On Sunday, March 28, 2010, surfer Jodie Nelson will embark upon a historic mission – to become the first woman to paddle the grueling 39.8 miles from Avalon on the island of Catalina to Dana Point, California. The solo mission, which has only been completed by a handful of men, will be the first attempt by a woman, and is all in an effort to raise funds for breast cancer research and awareness benefiting Keep A Breast and Boarding For Breast Cancer. With a goal of raising $50,000, pledges can be made at firstgiving.com/paddlewithpurpose.

Nelson, co-founder of The SUP Spot not to mention an accomplished surfer, commentator and highly respected ambassador of the sport, will tackle the feat, coined “Paddle With Purpose” on a Stand Up Paddleboard during Ocean Ohana’s annual Catalina Challenge. The event typically sees teams of two-four members race on Single and Double Outriggers or Surfskis, as well as Stand Up Surfboards and Paddleboards. In addition to the punishing distance, the past few years have also produced challenging conditions for the competitors.

Many Queenslanders tune in daily to watch Paul Burt deliver his weather report on Chanel Nine, However, Burt drew an audience to watch him hit the waves at Rainbow Bay (Queensland, Australia) as part of the Coastalwatch Surf For Life series – A charitable surfing event supporting the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Surfing alongside the likes of Olympic gold medallist Ken Wallace, iron-man Ky Hurst, Chanel 7’s Liz Cantor and a host of local celebrities and surfers, Burt took out the event in style which was held in conjunction with the 2010 Quiksilver Pro.

Split up into teams and helping the celebrities in the waves was some of Queensland’s top surfers including Dale Richards (Queensland, Australia), Shaun Gossmann (Queensland, Australia), Jack Freestone (Queensland, Australia), Mitch Parkinson (Queensland, Australia) and Jay Phillips (Queensland, Australia) who scored a perfect 10-point ride.

A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile early Saturday morning, resulting in a tsunami warning for the East Coast of Australia effective today.

Event organizers, coordinating with the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, were forced to call both the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover and the Roxy Pro Gold Coast events for the day, with the potential tsunami projected to hit at 8:15am.

“We’ve been monitoring the situation with chief meteorologists throughout the night and all projections are indicating the effects to hit the Gold Coast at approximately 8:15am,” Rod Brooks, Quiksilver Pro Contest Director, said. “What those effects will be, we cannot be sure. We’ve been advised that the biggest surge could hit anywhere from six to 12 hours after the initial surge, so we’ve called competition off for the day. The event site is closed for the day, and we’ll check back tomorrow at 6:30am.”

The Hawaiian coastal areas are being evacuated as alarm sirens are sounding in the several islands.

Authorities speak of a dangerous situation, as a tsunami might hit Hawaii in the aftermath of the Chilean earthquake.

The most vulnerable spots are Hilo Bay on Hawaii Island and Kahului Harbor in Maui.

Check the Wave Height Forecast for the Hawaiian Islands here.

The Todos Santos Big Wave Event is on.

Contest Director Gary Linden made the call this morning after checking out the latest report and consulting with Surfers Representative Greg Long.

Sunday looks like an epic day out at Killers, with a swell at 18 to 20 feet with the winds seeming to calm down.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) is pleased to announce that the anti-doping test results from the finalists of the 2010 Quiksilver ISA World Junior Surfing Championship held in Piha, New Zealand from 21 – 28 January, came back negative.

The following athletes were tested: Matt Banting (AUS), Jake Halstead (USA), Koa Smith (HAW), Hiroti Arai (JPN), Gabriel Medina (BRA), Jordi Watson (AUS), Tamaroa McComb (TAH), Beyrick De Vries (RSA), Tyler Wright (AUS), Alessa Quizon (HAW), Sarah Baum (RSA) and Lakey Peterson (USA).

This year’s event saw over 200 athletes from 21 different countries from around the world. After 8 days of intense competition, Australia won its fifth consecutive gold medal in the overall team standings. Matt Banting (AUS) won in the Boys Under 16 division, Gabriel Medina (BRA) won in the Boys Under 18 division and Tyler Wright (AUS) won in the Girls Under 18 division.

The renowned surfers Eduar Santana, Manuel Selman, Victor Peralta and the great promise Gian Marcos Oliva, won first places in the Junior, Open, Master and Mini Junior Surf in the Third Annual Encuentro Surf Challenge, held at Playa Encuentro in Cabarete, on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, February 20, 2010.

The event was organized by surfing instructors Mr. Ken Gei Fung and Mr. Ronald Quevedo, and received support from local sponsors and the Federación Dominicana de Surf (FEDOSURF). Many athletes in the sport of surfing from the Dominican Republic, including several foreign nationals from Latin America, competed in The Encargo Group Encuentro Surf Challenge 2010.

In the Open Surf category, Manuel Selman won First Place. Selman is a Chilean professional surfer who lives in Cabarete, and competes on the international circuit. Junior Gomez of Rio San Juan, took Second Place, and achieved a high-level of performance despite a knee injury. Gomez was awarded Athlete of the Year 2009 from the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee The surfers delighted and amazed the audience with innovative maneuvers in the finals.

Round 1 of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover was completed today in pulsing two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves at Snapper Rocks on Australia’s Gold Coast.

The opening event of the 2010 ASP World Tour season, the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast ignites the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in history, and today’s top performers proved no surprise with perennial ASP World Title threats dominating Round 1 of competition.

Kelly Slater (USA), 38, former nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 6, has refocused his attention on vying for an unprecedented 10th ASP World Title this season, and his dominance is the opening round of competition put his fellow competitors on notice. Slater posted the highest heat total of the day, a 17.77 out of a possible 20, including the day’s high single-wave score of a 9.27 out of a possible 10 for a deep forehand barrel.

A tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center for Chile and Peru, and later extended to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Antarctica.

The earthquake struck at around 3.34am local time (6.43GMT). Its epicentre was just 75 miles from Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city, where more than 200,000 people live along the Bio Bio river, and 60 miles from the ski town of Chillan, a gateway to Andean ski resorts that was destroyed in a 1939 earthquake.

A tsunami warning is in effect for the South American Pacific Coast, stretching up as far as Ecuador, and the authorities of the Hawaiian Islands have been put on alert, although no warnings or watches have been issued so far.

Make sure to plan your surfing schedule and never enter the water alone. Windsurfers and kitesurfers should check the Beaufort Scale before hitting the water.

The Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover, Event No. 1 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, is one day from commencing its waiting period, and with swell projected over the next couple days, the world’s best surfers could be doing battle as early as tomorrow.

With the greatest assemblage of surfing talent in history preparing to do battle in some of the best waves on the planet, the ASP Dream Tour’s global audience will enjoy 15 ASP World Titles represented amongst the ASP Top 45 as well as one of the most daunting rookie classes in memory.

Andy Irons (HAW), 31, former three-time ASP World Champion, will return to full-time competition this season, kick-starting his 2010 campaign at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast.