Unveiled to the public today Wavegarden is the first wavepool that, if I were looking for a distinguishing criteria, I'd expect surfers would pay money to ride. The complex is on a property near San Sebastian and provides simultaneous waves that peel down either side of the lagoon offering rides approximately 18-seconds long.

The Big Wave World Tour has its own unique set of challenges. For one, how do organisers appease sponsors who stump up money for a contest that doesn't run. Also, how viable is a circuit where interested parties can wait six months between contests only to have it called off.

Craig Griffin is a Melbourne-based film director. His latest work, which he finished mere hours before this interview took place, is a documentary on Wayne Lynch. Uncharted Waters: A Personal History of Wayne Lynch is a study of the enigmatic Victorian, once the greatest surfer of his generation and a person whose politics and opinions thrust him into the spotlight as Australia underwent sweeping social changes. 

Perhaps it was the big wave paddle revolution? Or perhaps it was the internet revolution and the promulgation of images and video that followed? Whatever it was it's kinda bizarre to look back at Cloudbreak's rise to prominence as a legitimate big wave spot.

Three years ago Andrew James of Freshwater on Sydney's northern beaches made the surf travel film 30,000. With his brother Richard for company the two drove from Casablanca to Cape Town traversing the entire western side of the African continent. Since then Richard has travelled to Afghanistan to make a frontier snowboarding film while Andrew has immersed himself in another project, one that's all-consuming but far removed from the entertainment industry.