Last week all the hype was about the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational running at Waimea Bay. But local winds shredded that opportunity and now all eyes in the big-wave world are on the West Coast, where the Thriller At Killers contest has been given the yellow light to potentially run at Todos Santos on Sunday, February 18.
The sizable northwest swell is forecast to bring surf into the 30-foot range, and for the moment, it appears conditions in the morning should hold together and make for a classic day of hard-charging south of the border.
The Thriller at Killers was introduced as exclusively a video contest last year by big-wave pioneer Gary Linden. This year the event will feature a live component and some of the best big-wave surfers in the world, including Nathan Florence, Greg Long, Paige Alms and Felicity Palmateer. The video contest winners from 2023, Delia Bense-Kang and Cody Purcell, will also be in the draw.
"With this format we're able to get through the event in three or four hours, which means we can really take advantage of the peak of the swell," Linden explains, who's dedicated his life to surfing Todos. "We want this to be a platform to help big-wave surfers with the careers. With events like this, there's a lot more that comes out of than just a contest win, and Todos is so close to my heart, it seemed like the perfect place to start."
With support from the Punta Brava Golf and Surf Club in Ensenada, which is currently in development, Linden and club developer Brian Tucker see the Thriller At Killers of start of something special in Baja Mexico. An opportunity to not only put a storied big-wave spot back on the map, they also see it as a way to support the heavy-water community, as well as bolster the local Baja surf community and culture.
Stay tuned for more updates as the surf forecast continues to develop and plans are put in place to possibly run at Todos on Sunday.
More must-reads: