It's been less than a week since the spray settled at Margaret River's Main Break, and already the world's best surfers have landed at Rottnest Island of the coast of Perth for the Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona.
Most of the surfers on Tour have never surfed the place before and are coming into it with as much curiosity as the fans. The last event of the historic, four-stop Australian leg of the Championship Tour, the waiting period kicks off on May 16 ... and there's surf in the forecast. Here's the low down:
Opening Day At Rottnest Setting Up With Overhead Surf, Offshore Winds
There are only a handful of surfers on Tour that have even been to Rottnest Island before, making it a great unknown for many competitors. Thankfully, it doesn't look like we'll have to wait for very long to see what the place is capable of. The official Surfline Forecast is setting up quite nice.
"Long range charts and models point to the event getting off to a nice start with overhead surf and offshore wind increasingly likely for the first day of the event window, Sunday the 16th. The long period SW swell will come from a storm that is now tracking under Madagascar with a large area of 35-45 knot wind and satellite confirmed seas in the 30-40' range. The storm is a long way away but should also hold decent to good strength in the next couple days which should mean a long lasting run of swell, strongest on Sunday with still decent size surf Monday and even Tuesday."
Surfline Rottnest Forecast Model - WSL
Have Boards, Will Travel
Ever wonder how pro surfers get all their boards around the world? Well, sometimes it just comes down to throwing them on their backs and grinding out the hard yards. Conner Coffin, Jack Freestone and company's arrival at Rottnest make a compelling case for perfecting the one-board quiver.
Fioravanti And Friends Embrace Island Life
From firing pizzas in Rome, to Gucci fashion shows in Milan, to big, full-rail power carves Down Under, Leonardo Fioravanti is a man of many talents. And this week he admits: "I tried my best to dance to the didgeridoo."
As Fioravanti and the rest of the CT surfers have been arriving on Rottnest Island they've been embracing the local indigenous culture, enjoying the stunning beauty of the place, and even making friends with the furry quokkas. Expect to see more of the cute lil buggers in your Instagram feed in the days ahead.
Wright Parts Clouds Of Brazilian Storm
What's harder than stopping Filipe Toledo and the rest of the Brazilian Storm in the water? Stopping them on the football turf. But clearly Tyler Wright has no problem getting in the mix.
Florence Optimistic After Knee Surgery
After sustaining an injury to his left knee during his Round of 16 heat at the Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro presented by Corona, two-time World Champion John John Florence has undergone a successful surgery to repair the damage.
Florence's injury, thankfully to many, is not to the same knee that plagued him during the 2019 season.
It was then, with a torn ACL and his shot at a third World Title dashed, he underwent surgery to his right knee and began the long, painful process of regaining his championship form, and ultimately, qualifying for the inaugural U.S. Olympic Surf Team as outlined in his film Tokyo Rising.
"I woke up to the report from the surgeon that everything went as well as possible, and the procedure I had will give me the opportunity to surf at full strength sooner than I had hoped," Florence wrote on Instagram.
"Feeling motivated to really know that the Olympics are attainable. I'm excited for this and I'm gonna do everything I can to make it happen!"
Best Board Transfer Ever?
Okay, this isn't really relevant to what's happening half a world away in West Oz, but we gotta tip the cap to Kevin Schulz, who's done it again in Waco, Texas. He just dropped a clip of a mind-blowing board transfer on the "freak peak." The amplitude, the style, the buttery landing, the groms on the edge of the pool, surfing's so rad!
Week In Waves: Rottnest Forecast Fires, Florence Goes Under The Knife And Fioravanti Pets A Quokka
Jake Howard
It's been less than a week since the spray settled at Margaret River's Main Break, and already the world's best surfers have landed at Rottnest Island of the coast of Perth for the Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona.
Most of the surfers on Tour have never surfed the place before and are coming into it with as much curiosity as the fans. The last event of the historic, four-stop Australian leg of the Championship Tour, the waiting period kicks off on May 16 ... and there's surf in the forecast. Here's the low down:
Opening Day At Rottnest Setting Up With Overhead Surf, Offshore Winds
There are only a handful of surfers on Tour that have even been to Rottnest Island before, making it a great unknown for many competitors. Thankfully, it doesn't look like we'll have to wait for very long to see what the place is capable of. The official Surfline Forecast is setting up quite nice.
"Long range charts and models point to the event getting off to a nice start with overhead surf and offshore wind increasingly likely for the first day of the event window, Sunday the 16th. The long period SW swell will come from a storm that is now tracking under Madagascar with a large area of 35-45 knot wind and satellite confirmed seas in the 30-40' range. The storm is a long way away but should also hold decent to good strength in the next couple days which should mean a long lasting run of swell, strongest on Sunday with still decent size surf Monday and even Tuesday."
Have Boards, Will Travel
Ever wonder how pro surfers get all their boards around the world? Well, sometimes it just comes down to throwing them on their backs and grinding out the hard yards. Conner Coffin, Jack Freestone and company's arrival at Rottnest make a compelling case for perfecting the one-board quiver.
Fioravanti And Friends Embrace Island Life
From firing pizzas in Rome, to Gucci fashion shows in Milan, to big, full-rail power carves Down Under, Leonardo Fioravanti is a man of many talents. And this week he admits: "I tried my best to dance to the didgeridoo."
As Fioravanti and the rest of the CT surfers have been arriving on Rottnest Island they've been embracing the local indigenous culture, enjoying the stunning beauty of the place, and even making friends with the furry quokkas. Expect to see more of the cute lil buggers in your Instagram feed in the days ahead.
Wright Parts Clouds Of Brazilian Storm
What's harder than stopping Filipe Toledo and the rest of the Brazilian Storm in the water? Stopping them on the football turf. But clearly Tyler Wright has no problem getting in the mix.
Florence Optimistic After Knee Surgery
After sustaining an injury to his left knee during his Round of 16 heat at the Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro presented by Corona, two-time World Champion John John Florence has undergone a successful surgery to repair the damage.
Florence's injury, thankfully to many, is not to the same knee that plagued him during the 2019 season.
It was then, with a torn ACL and his shot at a third World Title dashed, he underwent surgery to his right knee and began the long, painful process of regaining his championship form, and ultimately, qualifying for the inaugural U.S. Olympic Surf Team as outlined in his film Tokyo Rising.
"I woke up to the report from the surgeon that everything went as well as possible, and the procedure I had will give me the opportunity to surf at full strength sooner than I had hoped," Florence wrote on Instagram.
"Feeling motivated to really know that the Olympics are attainable. I'm excited for this and I'm gonna do everything I can to make it happen!"
Best Board Transfer Ever?
Okay, this isn't really relevant to what's happening half a world away in West Oz, but we gotta tip the cap to Kevin Schulz, who's done it again in Waco, Texas. He just dropped a clip of a mind-blowing board transfer on the "freak peak." The amplitude, the style, the buttery landing, the groms on the edge of the pool, surfing's so rad!
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Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona
The crew takes us back to the last event of the Australian Leg for some Rottnest throwback and a special strike mission to Kirra.
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The WSL Photo Dept. offers up some candid moments picked from their thousands of images shot during the four-stop Australian leg of the CT.
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