Will Skudin

Good-Epic: Freezing, Pumping Barrels in New York

Mike Nelson is not a professional surf forecaster. But he’s way, way smarter than your average armchair meteorologist. Between his surf shop, Unsound, his booming photography/videography business and a half-dozen other ventures, Nellie hardly has any time for academia, but we can’t think of anyone more versed in the swell science surrounding the Hudson Canyon and its beachbreak beneficiaries than Nellie — who even the late, great Sean Collins himself called upon to understand the zone for the 2011 Quiksilver Pro New York.

So when Nellie hit us up last week about a classic, southerly-track El Niño winter swell heading to Long Island, even our most seasoned professional forecasters who’d been tracking the system were all ears.

“Gonna be pumping this weekend,” Nellie alerted on Wednesday. “We’ve got a solid crew coming for this thing, too. Will Skudin’s here, Balaram [Stack] and [Chris] Hamlet just flew in, and Brian Pollak, Zack Dayton and Trip Patterson are all coming to town for this one. Even the mysto legend himself, Chris Harmon, hit me up saying he might make an appearance up this way. Pat Schmidt, Sam Hammer and Tommy Ihnken are road tripping it up here, too, and it’s about time [laughs]. New Jersey usually steals the show, but not this time.”

Check out the story here:
https://www.surfline.com/surf-news/good-epic-cold-gold-new-york-march-24/198553

Filmed by Mike Nelson, Edited by Michael Weybret
Music Credit: ID - MB01ET9CTNN8JAV

Potential For TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge Presented by Jogos Santa Casa To Run Dec 12 or 13

The World Surf League has put the TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa on standby to potentially run on Sunday, December 12 or Monday, December 13. With a large WNW swell and favorable winds headed toward Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal, there is high confidence that the event could run over one of these two days.

Event officials are closely monitoring the upcoming swell, watching for the conditions that will produce waves in the competition range. The next call for a potential Green Alert will be made on Saturday, December 11 at 12:00 a.m. GMT. Once the call is made by the event officials, competitors will have approximately 34-hours' notice to be ready to compete.

"We are expecting waves in the 40-to-60-foot range on Sunday and Monday, and we are closely watching the forecast over the next few days," said Jessi Miley-Dyer, WSL SVP of Tours and Head of Competition. "If we see this forecast continue to track the way we are seeing now, we will make an updated call on Saturday, December 11 at 12:00 a.m. GMT for a potential Green Alert. We are working with Garrett McNamara on the ground at Nazaré and utilizing all of his expertise and knowledge to help inform when we will run the competition. We will check back in over the weekend with more updates."

The TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa will be a one-day, specialty event with tow-in surfing teams. There will be nine teams made up of two competitors in each team. The teams will be divided into three groups with three teams in each group. The competition will have a total of six 60-minute heats, where each group will participate in two heats, with each team alternating between surfing and driving the team's jet ski.

A surfer's best two waves after surfing both heats will count to an individual total score, with the best wave counting as double points. In total, a surfer's maximum individual score will be 30 points, as each wave is scored from 1-10 points. Surfers will be awarded across multiple categories at the end of the competition day.

**TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa Invitees:**

**Team 1:** Kai Lenny (HAW), Lucas Chianca (BRA)
**Team 2:** Nic Von Rupp (PRT), Pedro Scooby (BRA)
**Team 3: **Rodrigo Koxa (BRA), Eric Rebiere (FRA)
**Team 4:** Andrew Cotton (GBR), Will Skudin (USA)
**Team 5:** Axier Muniain (EUK), Francisco Porcella (ITA)
**Team 6: **João de Macedo (PRT), Antonio Silva (PRT)
**Team 7: **Maya Gabeira (BRA), Sebastian Steudtner (DEU)
**Team 8:** Justine Dupont (FRA), Pierre Rollet (FRA)
**Team 9: **Michelle des Bouillons (BRA), Ian Cosenza (PRT)

*The TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa is proudly supported by TUDOR, Jogos Santa Casa, Red Bull, Corona, Hertz, MEO, Portuguese Waves, Visit Portugal, Oeste Portugal, and Nazaré City Council. *

**Watch LIVE **
When called ON, the TUDOR Nazaré Tow Surfing Presented by Jogos Santa Casa will be broadcast LIVE on WorldSurfLeague.com and YouTube, as well as the free WSL app. Check local listings for coverage from the WSL's broadcast partners.

#WSL

I R E L A N D · NATXO GONZALEZ & INDAR UNANUE

A Jon Aspuru Film.
Natxo Gonzalez & Indar Unanue travel to Ireland to face the most cold, dark and big waves of the north hemisphere swell season.
Starring: Natxo Gonzalez, Indar Unanue, Patrick Wilson, Tom Lowe, Willam Skudin, Conor Maguire
Additional Footage by Chris McClean and Clem McCinerney

Big, Hollow, Near-Perfect Mavericks from El Niño | Filmers @ Large

In a winter that has drenched the once-parched Golden State with buckets of rain, but has largely reserved the big-wave spoils for Hawaii, the world’s best chargers greeted February 4, 2016 with an extra dose of anticipation and adrenaline. What unfolded was one of the biggest, hollowest, and outright most perfect days at Mavs in history.