French surfers hit rough turf
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer
Two relatively unknown surfers from France are sharing the spotlight with three well-known big-wave pros who surfed the Maui surf spot known as Jaws in what some are calling one of the greatest moments in surfing history.
Together, the five are finalists for the annual Billabong XXL "Biggest Wave of the Year" award to be presented April 18 in Anaheim, Calif. The winner gets $60,000 — plus $1,000 per foot of wave height over 60 feet.
On Nov. 26, Makua Rothman and Noah Johnson, both of Hawai'i, and Cheyne Horan of Australia rode mammoth swells well over 60 feet at Jaws off the Peahi coast .
Many observers believed any challenge to the height of those waves would be unlikely.
But then came a late-season entry from a break off the French coast. Virtual unknowns Fred Basse and Sebastian St. Jean, who had been tracking a low-pressure system off Newfoundland across the Atlantic, caught some monster swells at Belharra Reef March 10.
Adding to this surprise is that the West Coast was left out of the contest. The 2001 event was won by Mike Parsons' 66-footer at the Cortes Bank off San Diego. Last year it was won by Carlos Burle for a 68-foot wave at Maverick's, south of San Francisco.
But are the two French waves bigger than the Hawai'i ones? That's a question facing the panel of contest judges — big-wave experts who will examine the photographic evidence to decide the winner.
Meanwhile, the trash talking is reminiscent of the war of words between the governments of France and the United States, two countries at odds over global policy.
Bill Sharp, organizer of the contest, said he has been subjected to heavy lobbying over the selection of the winner, with a good share of the phone calls coming from Hawai'i.
"There are a lot of good French jokes around these days, and the surfers are invoking them," he said.
Eddie Rothman, the father of Makua Rothman, told The New York Times that the video of the French wave indicates that it's "mushy."
"I'd take my 9-year-old son out to tow into that French wave," Rothman said. "I'm 55, and I want to ride that wave. But no way would you get me out at Jaws."
Rodney Kilborn, promoter of the Jaws Tow-In World Cup, said surfers who have plied the large surf at Belharra have told him the break is "soft," lacking the concentrated power of the surf at Jaws.
"I wouldn't want to take anything away from (the French). Anything over 20 feet is a big wave. But it's the difference between surfing a 12-footer off Waikiki and a 12-footer at Waimea Bay," Kilborn said.
"Every surfer I've talked to says there is no other wave in the world with as much power as Peahi. It's unreal," he said.
Sharp said it's true that Jaws is more powerful. But the rules say the money goes to the one riding the highest wave, he said, and that's up to the judges.
For more information, including photos and video of the nominated rides and precise rules and judging criteria, go to www.BillabongXXL.com.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
