Inside Mark Healey’s O’Neill Wave of the Winter Winner
Breaking down the winning ride after a wild and weird WOTW season
Winner winner, chicken dinner. Photo: Christa Funk
Dashel Pierson
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Another year, another O’Neill Wave of the Winter done and dusted.
And if you haven’t heard – or watched the short film yet – Mark Healey won. The longtime charger, venerable waterman, and spearfishing wizard took home the $25,000 grand prize for his Pipeline freight train amidst a field of Outer Reef bombs, Backdoor drainers, and (literally) hundreds of other entries.
But, as with every year, there can be only one winner. And the panel of judges – including Gerry Lopez, Shane Dorian, Pancho Sullivan and Shawn Briley – chose Healey. Most shocked at the announcement, was Healey himself.
O’Neill Regional Wave of the Winter Winners Announced!
Bomb-baggers throughout the U.S. and Caribbean score $1,000 and bragging rights
Bomb-baggers throughout the U.S. and Caribbean score $1,000 and bragging rights
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Never in the history of the O’Neill Regional Wave of the Winter has there been so much diversity in our field of entrants and, ultimately, our short list of winners. Some are defending champions. Some have never won it before. Some are young ladies. Some are 50-year-old men.
But after a four-month holding period (December 1, 2020-March 31, 2021) filled to the brim with impressive entries from all over the continental U.S. and Caribbean, we’ve determined the winners for the third annual event. After the field was whittled down to four semifinalists for each of the five regions, those surfers were then judged via online user voting on Surfline’s Instagram Story.
O Neill Wave of the Winter: Top 12 Rides of the Year surfline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from surfline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.