Twiggy Baker Wins Red Bull Big Wave Africa

Twiggy in action. cr. Alan van Gysen / Red Bull Photo Files

The Red Bull Big Wave Africa contest went off as expected today at Dungeons in South Africa and local Twiggy Baker ended up taking the top prize.

There was a live webcast for fans to catch the action for the first time in four years but it was so late at night in the U.S. most surf fans may have missed it.  While it was good to watch, some technical issues kept webcast viewers glued to the screen trying to pick out surfers from churning sea.

The waves were huge as 24 surfers took to the water and the first heats were marked by some amazing ride, capped by a perfect 10 by Greg Long in the fourth heat.  That helped propel Long to a high score of 25.7 going into the semifinals.

But Long’s luck ran out in the finals where Baker dominated with two massive waves, scoring an 8.2 and a 9.0.  Long, who won the event in 2003, could only land one wave in the final and ended up in third.  Brazilian Carlos Burle came in second.

Check out the full coverage of the event on the official site.

2008 Red Bull Big Wave Africa
July 26, 2008 – Dungeons, South Africa

Final Results
1.  Twiggy Baker (RSA)
2.  Carlos Burle (BRZ)
3.  Greg Long (USA)
4.  James Taylor (RSA)
5.  Anthony Tashnick (USA)
6.  Mark Healy (HI)

Twiggy celebrates his win.  cr. Red Bull Photo Files