Felicity Palmateer ready to surf Jaws in Pe’ahi Big Wave Challenge
AUSTRALIAN Felicity Palmateer is trying to figure out if she is more terrified or excited as she prepares to surf 40-45 foot monsters at the Big Wave tour event at the notorious Jaws break.
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AUSTRALIAN Felicity Palmateer is trying to figure out if she is terrified or excited as she prepares to surf 40-45 foot monsters at the Big Wave tour event at the notorious Jaws break.
The big wave charger flew to Hawaii late Wednesday after the infamous Pe’ahi Challenge was put on green alert for a possible start this weekend.
“Yesterday I was nervous but today I’m a little calmer. I am excited too,” Palmateer said.
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“It’s going to be big. That could be a little terrifying. But I am mainly excited.”
A knee injury has hampered Palmateer’s lead up to the event women surfed for the first time last year at the infamous surf spot on the north coast of Maui also known as Jaws.
“Because I had the knee I was a little restricted in what I could do,” Palmateer said.
“But I feel very fit and very strong for this.
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“I have also been doing breath enhancement training which is very important.”
Organisers have forecast 40-45 foot waves for the weekend with conditions whipped up by Super Typhoon Lan which morphed into a violent storm which devastated parts of Japan this week, leaving two people dead.
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The Australian is one of six women chosen to contest the Pe’ahi Challenge at Jaws.
“This swell looks really promising, so we’ve issued a Green Alert to run on Friday and/or Saturday (Saturday and Sunday in Australia) ,” said WSL Big Wave commissioner Mike Parsons.
“We have a long period swell coming from the northwest direction, which will provide us with surf in the 40 to 45 foot range.
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“We could potentially see heats on both Friday and Saturday or just one of the two days.
“We are excited to get the first event of the winter season underway and witness the world’s best big wave surfers take on Pe’ahi for the third year in a row.”
The women’s Pe’ahi Challenge was run for the first time last year with both Palmateer and Laura Enever competing.
At this event, Palmateer is one of six women to surf along with defending champion Paige Alms (Hawaii), Justine Dupont (France), Andrea Moeller (Brazil), Keala Kennelly (Hawaii) and Bianca Valenti (US).