Mick Fanning Awarded SIMA’s 2016 Waterman of the Year Honor

What more can we say about Mick Fanning that hasn’t already been said in the past 12 months? The world watched him escape an encounter with a shark mid-heat and never looked away – from losing his brother during a week that decided the world title, to his triumphant climb into the title race to begin with – just about everything Mick experienced in a very public light had to tug at your heart strings. Then he announced early in 2016 it had all added up to taking a much deserved year off from competition. Inevitably, the world still pulls for Mick, even if he’s not going to wear a jersey most of 2016.

Come August, Mick will be honored in Laguna Beach, California as the 2016 Waterman of the Year for SIMA’s 27th Annual Waterman’s Weekend.

“Mick has overcome some major hurdles in his life while working his way to the top of the sport” reads a press release announcing the honor. “From personal losses to suffering a complete hamstring tear in 2004 that sidelined him for six months. Then in 2015, while battling for a fourth world title, Mick infamously battled a shark in a heat during the J-Bay Open. Throughout it all, Mick has always shown the heart of a champion and represented surfing in the most positive way.”

Fanning joins a list that includes last year’s Waterman of the Year honoree, Stephanie Gilmore, as well as legends like Tom Carroll Tom Curren, Andy Irons, Gerry Lopez and Bruce Brown, to name a few.

Also being honored during the 27th Annual Waterman’s Weekend are big wave surfer Ramon Navarro as the 2016 Environmentalist of the Year, with the Lifetime Achievement Award going to Simon Anderson. The two-day fundraising event is expected to will support the SIMA Environmental Fund. The Waterman’s Ball itself attracts more than 600 people each year as is expected to raise close to $400,000 to benefit 18 different ocean conservation groups.

The Vendée Globe, 100 days and counting!

This Friday 29 July, there are exactly 100 days until the start of the eighth Vendée Globe, which will set sail from Les Sables d'Olonne on France’s Atlantic seaboard on 6 November at 13:02pm local time. Thirty sailors have signed up for this eighth edition, 28 of whom have already qualified. We get the low-down.

As 13:02pm French time ticks by this Friday, we’ll be down to just double figures to indicate the number of days until the start of the upcoming Vendée Globe. Less than 100 days to go then. Fourteen weeks and forty-eight hours, a mere drop in the ocean in relation to the four years between each edition. If a number of the skippers are allowing themselves a few days’ respite this summer, it’s also because they know that it’s the last opportunity to take some time out before the final rush for the start. Indeed, September will be very hectic with the sailors obliged to be present in Les Sables d’Olonne with their boats on the eve of the opening of the race village, which equates to a noon deadline on 14 October 2016 at the latest.

Dates to remember:
. 8 and 9 September: Skippers’ briefings
. 14 September: Press Conference in Paris
. 14 October: Presence of the skippers and boats in Les Sables d'Olonne
. 15 October: Official opening of the Village in Les Sables d'Olonne
. 6 November: Start of the Vendée Globe
. 7 November: Opening of Race HQ in Paris

More information