With the end of the 2012 Northern Hemisphere yearly cycle coming to a close it is time for us to turn to the tape and like an angry, caffeine driven Jon Gruden pick apart the best of the biggest waves ridden in what is being called one of the most spectacular seasons on record. With record waves being ridden in Ireland. Tahiti, Portugal and Tasmania and what Billabong XXL officials are calling “just plain huge” swells in Mexico, Fiji, California and Hawaii the winner of Billabong’s 12th annual XXL Global Big Wave Awards will take home far more than a simple share of the $120,000 of prize money that is at stake. Here we will take a moment to analyze the five finalists. Click this link to see the footage of the waves discussed.
- Nathan Fletcher out of San Juan Capistrano, California, USA. Wave ridden at Teahupoo, Tahiti on August 27, 2011. This wave is sick, bar none. In fact after watching it I was hard pressed to even look at the others, and for good reason. Teahupoo is an exponentially difficult wave. This isn’t the tallest of spots in the world, and this isn’t the tallest wave in consideration. But what Teahupoo lacks in size it makes up for with girth and a far more deadly impact zone. Just before Fletcher takes a fall (a fall that has killed before) you can see in the foreground of the shot the the wave is literally folding in over itself. Teahupoo is nearly as thick as it is tall, and breaks nearly onto dry reef. It is one thing to ride a massive wave… what Fletcher did was something else entirely. This is the scariest ride of the year, it ended in the scariest of ways possible and in my opinion is the odds on favorite to take the money this year.
- Ryan Hipwood from the Gold Coast, Australia. Wave ridden at Cloudbreak, Fiji on July 12, 2011. This isn’t the biggest wave of the show either. And it is far less terrifying than Fletcher’s. But what Hipwood caught here is nothing short of amazing. It’s clean, classic Cloudbreak but on a scale never before seen. The iconic blue waters and the perfectly formed barrel contrast nicely with the realization that just below that surfer is a pile of razors . Unlike most of the competition Hipwood does a fantastic job to pull into what is one of the largest barrels I’ve ever seen. I don’t see this wave winning; it would have been rated higher had it been in contention last year or the year before but compared to the stacked competition this year Norwood’s wave is just under par.
- Greg Long from San Clemente, California, USA. Wave ridden at Puerto Escondido, Mexico on May 19, 2011. Long isn’t going to win this contest, and it isn’t for lack of trying. Because of the steep cliff faces and location of the break it is unlikely you will ever see good big-wave footage of Puerto. It’s too remote, too hard to access and generally an obnoxious wave. Which of course are all reasons why Long deserves more credit for this wave than he will get. Puerto is a thick, beast of a wave and it’s credit as the “Mexican Pipeline” does not do justice to the sheer intensity of a wave that on days like this combines with sheer desolation. What they don’t show you in the video are the piles of sea turtles that lay dead on the beach after being smashed by the falling waves. This wave isn’t as big as Hipwood’s or Fletchers, and although it’s a scary break you don’t get the full effect of just how scary it is on film.
- Garrett McNamara from Haleiwa, Hawaii, USA. Surfed at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal on November 1, 2011. If I am wrong about Fletcher taking this contest it is because perennial Big-Wave savant McNamara takes it with this, the absolute biggest wave. This thing made headlines a few months ago because at nearly 90 feet it stands as the biggest wave ever ridden. The footage is terrible, largely because without a multi-million dollar “100 foot wave-proof” vessel carrying only the most experienced crew and IMAX camera’s you aren’t going to get good footage of a wave of this magnitude. It’s a mountain made out of water. Aside from the statistical advantage of the records it set you’ll notice that the wave is fairly “mushy” (I use this term very loosely) compared to the rest in the field. The barrel, as hefty as it is breaks only half way down the face. This makes for one sick, awe-inspiring drop and then the typical “survive the bottom turn and pull out” style of surfing that has become commonplace at these secondary and unknown big-wave surf spots. An epic ride, to be sure. Also a likely candidate to usurp Fletcher and take the crown.
- Jeff Rowley from Torquay, Victoria, Australia. Surfed at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on January 30, 2012. This is a big wave from a classic spot and Rowley took a notable approach to it by paddling into the 50+ foot behemoth. Rowley is well known for paddling in at spots otherwise considered to be too big to be ridden by anything but tow-in riders, and this was the monster that put him on the map. As amazing a feat as that is Rowley is going to be hard pressed to match the sheer magnitude of the waves caught by McNamara and Fletcher. He deserves his dues for his dedication to the tradition of the sport, but when it comes to the Billabong XXL it’s go bigger or go home.
With the winner set to be announced at the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards party at the Grove Theatre in Anaheim, California on May 4, 2012 riders everywhere will be waiting to see who takes the crown, and record numbers of viewers are likely to catch the announcement on YouTube’s Network A or on FUEL TV’s one-hour broadcast feature on Sunday, May 20 at 2 p.m. PT. With over 1,000 images entered into the event by qualified surfers the XXL voting academy has a tough decision to make, a decision that on that on May 4th is guaranteed to make a splash.
