Vitor Oliveira

There is a new extreme surfing competition kicking off in Nazaré, Portugal. It's the Big Wave Grand Prix. November 1, 2011, is a day that the small Portuguese fishing village of Nazaré and its population will never forget. Garrett McNamara, 44 at the time, rode a 78-foot (23.7-meter) wall of water that was soon making headlines all over the world. Since then, Nazaré and its infamous Praia do Norte were never the same. The surf industry landed in the exquisite coastal community, changed its economy, and started all sorts of surf-related businesses. Big wave riding might be a subdiscipline of surfing, but it is also a gold mine that attracts people from all over the world. The business is content monetization (publishers) and brand reputation and awareness (companies). The number of sports events and specialty projects running simultaneously in Nazaré is surprising for a once-peaceful town. Until 2024, there were at least three entities holding events in the European wave:...

Surfing is one of the most popular sports in Australia. But what is the impact of surfing on the national economy? What is the profile of the average Australian surfer? Surfing is Australia's second-most-participated water sport and has profound economic and social impacts on its coastal regions. Despite its historical significance , there has been limited scholarship quantifying surfing's contribution to the country's economy. However, a study led by Ana Manero, a postdoc research fellow at The Australian National University's (ANU) Crawford School of Public Policy, estimates that surfing has an impact of A$2.71 billion on the Australian economy per year. Applying economic multipliers for retail (1.77) and tourism (1.84), the overall annual contribution of surfing to the Australian economy is estimated at A$4.88 billion, split almost equally between retail (A$2.39 billion) and domestic travel (A$2.49 billion). The research titled "A national assessment of t...

Linhares, a municipality in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, is the world's first administrative region to recognize the rights of waves. Brazil's Atlantic-facing coastline is 4,655 miles (7,491 kilometers) long and is known for its quality surf breaks. However, the Brazilian shores are also the final destination for all its rivers, meaning they carry whichever water quality to the ocean. The Doce River crosses the municipality of Linhares and flows toward Regência, a surf town known for its several perfect waves. Toxic Barrels On November 5, 2015, a dam containing waste water from an iron ore mine in Mariana, southeastern Brazil, failed catastrophically. The mine was operated by Samarco, a partnership between Vale and BHP Billiton. The collapse unleashed torrents of mud that overwhelmed a nearby town, resulting in the deaths of at least 17 people and injuries to more than 50 others. The disaster caused significant ecological damage, endangering life along the Doce...

Veteran Pipeline surfer, lifeguard, and actor Tamayo Perry died after being attacked by a shark near Goat Island in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii. Tamayo, 49, was surfing off the east coast of Oahu when the attack took place on Sunday morning, June 23. Local lifeguards issued the alert and brought Perry's lifeless body on a jet ski back to shore. When the Honolulu Emergency Services arrived at Malaekahana Beach, the well-known Hawaiian freesurfer was pronounced dead. The corpse showed signs of having been bitten more than once by the ocean's predator, with a leg and an arm missing. Mastering Pipe Tamayo Perry was born in 1975 and raised on the East Side of Oahu. He started surfing at 12. Soon, he formed a close friendship with future pop star Jack Johnson, who lived near Pipeline. During his late teens, Perry was known as a quiet, emerging local surfer who often borrowed surfboards due to a lack of sponsorship. By 1997, this slender goofy-footer had developed a unique tube-ridi...

It's one of the best breaks in the surfing paradise of the Mentawai Islands. Welcome to Lance's Right, one of Indonesia's most perfect waves. Each surf spot has its history, secrets, and evolution. Lance's Right is no different. The magical Indo wave comes to life in Pulau Sipura off the coast of Sumatra, the most developed and second-smallest of the four Mentawai Islands . For many surfers who had the privilege to enjoy it, it's their favorite wave, and if you're a regular footer, it's an unforgettable dreamy playground. Lance's Right breaks off the southern end of the island. It's a fast and perfect barreling blue cylinder that will wait for no one, similar to world-renowned gems like Sunset Beach and Margaret River. The Discovery of Lance's Right Lance Knight was the first person to surf Lance's Right in March 1991, when charter boats and internet connections were a mirage. An Australian skipper, Lance, was in the Mentawai Island...

What is a surf park? There are various types of surf parks. The most common are outdoor surf pools. Dynamic wave pools are large, typically over ten times the size of an Olympic pool, allowing for a few seconds of surfing over 100 meters or more. Static wave pools are smaller. Surfing infrastructures can also be created by installing motors in existing water bodies or by promoting the formation of surfable waves in rivers or along the coast. The first dynamic wave pool designed exclusively for surfing opened in Wales (Adventure Park Snowdonia) in 2015 and closed in 2023, illustrating the rapid obsolescence of these infrastructures due to intense competition among industry players . Development of Surf Parks Worldwide Currently, there are about 25 dynamic wave pools globally, but more than 200 surf parks are in development. This demand is driven by the popularity of surfing, the fastest-growing water sport worldwide, which has gained visibility through its recent inclusion in ...

Winter Vincent and Ella McCaffray have claimed victory at the 2024 Nias Pro. The Qualifying Series (QS) 5000 event got underway in pumping four-to-six-foot surf at Lagundri Bay on the Island of Nias, Indonesia. It was a historical event with competitors dining out on some of the best waves seen for a QS competition as McCaffray and Vincent were able to rise to the top and claim the biggest wins of their young careers. In the men's Final, Manly Beach youngster Winter Vincent came up against former Championship Tour (CT) competitor and professional surfing veteran Josh Kerr, who had been on a charge towards the Finals since the opening round almost a week ago. In slowing conditions, Kerr opted to get busy early, banking back-to-back waves for a series of powerful and stylish carves on the face to take an early lead. Eventually, a bomb set came. Kerr took off on the first wave, pulling into a tube and getting spat out for an 8.50 (out of a possible 10), but fortunately for Vinc...

Franco Diaz rides dunes like surfers ride waves. Meet the Chilean sandboarder who draws unique lines in the world's driest desert. In many ways, sandboarding is the closest sport to surfing. The shape of dunes, the way sand sometimes tumbles when the rider passes by, and the speed they can reach as they descend the slope remind us of wave gliders. Franco Diaz has a unique style. His approach to dune-riding makes him somehow a sand surfer. Diaz was born in Iquique, Chile. The city lies in the heart of the driest nonpolar desert on the planet, the Atacama Desert. He runs the Munay Sandboard travel agency that offers sandboarding tours, paragliding flights, and diving experiences. Franco started sandboarding in 2014. "I was with some friends trying to do something new when the dune was a big garbage dump. So, we adapted some skateboards for the sand," the Chilean sandboarder told SurferToday. Surf-Influenced Dune Riding Diaz has a sandboarding spot he calls home....

It's hard to find a secluded surf break these days. But when it seems impossible to be alone and surf with your thoughts, magic happens. Life gets more complicated when you get older, doesn't it? At least, it feels like it does. The responsibilities stack up, the problems accumulate, and the unfinished personal and professional issues pile up. Sometimes, we're so overwhelmed by what life is about that we forget how much surfing can help us heal or put things into perspective. Most of us need water to find our balance and headspace. It can be the ocean or even a swimming pool. All we need is a liquid basin - smaller or larger - to immerse ourselves and make our worries lighter. It's great to surf with friends. I've been doing it for nearly 35 years, and I'll never get tired of it. The process before and after also matters. There's the schedule, a meeting point, the travel itself, the search for the right spot or peak, and the excitement of putting on...

He's one of the legends of surfing history who passed away too soon. Sion Milosky was 35 when he rode his final wave. He was known as the underground charger who rode for the joy of surfing, not for sponsorship or media attention. Sion Milosky was born on August 11, 1975, in Kalaheo, Kauai, Hawaii. He was the son of a Californian hippie who moved to Hawaii around 1970, chasing the Aloha spirit . His Polish surname was inherited from his step-grandfather. Sion got in touch with the salt water at the age of three, catching waves on a bodyboard at Poipu Beach. While attending Waimea High School, "Bam Bam" was already an accomplished wave rider, influenced by Tom Carroll. Sion Milosky did almost everything to support his wave-riding passion. He worked as a dishwasher, pizza delivery boy, cook, fisherman, carpenter, boat and car repairman, waiter, and bartender. He then established his business, welding wrought-iron gates for driveways of Hawaiian homes. Primus Inte...

Bruce Brown's 1964 film "The Endless Summer" is the marquee example of a film made for surfers that went on to have phenomenal crossover success when distributed nationally in 1966. The premise of the film is simple: two surfers travel around the world following summer in search of waves (never mind that the best waves are always in the other three seasons). Part documentary travelogue, part quest for the perfect wave, part buddy film, it is peppered with comedic moments and is carried along by Brown's trademark wry narrative and, of course, a fine musical soundtrack. Brown made his first film in 1958 before surfing had gained mainstream popularity. When he was making " The Endless Summer ," his sixth film, surfing was firmly established in popular culture, including boasting its own popular music - the named genre surf music . In the previous chapter of my book "Surfing About Music," I showed that by 1965, the widespread popularity of surf m...

I'm now making a surfing video game called "Surfers Code," but I probably shouldn't be. I'm 57 years old and have surfed since I started high school at Newbury Park in Southern California near Ventura. I didn't know that my dad didn't know how to swim when I started surfing, or maybe I would have been encouraged to start surfing when I was younger. My mom took us down to Ventura Harbor as kids, where we would boogie board until we turned purple, but then we discovered wetsuits, got some old surfboards, and found out how much more fun standing up was. Since then, I have been obsessed with surfing as much as I am now obsessed with this crazy video game. I was not so much into video games, but I played some games on consoles when I moved to San Diego during and after college. After several trips to live and work in Kenya, El Salvador, and Guatemala, I eventually ended up living and working in Taiwan. Everyone there had a cell phone way before it was p...

There are many ways to ride a wave using surprisingly more surf craft than one could imagine. But can the Laser Olympic sailboat do it? We've seen people taking on swells with the most unusual and unexpected types of wave-riding vehicles: doors, tables, wooden planks, ice sheets, ironing boards, and even televisions. However, catching waves with sailboats is a different league. Sailing boats are heavy and harder to steer and control than a standard surfboard. Obviously, right? It depends. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bruno Fontes OLY (@brunofontesoficial) The World's Most Popular One-Design Sailboat Take the famous single-handed, one-design Laser, also known as the ILCA dinghy. The boat weighs approximately 59 kilograms (130 pounds). The hull is 4.23 meters (13.875 feet) in length, with a beam (width) of 1.42 meters (4.658 feet). It is equipped with a daggerboard and a kick-up rudder, allowing for efficien...