Mick Fanning, Laura Enever and Lizzie Stokely will line-up for the big-wave surf event.
Red Bull Cape Fear, the one-of-a-kind, invitation-only, big-wave surfing competition, is returning to Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania’s home of slab surfing. For 2021 the event will feature an all- Australian line-up, with Mick Fanning once again leading the field alongside a strong cohort of big-wave surfers from across the country. The event will also feature a female category for the first time.
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World Surfing League Championship Tour competitor Laura Enever and rising star Lizzie Stokely will be among the women competitors.
Of the chance to be part of the line-up, Enever said, “I’m honoured to be one of the first female surfers to take part in Red Bull Cape Fear, and I’m excited and nervous to push myself and compete against some of the best female slab surfers in Australia.
“It’s going to be one crazy event. When I left the World Tour to venture into big-wave surfing, my eyes were opened to what it takes physically and mentally to surf the heaviest waves around. Shipstern Bluff truly embodies that challenge.”
The competition window officially opened on March 3 and the contest can take place any time between then and August when conditions are optimal. The competitors in question are given 48 hours to make their way to the venue in order to compete.
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Red Bull Cape Fear last took place in 2019 and a returning Fanning said he was relishing the chance to tackle one of the world’s heaviest waves. He added: “My expertise definitely lies in high-performance surfing, so taking on these crazy waves is definitely out of my comfort zone. But it’s an epic challenge post-retirement all the same.”
Previously the event had taken place in Cape Solander in Sydney’s Botany Bay, but relocated to Tasmania back in 2019 in a shallow reef with waves breaking only 10 metres from the bare rocks at the base of the cliffs. Event founder Mark Mathews said, “Red Bull Cape Fear is an event big-wave surfers across the globe keep an eye out for, and Shipstern Bluff is known for taking no prisoners.”
The event site will be closed to spectators but the entire event will be broadcast live on Red Bull TV.