{"id":4082,"date":"2019-11-01T01:06:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T01:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=4082"},"modified":"2019-11-01T01:06:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T01:06:15","slug":"aussie-big-wave-legends-to-headline-inaugural-tow-event-in-nazare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/11\/01\/aussie-big-wave-legends-to-headline-inaugural-tow-event-in-nazare\/","title":{"rendered":"AUSSIE BIG WAVE LEGENDS TO HEADLINE INAUGURAL TOW EVENT IN Nazare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Larrikin big wave surfers Ross Clarke-Jones and Mick Corbett to join forces as \u2018Team Australia\u2019<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe ultimate survivor of one of the world\u2019s most dangerous sports, Aussie hell-man Ross Clarke-Jones (RCJ)<\/strong> is set to join forces with dare-devil WA compatriot Mick Corbett (Corbs),<\/strong> to compete as \u2018Team Australia\u2019 in the inaugural invitation-only Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge, <\/em>which kicks off today, Friday November 1, 2019 and runs through to March 31, 2020<\/a>.
\nThe event will take place on the awe-inspiring \u2018Big Mama\u2019 wave peak \u2013 considered to be one of the most dangerous on the planet \u2013 that breaks closest to the iconic red lighthouse at Praia do Norte on the rugged Portuguese coastline.
\nClarke-Jones and Corbett are widely known as the loveable larrikins of Big Wave surfing, and have 66 years\u2019 combined experience under their belts. Clarke Jones is one of the pioneering godfathers of the death-defying sport, while Corbett represents a new breed of surfers taking charge at some of the biggest waves in the world.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re great mates. There\u2019s a lot of trust between us, which is important when we\u2019re both putting our lives on the line to ride the epic waves of Nazare. We\u2019ve each towed one another and surfed together, and now we\u2019re teaming up to fly the Aussie flag at this global competition \u2013 we\u2019re stoked and excited to get amongst it,\u201d said an enthused Clarke-Jones.
\n\u201cI have learnt so much surfing with Ross. His fearless approach to big wave surfing is something I\u2019ve aimed to emulate. You can\u2019t hesitate \u2013 with us, it\u2019s a split- second decision to go, and then you need to back yourself all the way against these monster waves. We both love it \u2013 and getting to do it as an all-Aussie team will be awesome,\u201d added Mick Corbett.
\nAs the only Australian surfers invited to compete in the first ever Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge<\/em>, Ross and Mick will ride harder, faster and higher, putting their bodies on the line in the hope of recording the biggest wave scores for their country.
\nIn addition to Clarke-Jones and Corbett, the 19 person competition roster comprises some of the biggest names in global big wave including Sebastian Steudtner (Germany) & Maya Gabeira (Brazil), Andrew Cotton (England) & Tom Butler (England), Rodrigo Koxa (Brazil) & Pedro Scooby (Brazil), Luca Chianca (Brazil) & Kai Lenny (Hawaii), Hugo Vau (Portugal) & Alex Botelho (Portugal), Nic von Rupp (Portugal) & Francisco Porcella (Italy), Benjamin Sanchis (France) & Eric Rebiere (Brazil), Antonio Silva (Portugal) & Grant Baker (South Africa) and Justine Dupont (France).
\nA regular at Nazare, Clarke-Jones said, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how well you know a location or the surf, you can never be complacent. That\u2019s what\u2019s so awesome, but also dangerous, about the ocean.\u201d
\n\u201cNo two waves are ever the same, and when you\u2019re talking about 80-130ft waves like those in Nazare, you can\u2019t ever afford to drop your guard. I learnt that the hard way last year when I wiped out and had to hop my way back up the cliff face to safety after being smashed on the rocks below. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that that day I was complacent, and I very nearly paid the ultimate price. It taught me a big lesson,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve done 5 seasons at Nazare and 2 with Ross,\u201d said Corbett. \u201cWe continue to learn and respect the waves together and have mutual understanding. I\u2019m sure having to be so \u201con\u201d in such an unforgiving environment has helped keep Ross young, and I hope I can go on and keep surfing the big waves well into my 50s like he\u2019s done.\u201d
\nClarke-Jones has been based in the big wave mecca that is Nazare for four months of the year for the last 3 years \u2013spending every winter for the 30 years before that on the North Shore of Hawaii.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve got no plans to slowdown. I have been recovering from a foot injury in recent months, so I\u2019m throwing everything into getting my body 100% competition-ready for the Nazare Tow Surfing Challenge<\/em>. It would only be unmanageable physical injuries that would put a stop to me big wave surfing.\u00a0 I love it, the passion is still there, and as Corbs said \u2013 it keeps me young. I split my time travelling between Hawaii, Australia and Portugal. I\u2019ve got bases in both Hawaii and Australia, so also having something in Portugal would give me a great grounding \u2013 and allow for family and friends to come visit,\u201c said Clarke-Jones.
\nNazare is expected to turn on conditions for the Tow Surfing Challenge \u2013 <\/em>with the window for the competition from November 1 \u2013 March 31<\/a> falling during the peak Northern winter big wave season, with Clarke-Jones and Corbett hoping for 100-130+ ft waves when the green light is called.
\n\u201cThey\u2019ve done a ride-in competition at Nazare before, but they couldn\u2019t run it when the really big waves were breaking.\u00a0 With this new tow-in format, we\u2019ll be able to get on the massive big waves the region is famous for. It\u2019ll be spectacular,\u201d said Corbett.
\n\u201cI had intended launching my own tow-in competition at Nazare this year. But with injury, and other commitments, I ended up putting it off. The WSL has run with the idea, but it\u2019s something I\u2019d still love to pursue myself in the future,\u201d added Clarke-Jones.
\nBoth Clarke-Jones and Corbett are currently based in Australia, with the fearless pair set to return to Nazare asthe big waves hit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larrikin big wave surfers Ross Clarke-Jones and Mick Corbett to join forces as \u2018Team Australia\u2019 The ultimate survivor of one of the world\u2019s most dangerous sports, Aussie hell-man Ross Clarke-Jones (RCJ) is set to join forces with dare-devil WA compatriot Mick Corbett (Corbs), to compete as \u2018Team Australia\u2019 in the inaugural invitation-only Nazare Tow Surfing … Continue reading “AUSSIE BIG WAVE LEGENDS TO HEADLINE INAUGURAL TOW EVENT IN Nazare”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4082\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}