Coco Ho wins Search

A few days ago Coco Ho beat former World Champ Chelsea Hedges to win the Search. The waves were small but very contestable. In fact they were probably better than anything the blokes got.

The two women currently fighting out the World Title race Steph Gilmore and Silvana Lima finished 9th and 3rd respectively. Steph just holds the top spot with three events (Peru and two in Hawaii) to go.

Contests everywhere

The Womens Search is on at one of the backup venues. The waves look really nice - clean, offshore and around chest height. They are in to round three with Steph Gilmore through. Her current competition for the world title, Silvana Lima just beating Aussie Jessie Miley-Dyer by less than 0.3 with a wave in the final minute.

Over in the Maldives Harley Ingelby has scored his first World Championship in the WLT with a second. Hawaiian Kai Sallas won.

Hopefully the details for the Movember Classic will be nailed down this weekend and members will get the details on Monday.

Who will be World Champ ?

According to Mick Fanning's blog this is how the World Title race can unfold at Pipe.

Fanning finishes 33rd through a 9th at Pipeline, Parkinson needs a 3rd or better to overtake.
Fanning finishes 5th at Pipeline, Parkinson needs a 2nd or better to overtake.
Fanning finishes 3rd at Pipeline, Parkinson needs win the event to overtake.
If Fanning finishes 2nd or better at Pipeline, he will clinch the 2009 ASP World Title.

Fanning wins the Search

Mick Fanning has beaten Bede Durbridge in the final of the Search in Portugal. Fanning only had to surf once after Owen Wright pulled out of the semi due to a burst ear drum sustained the day before.

Durbridge took out Parko in the other semi. Parko was not happy after his loss however on adjusted points Mick will still need finish higher at Pipe to win the World Title. Bede's loss means that he is out of the running leaving on the two Coolie Kids.

The WLT is into round 2 at the Maldives. The webcast is on and the waves look fun. Last years world champ Bonga Perkins is out but current tour leader Harley Ingelby is easily through to the next round.

Search hits the semis

The Search ran through round three and the quarters.

Taj was knocked out in round three in the last two minutes. Fanning smashed Freddie P in the same round and Tim Reyes in the quarters. Two quarter finals were close with Bede Durbridge beating Jordy Smith by less than half a point and wildcard Owen Wright beating Damo Hopgood by 0.33.

Both semis should be great if the waves cooperate.

Fuel TV will be showing the rest of the contest live and it will be streaming on the net.

Supertubos is on

The Search has finally ended up at the primary venue and the waves are big. Six to eight foot sets are smashing through the beachie and a few some barrels but plenty of smashing closeouts. Wave selection is the key.

Local knowledge is that the waves will get better when the swell and tide starts to drop. Contest director Dooma Hardman is hoping to run at least all of round three and possibly the quarters today and finish tomorrow.

Fuel TV is showing the contest live in Australia and streaming it in HD from their US site. The tv is the same as the webcast so lack some of the refinement of some other sports but it is live and from the beach somewhere. I'm just happy I get to watch on a proper sized screen.

Taj is in the next heat and this will remind him of Rabbit Hill. Parko just won his heat with a tube and an air. Owen Wright continues his good run in 'CT events by just beating Dane Reynolds with a killer backhand tube late in his heat.

Meanwhile in the Maldives it was a lay day for the WLT Oxbow Pro.

Is the Search jinxed ????

After the primary location was smashed and flooded by a storm the Search is now on hold due to thick fog.

Apparently the waves are really good but the judges can't see them.

In other contest news the second and final leg of the WLT is being held at Pasta Point in the Maldives. Round 1 is done with 2008 champ Bonga Perkins, current ratings leader Harley Ingelby and former no 1 Josh Constable all through. With only two events for the whole tour it is still any ones world title.

Round Two Finshed but Thats It

The waves hung around long enough for round two to be completed and for Fuel TV to change its electronic program guide before it was called off.

The expression session was held after a delay but the waves weren't frequent enough to keep going. Owen Wright and Dane Reynolds will be a good heat to watch. Winners are easy to predict as you can make a case for everyone. Now they just need decent waves.

It will be nice to watch it on TV rather than the sometimes grainy webcast.

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 2: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 6: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)

Search Almost Finishes Round Two

Round two of the Search was held in decent waves. There are still a three heats to go.

The only upset was Slater being beaten by wildcard Owen Wright. Wright, who has qualified for next years WCT, beat Slater by just over 0.4. Both pulled into some clean little tubes and knocked down a few hacks. This has knocked Slater out of the world title race, not that he had much chance anyway.



Taj got through easily and threw a huge air on his way to the highest score of the round and contest so far.

Fuel TV will broadcast live from round three, which could be tonight. However the womens waiting period kicks in today so they might jump in ahead of the guys.

Round 2 is go

Round two has started in decent waves. Unlike round one only one lower ranked surfer has been successful in a heat and that was one of those where both were pretty evenly matched.

Parko is in the water and leading his heat. If he wins then the title race goes to Pipe regardless. The next heat could be a killer with Aussie wildcard Owen Wright up against Kelly Slater. Dane Reynolds is in the heat after and Taj following that.

The conditions first up were clean, glassy and offshore with clean barrels on the lefts. The wind has swung a little and the tide is starting to affect it. Every other day has been split halfway through but this is another beach, so who knows what they will do ?

Low Tide in Portugal

The on and off first round is on for the second time today. This time it is at another of the back up venues.

After running a couple of heats earlier they have started again after the tide bottomed out. The waves look ok and offshore but a bit slow. At least today's heats were won with scores around 14.

The webcast is on but the stats tab shows you what happened at Bells !!!!!!!!

Portugal Sucks

The first 8 heats of round one of the Search are done with the wildcards doing well in poor surf. It was pretty much the most boring surfing of the European leg, which is saying something as there hadn't been much to write home about.

Three of the heats were won with two waves totals under 10 and 15 was the best. Generally anything under 12 means your been given a whipping.

With the bottom half of the 'CT trying to re-qualify but only getting one chance there are a couple of guys who may be wishing they backed up on the WQS. Nathaniel Curran and Portuguese German Marlon Lipke both finally won heats but need huge results here and at Pipe if they are to avoid heading back to the "grind".

Parko must be worried. His mentor Luke Egan finally admitted that the ankle injury he sustained in Bali was still troubling him and that he re-injured it on his first wave at Munduka. The junky small waves just seem to make it an issues whereas if it was bigger and he could set a line rather than wiggle he might have been able to compensate. He would have been hoping for some size at Supertubos but may be forced into a mush fight.

Fanning can win the title here if Parko goes out early and a few other things happen. If things fall his way he doesn't even need to win. Hopefully he won't and it will go down to a duel at Pipe. CJ Hopgood can't be counted out and has yet to get lower than ninth. Technically everyone in the top ten can still win it all but in reality it is probably only the top three with Artiz the outsider.

Search Starts

The Rip Curl Search has just started. After the storm that destroyed the event infrastructure yesterday was the third lay day. The surf was huge but not contestable.

Today the swell has dropped off and the wind is bad for the primary site, Supertubos. Instead round 1 has started at the back up beachie. The forecast obviously isn't looking that great because they have moved to the elimination first round.

The waves don't look great and the tide kills it. The last heat was won with a highest score of a four and a combine total of 8 and a bit.

Lay Day 2 in Portugal

The Rip Curl Search WCT event has landed in Portugal this year. Apparently the wave is Europe's version of Pipeline. This year's event includes both men and women.

Yesterday was flat and a huge storm has hit today. Apparently there is a 6 metre plus swell on the way and they have had to reinforce the beach.

As usual there is a webcast and being a Rip Curl event it should be good.

Blood on the Water Makes The News

The Blood on the Water contest made Monday nights GWN News. The surfing was so hot that it was difficult to pick it from a WCT tour event. Andrew Plunkett looked a bit like a young Damien Hardman ! Even the District Super headed down to check out the action.

For all the metro guys and those who missed it GWN has placed the story on their news website. Click on the following link to get there.

Country cops swap the blue uniforms for wetsuits (video) - iGWN Bunbury

But it was not just GWN, the ABC also gave it coverage with the folowing appearing on the local radio website -

Police officers from around Western Australia descended on Geraldton at the weekend to compete in the inaugural WA police surfing competition.

Gusty north-easterly winds and a solid two-metre swell greeted competitors who travelled from stations in the south-west and north-west of the state.

Rockingham's Justin Browne was crowned overall winner in the open short board titles followed by Carnarvon's Bruce McDonald and Dongara's Ben Tomasini in third spot.

Mid-west District Superintendent Ross Tomasini says there was friendly rivalry between a number of police districts.

"I think it's very serious fun, they're out there and they're having a go," he said.

"When they've got their uniforms off, they're just the same as everyone else. They like to surf and fish and do all those sorts of things.

"Camaraderie is very strong in the police service and when you get them together it's great - the camaraderie, the banter, the competition, it's all really, really positive."

Great Waves for Gero Contest

Quick SMS from Newie confirmed that the waves were great. Didn't get much else as he was heading out for another session.

Geraldton Daily Surf Report
Updated: Sat Oct 17th, 5:11am
Surf: clean 3-4ft
Wind: strong ENE
Weather: fine and sunny
Dawn Patrol: Wind is strong from the ENE around 20 knots predicted to be NW by mid-day. With 38 forecast you could expect the offshore to maybe hang in until early arvo. Swell is 1.25 metres and there are plenty of waves on offer. Beach breaks are a lot cleaner with chest high waves and the medium reefs have good sets with 14 second peak periods. Tide will reach .6m by 10am then out to .45m by 2pm. Ocean is 20.5. Plenty of annoying flies on the beaches so be warned. Cops vs Cops contest is on at Glennies today. 7am start. WNW winds for Sunday with a similar swell.

All Go For Gero

The southerners will be hitting the road soon and heading north for sunny Geraldton.

The contest details are set with the Flat Rocks being the main venue with Back Beach as a back up. The Geraldton Boardriders are helping out with some equipment and judging.

Tommorrow night will see some "fellowship" and then a hangover cure surf on Sunday before the trek back.

Conditions are still looking good for some clean, fun surf.

DeSouza wins Billabong Pro

The Billabong Pro in Spain has been won by Brazillian Andriano DeSouza beating Aussie Chris Davidson. This is DeSouza's first WCT win and moves him into third on the ratings with two second placings.

Slater and CJ finished third and Taj was taken out by Slater in the Quarters.

Mick has move above Parko in the unadjusted ratings. Slater is now 6th and Taj 7th. Both have a mathematical chance of winning it all but basically would rely on the top five to lose in the first round of the next two events and they win both.

If you adjust the ratings now Parko is 186 points in front of Fanning with DeSouza just over 300 points behind. CJ, the only surfer in the top five without a 17th, is less than 1000 behind first.

The next event is the Rip Curl Search in Portugal next week.

2 - 3 feet, SSE Today

Swellnet is still calling Friday and Saturday as the pick of the days.

Billabong Pro Back On

After one heat at Munduka its back to the beachie. The waves are better, light winds and some clean face on the lefts.

Mick Fanning has failed to capitalize on Parko's loss, losing in round three. Bobbie Martinez wouldn't be impressed with the move from Mundaka losing the second heat at the beachie. He was probably the best surfer yesterday finding long lefts and flying.

Slater is in the water right now and the waves have gone fat on the high tide.

Contest Director Mike Parsons has just indicated that they probably won't get back to Munduka in the rest of the waiting period and they may try to crown a winner today.

With both Mick and Fanning out the title race can close up if Slater, Taj and one of the Hopgoods can get through a few more heats.

Round 2 Over

And Parko is out again. With his round 2 win Mick Fanning has taken over the lead in the World Title race.

Even though it was a bit wonky and badly onshore the waves at Mundaka were very contestable and the early heats were an air-fest. It was a bit condusing to watch as they were running overlapping heats but at least there was lots of action.

Slater got through despite not surfing since France and having a dodgy knee (from golf at St Andrews). Taj snuck through by 0.3 much to the disgust of Artiz Aranburu who thought he had done enough.

Who knows what they will do today. The have at least one full day left in the contest. The wave is so tide affected that the window is pretty small but at least the days are long.

Weekend is looking good

Swellnet has a pretty positive forecast for Geraldton this weekend -

Weekend Outlook
Very good clean surf on Saturday morning with a solid new SW swell and offshore winds from the NE ahead of a shift to the SW in the afternoon. Decent surf early on Sunday with light winds. Conditions will probably then deteriorate through the day as the swell starts to ease and winds tend onshore.

Spain on

But not at Munduka but some grovelly onshore beach break. Its got a bit of size but you wouldn't normally surf it. And its raining.

The latest call is that it will move to Mundaka this afternoon with over lapping heats. Not much help to those in the first round who will get eliminated in the crap surf.

There may be a break in the webcast as they dismantle the truck and head back for heat 1 of round 2. But the missed heats aren't much chop anyway.

Another Lay Day

Spent the last few hours checking in for each call for the Billabong Pro. Contest Director Mike Parsons must be getting a bit concerned as they packed up the infrastructure and moved to the back up beach break.

Only problem is that there isn't even a ripple there (despite the web-site claiming two feet). Bunbury was about three times the size today than Spain.

They will have to run soon otherwise they will run out of days.

Hopefully the crew heading to Geraldton this weekend won't have the same problems 'cause there's no waiting period there !!!

Lay Day in Spain

Yet another lay day at the Billabong Pro Munduka. Looking at the webcam it will take more than a change in tide to get the event going as it is even flater than yesterday when it stuggled to be a foot.

Munduka was in danger of being dropped after last year. Apparently some dredging had wrecked the bank but the main problem is that there isn't a decent back up wave if the rivermouth isn't firing. This year the bank is great but there just isn't any swell.

There a still a few days left in the waiting period and by using the elimination round one format they bought themselves another day. They keep posting the rumour of a decent swell to come soon. Lets hope it is true.

Think Your '80s Photos are Bad

Watch this video and you'll never feel bad about those fluro boardshorts again !



Members - Remember to send your grommet photos to Dave for the next newsletter.

Mundaka has started

The Billabong Pro in Mundaka has started a couple of days ago with about 8 heats in the elimination round one run during the low tide window.

Apparently the bank is all time (Luke Egan claims it as the best in 20 years) but the swell isn't helping. The last two days have been flat and it is likely that today will be the same. Contest Director, Mike Parsons, thinks there will be a decent swell late in the contest waiting period.

Mundaka has been a bit of a bust in the last few years with only three or four heats of last year actually run there. The back up beach is crappy but apparently has a bank if they are forced there.

Webcasts from Billabong are always good and you can expect Luke Egan and Occy to commentate sometime. The video highlights and heats on demand are always top class.

Lima Wins

So we can expect a tattoo of her trophy on her other side !

Gilmore still has the number 1 spot with a first and two seconds but Lima has narrowed the points gap to just over 300. Sophia Millanovic has also stayed in the race with her third taking her over 2000 points.

Next WWCT event is the Search later this month.

Gilmore v Lima

In a repeat of Bells, Steph Gilmore will take on Silva Lima in the next few minutes in the final of the Beachley Classic. Lima has just left the water and only wants a 10 minute break.

Waves are still pretty poor but they need to finish it off today.

Hopefully Lima won't win and force the world to endure another terrible tattoo like she got to commemorate her Bells win !

Beachley On but Beachley Out

Layne is out, getting beaten in round 3.

The waves are pretty big and onshore. Its the type of you generally wouldn't bother but every now and then a bit of face comes through.

The webcast is pretty poor, especially as some bloke keeps standing up in front of the camera. The commentators are trying but it is very hard to talk up such poor conditions.

The celebrity challenge is on later.

Want a Free Surf Movie ?????

Rip Curl is providing a free download of Rubber Soul II. The movie stars the best of the Rip Curl riders like Mick Fanning and Steph Gilmore.

You can watch it in parts on-line or download all 186 megs in MP4 format. MP4 works on Ipods and Iphones but also on your computer if you have Itunes or one of the million different media players. (I suggest VLC player as it is free and plays just about every format you will find)

Proof

Last Friday Khngy and Tweeds went south and hit South Point. They claimed North Point was big, crowded and lookin' good.

Photographer Hugh Davis has posted some photos from that day on his blog "Weekend Warrior" that show they were telling the truth.