A world-class field of
big wave surfers, including three of the top four
in the 2002 XXL big wave awards, and a streamlined
format that enables the contest to be completed in under
four hours, are the highlights of the fifth annual Red
Bull Big Wave Africa international surfing event.
Scheduled for 2-22
June 2003, the 21-day challenge this year pits six
South African and six international surfers, all
specially selected for their skills in huge surf,
against Dungeons, the deep water reef under the
towering cliffs of the Sentinel at the mouth of
Hout Bay on the Cape Peninsula that produces the
biggest rideable waves on the coastline of Africa.
The international
contingent is headed by Carlos Burle (Brazil) and
Australians Cheyne Horan and Paul Paterson. Burle
and Horan went head to head last year at the 2002
XXL award for the biggest wave ridden in the
Northern Hemisphere where Burle’s 68 foot (21
metres) wave at Mavericks, California, narrowly
pipped Horan’s 66 foot (0.6 metre smaller) version
at Jaws in Hawaii, while Paterson scooped the
award for the biggest paddle-in wave, a 48 foot
(14.7 metre) monster at Waimea Bay, Hawaii.
This trio of surfing legends
will be joined by emerging superstars Jamie
Sterling (Hawaii), a finalist in giant Pipeline
last month, who will be back for his third crack
at Dungeons and Californian Greg Long, one of the
underground chargers at Mexico’s Todos Santos, who
returns for a second campaign.
The local crew has
been pared down to UCT student Sean Holmes, winner
of the event in 2000, the only time the conditions
have met the stringent contest criteria and John
Whittle (Durban), winner of the Biggest Wave
ridden in 2001 and recipient of the Deep Throat
award for the most committed surfer in the waiting
period in both 2000 and 2002.
They will be joined by
Durban surfers Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker and Jason Ribbink, Capetonian Chris Bertish, the first
surfer to paddle into a wave at Jaws, who makes a
welcome return to the mix after electing to sit
out 2002, and Andrew Marr from Knysna, a new
addition to the line-up, who has been selected in
recognition of his efforts in charging every major
swell in Hawaii during the Northern Hemisphere
winter, earning himself the nickname of ‘Waimea
Andy’ from the locals.
The 12-man field
allows the format to be simplified to two
semi-finals, each featuring six competitors, with
the top three finishers in each heat advancing to
a six-man final. By allocating 60 minutes for each
heat and a 30 minute break between the second semi
and the final, the entire contest can be completed
inside four hours.
Contest director Gary
Linden (California), whose task it is to identify
the right conditions for the Red Bull BWA contest
to be staged, should find it significantly easier
to run the contest than in previous years when he
needed 6.5 hours of suitable conditions to
complete the event. And with more than R225 000 in
prize-money at stake, of which R100 000 goes to
the winner, everyone is amping to see the contest
run this year.
Utilising
state-of-the-art wave and weather prediction
modules generated locally and internationally, the
organisers track the conditions that fit the
criteria – swells consistently over 15 foot (5
metres) in height that produce waves the size of
three story buildings as they rear up and break
over the Dungeons reef. The fickle nature of the
winds and the life-threatening consequences of
being wiped out in the mountainous seas,
particularly in the icy, kelp infested seas
adjacent to the Duiker Island seal colony, make
waiting for the right conditions an intrinsic part
of big wave surfing.
Safety also plays a
huge role in the event and the 2003 Red Bull BWA
event will again employ the services of California
water safety expert Shawn Alladio, who, along with
backup PWC riders Gigs Celliers and Nico Johnson,
and Cape Town’s foremost tow-in team of Glen Bee
and Pierre du Plessis in their IRB, provide the
surfers with peace of mind that every precaution
is being taken to ensure they survive the
challenge.
The safety team and a
doctor are on hand even during free surfing and
practice sessions at Dungeons, in keeping with one
of the primary objectives of the event which is to
foster and encourage the culture of big wave
surfing on the southern tip of Africa.
The country’s top exponents get
to live with and learn from the world’s best while
the entire group of superbly fit and focused
athletes wait for the biggest rideable wave on the
African coastline to meet the criteria for the
crowning of another Red Bull Big Wave Africa
champion.
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