Burle, all smiles. Photo: Sommella
A few days ago, I got an email from someone on staff at the Billabong Pico Alto event. It was just a reminder that it was on for the 14th of August. I made a note to watch the live stream, then completely forgot about it, as my notes are almost always written on tiny scraps of paper that I keep in, of all places, a notebook full of pages. Pages with nothing on them. But my tiny scraps of paper covered in scribbles stay in there, so at least it’s getting some use. All this to say that the Big Wave World Tour’s 2012 Billabong Pico Alto event in Peru happened. It happened and I missed it. Classic me.
But I’ll still tell you what happened, because the Big Wave World Tour is something that, in my opinion (and it’s not a humble one), doesn’t get nearly enough attention. So here, in point form, are just a few of the highlights as far as I can tell:
-Carlos Burle won. (Not surprising)
-Greg Long nearly beat him. (Not surprising)
-Only one local made the final: Jose Gomez, who won the event in 2006.
-Skindog busted his nose in the first heat, then went on to take third overall. (Impressive)
-Wave heights hit an estimated 40 feet. (Terrifying)
So there you have it. If you missed it like me, here’s part of what we missed. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more use.
RESULTS –
Billabong Pico Alto 2012 & Big Wave World Tour 2012/2013 Current ranking:
1. Carlos Burle (BRA)
2. Greg Long (USA)
3. Ken “Skindog” Collins (USA)
4. Jose Gomez (PERU)
5. Ramon Navarro (CHI)
6. Jeffrey Rowley (AUS)
