“I love it out here,” Bobby Martinez said of the remote Tasmanian location. “I came here with my wife straight from the Gold Coast and it’s so peaceful here, it’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders – so different to all the hustle and bustle of the other surf towns.”

The Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards get a kick in the ass at the midway point courtesy El Nino. Check out the video and the latest news from the pursuit to ride the biggest waves the oceans can muster up.

When office water cooler talk turned from Monday morning quarterback to Shipsterns Bluff (deemed one the world’s heaviest waves by Transworld SURF recently) my ears perked up at the mention of Tasmania’s Mikey Brennan and his intent to do a flip out there...