The 10 best waves ridden in 2015

It was a year in which bravado dominated, the combo was supreme, the swell of the century hit, and John John showed us the View From A Blue Moon. From Nathan Florence’s Teahupoo mid-pit adjustment, to Dorian’s Jaws drop, and Jordy’s North Point oop, these are the rides that mattered in 2015. No doubt you’ll tell us what you think.

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Nate Behl’s 10-second drainer (watch at 3:53)

It was hard to pick a single wave from this swell and, truth be told, we could have picked half a dozen. But Nate Behl’s 10-second sky-blue cement-mixer at 3:53 gets the nod. Honourable mention also goes to Frenchman Joan Duru for his length-of-the-reef closer in Psychic Migrations.

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Julian Wilson, Bali

Julian offers a worthy addendum to the groundwork laid by aerial innovator Josh Kerr with this effort. An oily, friction-free surface at early-morning Bali gives him a perfect run at a smooth ramp, and he nails it accordingly.

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Jordy Smith, North Point

It’s been a tough year for the big dog. Consecutive injuries plagued Jordy’s World Tour season but it didn’t stop him dropping what might be the combo of not only this year but the next five. He seems to hit some sort of speed-boosting icon in the tube, shooting him into a nosebleed section at North Point, then using the double-up ingeniously for the make.

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Matt Meola, Maui

Straight video game shit from Maui flyboy Matt Meola. You’ve gotta give props to the crew on this notoriously windy island. They use everything at their disposal – excessive wind, funky reefs and ramps, and a lot of time on their hands – to consistently come up with moves and rotations that put them at the top of the heap.

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Gabriel Medina, Sunset

This one’s all about context. With 30 seconds on the clock, and Australians Ryan Callinan and Connor O’Leary’s World Tour qualification hopes on the line, the sleeping giant awakes. Medina snags a wave under Callinan’s priority, eyes off the notorious Sunset inside section – a section no one should attempt to float when it’s as thick as this – and, set your face to stunned.

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Mikey Wright, P-Pass (watch at 2:30)

One of this year’s breakthrough performers, Mikey Wright (brother of Owen), set tongues wagging with this old fashioned tube wrangling clinic at P-Pass this year (skip to 2:30). We say old fashioned but, really, no one’s manhandled tubes like this in the past. It’s all new school bravado from the 18-year-old south coast NSW hellman.

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John John Florence, Hawaii

One of half a dozen clips that might have made the cut from View From A Blue Moon, but this gets the nod purely on hang time. No one has spent more time in the sky than John John on this deceivingly effortless wind-assisted oop.

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Shane Dorian, Jaws

So much is made of Kelly Slater’s longevity but what about this man? Fellow Momentum Generation alumni, Shane Dorian, left the World Tour back in 2003 to focus on big waves and he’s owned the space since. Jaws is where he’s made his mark more than any other wave and he was at it again prior to heats commencing at the Pe’ahi Challenge BWWT event, with this sickening side-slip air-drop. Special mention to Greg Long for that closeout barrel, too!

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CJ Hobgood, Teahupoo

What a loss to the World Tour he is. The Floridian with arguably the best tube technique in world surfing set the bar at Chopes for big wave paddling in the late naughties. So who else to pull of one of the most miraculous tube exits we’ve ever seen?

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Nathan Florence, Teahupoo

Kelly Slater called it “hands down the best wave ever paddled at Teahupoo.” He might be lesser known than brother John John, but Nathan Florence has written himself into the history books with this one. Pure paddle power on a mutant Teahupoo west bowl and how’s the no-hands line adjustment to get above the foam ball? Pure genius under life threatening duress.