Grant Baker’s Groundbreaking Wave Wins Oakley One Wave Wonder Title

Grant Twiggy Baker exits   a massive Fijian tube that earned him R39 000 cash and a Yamaha VX1100   WaveRunner for Ride of the Season in the 2012 Oakley One Wave Wonder. © Fred   Pompermeyer / Zigzag

Baker won the Ride of the Season (open from 1 January to 31   June) for his incredible 20 foot tube ride in Fiji during a session on 8 June   that has been dubbed ‘The greatest day ever in big wave surfing’. The   groundbreaking wave, caught at Cloudbreak reef off Tavarua island, earned him   a total of R39 000 cash and a Yamaha VX1100 WaveRunner valued at R120 000.

It wasn’t an easy victory for the globally renowned 39-year-old   big wave rider, who had put his life on the line tackling gigantic waves that   were subsequently beaten by more progressive aerial surfing from younger pros   throughout the event. His winning entry was submitted at the last minute   after chasing a monumental swell to Fiji in the South Pacific.

” How lucky am I?” said an overwhelmed Baker when he was   announced the winner last night at the Oakley One Wave Wonder awards function   in Ballito. “It took 48 hours in total to get (to Fiji), and we got there at   10 o’clock at night before that swell. It took up my entire budget for the   year and it was a big decision, but it obviously paid off and I got to   experience something that will go down in the folklore of surfing history. I   did that as a representative of South African surfing and that was my reward,   that wave.”

“To win something like this and to be able to compete against   guys that are half my age makes it such an amazing competition. This is an   amazing event and I hope it grows from strength to strength.”

The event, run by Zigzag   Surfing Magazine, breaks with the traditional surfing contest format and runs   over a six-month long period during which any South African surfer can upload   a video clip of their best ride onto the event website. The best ride every   month is decided by a panel of expert judges, whose vote counts for 50%. The   other 50% of the vote is decided by the public through an online vote. The   monthly winner then becomes a finalist for the ultimate Ride of the Season.

“What makes the Oakley One Wave Wonder so unique is that   Joe Soap can go up against Jordy Smith” said Will Bendix, editor of Zigzag Surfing Magazine. “A two   foot wave can compete with a 25 foot wave, and you get massive barrels   competing with crazy airs. It’s basically anything deemed an outstanding   single ride that pushes the performance levels of surfing, no matter what the   waves are like. Whoever impresses the judges and the public the most wins.   There’s no other surfing contest like it.”

For more information and to view the entries, go to www.1wavewonder.co.za