WIPEOUT OF THE YEAR 2013 BILLABONG XXL
WIPEOUT OF THE YEAR
BILLABONG XXL 2013
With the closing date of the 2013 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards rapidly approaching, over the next few weeks here at EpicTV Surfing I will be taking a look at my Top 5 favorites to win each category of the competition:
- Best Wipeout
- Best Women’s Performance
- Best Tube
- Biggest Wave
- Biggest Paddle In
- Ride of the Year
WIPEOUT AWARD NOMINEE #5
Alex Zawadzki
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Alex Zawadzki finds his ride coming to an abrupt end at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on May 28, 2012. Frame grab from video by Simon Treweek. The source: www.daily.epictv.com |
– Alex Zawadzki
That pretty much sums it up. Local Tasmanian daredevil Alex Zawadzki, a.k.a. Zaddas ate it bigger than everyone else in the water on a day dubbed “Wipeout Wednesday” at Shipstern Bluff, one of the meanest waves in the world. To give you a feel for the spot, it’s located on a very remote stretch of coast and is only easily accessible by watercraft. The water is freezing and infested by very large great white sharks, and the wave itself is heavy in every sense of the word. Shipstern’s is a classic slab where swells roll out of deep water and slam into a very shallow shelf of sea bottom, which in this case consists of very sharp boulders located in front of very tall, imposing and unscalable cliffs. A wipeout here is already a touchy situation due to the aforementioned rocks and cliffs, but Alex’s is that much worse because it takes place on a wave that could easily be a contender for the largest wave of the year. Plus, he is launched into the air off of a step in the wave’s face and lands on his back at the very bottom, before getting sucked back up the face, only to be pitched down into the depths again, but this time encased in the lip of the breaking wave. If that’s not the wipeout of the year, then I don’t know what is!
In case you’d like a little more insight on that horrific wipeout:
WIPEOUT AWARD NOMINEE # 4
Brett Burcher
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Brett Burcher goes for a bodysurf at The Right in Western Australia. Frame grab from video by Darren McCagh. The source: www.daily.epictv.com |
However, he does enjoy searching out and pulling into heavy, barreling slabs. In this case it’s a wave known simply as The Right in Western Australia, which is one of the most challenging spots in a country chock-full of difficult to negotiate surf breaks. Sometimes it’s a thick, sucking slab. Sometimes it’s a massive wall of water. Sometimes it’s both. Brett catches it on what seems to be a rather innocuous looking day, but discovers that even when this wave looks almost fun and friendly, its dark and devious side lurks just under the surface, waiting to swallow any unsuspecting surfer in its path.
For a more all-around look at Brett Burcher’s act, check out his entry from the 2012 Innersection project.
WIPEOUT AWARD NOMINEE # 3
Tom Dosland
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| Tom Dosland performs a spectacular back-slide at Jaws, Maui, Hawaii on December 31, 2012. Frame grab from video by Elliot Leboe. The source: www.daily.epictv.com |
Pe’ahi, better known by the moniker of Jaws is one of the heaviest waves in the world, and one place where a surfer definitely does not want to wipe-out.
Fortunately for his XXL nomination, or unfortunately for the beating he took, Tom happened into one of the best bails of 2012 at that infamous break just hours before ringing in the new year. One can only wonder if Tom’s entire life flashed before his eyes as he lay on his back watching hundreds of tons of water falling from the sky towards his head, or if he was just thinking… “Oh, fuck!”?
WIPEOUT AWARD NOMINEE # 2
Joao de Macedo
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João de Macedo falls from the sky at Maverick’s, California on December 29, 2012. Video by Curt Myers/Powerline Producitons. The source: www.daily.epictv.com |
João de Macedo was bitten by the surf bug at a very young age in the waters of Praia Grande not far from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. Now he’s nominated for the most prestigious award there is… The Wipeout Award.
Macedo followed a classic path from stoked grommet pulling into shore break closeouts after school, to junior competitor in a contest jersey every weekend, to owner of a surf school living off his passion, and finally turning into a globetrotting expat with an itch to surf the big stuff. Not far from his new home in San Francisco, the legendary spot of Mavericks acted like a siren calling out to the inner charger inhabiting João’s soul.
It’s been almost a decade since his first session at California’s premiere big wave break, and he’s now a solid fixture in the line-up… so much so that he’s able to snag big enough sets to get himself into predicaments like this. And get himself nominated for the XXL Wipeout of the Year Award to boot!
WIPEOUT AWARD NOMINEE # 1
Daniel Rodriguez & Eric Rebière
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| Eric Rebiere (in the air, at left) and Daniel Rodriguez (in ball of spray, at right) perform an outstanding double wipeout on a convulsing lump of ocean near Oia, Galicia, Spain. Frame grab from video by Jet Galicia. The source: www.daily.epictv.com |
Double dose of near-death surfing starring Spanish daredevil Daniel Rodriguez, and the Franco-Brazilian, former WCT surfer turned budding big wave maniac Eric Rebière.
These fine, upstanding gentlemen are part of a small, dedicated crew who’ve been exploring the coast of Galicia for the last few years searching for slabs and other sub-aquatic rock formations capable of delivering rideable waves in the triple-overhead and above category. This is one of their finds that has yet to be named publicly, but which is undoubtedly worthy of recognition in the hallowed halls of the planet’s most fearsome surf spots.
The source: http://daily.epictv.com/blog/2013/03/10/surfing-billabong-xxl-2013-wipeout-of-the-year/
Written by: Dave Mailman
Written by: Dave Mailman
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