While down in the hometown, La Jolla, I caught up with our buddy, Derek Dunfee.  Derek has been charging since we were groms, but recently got some long needed recognition when he won the 2009 XXL award for the Biggest Paddle In Wave of the Year.

His XXL award comes after years of dedication; last minute all night drives to Mavericks (above from last weeks Eddie swell), Todos, and Nelscott’s Reef in Oregon amongst others to chase the biggest waves around.  This winters madness has included two trips to the Artic to surf an icy death slab right.  Derek has also taken advantage of his traveling to hone his photography as well as shoot some amazing water shots.  A few are shown below, and you can check out more at his blog.