The Rip Curl Pro Portugal 2011 is on and pumping great three-to-five foot (1 – 1.5 metre) waves at Supertubos, Peniche, with a light offshore wind. The temperature is great considering Portugal has already entered autumn.
 
The beach is absolutely packed to watch the best world surfers in action. A new, long period northwest swell will build in through the day, be strongest tomorrow and then will fade through the middle to second half of the week.

At this point, wind conditions look generally favorable for Supertubos today and tomorrow. Much stronger wind will pick up for Tuesday-Thursday, but will still be from a decent direction for Supertubos.

“We’ve monitored conditions throughout the morning and are seeing the first consistent signs of the swell filling in,” Rich Porta, ASP International Head Judge, said.

Ericeira is officially a World Surfing Reserve (WSR). The Portuguese village becomes the second WSR overall and the first in Europe.

In a rousing day of events including a sunrise paddle out and a special fisherman blessing at world-famous Ribeira d’Ilhas, Ericeira, Portugal was dedicated as the second World Surfing Reserve. The special designation establishes and celebrates the unique value of the Ericeira surf zone, and aims to enhance efforts to maintain the pristine nature of the area for future generations.

The Ericeira area of Portugal is a treasure for Portuguese and international surfers alike. The dedicated Ericeira surf zone consists of 4 km (2.5 miles) of coastline, containing seven quality surf breaks, including Pedra Branca, Reef, Ribeira d’Ilhas, Cave, Crazy Left, Coxos and São Lourenço.

“I fell in love with this area when I first came here in the 1980s,” said Will Henry, founder of Save The Waves Coalition. “This is a magical place, and this designation provides a great conservation tool to better protect it.”

Garrett McNamara is returning to Portugal for another big wave challenge. The Hawaiian surfer will lead the ZON North Canyon Show 2011 exploration mission to find the biggest waves of the Portuguese coast.

"Last year I came to Nazaré without any expectations. Now I know the potential and I am looking forward to riding the biggest waves ever!!! Also to work with the Nazaré City Hall on the Aquatic Rescue Center and Environment Education Sea Center", said Garrett McNamara.

The three year exploration project will end with a big wave event, in 2012: The Xtreme Waterman Challenge. Only the best teams in the world will be invited. It's a serious commitment from the Nazaré City Hall to promote internationally the region as a prime destiny for surfing, showcasing the unique aspects of the "Nazaré Canyon".

The "Nazaré Canyon" is a rare geomorphology phenomenon, the biggest in Europe and one of the largest in the world, which can be explained as a gap on the continental plate with 170 kilometers of length and 5 kilometers of depth.

Gisborne has conquered the 2011 National Scholastic Surfing Championships, after the closest of battles to claim their first team title in six years, at Pines, Shipwreck Bay, in 1.0m waves with light westerly winds.

The Gisborne team who comprised only ten of a possible twelve surfers rode to an impeccable final day taking three titles and putting claim to eight finalists eventually nudging out Canterbury who almost snatched their first ever title. The margin after five days of surfing was a mere 244 points - the equivalent of one or two individual placings.

The Gisborne titles came through Under 16 Division surfers Adam Grimson and Jayda Martin - Fitzharris as well as Under 14 Girls surfer Jasmine Smith.

"This is absolutely the best the team could have done today with only ten surfers" said Adam Grimson. "We put in every ounce of energy that we have into this event, I think we deserve to win" added a grinning Grimson.

Temperatures in Portugal are high with the mercury levels reaching 35ºC. Sunny skies, no wind and glassy waves will be on offer to the world's best surfers at the Rip Curl Pro Portugal 2011, in Supertubos, Peniche.

The stars of the surfing circuit are now traveling from France in the inaugural Medina Airlines, a company showing good signs of prosperity in the future.

Rookie phenom Gabriel Medina secured his first elite tour win in his second event as an ASP Top 34 member and he will try repeat the stunt in the beachbreaks of Supertubos, Peniche.

The iconic Portuguese barrels will greet everyone in the south of the country and everybody is stoked. “It’s been a very exciting few days,” Medina said. “I’m very excited about going to Portugal and hopefully we get some big barrels.”

For the first time in the history of surfing, a set of 48 GoPro cameras were used to capture perspectives of two-time world champion surfer, Mick Fanning, doing what he does best in the warm waters of the South Pacific. Watch the video, here.

The GoPro array shows the capabilities of the famous water camera during Rip Curl's upcoming marketing campaign for its Mirage Boardshort. Tim and Callum Macmillan, pioneers of camera array photography, were the men in charge of the stunt.

"At GoPro we're always looking for new ways to use our cameras, new ways to leverage them to do something that's never been done before in digital imaging. As an example, GoPro is the first consumer camera company to enable people to combine multiple like-cameras together to form a new type of camera", says Nicholas Woodman founder and CEO of GoPro.

Gabriel Medina has taken out the Quiksilver Pro France 2011, in high-performance three-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at La Graviere. The Brazilian surfer defeated Julian Wilson to win his inaugural ASP World Tour stage.

Medina, in only second event as an ASP Top 34 member, cut a swathe through the world’s best surfers, securing three of the top five highest single-wave scores of the event en route to his emotional win. Watch the final highlights, here.

“This is the best feeling ever,” Medina said. “I beat some great guys on the way to Final and I’m very stoked now. I want to thank all my friends and family and god for their support. It has been an amazing week for me. Just two years ago, I was here competing in the King of the Groms and I won that event and now I’m here in the main event and I’ve won it. It doesn’t seem real.”

Kulia Doherty honoured the passing of her dad, Mike Doherty, after winning the Under 18 division of the Nike Surfing America Prime presented by Got Milk?, at San Onofre State Beach.

The young surfer decided to compete only two days after losing her father of a heart attack. Mike raised by himself his daughters Kulia and Lani and moved from Maui to San Clemente, in 2009.

"We have lost a member of the Surfing America family," says Surfing America. "He loved to watch his girls compete, and Kulia bravely honored his memory by competing in and winning the Surfing America Prime event at Church Beach, San Onofre, Saturday morning."

Tom Weneger has invested his energy in the rebirth of the alaia, the basic but challenging finless plank boards ridden by Hawaiian chiefs of old. He lights up like a grommet when he starts talking about surfing, skating, gardening, or sustainability.

Through tons of research and experimentation, he has perfected the simplest and purest wave sliding vehicles possible. Today, finless surfing is a great experience also because of Tom's passion for shaping "ancient" boards.

On top of bringing the soul and stoke back to surfing, he has brought an awareness of our sports impact on the environment. His alaias are made from Paulownia wood, which is grown in nearby New South Wales.

Tom Curren has been confirmed in the 2011 ISA World Masters Surfing Championship, in El Salvador, from 16th-23rd October, at the perfect, hollow point-break of Punta Roca.

Curren is one of the most influential surfers in the sport’s history and will be defending the United States' colors in South America.

The 1985, 1986 and 1990 World Champion will be battling at the largest team event for 35+ year-old surfers. Curren will certainly be one of the United States’ standouts for the team’s debut in this yearly event.

From his NSSA national victories in the late 70s to the maiden 1980 ISA Junior World Title in France, then the fame from his professional tour victories, his world titles and the free surfing years, when he searched for perfect empty waves in remote locations, Curren, now 47, has seen it all.