancing themselves from the Australians in the overall team points.
In more of a Mickey Mouse like event, the first three competitors for the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy 2015 have been announced, and it’s the hottest line-up yet.
Headlining the event’s fifth consecutive year, Dave ‘Rasta’ Rastovich returns to defend his 2014 title, joined by fearless big-wave legend Shane Dorian and Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich – plus three more world champs, yet to be announced.
Surfing enthusiasts the world over won’t want to miss the action that this boutique, invitation-only event brings: a unique chance to stay on the 12-acre island of Kuda Huraa and share an exclusive ‘surf tour’ experience with six of the sport’s biggest names.
The SCT is unique in many ways, from determining a surfer's heat based on their age to a test of skill across three different divisions: single-fin, twin-fin, and triple-fin thruster. This year sees a free-surfer, a big-wave rider, and a hard-charging female challenger in the mix for the US$25,000 prize money, with excitement building as to who will claim the last three spots. Introducing the first three SCT 2015 competitors…thrilling!
Sounds just like what Peter Drouyn ran at Lennox Head in 1978! And didn’t that take off!
So hopefully the Aussies can give it a shake in Nicaragua, a country where its offshore 300 days of the year-Just like the Alley! Till next week.
