If you’re thrilled to see Mick Fanning navigate the mutant steps of the south Indian Ocean’s most famous slab, raise your hand. Photo: Adam Gibson/Red Bull Content Pool
After a two year hiatus, the world’s scariest surf contest – Red Bull Cape Fear – is a go for Monday, May 13th (or Sunday in the Western Hemisphere) at Tasmania’s Shipstern Bluff.
On Wednesday, we reported organizers had put the event on orange alert, eyeing a sizeable purple blob in the south Indian Ocean. Today, Red Bull announced the event is a go via Instagram.
“Red Bull Cape Fear is GO!” wrote Red Bull’s surfing account in a post. “The green light is on and an all-star cast – take a bow Mick Fanning, Russell Bierke, Mark Mathews, et al – are booking flights to Tasmania to tackle psycho Shipstern Bluff and a crazy crew of local heavyweights… This is going to be wild!”
Defending champ Russell Bierke will be the man to beat, but Mick Fanning may be the most thrilling dark horse imaginable set to mix things up with some of the world’s best big wave surfers.
The format, according to organizers, is as follows:
- 20 surfers
- Four, five-man heats
- The winner of each heat will progress to the final
- The highest placed surfer will be crowned the 2019 Red Bull Cape Fear champion
Whether competitors will paddle in, tow-in, or a combination will depend on conditions, says Red Bull. Some of the stats the energy drink company sent out in its release to hype the event were eye-popping: they’re expecting the waves could have faces in the 20-foot range. Some 27 Olympic swimming pools worth of water apparently breaks over the reef. If tow-in is applied to the contest, surfers will be whipped in at around 32 mph, and the athletes will have to take a nearly 20-mile boat ride just to access the spot.
Due to the remote nature of the venue and concerns over spectator safety, viewing will be restricted to a web stream only. Red Bull Cape Fear will be broadcast live on Red Bull TV on Monday (Sunday in the States). Head to the contest site for more info here.
