The last contest on the WQS was in Brazil, at Itauna, just north of Rio de Janeiro. I’d never been there so I was excited, not knowing what I was in for. I was traveling with a mate from Manly, Nick Riley, for the final two ‘6 stars’. It was his first time to Brazil and he was a little nervous after hearing a lot of ruff stories about the crime that happens in the favillas (slums, to you mono-lingo’s). And having no good stories of my own meant that I didn’t have anything that could coax him outdoors.

Itauna is on about the same latitude as our Gold Coast so it’s very warm. It sits on a peninsula pointing due south and cops every bit of south swell heading up the coast. The week we were there didn’t drop under 4 ft, maxing 8 ft at one stage. The set-up is a little like our beloved North Narra which had Hedgey in a bit of a spin. There’s a huge rock outcrop at the north end and the lefts run down the beach like a semi-perfect, left point break. On the other side of the rocks is a super heavy, below-sea-level right hand “keg”. The locals call it, ‘The Back Door’ and it’s as heavy as any 4ft slab I’ve ever surfed.

We had an awesome time in Itauna even though neither of us nailed a solid result. And Nick didn’t get robbed or murdered which he’s pretty frothing about. haha

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