Finisterre’s first ambassador, Carlos Burle was one of the worlds top twenty four riders invited to the exclusive event responsible for writing history, as paddle in surfing was pushed to the next level.

Burle – no stranger to big wave events, advanced to the semi final stages of the competition in challenging conditions and went on to win his semi final round – giving a standout performance as the swell peaked forming some of the biggest waves seen over the weekend. Burle was ranked in the final amongst, Chris Bertish, Shane Desmond, Anthony Tashnick, Dave Wassel and Kenny “Skindog” Collins. With the finalists suffering some horrific wipe-outs and serious hold downs, the conditions pushed the pack to the limit. It ended up being a dramatic finish with Chris Bertish, a self sponsored, humble surfer, and renowned Dungeons regular, eventually emerging as the winner scoring some incredible waves.

Tom Kay, Finisterre’s founder couldn’t believe that both Bertish and Burle were side by side in the final, having both spent time in Cornwall where they had given a talk to a sell out symposium hosted by Finisterre. Tom Kay explained “Chris and Carlos met four years ago when Carlos was staying in Cornwall with us. Chris Bertish was spending some time just up the road and they both gave a talk at one of our events. It’s been so exciting sitting in our little tin shed watching these two together once again four years later in some of the heaviest waves seen“. Ernest Capbert added, “We’re so stoked for Chris Bertish, and so happy to see Burle carrying on charging this winter – we’re deeply proud of both of them.”

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), once you become a parent you lower your life risks, in other words – you gear down. It seems according to Carlos Burle – you gear up. As Tom Kay, Finisterre’s founder described, “he’s not stopping, he continues to push the big wave world every year – Just a little over a month after his sons birth, he’s just scored one of the biggest barrels of his life. We knew this season was going to be a good one for Carlos in the Islands and he’s out of the gates with a pace”.

The barrel he grabbed at Pe’ahi was extraordinary – see the video below. Some industry pundits have suggested this is one of the biggest slots the North Shore has ever seen and with it follows once again – a XXL Big Wave Award Nomination.

“We speak to Carlos often, we never ask anything of him, we’re just happy to have him close and then he pulls things like this out of the bag – so super stoked”, remarked Ernest Capbet, Finisterre’s Marketing Director.

‘We were pretty green back then, we didn’t know Carlos, nor did he know us – we both left it is all to intuition and chance”, remarks Ernest Capbert. Five years later, Finisterre and Carlos have one of the most unique and personal relationships between athlete and brand.

The seasoned big rider is more than competent paddling in to the world’s most extreme waves, and towing in when conditions max out. With countless seasons under the belt in Hawaii – the proving ground of the world’s best, and competition wins at Mavericks and Todos Santos, Carlos Burles surfing has proved to be a force to be reckoned with. However Burle has moved past the typical competition spectacle, instead working on the deeper ambition of surfing his way through some of the world’s most challenging waves and passing on to others his knowledge of the ocean and a deep respect for the environment. An ambition and mission Finisterre is proud to be part of.

The last few years have seen a great relationship go from strength to strength, as Carlos and Finisterre pushed a cold water frontiers trip to the rugged West Coast of Ireland, where the team put together the Finisterre’s documentary ‘Beef or Salmon’. Since this promising beginning, the guys in St.Agnes have been left in disbelief when the photos, videos and news heads down the wires to Cornwall.

“Carlos continuously keeps us on our toes; we live through his experiences, the good and bad ones. Sometimes they just leave us speechless”, said Marketing Director Ernest Capbert. The specific incidents in question, have involved Carlos going over the falls on a Jet Ski during a tow in session with long time tow partner Maya Gabriela and some sustained injuries from heavy wipeouts at Mavericks.

But from knockdown to comeback, horrific wipe-out to once in a decade waves – Carlos is still pushing boundaries and has cemented his place in surfing history as one of the most respected big wave riders of the generation. A core achievement for a non Hawaiian from a humble background in Brazil. With the start of a fresh season in Hawaii, Carlos is excited to be back. “I love this place. I’ve been coming here 24 years straight, since my first season on the Islands in 1986/87. This year with the el-nino back on the weather pattern, expectation for big swells is extremely high”.

Add this to the up and coming Maverick contest and an invitation to the Eddie Aikau. Finisterre is following closely on what Burle will pull out of the bag next. “It was Carlos’ birthday this past weekend, simply wanted to wish the guy the happiest belated birthday, he’s been an inspiration and close friend to us all here at Finisterre”, said Finisterre’s founder, Tom Kay.

The event is also a bit closer to our heart then most, being that we’ve got Finisterre’s own Debbie, who just recently married Jackson, a Peruvian and Ernie’s mothers side also hail from Lima.

Six of the world`s elite Big Wave surfers arrived in Perú to compete in the Billabong Pico Alto Invitacional 2009- the Big Wave Tour’s second stop. The Billabong International Big-Wave World Championship wrapped up Monday, July 6th in glassy, contestable 15-foot surf. The event, held at Peru’s famed Pico Alto, started out partly cloudy in the morning and with little wind, and held decent shape and size throughout the day.

Although up-and-coming Peruvian surfer Javier Swayne placed second to Jose Gomez in the ‘06 event, Javier managed a fifth place this year. In the semis, Javier broke his board and ended up surfing the finals on a borrowed board from Peter Mel. “It was a very good gesture on behalf of Peter,” said Javier. “Nevertheless he’s a lot bigger than me, so the board was very wide for me.”

The other Peruvian that make it into Finals was Rafael Velarde, who scored the second best wave of the event after Peter Mel.

It wasn’t to anyone’s surprise that Greg Long dominated the final. Though, Carlos Burle of Brazil also deserves recognition for pulling out a strong second place finish, while another Californian, Peter Mel, finished third and Hawaiian Mark Healy received fourth.

“The best memories I have are of the friends I made in Peru and the moments shared in the water. There are not many big-wave championships in the world, but this is one of the best championships I have been in. I never thought that Pico Alto had so much power.” — Greg Long

“The wave surprised me. It has a lot of power and is top-level. Pico Alto has entered the world map of big-wave surfing.” — Peter Mel

“To participate in this championship was exciting. I’ve learned a lot from the big-wave competitors in this championship.” — Javier Swayne

FINAL RESULTS:
1. Greg Long
2. Carlos Burle – not bad at all Carlos, now get back home to Ligia!
3. Peter Mel
4. Mark Healy
5. Javier Swayne
6. Rafael Velarde