Maui Wins, DSRT Surf Opens, California Surf Alerts
Your post-surf briefing has three waves this week: a Maui podium finish, a new desert wave pool, and a no-nonsense California safety check. In other words, the ocean is still doing ocean things: beautiful, demanding, and occasionally asking everyone to keep their brains installed.
Maui sends two windsurfers to Fiji's podium
Maui's Bernd Roediger turned a difficult week at the Fiji Surf Pro into a first-place finish at Cloudbreak. The event ran from June 6-14 in roughly 13-foot surf, and Roediger arrived with a strained ACL after more than a month away from the wind. He had also wanted to win Cloudbreak since the previous Fiji event in 2023.
Roediger finished with a championship score of 18.07, ahead of Antoine Martin's 15.76 and Maui's Morgan Noireaux on 14.46. Noireaux delivered the event's highest-scoring single wave, earning 9.5 points, but changing wind made it harder to find another scoring ride in the final. That still left him on the overall podium.
The conditions were not gentle. Four windsurfing rigs were destroyed during the event, and Australian competitor Jaeger Stone suffered a broken foot after a heavy wipeout. In the women's division, Australia's Jane Seman won all three finals, reclaiming the Cloudbreak title she first captured in 2022. Sarah Kenyon finished second, while Spain's Maria Andrés took the final podium place.
For photographers, this was the kind of event where a great frame depends on patience, careful positioning, and being ready when the reef produces a 9.5 wave. The full report, including event photos, is over at Maui News.
Wavegarden brings 60-plus wave types to Coachella
Wavegarden is celebrating the opening of DSRT Surf in California's Coachella Valley, its second U.S. park and the first in the desert. The facility sits about 100 miles from the ocean and follows the company's Atlantic Park in Virginia Beach.
The numbers are impressive. DSRT Surf can generate up to 1,000 waves per hour and offers more than 60 different wave types. One setting is designed specifically for aerial training, producing air-friendly ramp sections every 30 seconds. There are also turning waves, barrels, and the Twister, a powerful, wide, technical barrel described by the company as a serious test of control.
Jacob 'Zeke' Szekely said, 'I never imagined I would be testing aerial waves in the middle of the desert,' and called the facility the best wave pool in the world. Beach Street Holdings co-founder John Luff said the barrels exceeded his expectations, adding that the wave is long enough to take a conscious breath inside it.
DSRT Surf is expected to open to the public in late summer, although no exact date or booking platform has been announced. Sessions are expected to start around $60 per hour, compared with roughly $100 for a beginner-friendly group session at Palm Springs Surf Club. For surfers, the appeal is repeatable practice. For photographers, it could mean more predictable conditions for aerial and barrel shots, even if the desert setting still requires plenty of dust protection for the camera bag.
You can read the full story over at The Inertia.
California surf check: respect sneaker waves and rip currents
Back at the real ocean, lifeguards in Carmel-by-the-Sea are urging beachgoers to exercise caution as hazardous surf conditions are expected in the coming days. The National Weather Service has issued warnings involving sneaker waves and strong rip currents.
State lifeguard Joe Stoffers said, 'People not understanding the conditions and understanding this is a wild place that plays by its own rules, you have to know what's going on and just be aware of your surroundings.'
The advice is straightforward: stay off rocks, keep children close, never turn your back on the ocean, and visit beaches with lifeguard stations whenever possible. Talk to the lifeguards before entering the water, and take advantage of the free life jacket stations announced with the alert.
For surfers and photographers, the shore break deserves the same respect as the lineup. Wet rocks, sneaker waves, and rip currents do not care whether you are chasing the perfect frame. A great shot is never worth turning a beach day into a rescue story. Get the latest guidance from Channel 3000.
From Cloudbreak to Coachella to California's coast, this week's surf news has one clear message: push hard, stay curious, and respect the water. Which story is on your radar right now?
