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TASMANIAN HELL BOYS COMING UP WITH THE GOODS!

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 1 February, 2008 : - - Most of us identify Tasmania with apples, timber, and the quiet rural life. But a handful of Tassie surfers seem determined to re-work that image. In their backyard is Shipstern Bluff -- one of the world’s heaviest big wave surf zones. And rather than leave it to big-name visiting pro surfers, locals Marti Paradisis, Mike Brennan and brothers James and Tyler Hollmer-Cross have been seizing the day themselves.

Photos and footage from their amazing efforts are some of the most compelling in the Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards – Australasia’s most sought-after big surf challenge.  “They’re just charging,” says photographer Stuart Gibson, winner of the prestigious Nestle Award, who’s been busy documenting his mates’ efforts at Shipstern. “Marti’s been throwing himself into everything.”

Mike Brennan : photo Stuart Gibson

The boys say they’re motivated by the thought that if they don’t ride the wave, others will. “We’re always stoked to see good surfers come down to ride ‘Shippies’,” says Paradisis. “But I think we all want to show that we can do the job at our local spot as well as anyone.”

A Shipstern ride – by mainland big wave legend Ross Clarke-Jones – won the first Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards in 2003, and Paradisis is hoping lightning can strike twice … but this time land in a Tassie bank account. “If one of us wins, it’ll be almost like we’re all winning.” The Awards offer $40,000 in cash and prizes to surfers who’re deemed to have ridden the biggest waves in Australasian waters each year.

Marti Paradisis : photo Stuart Gibson

The Tassie boys are throwing down the gauntlet to two other super intrepid groups of entrants: The NZ South Island crew, who’ve been known to trudge through snow to get to eight-metre waves at the remote reef break of Papatowai; and the south-west Western Australian chargers who’ve pioneered the deepwater surf spots six kilometres off Margaret River and who’ve won the past two Oakley Surfing Life Biggest Wave Awards in the process.

The Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards presented by is an ongoing challenge to reward the riders of the biggest waves in Australasian waters. It runs from June 1, 2007 to February 1, 2008.

About Oakley
Oakley, Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes high-performance sunglasses, prescription frames, goggles  and technology-enabled eyewear that utilize the company’s High Definition Optics® (HDO®), a collective  platform of patented technologies that offer unbeatable optical performance.  The company also produces  technical and active apparel, footwear and accessories. 

www.oakley.com.au 
www.surfinglife.com.au/bigwaveawards

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Cassandra Murnieks

Big Wave - Surfersvillage