Kelly Slater Secures 11th ASP World Title

OCEAN BEACH, San Francisco/California (Sunday, November 6, 2011) – Kelly Slater (USA), 39, has officially claimed a historic 11th ASP World Title today, clinching the year-long pursuit with his advancement in to the Quarterfinals of the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco.

In tricky three-to-five foot (1.5 metre) waves, Kelly Slater got the best of young Brazilians Miguel Pupo (BRA), 19, and Gabriel Medina (BRA), 17, in his non-elimination Round 4 heat to advance directly through to the Quarterfinals and secure an unprecedented 11th ASP World Title.

“It was a confirmed the other day, but we’re sure now,” Slater said. “I’m stoked. I was upset about it, but I also thought it was really funny. There are no hard feelings towards ASP and mistakes happen. It’s easy to point things out. It was a little tough to readjust and I was going against kids who could be my kids and they throw radical airs. I was hoping for big offshore barrels, not closeout onshore ramps. I just didn’t know what to expect out there. I didn’t know if we’d have air sections and it was kind of flat with a lot of power. The waves were closeouts and fast with a weird landing.”

Slater, who was prematurely crowned the ASP World Champion after a mathematical error occurred earlier this week, admitted that securing his 11th elite crown today was a bit lackluster, but remained positive regarding the mistake.

“It’s a little anticlimactic,” Slater said. “I texted my mom, because it’s funny because I didn’t really have the emotion the other day. This is my profession and it’s a little on me to know the situation and it’s not just everyone else’s fault. There have been a few of these mistakes over the course of history, but this one was a bit weird, but I called Renato (Hickel) in the morning after I won because I was supposed to do this Dan Patrick show and I hadn’t won yet. I knew we wouldn’t surf for a day or two so people could get it out of their system and I could have a few days to refocus.”

2011 ASP World Title Series Results:
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast: WINNER
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Equal 5th
Billabong Rio Pro: Equal 13th
Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay: No Show
Billabong Pro Tahiti: WINNER
Quiksilver Pro New York: Runner-Up
Hurley Pro at Trestles: WINNER
Quiksilver Pro France: Equal 5th
Rip Curl Pro Portugal: Runner-UP
Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco: TBD
Billabong Pipeline Masters: TBD

Surfer Rides A Wave Like No Other: A 90-Foot Giant

by BILL CHAPPELL

What did you do this week? You still have one more day, of course — but you're not likely to run into the thrill encountered by surfer Garrett McNamara, as he surfed the face of a record-breaking 90-foot wave. Here's what that looked like:

The wave is estimated to be the largest ever surfed. McNamara, 44, is from Hawaii, but he found the mammoth swell off the coast of Praia do Norte, in Nazaré, Portugal.

Speaking to to ABC News, McNamara described what it was like to catch this rare wave — or to be caught by it:

This wave was very different. This one just jacked up, broke, actually kind of barreled, and went to run me over, and somehow by the grace of God, I made it.

When I rode the wave I didn't know how big it was and then it landed on me at the very end. ... It was like a ton of bricks on my shoulders and that's when I realized if I had fallen it could have been really bad.

In the area off of Portugal's coast where McNamara caught his wave — which he accomplished with the help of a jet-ski — the seafloor holds huge canyons, which spawn immense waves. Here's how Surfers Villageexplains it:

The "Nazaré Canyon" is a rare geographical phenomenon, the biggest in Europe and one of the largest in the world, which can be explained as a gap on the continental plate with 170 kilometers (106 miles) of length and 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of depth. The "Nazaré Canyon," that is located right in front of Praia do Norte, receives the swells from the Atlantic Ocean and creates waves with abnormal size, compared to the rest of the Portuguese coast.

According to Surfer Today, the wave ridden by McNamara likely started out as an 8-meter swell — before entering the canyon. There, it was nurtured by unique tide and wind conditions to become a giant.

The previous record for the largest wave to be surfed, Surfer Today says, was 85 feet, held by Ken Bradshaw.

McNamara and other surfers will be at the Portuguese beach for most of this month, trying to catch more epic rides as part of the ZON North Canyon Project.