Tomorrow the Rip Curl Pro Search kicks off. This year the event will take place in Peniche, Portugal. I always try to follow the European ASP Worldtour events, because I know the beaches of the southwest of France and around Mundaka quite well. And that makes it more fun. But this year we have a third European event, the Rip Curl Pro Search in Peniche. And for me this is extra special. I have spend a lot of summers with my girlfriend in Peniche and it's one of my favorite places with a lot of good memories. It's a small fishermen village, with probably the best boulevard for eating fresh grilled fish for a very, very reasonable price.
I have surfed quite a lot in Peniche, but in summer the waves usually only break on the north side of the peninsula. A nice beach break, but nothing compared to the beach breaks on the south side of the peninsula. That's where the infamous spot called 'Supertubos' is. I have only seen it with hip high waves, but there are some rare images on the internet explaining how it got its name.
The MagicSeaWeed forecast for the coming week could mean epic conditions in Peniche. The swell could rise up to over 6 meters, and if the wind stays in northern directions, the waves could be super clean. Therefore, I will definitely be following the event closely....
I'll be watching too!
ReplyDeleteBtw I followed all of WCT events this year...
But it has been a bad year for wave's quality until now!
One of the first waves I ever surfed was "supertubos". It was in 1986 during my first trip to Guincho. I was on a bodyboard (the original Morey Boogie) that I bought on the way to Portugal in Biarritz: at this time there were only a few in Europe, for sure!
There was a solid 2 meters and I almost died!
Hehehe.... cool story! I am really curious what "Supertubos" can bring with swell over 6 meters....
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure the sandbar can handdle such a big swell...
ReplyDeleteBut I guess it also depends from the swell direction.
Today they had only one meter: the contest is on hold, we'll see tomorrow!
The contest site at Supertubos has been almost destroyed last night by waves of 15 feet: one of the biggest swells seen in Portugal in the last ten years!
ReplyDeleteThe competition should begin today, but on a backup spot...
Movie of Mick Fanning and Taylor Knox tow-surfing somewhere around Peniche should be online soon....
ReplyDelete