In one iteration or another, surfers have long gathered to celebrate, to talk story, to relive the season’s greatest moments, and to take home oversized checks. That’s especially true when it comes to big waves — because big waves deserve a big stage. Now, once again, the big wave world has that platform for pushing the boundaries, and honoring those who do, with the SURFER Big Wave Challenge, coming to Nazaré, Portugal on October 19th, 2024. Top honors in the event will include Surfer of the Year, Ride of the Year, Wipeout of the Year, Biggest Paddle, Biggest Tow, and more. Helmed by longtime ..read more

Justine Dupont French athlete Justine Dupont has been at the pinnacle of big-wave surfing for a number of years and is well on her way to a spot in the GOAT conversation. The 2022/23 season was stamped with Dupont’s authority. She’s been a mainstay at Nazaré, where she bases herself full-time, making her mark on every major swell at the Portuguese big-wave mecca and ranging out on strike missions as the conditions call for it. Another breakthrough moment for Justine came on January 13, 2023, when she got the call to join a clandestine mission to the Cortes Bank, a mysterious shallow reef loc ..read more

Laura Enever You never know when the biggest wave you have ever encountered will loom up before you and test your resolve. This happened to Australia’s Laura Enever in January of 2023 on an outer reef along Oahu’s North Shore on the same day the Eddie Aikau contest was running at Waimea Bay. Enever was an alternate in the Eddie comp but didn’t want to spend the day hoping someone would no-show, so she made plans to meet up with other free surfers way out to sea at a break that only shows its face on super special occasions. Suddenly, Laura found herself in position for a monumental blue wall ..read more

Big-wave surfing is about trying to catch and complete the largest and best waves one can find, but the fact of the matter is that not every wave ends well. It’s also a fact that everyone loves a good wipeout (or almost everyone depending on one's perspective). And if a great wipeout ends without any damage to the surfer, then it can be considered for the Big Wave Challenge Wipeout of the Year Award. This year’s champion is a local at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania, home to one of the heaviest waves on the planet—a mutant beast noted for producing often non-negotiable “steps” or mini-waves down it ..read more

Justine Dupont Justine Dupont (Bayonne, France) shattered glass ceilings and maybe a few male egos in January of 2023 when she snagged the wave of the day on a star-studded expedition to the rarest of unicorn breaks, the Cortes Bank. Dupont became the first woman to try her hand at the near-mythical wave located in the open ocean, 100 miles from the Southern California coastline. Traveling on board an oil rig tender ship from San Diego laden with a small fleet of personal watercraft, Justine arrived at the break with a group of top big-wave riders filming for HBO’s 100 Foot Wave docuseries ..read more

Justine Dupont To be chosen as the Ride of the Year by a voting panel made up of your fellow big-wave-surfing elite, a wave must tick off certain boxes. First, it needs to be a BIG wave, one of the largest of the year. Second, it needs to be ridden with precision and take a critical line through the most powerful portion of the wave. Next, it needs to have that certain “X-factor,” something that elevates the moment beyond simply surfing and into the realm of the extraordinary. Finally, it must be successful. It must be a make. When France’s Justine Dupont found herself in the lineup at the C ..read more

The Young Gun is a fresh category in the Big Wave Challenge proceedings, concocted to acknowledge the up-and-coming threats shaking things up in the heavy-water crew.  The 2023 recipient was Ned Hart of Dunsmore, Western Australia, who grew up dining on the thick-lipped offerings of his home surfing region. With the kind of ultra-frothy enthusiasm that lights up any room or lineup, Ned’s impressed all the big-wave veterans with his attitude and talent. His rights to claim the Young Gun trophy were sealed with his stunning wave, featuring an air drop and deep barrel at Shipstern Bluff, T ..read more

Protestors following the deaths Jack Carter Rhoad, Callum and Jake Robinson in Baja, Mexico. Photo: Zulian Ochoa Over the weekend, a gathering of northern Baja surfers banded together to honor three travelers who were murdered a week before. A memorial paddle-out was held at Playa San Miguel, in addition to calls for justice and increased safety measures. Australian brothers Callum (33) and Jake Robinson (30), and American Jack Carter Rhoad (30), were killed while camping at La Bocana, a rural site south of Ensenada. Their bodies were found dumped in a nearby well, and their identiti ..read more

Jojo Roper, midway through his biggest (paddle) wave of the 2023-24 season.  Mavericks Awards / Fred Pompermayer Like a young child on a long road trip, Mavericks had its mood swings during the 2023-24 winter. As is expected during an El Niño season, Mavericks had happy days of picture-perfect wedges groomed by light offshore. Then there were swells with monstrous west bowls plagued by onshore vile. At times, especially that December 28 swell, the wave looked like it was throwing a tantrum. For the past four years, a few local businessmen in Half Moon Bay have cobbled togethe ..read more

The bioluminescence of the red tide in La Jolla during April and May of 2020. Kevin Key via Getty Images The spring of 2020 saw one of Southern California’s most prolific red tides on record, and while the bioluminescence left beaches from Santa Barbara down through Baja California with ravishing visual displays at night, the algal inundation – more of a chocolate-brown than a crimson-red– resulted in graver consequences for many creatures within it. Red tides are notorious for causing grandiose algal blooms (in this case, of the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedra), then sucking up all of t ..read more