Ledge Rock: Scotland

Forsaken Gully: USA

LOCATION 3: FORSAKEN GULLY GULF OF CALIFORNIA, USA

Forsaken Gully is a phenomenal river bore that discharges into the Gulf of California. The bore is formed in the river mouth and the head-wave can reach almost 10 feet. The tidal bore pounds its way along the river bed destroying everything in its path. According to longtime residents of the region its rumble could be heard for miles around and in the wettest of years, the locals wait in anxious anticipation for the really large bores to form at the head of the river… readying themselves for its annual path of destruction.
The Gully has a long and colourful history often capsizing and often destroy vessels caught unaware by a seemingly placid river. It’s also home to numerous example of exotic desert wildlife and birds. These days, however, the Gully is also a world-renowned phenomenon that attracts scores of sightseers from around the world. Surfing the bore is tricky as paddling is tough for an average surfer, due to the tide and unusual physics of the wave. You can paddle in to surf it, but to get the most out of the wave it’s probably a good idea to get towed into the wave by a jet-ski. Once you get onto the wave though, it’s so worth it. A once in a lifetime experience of big, long walls, open tubes and floater sections. It’s the kind of wave you dream about. Freaky, intense and awesome.

L’Ossuaire: FRANCE

LOCATION 4: L’OSSUAIRE, FRANCE

L’OSSUAIRE is a spectacular beach break in southern France. The name L’Ossuaire means “the boneyard” in French and it gets its name for a reason. It’s a pretty mental setup – 3 random, shifting peaks which means that the surfers need to challenge the array of random perfect triangle peak waves. Think a combination Duranbah and Puerto Escondido but in colder water. The waves break on fairly stable sand banks which make finding an optimal wave much easier than most beach breaks, but, (and it’s a big but…) you’ll need to deal with immensely powerful peaks, a steep takeoff and negotiate a heavy, fast tube. On an optimal tide and swell-direction this beach holds serious triple overhead plus beach-break bone crushers. Sometimes it feathers outside, rolls in and reforms, before rearing upright over the shallow inside bars. Heavy, thick-lipped barrels, break close to the shore and can break boards and bodies at will. Tidal range can seriously affect the window for really great conditions, as does the strength of the swell and direction, which dictates if it is small and fickle or clean, lined-up and powering through. So through various times of the day you get some of the most perfect slamming beach breaks on the planet. Combine this with the world famous cultural sites, the local hospitality and some of the hottest nightlife on the planet, then you’re looking at one of the favourite spots on this year’s tour.

Fernando’s: BRAZIL

LOCATION 5: FERNANDO’S COVE, BRAZIL

FERNANDO’S COVE is a spectacular left point break wave in Brazil. Fernando’s is a coral bottom razor reef breaking in crystal clear aqua waters. It is pretty awesome – a monster heavy left breaking close behind the headland in a landscape that is spectacularly beautiful but deceptively deadly. You need to surf flat-out along this race track whilst threading your way through the tube over the jutting coral. This point break holds up to five times over head waves, so it does get seriously big as well as seriously perfect. For most of the year it’s fairly consistent which is one of the great attractions for the travelling surfer – you know you’re almost always going to get waves year round. But for optimal conditions, the wave needs a combination of a strong southwest swell, low to mid tide, and a slight offshore (or no) wind. If the elements line up and the wave is on, you will be rewarded with astonishingly long overhead waves with a seemingly endless barrel. If you happen to catch one of these gems you run the risk of ruining every other wave you ever surf, as you will have just ridden perfection. This wave can get pretty heavy and is generally for experienced barrel riders only. Jealously guarded by the local crew for years, in recent times, it’s been opened up as a result of surf magazine and movie exposure. So on the one hand it is a little sad that Fernando’s is now so well known; but it’s also true that the wave is so perfect that it was inevitable that this jewel would be discovered. One of the best lefts on the planet. 

Monsters: HAWAII

LOCATION 6: MONSTERS, HAWAII

“Monsters” in Hawaii is both a paddle and jetski tow-in wave that is, simply put, a frightening addition to this years tour. A close cousin of the more renowned Jaws, this fast-moving right hand reef gets every bit as big, every bit as deadly and some would argue is even more intense as it breaks in deeper water. Monsters only really breaks when the swell hits the 15ft mark and when the sneaker sets hit the lineup, there’s nowhere to hide as the channel is at least a hundred meters away from the takeoff point. While all the attention has been on Jaws, a few of the more intrepid surfers have quietly been taking on this beast by themselves out of the limelight for years. Monsters is thick, really thick. And powerful. For most surfers it is still super tough to paddle into this wave under the 25ft mark. Over 25ft and then we’ll see most of the hard core big wave crew tow-in out there. But when you’re paddling, it’s a totally different beast and it’s way more challenging. It’s another ball game. What may not even raise a sweat when you’re tow surfing, is gob-smackingly terrifying when you’re on a 10’0″ and you try to turn around and paddle into one of these brutes. Paddling out at Monsters is a blood pumping experience like no other and is genuinely not a wave for the feint hearted. The Monsters event is unique on the Tour as the organisers review the conditions and then decide as to whether to run a tow-in event or a paddle event. So the surfers are really genuinely tested in both disciplines at one of the most intense waves on the planet. 

Nami Surf Park: JAPAN

LOCATION 7: NAMI SURF PARK, JAPAN

Nami Surf Park is one of the world’s greatest surf stadiums, located in the heart of the Japanese capital of Tokyo. 175.6 metres x 122.4 metres wide, this park boasts the largest retractable roof in the world, 85-degree water, holds 60 thousand people and is universally lauded as the best man-made surfing wave on Earth. Nami has also courted a lot of controversy. The park has been described by some as the future of surfing, but also it has been equally derided by some critics as the ultimate trivialization of the Sport of Kings. Some refuse to ever step foot in the park, but it seems that the majority of surfers are voting with their feet and surf tourism to the city has skyrocketed. Playing to packed audiences and with a global TV reach of 15 million yearly, it seems that most agree. Love it or loathe it, the Nami surf park has reached a new non surfing audience that even the most optimistic in the WST didn’t see coming. Even though it’s been up and running for 5 years now, it’s still hard to believe that it’s real. As soon you walk through the doors anticipation quickly turns to sheer amazement. Despite the magazine and TV coverage, you’ve still got to see it for yourself. Is it really possible to watch someone get a full on, double overhead spitting five-second tube in a wave pool? You bet it is. There are 25 seconds between every wave at Nami. It’s mind blowing. As a viewer it gives you just enough time to talk about the previous wave, take a bite of something to eat and get ready to watch the next wave. When surfing, there are plenty of waves to go around and if you fall off you can either paddle to the side and climb out or if the jetski’s are on patrol, you can hail one over and get pulled on to the next wave if it’s not occupied. Each session has it’s own intensity (power) setting and size range (up to 10 feet) so you pick and choose your sessions. On the downside, it’s true that the surfing experience has lost a little of that stoke of finding that “gem” in the lineup. But the reality is, you still find yourself sprinting back out in time to catch either that left or a right of your choice, all for that chance to pull off that move you might have just blown 3 minutes earlier. Ever feel like you’ve lost that “inner child”? Think again. Nami makes you feel like a 10 year old kid surfing on a double shot of espresso. On the tour, the consistency of Nami  provides a completely level playing field for every surfer, no more losing due to a lack of waves that just didn’t come. At Nami a wave that is exactly the same and comes every 25 seconds means that if the surfer needs that winning score and they don’t get it, then it’s no one’s fault. The Nami tour plays to 60,000 crazed surf fans live every year and the carnival like atmosphere means that its one of the most anticipated stops on the WST Tour.

Supertubes: MOROCCO

LOCATION 8: SUPERTUBES MOROCCO

Last stop on the tour is “Supertubes.” A famous Moroccan right hand point renowned for its clean lines and consistency on all tides; Supertubes starts working at about 3ft and holds up to 15ft. This point is a mix of sand and reef bottom with 3 different sections where you can go for cover ups and turns at the first two sections and then on the last one it just gets incredibly hollow and is super fast. It is a mental setup. On it’s day it can run up to 500m. Yep, that’s right – up to 500m. Supertubes is an epic right point break and if it’s pumping it is surely the best righthand point in Morocco, which is saying something considering Morocco is the land of right handers. You can mind surf supers all day long… Situated on the Atlantic coast, this wave works with the same winter swells that affect Europe but with the advantage that they are more cleaned up and defined when they hit the shore. The climate is dry and milder and its proximity to Europe means it’s a popular destination for mainland European surfers looking for perfection, reasonably close to home. Morocco is a sensory feast full of amazing natural and cultural beauty. Respect the local Moroccan culture, which is Muslim, tolerant, and far from Islamic fundamentalist. The food, along with the waves is awesome.The local surfers are super friendly and their surfing skills have improved markedly in recent years – many of them rip. Exotic, beautiful and truly a surfing paradise, Morocco is the perfect way to complete this year’s Tour. Did we mention the food?