Alana mixes with professional models and surfers with the same ease. On location. Pic: Courtesy of Rip Curl

That’s right; while Hawaiian Alana Blanchard had to be content sitting out the 2012 WCT season, she’s used her surfing prowess to re-qualify for the 2013 elite season ahead. Alana is well and truly back… And yes, she still got back too.

Revered for her beauty, booty and bottom turn – the always-smiling natural footer, considered (by many) to be the sexiest surfer on the planet – put in a late season run on the WQS that earned her position on next year’s elite tour.

Kicking out the jams in the O’Neill Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, Hawaii in 2011. Pic: ASP/Cestari

Despite falling shy of a win, the already two times around WCT surfer re-booked her spot with consistency. A runner-up finish in Peru, behind a hot new competitor from South Africa in Bianca Buitendag, followed by a fifth and a third. Respectable results for a surfer some thought was all back (see; booty, behind) and no hack. “I’m excited to be back for a third campaign,” Alana said of the achievement. “This time around, I definitely feel more comfortable about being a part of the Top 17 surfers in the world. I am a bit more mature, I am more used to the travel and I really like my time at contests.”

Yes, she rips in a wettie too. Pic: ASP/Rowland

Alana’s love of the bikini is no secret, she proudly sports a figure hugging version of the aforementioned every chance she gets. So it’s little wonder that her knowledge of the female version of a good pair of boardies has been put to good use at Rip Curl’s yearly design camp in Hawaii.

“When designing the line I wanted to incorporate all the stuff that I know and love about my bikini,” she says. “The collection consists of two ranges – the performance ‘My Mirage Bikini’ and the cuter ‘Alana’s Closet’ pieces. The Mirage focuses on really comfortable performance cuts that you feel and look good being active in, while Alana’s Closet is a little sexier – because as girls we like to look and feel cute in the water sometimes.”

While shooting the collection on the beautiful Namotu Island, Fiji, the team was hit by a cyclone and the resolve of everyone – including Alana – was tested.

Check out the behind the scene’s clip, below.

Note: For the complete 2013 list of ASP Top 17 Women Surfers click HERE