Austral Winter: Epic session in Chile

Sunday, August 12th, Chile’s central coast got slammed by one of the best swells of the year. So far the austral winter had been rather inconsistent in that area of the Southern Pacific and the anticipated swell was very much waited for. Some of the world’s Big Wave surfing specialists had travelled across the world specially to get their share of the gigantic waves of the Chilean coast, and as usual Punta de Lobos was where most of the attention was set.

Local SUPer Arnaud Frennet was supposed to be recovering from a lumbar injury and expected to be watching the show from the cliffs of South America’s most famous point break. But together with the other local SUPer Marcelo Ortega, he finally ignored the doctor’s recommendations and went for the waves with his Naish Hokua Gun 10’8 “

Arnaud says: “I was told to rest for 3 weeks and then gradually come back to activity…really?! I thought I’d miss this swell…but in the morning I was feeling good and the ocean was delivering perfectly clean 20 seconds period waves,…I just could not resist. I went in with no pressure at all, just to enjoy, and that helped me a lot. I had a great session!”

The show of big wave riding went on all of Sunday and also most of the Monday morning in Punta de Lobos. To the delight of the crowd who had gathered on the cliffs that overhang the spot, the local surfers were giving an impressive performance, like Ramon Navarro for example, one of the world’s most respected big wave surfer today. For sure “8/12/12” will remain in Punta de Lobos big wave riding’s archive as an amazing day.

Words: Arnaud Frennet

Photos: Philip Muller/standuplatino.com