Madeira 2000 Big Wave Team Challenge
Getting to Madeira from San Diego required a couple of plane rides and while changing planes in New York, I had the most unique experience of seeing a man whose face was entirely covered with hair. This was not what one would think of as facial hair, but more like the fur of an animal. I wanted to take a photo but at the same time did not want to make the man feel like a freak. Some things must be seen to be believed and so was the reality of the island of Madeira. Discovered by a Portuguese sailor who had been blown off course while cruising the coast of Northern Africa, he gave the island the name Madeira , which in Portuguese means wood or timber. The forest was so dense on the island that he started a fire to clear the trees that lasted 6 years. The volcanic cliffs that rise up from the sea are all terraced and planted with primarily bananas and grapes. The later being used to produce the famous Madeira wines known for their rich sweet taste and their ability to last for centuries after bottling. Even after opening a bottle the wine will be drinkable for 1 year. The purpose of the trip was to conduct


The third annual Big Wave Team Challenge was held at a spot on the Northwest corner of the island of Madeira at a small village called Jardim Do Mar (garden by the sea). Sitting at the base of enormously high and beautiful cliffs the village truly appears as the last level of a garden terrace that eventually drops into the sea. The abrupt depth of the water is what allows the waves here to focus to uncommon heights before breaking in a clean line along a rocky shore covered with sizable volcanic boulders. Teams of two surfers from eleven nations around the world met to compete for the title, share knowledge ,experiences and form friendships that will endure lifetimes. Perhaps the cultural exchanges that occur are the most important aspect of the event but for the moment the emphasis was on riding the biggest waves successfully. The ocean was flat for the first three days, which allowed lots of time to explore the island and visit the winery. On the fourth day the swell we had been tracking faithfully finally started to show. It seemed to be everything was on schedule as the last of the competitors from Australia and Brasil arrived with the waves. The indications pointed to the largest waves coming on Tuesday. Pierre, Pedro and I awoke at 6:15 AM and went to check the swell in the dark. It did not get light till about 7:30 and I needed to count at least 16 waves to break in a 30 minute interval to be able to start the event. The tide was still high and the waves would be bigger as the tide went out. I had put the staff and surfers on stand by for a 9:AM start and it was time to get the show on. By 9:15 we had things rolling and the surf all though not the size we had hoped for (at least 10 feet), it was still very clean and a solid 6 to 8 feet. The first Round of six heats of four surfers went smoothly and everyone involved was pleased that after all the stress and waiting we had finally gotten something accomplished. The wind was starting to come up as was the tide, two conditions that would jeopardize continuing. I made the decision to run the next round of 3 heats so that if the swell were to disappear we would at least have gotten to the semifinals. All went as planned and “ Poto”, the eventual individual winner was to express to me that the first heat of the day as well as the last heat were both held in less than perfect conditions. This meant to me that I had timed things very accurately and I guess gotten lucky at the same time. That evening I went out for a surf by myself and really appreciated the power of the waves at Jardim do Mar.

The next morning you could tell that the swell had peaked during the night and it would be tight getting the conditions right for the semifinals and final. The semi’s got under way at 10:17AM and both heats were the highlights of the event. The winners were Cass Collier of South Africa and Vetea “Poto” David from Tahiti. Both had won all three of the heats they had surfed and it was going to be a close final. Daryl “Flea” Virostko from the USA and Rodrigo Resende from Brasil joined them in the final. The distance from the marshalling area to the lineup was about a 10 minute paddle on a day like this and much more I assume when the waves were up to full potential. This created a larger gap between the end of the last semi and the start of the final. With the swell dropping and the tide coming up I could barely keep my composure as people gradually got into place. We finally got the go and the waves cooperated with some good sets for the 1 hour final heat. Cass and “Poto” both surfed very well, but it was Vetea’s display of power that made the difference. “Flea” got off some radical maneuvers, but he started slow and had to play catch up. His last two waves were scoring rides and maybe with a few more minutes he could of made up the difference. Rodrigo Resende also was not to far off the mark needing only one good score to move into contention. Reality came down to the fact that Cass Collier put on a display of dominant surfing throughout the event that I have rarely seen in my career and it took the power and experience of the friendly Tahitian to narrowly defeat him. While the scores on the judges sheets had “Poto” clearly in first it was hard to tell who had won when watching the replays on video. Tahiti took first place Team awards as Manoa Droillet’s fifth made up the winning combination.

All in all, even though the waves were not as big as we had hoped for the power of the ocean at this spot, Jardim do Mar could not be denied. The venue had allowed for the production of an extremely exciting event.

photos: Shawn Alladio - K-38 Rescue

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