Special.

There were rumors, weeks ago, that the World Surf League would move its new finals day format to an exciting and dynamic wave for the 2022 Championship Tour season. Last year’s debut, at Lower Trestles in sunny Southern California, was a success by any measure, top five surfers doing heat by heat battle, winner advancing, though the wave… I don’t know. I love Lowers as much as the next homeschooled child but this would all be much more exciting and dynamic at, say, Barra de la Cruz in Mexico.

In any case…

Today, the World Surf League (WSL) announced the location for the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals and released the updated 2022 Championship Tour (CT) schedule. As part of Rip Curl’s three-year partnership, the second edition of the one-day, winner-take-all showdown, the Rip Curl WSL Finals, will return to California State Parks, San Onofre State Beach, Lower Trestles. The 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals waiting period will run from September 8 – 16, an ideal time of year for solid Southern Hemisphere swells to light up the cobblestone point of one of the most high-performance waves in the world.

At the conclusion of the regular 2022 CT season, the top five men and top five women on the CT rankings will head to Lowers in San Clemente where they will battle head-to-head for the World Title.

“The inaugural edition of the Rip Curl WSL Finals was an incredible success,” said Erik Logan, WSL CEO. “To see the WSL Final 5 go head-to-head in amazing waves and to witness the women’s and men’s World Titles be decided on the same day, in the water, for the first time was special. This new format captivated our audience and drove consumption like never before and was the most-watched day of professional surfing with the largest live digital audience in WSL history. We are excited to return to Lowers this season.”

Rip Curl’s commitment and support of professional surfing continues through the three-year partnership of the Rip Curl WSL Finals.

“We’re incredibly supportive of the return to Lower Trestles for the 2022 Rip Curl WSL Finals,” said Brooke Farris, Rip Curl CEO. “As a world-class, high-performance wave, it’s the perfect canvas for the world’s best surfers to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the water. While our brand was born at Bells Beach Australia, Rip Curl has an incredible heritage at Trestles, the surfing heart of California. We’re beyond excited to continue building on our brand’s legacy as we partner with the WSL to crown the undisputed world champions of surfing.”

Etc.

Wave technology wars heat up.

The most visually striking of all the wave-making technologies is, without a doubt, Mark Occhilupo’s Surf Lakes. The rusty plunger rising from the middle of a pond in gorgeous Yeppoon, Australia looks as it it was borrowed from Mad Max Fury Road or maybe Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. That hiss of steam, those five peaks pulsing outward.

Neat but tenable?

The plunger had a multitude of initial problems, stress fractures and the like, but might be ready for its international debut which may just be near Tampa Bay, Florida.

Per the report:

A large, outdoor surf and adventure park is soon headed to the Tampa Bay area.

Peak Surf Park will span 30 acres and will be built in either Hillsborough or Pinellas County. It will cost between $60 to $70 million to build, depending on factors such as land cost.

Founder Tony Miller said he hopes to lock in on a location in the coming months.

The park will feature not only surfing, but biking, skating and climbing. It will also feature a half-mile long beach, as well as restaurants and bars to host concerts and events.

Peak Surf Park is working with Surf Lakes in Australia. According to their website, the technology in the pool delivers five different levels of waves that break at the same time, for beginner to pro surfers.

Well?

Are you pre-booking your ticket to Tampa Bay?

I believe the city has more strip clubs, per capita, than any other in America.

It also has Tom Brady.

Much to do and see when not barreling.

Oops.

The underwater volcano that set of a tsunami that lightly battered the California coast, days ago, was a surf-adjacent story that just keeps giving. Initial reports were met with shrugs and unimpressed whistles, as tsunami warnings are not altogether rare though almost never manifest as tsunamis.

Well, this one delivered by making the water all churny, surging looky-loos off rocks, dragging fishermen out to sea and, very embarrassingly, forcing surfers into rescue situations.

Oh but I can hear the surfers sitting around, directly after the tsunami warning sounded, chatting about how “cool” it’d be to go out and surf it. How “bad ass” their wives and life partners would consider them. Gearing up while neighbors gawk.

Heading off, fist pumping, listening to Bon Jovi and, let’s allow The Los Angeles Times to pick up the story now.

At one popular beach in San Francisco, rescue swimmers braved churning waves and strong currents on Saturday afternoon to save two surfers who had challenged nature to a duel — and lost.

Members of a San Francisco Fire Department patrol spotted a surfer about 300 yards off the coast waving his hands and calling for help about 3 p.m., said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the department. Rescue swimmers swam out to help him, but the conditions were so bad that they determined it was safer to take him to a private sailboat nearby instead of carrying him back to dry land.

But how would you feel to be that surfer who was forced to wave for help and get swum to a private sailboat all while trying to appeal to wife or life partner?

Oops.

Think tight poom-poom shorts and radically aggressive off-the-shoulder tees!

The Australian Olympian and recently retired pro surfer Julian Wilson has launched his own “multifunctional” clothing brand called Rivvia Projects.

Wilson, who is thirty-three, made the announcement via press release.

Rivvia Projects’ goal is to deliver everyday versatile products that are built for a multifunctional world. A world where surf meets sport, and sport meets street. Products that are timeless and adaptable created for and inspired by a category we’re calling ‘Active Discovery’.

“This year has been a big one for me personally. I’ve made some major decisions surrounding my career and my family. Digging deep to find purpose and really figure out and decide what my future holds. These decisions have allowed me to take on new projects I never thought possible. Dreams I’ve always wanted to make a reality. What you’re seeing is a concept that is years in the making. An idea I needed to explore. An itch I needed to scratch.”

Ain’t nothing on the website yet and Instagram is light on info but it marks a wonderful step forward for the former rookie of the year and world number two who, barely one year ago, was locked in a bitter court dispute with former sponsor Hurley.

Wilson claimed Hurley had refused to pay him $1.5 million that was owed “under a written endorsement agreement” and after declining a low-ball offer from Hurley cited the company’s increasingly toxic reputation in the professional surfing world.”

Wilson joins Kelly Slater (Outerknown), John John Florence (Florence Marine X) and Dane Reynolds (Former) in the clothing game.

Rivvia Projects launches in June.

Think tight poom-poom shorts and radically aggressive off-the-shoulder tees!

Wild claims in court as step-kid and sister fight over legend's money…

The Gold Coast photographer Marty Tullemans, who was as much a part of surf history as the iconic photographs he took but who suffered from bi-polar disorder and, later, dementia, died of kidney failure a little over one year ago. 

And ol Marty, who was pretty canny with his money, left a total of 625k, which included $379,000 in cash. 

A will from 2013 shared his estate equally between his ex-partner’s four kids, including his step-daughter Tamar Tane, and nothing to his sister, Maria Shaw. 

Now, his sister claims she found an envelope, marked “Powderkeg”, after he went into a nursing home that contained an updated version of his will, this time leaving most of his fortune to her. 

The step-daughter, Tamar Tane, is challenging Maria’s application and has filed a counterclaim.

Tane’s lawyer alleges there are “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the signing of the will.

In a court doc, Maria says she and her husband found a safe containing the updated will, dated October 18, 2019, in Marty’s Kirra Beach Caravan Park cabin. 

Maria said the will had been witnessed by her dad Petrus Tullemans and Marty’s pal and neighbour of thirty years, Deborah Phillips. 

Shaw’s son, David, said his Uncle Marty asked him to fill in a will form and then dictated his wishes and then watched as Marty signed the form in front of his grandfather Petrus and neighbour Deborah. 

Marty, says David, told him to keep the will confidential, telling his nephew, “I have put the will in an envelope which has ‘Powderkeg’ written on it and put it in my safe”.

The “Powderkeg” will left fifty k to Tamar Tane to divide with her siblings however she wanted, fifty k to Marty’s bro Frank and the rest to Maria. 

And here comes a new twist. 

Deborah Phillips, whose signature is allegedly on “Powderkeg”, has signed a stat dec saying she didn’t see or witness Marty or his Dad signing it. 

In November 2020, Deborah says Maria invited her for dinner and said, “I need you to sign a document for Martin” which she says she refused. 

Maria denies asking Deborah to sign the will. 

The judge, meanwhile, has ordered Maria to reveal text messages between her and  Deborah and to surrender all of Marty’s phones and computers. 

More as this dirty little episode unfurls.