You can now watch a documentary about Cape Fear, surfing’s most insane competition

Russell Bierke performs during the Red Bull Cape Fear in 2016.

Image: Ed Sloane/Red Bull Content Pool

By Johnny Lieu2017-06-09 17:01:31 UTC

It’s been a year since surfers tore through Cape Solander, a.k.a. Cape Fear, in what is arguably the world’s most terrifying surfing competition.

Taking place on the coast of Sydney, Australia, the competition organised by Red Bull saw the world’s best contend with 8- to 12-foot waves and 27 Olympic-sized pools of water breaking on a shallow reef. 

Australian surfer Russell Bierke, 18, was crowned champion in a pack of 15 other top surfers competing at Cape Fear.

“No one expected a swell that big and crazy,” Bierke said, reflecting on the event. “It was probably more challenging and heavier than I expected for sure … when we looked at that [swell] in the first morning, I thought, OK, it’s really going be that crazy.”

In light of the event’s first year anniversary, Red Bull released a short documentary called Conquering the Storm that follows the crazy rides on that day.

“I was almost having anxiety watching it” Bierke said. “It was bringing back all those feelings on the day.”

Bierke returns to defend his title in 2017, where there will be now 20 surfers vying for the top spot. The competition’s waiting period is between May 1 to Aug. 31, meaning surfers are called up to the event with only 48 hours notice. 

“I was almost having anxiety watching it.”

It was a close call for Bierke, who nearly lost his life in April. He was knocked unconscious by his board in Port Campbell, Victoria, and was underwater for around 45 seconds. Fortunately, he was rescued by U.S. pro Kelly Slater and other surfers who were with him.

The recovery “thankfully wasn’t long-term,” he said. Bierke spent two weeks out of the water to ensure he was OK, but now he feels “physically and mentally 100 percent.” 

And yes, he’s just excited to take part again.

“I’ve talked to [the other surfers] a bit about how crazy it all is, but they’re all world class surfers, so I’m sure they’ll be able to figure it out pretty quickly,” he said.