It’s official, the Rip Curl Pro Portugal has finished in record time, and Brazilian surfer Adriano de Souza has claimed the victory.

 

Event number 9 of 11 of the ASP’s world championship tour came to a dramatic close yesterday as top 10 surfer De Souza defeated x10 world champion Kelly Slater (USA).  The two came head to head as sunset approached in Peniche, Portugal in what was one of the quickest elite events in ASP history.  The Rip Curl Pro Portugal had a window of opportunity to run from 15th to 24th October, however the event was started on 16th and finished yesterday 18th October.  

 

The decision to run the event in the 3 days straight was made due to the superb conditions at the infamous Supertubos break at Peniche.  The town is incredibly popular with surfers from across Europe for their surfing holidays in Portugal, and this week was no exception.  The Atlantic storm swell threw up some amazing barrels, so it was near perfect conditions for the surfers to perform in.  It was a good call yesterday from the contest directors, as round 3 was completed, and the remainder of the contest was run whilst the swell was still pumping.

 

In the clean 3-5 foot barrels, some of the best wave action since Tahiti was witnessed by the packed out beach.  De Souza did the unthinkable and managed to beat the seemingly invincible Slater to the title, winning 15.67 points to Slater’s 14.73. De Souza was ecstatic at his win, but still thanked Slater for being such an inspiration, and pipped Slater as being the next world champion.

 

 

De Souza moves up to 6th position in the world championship rankings with his win and the 10,000 points that he’s won, however Slater is moving further out of reach of the top 5 surfers on the ratings with his second place finish.  Closest to catching him up has been Australians Owen Wright and Joel Parkinson, but with only two events to go, it is looking less likely that anyone is going to be able to take Slater down.  Short of Slater injuring himself, or surprisedly bowing out early in the next event, it looks like Slater will be a shoo in for the title.

 

However, before we move on to the next dream tour event in San Francisco the Rip Curl Pro Search... we need to give special mention to the return to form for Australian Bede Durbidge, who’s had a bit of a tough year.  Online viewers and beach fans alike were wow-ed by Durbidge’s seemingly superman like ability to take on powerful closing out barrels, and escape with Houdini like ability.  It looks like he’s back in form, so watch out for him at the next event.

 

The Rip Curl Pro Portugal’s waiting period starts today over at the beautiful surf town of Peniche.  The ASP world championship tour event is contest number 9 of 11, so it’s all about the end of year count down to see who will be able to pull away in the world rankings to claim the championship title.

 

Running from 15th to 24th October, Rip Curl’s event looks set to be a scorcher.  All the surfers are frothing to do better than their Quiksilver Pro France finishes, with the exception of first time winner Gabriel Medina (BRA).  Everyone is waiting to see whether last year’s winner, world tour title holder and x10 world champion Kelly Slater (USA) will clinch another victory in Peniche.  

 

However, even though there is always hype around Slater, the surfing world got a taster of things to come from the new school at the Quik Pro.  Medina and Julian Wilson’s (AUS) got a lot of people talking.  Masses of risky aerial maneuvers were thrown as standard, so it’s a matter of time before they gain even more confidence to dominate at every contest.

 

The Rip Curl Pro is going to see a lot of hard fought battles as each surfer has everything to prove towards the end of the year.  Owen Wright (AUS) needs to give Slater a run for his money if Wright is going to have a chance as winning the world tour title.  At the moment, it’s Slater’s to loose.  So it’s all down to the waves.  Massive beasty barrels will fall in favour of the older crew on tour, who know exactly what to do with them; whereas, if the waves are smaller, more skate-park-like, then watch the airs fly courtesy of the new school.

 

It’s going to be an amazing event to watch, so either check it out online at http://live.ripcurl.com/index.php?portugal2011, or if you have last minute holiday hop on that plane and enjoy watching the contest in between surfing in Portugal.
 

It was all change on the podium at the Quiksilver Pro France in Hossegor yesterday as tour rookie Gabriel Medina (BRA) claimed a dramatic victory over fellow rookie Julian Wilson (AUS).

 

After the last 3 ASP world championship tour (WCT) event finals being a match up between x10 world champion Kelly Slater (USA) and rising star Owen Wright (AUS), it came as a refreshing change when the new school took the reigns. The Quiksilver Pro France was stop number 8 of 11 on the ASP’s dreamtour, so tensions are running high as to whether Slater will sprint away with the event crown and possibly world title.  However, the Quiksilver Pro has eluded him yet again, and this time if was the young Medina who put a stop to his title quest.

 

In the excellent 3-4 foot conditions at La Gravière, Hossegor, the busy beach witnesses 17 year old Medina defeat Slater in the quarter finals, living tour legend Taylor Knox (USA), and then clash against Wilson in the final.  22 year old Wilson on the otherhand had to defeat the dangerous aerialist Taj Burrow (AUS) in the quarters, and a back on tour and in form Jordy Smith (ZAF) in the semis.  Both Medina and Wilson proved their metal by dispatching some of the tour heavies in order to make it to their first ASP final... And it was something superb to watch.

 

Spectators on the beach or online around the world viewed some of the most innovative surfing seen in a contest to date. Medina and Wilson both showed flare posting high scores for their ridiculous aerial maneuvers and linking turns and carves.  Medina wowed onlookers with a perfect 10 in his semi final, demonstrating how to land impossible airs, whilst Wilson showed how to link it all together to look super smooth.  

 

Even though Medina and Wilson were very closely matched with skills, and Wilson lead the majority of the final, it was Medina’s day.  In what was only his second ASP elite event, he claimed his maiden tour win, after he narrowly beat Wilson in the final minutes of their match up.  Medina won 17.0 points to Wilson’s 16.10.

 

Medina and Wilson’s finals battle has helped to demonstrate why the ASP chose to run the mid year change over, where the top 32 surfers on the world rankings replaced the ASP WCT surfers.  The majority of the elite surfers remained, but a few dropped out, with the result that new faces such as Medina, Wilson, John John Florence (HAW) and Miguel Pupo (BRA) have brought in what is being called the ‘new school’ of surfing.

 

Everyone is now looking out for the last three events of the dreamtour, as the attention shifts to the barreling waves of Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal.  The Rip Curl Pro Peniche will be run from 15th - 24th October, and guaranteed we’ll be in for some fireworks between Wright and Slater as they try to get closer to the world title win.
 

You’ve mastered the art of reading swell direction and wave height, now it’s time to understand how the tides and the winds effect your chosen surf break.  

 

It’s not just about having swell pushing through to create surfable waves, it’s about having clean waves to ride.  The wind makes a massive difference to whether it’s worth getting into your wetsuit and paddling out.  If the wind is too strong in any direction, it will make the waves very choppy and will tend to ruin any clean waves out there.  However, a little bit of wind, when it’s off shore, is ideal.  

 

In a perfect world, when looking at your surf break’s report, the wind direction would be directed across the land and angled towards the swell pushing in.  When the wind is off shore, it will help to hold up the face of the wave, so your ride will be better.  Generally speaking, most surf spots are best first thing in the morning- ie dawn patrol, before the wind swings around during the day and comes from the ocean.  Take a look at the report below for Portugal's coast, and the detailed report for Supertubos in Peniche.


 

 

Next on the list to check is how strong the wind will be.  A few miles per how is fine, but as soon as it starts getting stronger, it will blow out the waves.  It can still be fun if you’re playing in the whitewater, but don’t expect any amazing rides.

 

Once you’ve got the hang of reading the wind report, check the tides.  Some surf spots only work at specific ebbs and pushes of the tide.  For example, there are some reef or rock breaks that are rideable at half tide, disappear at full tide, and are too dangerous at low tide.  Checking when high and low tide occurs along with some local knowledge will be essential to making the most of the break.

 

If you’re visiting a surf spot that you’ve been to before, but in a different season, make sure you check out the reports again. Spring or Autumn tides can be very different and completely change a break.  Perfect conditions in the Autumn, but the high Spring tides may make a break disappear for a month or two.

 

The ocean doesn’t play by our rules, so have fun planning your surf holidays and trips, take your time over learning about the surf, and most of all- enjoy your time in the water.  Happy surfing.

Note- We've used www.magicseaweed.com for our examples for the 'how to' series.