Some wipeout: Hawaii big wave surfer’s board floats 8,000km to Philippines

More than two years after disappearing in a huge swell at Waimea Bay, Doug Falter’s board was found near the remote island of Sarangani

When big wave surfer Doug Falter lost his board in a wipeout in Hawaii, his best hope was for a local fisherman to pick it up. He never imagined it would be found more than 8,000km (5,000 miles) away in the southern Philippines.

But more than two years after watching his pale blue custom-shaped board disappear in the huge swell of Waimea Bay, Falter was alerted via social media that it had been found near the remote island of Sarangani.

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Riding the giant: big-wave surfing in Nazaré

A small fishing hamlet in Portugal has become a magnet for the world’s most fearless big-wave surfers. Tim Lewis reveals how Nazaré became the ocean’s Everest

Everyone you meet in Nazaré tells you the waves here are different: heavier, more powerful, less predictable, somehow menacing. So, on my last afternoon in the Portuguese town in February, I went out on the back of a jet ski piloted by Andrew Cotton, a big-wave surfer from Devon, to see for myself. Cotton is easygoing, with cropped, gold-tipped hair and pale eyes, but he turns serious as we leave the harbour. He explains that jet skis are set up differently in Nazaré: the kill switch, which cuts the engine if the rider is thrown off, is not attached to the driver’s wrist as usual because… I miss the exact reason as Cotton guns the engine and sea spray covers us and I’m distracted, wondering if they really had to call it a “kill” switch. I’m already freaked out enough that I’ve promised to check in with my family as soon as I’m back on dry land.

Nazaré, specifically Praia do Norte or North Beach, is home to the biggest surfable waves on the planet. Ten years ago, it was unknown even in big-wave circles, but that changed when Garrett McNamara, a 52-year-old Hawaiian who is one of the pioneers of the sport, was given a tip-off by local bodyboarders. He came to Portugal for the first time in 2010; the following year, he rode a monstrous wave measured at 23.77m (78ft) and entered the Guinness World Records. In 2017, also in Nazaré, Brazilian Rodrigo Koxa nudged up the mark to 24.38m (80ft). If one day someone conquers a 100ft wave – a holy grail of surfing – almost certainly it will take place in Nazaré.

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Bondi beach and Bronte welcome back swimmers as coronavirus lockdown relaxed – in pictures

Waverley council in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has reopened Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches to swimmers and surfers between 7am and 5pm on weekdays. The beaches were closed as Australia’s coronavirus restrictions came into force. They are to remain closed on weekends, and only the water is ‘open’, with sunbathing, walking and jogging on the beach not allowed

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Waving not drowning: the street children finding refuge in Durban’s surf scene

Surfers Not Street Children is transforming the lives of homeless children and vulnerable youths. Ilvy Njiokiktjien’s 12-year project Born Free: Mandela’s Generation of Hope documents the lives of the first generation born after apartheid

Tell us: how have South African cities changed in the 25 years after apartheid?

“I wanted to get that fresh air,” says 21-year-old Nonjabulo Ndzanibe, explaining why she ran away from her unhappy childhood home to the coastal city of Durban. “I just needed space for myself.”

Having grown up with a distant father – who spent part of her youth in prison – and a mother whom she didn’t feel loved by, it seemed like a welcome escape when a friend invited her to come and stay in Durban. In reality it would be a long time before she would eventually find refuge through surfing.

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Surf’s up in Senegal for first ever pro event in west Africa

Ngor is on the global circuit, 50 years after featuring in surfing film The Endless Summer

A wave of boys ebbs and flows on the black rocks, watching surfers paddle out, pop up and catch the right-hand point break they know so well. Surfers from all over the world hop from rock to rock past them, waiting their turn to compete, their boards swaddled in giant stripy socks.

Ngor right, a Senegalese wave put on the international surfing map by the 1966 surf documentary The Endless Summer, has never seen so much sun-bleached hair. This week, the World Surf League brought its qualifying series to west Africa for the first time, a historic moment for surfing off a continent with plentiful waves but few people who have the means to take advantage of them.

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Bitten by a great white shark: survivors on their near-death experience

Human reactions to shark attacks have fascinated Fiona Adolph for more than a decade. Here she examines a global hotspot, Western Australia

On a whisper-still January dawn, the most terrifying day of Allan Oppert’s life began unremarkably and with a feeling of deep calm.

Like most Sundays, he woke to a knock on the door from his friends Dan and Dave. At Allan’s neat house in the small seaside town of Binningup, in the south-west corner of Western Australia, the three men drank strong coffee before towing Allan’s boat to a nearby ramp where three friends were launching another vessel. The two groups were heading out on the ocean together, a familiar arrangement aimed at ensuring safety.

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U.S. Supreme Court declines billionaire appeal in California beach access suit

The U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory to proponents of open access to California's coastline on Monday, declining the appeal of a billionaire venture capitalist seeking to keep a popular beach locked behind a gate as his exclusive property. FILE PHOTO: A sign and locked gate are shown at the entrance to a private road to Martins Beach, a popular surfing and fishing spot, in Half Moon Bay, California, U.S., March 14, 2013.

4-year-old boy swept out to sea while walking with mom

A 4-year-old boy was swept out to sea when a ferocious wave crashed into him and his mom as they were walking along a North Carolina beach, officials said. The desperate mother scoured the waters off Kitty Hawk Beach for her son, but when another wave swooped in, she "lost sight of him in the surf," US Coast Guard officials said in a news release after the Wednesday afternoon incident.

Tiny patients and nursing staff who cared for them early on in trying …

Clovis Community Medical Center held its 5th reunion party for former patients and staff of the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Designed as fun day for the unit's staff, including doctors and nurses, to reconnect with their former patients and families who they cared for in trying, early stages of their lives, to see them healed and happy.

Trump Sits by Wounded Scalise’s Bedside

CBS2 / KCAL9 CBS2/KCAL9 is part of CBS Television Stations, a division of CBS Corp. and one of the largest network-owned station groups in the country. CBS Studio City Broadcast Center 4200 Radford Avenue Studio City, CA [] Trump Sits by Wounded Scalise's Bedside President Donald Trump sat by Rep. Steve Scalise's bedside and spoke with the House Majority Whip's family during a visit Wednesday evening to the hospital where Scalise remains in critical condition.

Colombia’s government, rebels sign modified peace agreement

A student at the University of Oklahoma has been temporarily suspended and police are investigating a threat against a Muslim student near the University of Michigan amid racially charged outbursts at schools and... A student at the University of Oklahoma was temporarily suspended and police are investigating a threat against a Muslim student near the University of Michigan amid racially charged outbursts at schools and universities... Washington's new power trio consists of a bombastic billionaire, a telegenic policy wonk, and a taciturn political tactician.

Women compete for 1st time in big-wave contest

Women compete for 1st time in big-wave contest "Jaws" the site of men's, women's 30-foot event Check out this story on floridatoday.com: http://on.flatoday.com/2flfP3I In this photo provided by the World Surf League , Laura Enever, upper left, and Felicity Palmateer, both of Australia, ride a wave at a Maui surf break known as "Jaws" in Haiku, Hawaii, Friday, Nov. 11, 2016. Female professional surfers are competing for the first time in a big wave surfing competition hosted by the World Surf League.

Harvick completely at ease in must-win situation at Phoenix

Police hurled tear gas and flash-bang grenades in response to rowdy protests in Portland, Oregon, as people around the country once again took to the streets denouncing Donald Trump's presidential election... As protests of President-elect Donald Trump entered another day, police in Portland, Oregon, say one person was shot by a man who had gotten into a confrontation with a demonstrator. A judge declared a mistrial after a jury said it was deadlocked Saturday in the case of a white former police officer charged with murder in the fatal traffic stop shooting of an unarmed black motorist.