It’s pretty tough to imagine a competition flying under the radar at Nazaré but this wouldn’t exactly fit your typical idea of “competition.” It’s more like the old school free-surf-turned-friendly-battle with your mates that many of us grew up doing as kids. Only this one went down in 20-foot waves.
Nazaré had a relatively slow season as far as headline-grabbing XXL swells go but earlier this month, a group of 10 surfers got together at the world-famous big wave spot. Each of them tossed 30 Euro into a hat, and then they all paddled out and held their own contest during a three-hour session.
There was no booth for judges, no grandstands, no 72-hour green light to call, or global broadcast teams on deck. The organizers, who call themselves the Sub Zero Surf League, coordinated a small Jet Ski safety team, invited a handful of surfers who’d spent the whole season at Praia do Norte and held a true grassroots event. What was originally planned to be a single, three-hour session in the morning turned into a full day with the crew deciding to go out for a second session during sunset and the late afternoon glass-off. According to them, it was the right call because their second session turned in some of the best rides of the whole day.
“There haven’t been many big wave events lately, so the Nazare crew that has been there all season charging every swell thought it would be an epic idea to run a paddle-only, three-hour ‘Free surf,”‘ they told The Inertia. And they even ended up with a last-minute addition to the roster when Grant “Twiggy” Baker showed up for a session and decided to go out with them.
“This is the most grassroots thing ever,” Baker said. “Money in a hat. I love it.”
The next day they all reconvened to watch the footage and photos that had been captured and everyone voted first through third place along with a winner for best wipeout, who got a CO2 safety vest, “since they need it the most,” they told us.
The group says they’re planning to keep the concept going with more grassroots events at Nazaré next season and possibly even in Ireland.
“We plan to do a few of these freesurfs throughout the year with the focus being big-wave, cold-water locations. We want to show the world these dedicated underground chargers who come from cold-water surf towns.”
RESULTS:
Best Ride:
1. Pete Shaw, USA
2. Sacha Bongaertz, Netherlands
3. Tom Knox, Ireland
4. Willyam Santana, Brazil
5. Leo Rowland, French Basque Country
Send It Award:
1. Ollie Dousset, Australia
Best Wipeout Award:
1. Pete Shaw, USA
