Laid Hamilton: cutting water in Raglan

A powerful Raglan swell greeted Laird Hamilton and his foil board as the American surfer prepared for "The Ultimate Waterman."

Laird Hamilton is the pioneer of foilboarding. He has been riding waves over blades for a long time, with a very personal approach.

Hamilton is the ambassador of the New Zealand-based event "The Ultimate Waterman."

The search to find the world's best all-around waterman will get eight wave riders competing in six different surfing disciplines over eight days, between 14th-21st March 2015.

"The Ultimate Waterman is going to be humble. And versatile. Very complex. A capacity to do a huge array of disciplines and ultimately to be - if not one of the greatest athletes in the world," underlines the foil board master.

Laird Hamilton will make select appearances in the event, but he will also give advice and support to the official line-up, consisting of Danny Ching, Mark Visser, Manoa Drollet, Georges Cronsteadt, Kai Lenny, Connor Baxter, Kala Alexandra, and Daniel Kereopa.

Top Stories

The most successful competitive surfer of all time, Kelly Slater, rode what may have been the last heat of his 24-year professional career.

We can't choose our height, and 80 percent of it is genetic. But if you're into surfing, taller and shorter surfers feel noticeable differences in getting acquainted with boards, paddling for, and riding a wave.

Ryan Crosby is the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the World Surf League (WSL).

Nothing fuels more controversy in and outside the water than awarding scores for waves ridden in competitive surfing.