Big Wave World Tour schedule announced for 2014/2015
LOS ANGELES, California/USA (Wednesday, February 12, 2014) - The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) is pleased to announce the schedule for the 2014/2015 Big Wave World Tour (BWWT).
Showcasing the world’s premiere big wave surfers, the BWWT boasts a flexible two-part schedule, activating events in both hemispheres in line with optimum swell windows at some of the planet’s most renowned big wave venues:
Southern Hemisphere (April 15, 2014 through August 31, 2014):
- Punta de Lobos, Chile
- Pico Alto, Peru
- Dungeons, South Africa
Northern Hemisphere (October 15, 2014 to February 28, 2015):
- Todos Santos, Mexico
- Punta Galea, Basque Country Spain
- Pe’ahi (Jaws), Maui HI
Joining the classic breaks of Punta de Lobos (Chile), Pico Alto (Peru), Todos Santos (Mexico) and Punta Galea (Basque Country Spain) will be two new events in Dungeons (South Africa) and Pe’ahi “Jaws” (Maui).
“This year’s ASP BWWT schedule is a great start to the new season,” Peter Mel, former BWWT Champion and ASP Deputy Commissioner, said. “The addition of Dungeons and Pe’ahi really cement the foundation of this Tour in determining the world’s most comprehensive big wave surfer. The variety of each of these breaks and the culture of the local communities makes this a very special thing to be a part of.”
Founded by renowned big wave legend Gary Linden in 2009, the BWWT was acquired by the ASP in 2013 and the Tour will be serviced by the foremost governing body of professional surfing moving forward.
“The big wave community is one built on respect and a collective admiration of the ocean,” Linden said. “When we started the BWWT, it was designed to celebrate the achievements of this community and our relationship with the ASP will allow us to do so on a significantly enhanced platform. We’re very eager to see what the 2014/2015 season brings.”
The acquisition of the BWWT by the ASP will allow for top ASP surfers such as 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 42, reigning ASP World Champion Mick Fanning (AUS), 32, Hawaiian phenom John John Florence (HAW), 21, amongst others to join respected BWWT surfers like Greg Long (USA), 28, Grant Baker (ZAF), 40, and Carlos Burle (BRA), 45, in competition with waves in the 25-foot-and-above range.
The BWWT will complement the current ASP tours of the men’s and women’s ASP WCT, the ASP World Junior Championship, ASP World Longboard Championship and regional tours around the globe.
Comments
cool, I imagine Mick Fanning will dominate on the BWWT, go mick!
I'm wondering how they're gonna clear the water at places like Peahi and Todos. Seen how many people are paddling those two spots these days? Sure, some of them are in the comp but that only accounts for a handfull of surfers. Do the rest of the locals sit back as they watch potentially the day of the year get ridden by comp surfers in coloured vests?
Maybe they do? Or maybe the BWWT has got something figured out? However, I just couldn't see that kinda sacrifice/co-operation happening if Australia was on the calendar.
where are all the big waves that break left ? chile is the only one on the bwwt . same in australia theres not many big lefts . not much chance for a goofyfooter on the bwwt . was good to meet stunet and mickfree last nite
Good to meeet you too Camel, and congrats on first place (again!). Hope you don't get slugged for baggage taking that trophy home.
It could be the day of the year at Bells but if the Rip Curl Pro is scheduled to run that day you get kicked out, why should it be any different?
Anyone like to guess what wct surfers will maybe compete in some of these comps?
I reckon Slater, JJ, Kerrzy, Mick, Parko, Flores maybe, Seabass and ????
Because some of those waves only break a few times a year while Bells breaks every other day.
That's why
assume you can still pull an air reverse on an 11'2''?
no bwwt tour comp for australia at cow bommie . maybe they realised its as fickle as cortes bank . what they need is a good big paddle wave in oz but theres no where ,or is there ? anyone know of a good big wave that theres no gnarly protective locals ? (joking here) but just thought id ask
to be clear ,im not asking that question so i can promote a comp there either . just asking . also stunet ,the board will be sent to me by post so i will pick it up at the letterbox in a few weeks i guess.
There really aren't many locations where you could run a comp like this. Even somewhere like Shipsterns is very difficult to access (to get webcast equipment into). There's a big left in NW Tas that holds plenty of size and is a little easier to access - and you can watch the action from the shore very easily - but it's often too windy and blown out. I dunno how it'd fare as a BWWT venue.
Other than that, how about the Boat Ramp Bommie at Margs? Close to a decent sized town, already a well populated surfing area, reasonable viewing from land, infrastructure for a webcast etc etc. Might not offer wave heights as big as Cow Reef but in order to tick the various boxes to run an event, it could be an option.
ben the big waves of margrets probably would fit the criteria . suprising they havent encroached there
yeah ben thanks .wanted to meet you weds night but anyhow we r talking here . yeah boatys could be okay but its so shifty so that would be hard to catch many although brett hardy the man at boatys would prob get a few but even he says he might get one bomb per hour when its 18ft . very tricky to catch ,i dont like it so much i prefer main break margys. boaty will close out at 20ft too . not sure if that fits the criteria. any other ideas from anybody? ( not for comp if you wish) just asking
Nothing on the NSW coast that breaks more than once or twice a year at the size you want....but there is at least one decent left.
Pretty sure the locals in VIC and SA wouldn't be keen.
doggy that goes without saying. but im just asking to try find out if theres a cortes out there somewhere ,and hoped a fisherman or sorts could tell us where theyve seen some huge wave in their travels. of course nobodys going to tip us off if its really a good wave but just maybe some body will say theyve seen a giant wave off the coast
Plenty of locations around the Australia coast with big waves that have never been ridden. I'm always researching new places and planning reccies to check 'em out. Access is usually the key difficulty.
A big left? How about Middleton Reef?
Sitting in the northern Tasman it gets the same swells that Fiji does, 'cept it's 2,000 kilometres closer to the source. And there's reportedly a firing left off that top corner that wraps to the end of the reef. Look at the beautiful taper of it. Offshore in a SWer too!
The only problem is access. At 500kms off the East Coast it's a right bastard of a place to get to. I approached a charter plane company and they didn't know what to make of my request, in the end they ignored it.
Your best bet would be to fly to Lord Howe Island and get a boat from there. Not easy to get a big board on the Cessna to LHI and not easy to charter the boat in advance. It can be done though, a well-known board shaper with links to LHI has told me (he hasn't surfed Middleton).
Think I might wait till I'm a rich prick and just sail my yacht there.
whats the chances next wk stu ?
Maybe.... Kitchenview? how big does that get? got its own island and shit....
barley the wave is on eastside of island so not big enough . southey i think your dreams would be shattered about the quality of this wave .
Middleton Reef looks like a massive inverted jellyfish. Which is kinda ironic because it's probably where the little bastards grow up before invading the east coast during a prolonged nor'easter.
Yeah I've seen a giant wave along with 200000+ others.... All over the Oakley Big Wave Awards... great yeah real incentive to want to suggest other locations on here
a tree whats wrong with dispersing the crowds by sayin some bum steers ?
Barley ,
Are u kidding ????
Next thing you know Jeff will be towing out there .......
Oh thats right .... too late .
And that footage has your answer . Clearly No .....
Stu ,
having spent a Unhealthy amount of time on a computer looking at similar images .... I would suggest that NOT having " a shoulder " or some sort of tapered reef on the West - North West side of that place wouldn't allow enough of the swell bulk to wrap around the cay / reef . Obviously their is a taper exactly where your suggesting the wave would break , and that would help , but your probably only looking at half to a third of the swell that woudl pass at best would filter in there .... sick looking wave though ... Strangely the people I know that have sailed from and at some stage lived on LHI . Never really mentioned it .... And they are full on frothers ...
Don't think I've seen footage of it Southey..maybe your paranoid..definetly your paranoid..If you think a wave like that is going to attract any kind of crowd then your delusional..If you knew the location, wildlife, dangers your paranoia is ill directed bud!!
no paranoia ... I just answered your question . No it doesn't hold huge , coz .... It needs to be big to start with , then a Freight train it turns into , as thick as a wave closer to you , similar location but longer , faster wave .
Probs waaayyyy too sharkey ;]
definitely . the tuna capture net / predator net clearance diver that i've spoken to had the gnarliest stories to tell . And considering they are regularly towing thousands of tonnes of what could only be described as whites' (all ya can eat meal ) past there extremely regularly ... I'm tipping it doesn't get any sharkier than there ...... anywhere
Re middleton reef, captain lance knight of ments fame would be the guy to ask about the place he skippered the lord howe boat ' island trader' on its weekly freight run out of yamba for 10 years .
Good point, Udo. Wonder if he pioneered another break a bit closer to home?
Just noticed that Mav's isn't listed as a location for the BWWT. Is this because it would clash with the invitational there?
Surely they could of incorporated the Invitational into the BWWT..
There was a story about this on the Mavericks Invitational website. Jeff Clark owns the Mavericks Invitational license and he's decided against partnering with the ASP/BWWT. The Mavs contest wasn't failing or losing money like many others so it didn't need the umbrella protection of the ASP. I think Clark will always find a good sponsor for it. You'd have to say it's the premier surfing event on the US mainland.
Ah, cheers for that TTBB
STu. These two images were taken a minute apart on a flight Sydney to Fiji last year. Not sure if the second one was middleton reef, but you could see the lines on the first photo when you zoom in on the high res image. It had waves wrappping in on both ends of the reef. The first atoll was south of the second photo.
Yep, that's Middleton Reef alright, and the shot above is Elizabeth Reef. Always thought Middleton was a better bet for waves, but maybe perhaps Elizabeth has more to offer?
And how about them! Just sitting there, 500 k's from anywhere, right smack bank in the middle of a well known swell corridoor.
Time you bought a boat Mick...
I surfed Elizabeth reef for 2 weeks in the early 80's. There was a good right at the entrance of the atoll. We had to eventually leave the reef as the swell was getting huge and we didn't want to get stuck inside the reef. On our way around the northern end of the reef there was a MASSIVE barrelling left which was running down the reef for a very long distance. I was the only surfer onboard and it was far too dangerous for me to tackle alone. Very remote surf location.
Cuthbert, more info please........what month were you there , swell size, wind ,marine life .
Awesome grabs Mick, yep that's Middleton and Elizabeth. As Stu said, Lizzy looks to offer more swell potential from those angles.
Manus Island has a few setups as well :o
craig thanks for the idea
I heard there are incredible setups too off Manus. The PNG explorer went there last year and scored. Not sure if there are any big wave spots though.
Yeah Camel congrats too! Good to meet you and nice to see how humble the winners were. Great speech from Tyler and having Al Byrnes family there made for a great night.
I'm looking at a spot off New Zealand but the bombie is a right hander also Camel.
Trying to get some video footage of it first, its rarely surfed and very sharky.
Its actually a bit bizzarre that the top 5 big wave spots are all right handers
Code of Conduct, Rule No 8.
I know an older bloke who sailed passed those reefs and surfed them, early eighties.
He will be turning in his grave.
I know of some bombies in NZ from a crayfisherman/surfer mate, that hold the size that you guys ride, but they don't break often enough.
:( Well..........?
Hi, been away so havent been on forums for a while . Thanks for the concerns about no lefts , i noticed there were no lefts in the oakley bwa this past year too . I actually looked at the entries in a mirror to get a different dimension and before judging .
BWWT - Punta Galea called on for thurs 11th December.
The winds looked funky for there ? Has the local wind forecasts changed . Ben ? The forecast I looked at last night showed winds easing mid to late Thurs . Definite swell conditions though !
Looked bad in morn good in arvo when i looked too. Bit worse than last years event .hope it upgrades wind wise
ja mitcho gets wildcard for mavs event
They ran the Quiksilver Pico Alto off cyclone Pam going nutto with another storm,
Pretty low key. So I gather there is two??? BWWT Pico Alto and the Quikky?
Breaks like Germans at Long Reef
A lot of Goofy's over there . Like 95% .
Is it near a river , the waves look dirty and the shoulder cleaner ?!?
Mick . Speaking of which did u get a couple of clean ones the other day . Heard it was crowded . ?
Even punta de lobos was good too ? From cyclone pam ? Wat a freak of weather that was ! & wat happened to our man rcj on tues ?
Spewin the best big waves arent actually in it.thats where the big dollars are..commercial/core sponsers and veiwers..definately worth watching
WSL withdraw permit for BWWT at Mavericks.