Pipe and tour over

The Pipe Masters and the ASP Championship Tour for 2010 is over. Jeremy Flores won in small (by Hawaiian standards anyway) and inconsistent Backdoor.

Flores beat a red hot Slater in the semis by point something as both got a nine and a seven.

Parko won the Triple Crown for the third time despite losing in the mid event rounds. Taj made yet another finals round before going down to Flores.

The 2011 season sees the full implementation of the new world ranking and the change over of surfers a couple of times during the year. It will be interesting to see who can keep their spots for the whole year and which gumbbies will find themselves yo yoing between the two tours. It is likely that the top surfers will do more prime events making it harder for Braziliians to use their butt wiggling styles in their local QS events to make the dream tour.

Interestingly it appears that lots of pros are rushing to the airport to leave the islands. Not that long ago everyone stayed well into January with February still crowded and turning it on. Maybe Hawaii isn't big enough anymore.

Crappy Board Challenge Fizzes

Four people including me does not make a contest. On the positive side the crowd was low, on the negative the swell was lower.

However despite the minute surf, the lack of power and closeouts it was one of the funnest days out in the water for a while. Neatesy must win the award for the most stoked grom in the world and took another step in his development by riding dropping a foot and a bit and riding a mini mal. It will be reos next year.

P Mac came to defend his title and got wave of the day. Tweeds claimed his three "tubes" like a Brazilian.

Unfortunately no contest meant no money for SurfAid International. A donation to the cause makes a great Christmas gift. Go to www.surfaidinternational.org.

Crappy Board Challenge

Surf Beach - Saturday 11th December - 7.30 for an 8.00 start.

Entry fee is $ 20.00 with proceeds being donated to SurfAid International.

If you can't come please consider donating anyway. Follow this link


SurfAid Mentawai Tsunami report - 3 Nov 2010 from SurfAid International on Vimeo.

Schoolies

Bigger than usual group of surfers sent to Dunsborough last week. Some sessions went down from the tip of the Cape at Lighthouses to Smiths. This poor quality video is of Marty Lobo's last wave at Shallows on Thursday. He chucked it up into a few big lips on the left but elected for one on his forehand as the wind increased

The days were all onshore except the one that everyone went home on Friday. Epic Swells rubs it in !!!


Malingup 26 November, Yallingup from coops on Vimeo.

Psyche

I'm way for a few days working down south. Here's a few videos to get you going in case the swell comes up.




January Issue 2011 Surfing Magazine Trailer from Surfing Magazine on Vimeo.





France: Freesurfing 2 from Mick Fanning on Vimeo.

Parko is back

After getting a 10 on his first competition wave since his massive fin chop, Parko has blazed through the first contest of the Hawaiian season, the Reef Pro winning easily a few minutes ago.

The waves have been big, small, offshore and crumbly over the contest period. Steph Gilmore won the womens event a few days ago with WA's Felicity Parmenteer doing really well to reach the final rounds.

The legends heat was one of the best. Surfed on the best day in the biggest waves, Tom Curren won from Occy, Sunny Garcia and Tom Carroll. They will be surfing at each event. Can't wait for Pipe !

Andy Irons has died

Andy Irons has died in the US on the way home from Puerto Rico. AI was a no show for round one and then pulled out of the event due to illness. Billabong are now indicating that it was a re-occurrence of dengie fever and it is suspected that this caused his death.

Andy's wife is pregnant and this makes his death even more sad.

Four-peat

Steph Gilmore has just won her fourth world title by making the semis of the Rip Curl Search in Puerto Rico.

Boogers !!!

Don't usually like to show pictures of boogers but this is one of ours. Today a horrible collection of craft hit Smiths Beach. The waves were suck and tubing. Body boarding can be like watching grass grow but there was a very talented crew out in waves that were perfect for them but almost impossible for stand ups.

Ben Geissler had to resort to gut sliding after a Bunbury take off smashed his proper board and grabbed a handful of clean tubes. However the spins at the end were a bit unnecessary

I went for the hand plane session down the beach and Gary Carthew took his clubbie racing mal to the shoulder of the reef. Tweeds made do with a session at the Capel Cut on the way home.

More whenever the next newsletter comes out.

Taj robbed again

Round three has hit the water at the back up beachie. Taj scored the guinea pig first heat in okay onshore waves.

It seems again that Taj's opponent was over scored on his best two waves. Variety is meant to be part of the criteria but Matt Wilkinson's three decent backhand reos were all the same but he got an eight. His single move air reverse was a six ! Taj surfered big and smooth with big hacks and held the lead for most of the heat with fives but struggled to find a wave in the back end of the heat. He did get a square up with a wave with three massive smacks getting a nine but he needed a 9.1. That wave was probably overscored to make up but it wasn't enough. It looks like another year without a title for TB. Interestingly he wasn't riding a Firewire but a normal (and dented) board.

With the "swell of the century" not arriving the forecast isn't great and the current word from the contest is for the rest of round three today (six more hours) and then small beachies for the rest of the contest.

Round One has finished

The Rip Curl Pro Portugal ran the non-elimination round one in some pretty marginal waves at Supertubos. Taj continued his habit of winning round one heat this year (the opposite of last year) and Slater continued his habit of losing.

Round two is on at the moment in nice waves. Its probably around four foot and offshore, although the size has dropped with the tide. There are some nice long barrels and enough waves to make it fair for everyone.

So far in round two Slater won easily and Jordy is through to the next round. Dane Reynolds and Adriano DeSouza have pretty much fallen out of the race by losing their round two heats. Adriano was beaten by Dean Morrison who was the injury replacement for Bede Durbridge, who just had a baby last week.

The sun is meant to stay up until after 8 their time which will be after midnight here provided the conditions stay nice.

FuelTV are showing the event live and there is a webcast (if you can stand Jodie Cooper's commentary)

New guard wins in Portugal

Carissa Moore has won the Rip Curl Pro by beating Steph Gilmore. Between them they have won all bar one event this year. Gilmore is set for another World Title but Moore may be the competition she needs in the next few years.

The final were held at a backup venue in waves that were decent and with good size. Although she is small, WA's Clare Bevilaqua, who had a great event finishing third, was taking waves in he quarter final that was easily double overhead. Although the size was there they were a bit fat and sectioning and not giving much room for big vertical whacks. It was a bit like a brown version of the left at Marge's.

The big storm predicted has apparently hit and the swell has jacked. One of those European news programs on SBS had footage of big waves bashing the coast but who knows what they were saying ! The men are set to run today at Supertubos if the wind backs off.

Portugal for men and women

The Rip Curl Pro is on in Portugal  with the women in the water. WA's Claire Bevilacqua is currently in heat four of round one.

The waves look ok, decent size and offshore but they don't seem to allow huge moves. 

The swell forecasts show a massive blob in the swell window and they are starting to talk it up as storm of the century !

Rip Curl have a decent webcast and the men will be shown on FuelTV.

In the Newsletter

Video of the Month - Chuck and his shark


Me my Shark and I from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo.


Wave Skiing


Wave skiing in Cali from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo.


Sipping Jetstreams



Modern Collective



Busting Down the Door



Hawaii 9-0



The Green Iguana

Mick wins

Mick Fanning has just beaten Kelly Slater by a combo score in the final of the Quiksilver Pro in France. The swell had jacked with the tide and it was a solid double overhead breaking onto a shallow bank. Looking at the waves you can see how the French invented the guilotine !!!

Slater pulled off wave of the event in the semis. After taking off under the lip and his board sliding tail first down the face the olny people that thought he had made it were Kelly and the cameraman. Ten points and no claim.




Mick lucked into two surfable waves but took a massive wave on the head and broke his legrope. He deserved the scores he got, especially his last wave but I have two complaints, Mick claims like a Brazillian and has the worst poo stance on the CT.

Mick will go to third, Kelly will stay at number one but with a larger buffer over Jordy. However when you consider that the worst two events are dropped (and there are three left) Kelly pulls away. On my adjusted scores he is 42500 (with his worst two results a 9th and 17th leaving nothing lower than 3rd), Jordy 33750 (drops a 17th and a 5th leaving three 5th, a second and a win), Mick 32000 (dropping 9ths but keeping two 9th in his score), Taj 30000 (having to hold a 17th in his score line) and Dane 28500 (dropping 17th and a 9th but having nothing higher than third). Kelly and Jordy can both afford to have another bad day, especially Jordy whose second lowest score is a 9th but Taj must make finals and hope the others bomb.

Next event is the Rip Curl in Portugal on Thursday. Current rumour is that there will be swell from week one. Supertubes is much like France - closeouts with the odd epic tube, expect plenty of claims. This is the replacement event for Mundacca which has failed to deliver for the last few years.

Too much choice

There is too much live sport right now. I'm flicking between the test match in India, the AFL Grand Final and the finals day at the Quikie.

Swell is big and clean but still thumping. Paddling out is hard but the jet ski is struggling even more. It looks like a crazy beach break version of Pipe and Backdoor

Slater v Bourez in the water at the moment.

Finals Day

Just the finals to run in France. Slater has Michel Bourez, who should have beaten him in round four. If he wins he will get another heat on one of his rivals as Fanning and Jordy battle each other in quarter four.

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Daniel Ross (AUS) 16.40 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.33
Heat 2: Taylor Knox (USA) 8.77 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 7.23
Heat 3: Brett Simpson (USA) 11.34 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 10.30
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.27 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 6.23
Heat 5: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.00 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 8.83
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.53 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.60
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.84 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 2.60
Heat 8: Jadson Andre (BRA) 15.83 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.60
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.67 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 9.77
Heat 10: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 8.90 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 7.10
Heat 11: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.50 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 8.66
Heat 12: Mick Fanning (AUS) 11.27 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 5.50

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Brett Simpson (USA) 10.67, Daniel Ross (AUS) 10.53, Taylor Knox (USA) 6.40
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.20, Michel Bourez (PYF) 15.63, Owen Wright (AUS) 9.26
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.40, Jadson Andre (BRA) 8.37, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 6.73
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.93, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 7.10, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 2.83

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Dan Ross (AUS) 15.07 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 10.50
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.30 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 6.50
Heat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 15.23 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 10.86
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.50 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 2.97

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Brett Simpson (USA) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
QF 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
QF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)

Claims

Everyone is claiming at the Quiksilver Pro in France. Round three is into the last heat. The waves are nice when they aren't closing out. It is still one of those day where only one in twenty are surfable but at least its sort of offshore.

Taj lost in the first heat as did the higher seed in the first three heats. You compare Taj and Dan's second wave and see if you think Dan deserved a nine. I don't and think that once again Taj was ripped off. Just like Cheyne Horan before him the judges seem to want to score his competitors higher for smaller moves.






Slater beat Julian Wilson slipping one in under his priority. Jordy is through as is Owen Wright.




Taj's loss just about kills his world title hopes, especially with Slater and Jordy still there. This is part of the unfairness of the current format. Slater loses in round one but is still in the event. He can lose again in round four and win. Taj wins big in his round one heat but is out.

The event is going to blaze on for as much of today as they can. The swell is meant to be up tomorrow but the wind is going to be bad.

France is crap

Three heats of round two were run in pussy little waves last night before it was give up as a joke. After a day of massive close outs the next day was small close outs.

If this is what a "Dream Tour" venue looks like maybe Bunbury should be part of the tour. We've got beaches full of close outs everywhere and if you come in winter you can get shore breaking, mud coloured barrels as well.

King of the Groms continues at the moment in pretty average surf. Apparently the swell  is due to kick at the same time as the storm that makes it hits the coast.

Quikie Pro France

The Quiksilver Pro has started in France but went on hold after six heats to wait for the tide.

Luckily round one is non-elimination with three of the heats being won with scores under 11, including Taj. Mick Fanning won with a 13 but his competitors got 2.24 and 1.96. Even Slater was only able to manufacture a heat total of four ! This might be the reason the contest went on hold.

The waves in France are always crap, always. Just messy, tide effected close out beach breaks. It does make heats a bit of a lottery and the best surfer doesn't always win.

There is the usual webcast and on FuelTV for those with Foxtel.

Kelly Slater has won the Hurley Pro again beating Bede Durbridge and adding $100 000 loose change to his wallet.

The win puts him into first place and drops Jordy to second. Taj got fifth after lacking a decent backup against Dane Reynolds.

The next event starts in France in six days and is followed up by the Portugal and the Search.

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 18.13
2 – Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.13

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.87 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 10.43
SF 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.67 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.63

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.60 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 8.20
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.03 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 15.97
QF 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.27 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.87
QF 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) 14.80 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.90

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.76 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.50
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.10 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) N/S
Heat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.40 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 7.47
Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) 12.04 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.73

ASP WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Hurley Pro at Trestles):
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 40,000 pts
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 35,500 pts
3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 30,500 pts
4. Dane Reynolds (USA) 30,250 pts
5. Mick Fanning (AUS) 29,500 pts

Last Day in the USA

Tonight will finish off the Hurley Pro at Trestles. Last night round three and the new non-elimination three man round four. Winners in round four go straight to the quarters with the rest into one of the four round five heats. This means that you can lose twice and still win, provided you lose in the right rounds. I don't like it but can see how the sponsors and spectators could see the benefit of the better surfers being in the water longer.

The waves were great. If J-Bay is the wave you surf in heaven, Trestles would be the back up for when you want to bust out a few different moves.

Probably the best exchange of the day was Jordy v Brett Simpson. Jordy pulled off a massive air rotation before a few hacks and finishing with a Superman. Brett followed on the next wave with two massive airs but was easily beaten.

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.20 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.16
Heat 2: Chris Davidson (AUS) 12.17 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 12.00
Heat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.13 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.54
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.50 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 13.06
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.93 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 10.67
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.50 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 12.67
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.87 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 12.93
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.57 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.83
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.60 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 6.63
Heat 10: Dane Reynolds (USA) 18.50 def. Luke Stedman (AUS) 10.96
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.17 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.24
Heat 12: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.87 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 12.87

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.30, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.00, Chris Davidson (AUS) 12.33
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS), 17.20, Kelly Slater (USA) 15.37, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.27
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.16, Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.26
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.60, Dane Reynolds (USA) 16.40, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 7.97

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND5 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)
Heat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. TBA
QF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. TBA
QF 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. TBA
QF 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. TBA

Round Two done

Overnight they finished the second round of the Hurley Pro, finally dumping the losers. From the heats on demand they waves looked okay but must have been too inconsistent to justify starting round three. There is still meant to be a bigger swell on the way.



HURLEY PRO TRESTLES REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) 11.00 def. Luke Munro 10.60
Heat 7: Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.16 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 9.26
Heat 8: Dusty Payne (HAW) 13.50 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.00
Heat 9: Adam Melling (AUS) 12.40 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 6.34
Heat 10: Taylor Knox (USA) 14.50 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 7.83
Heat 11: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.60 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 9.17
Heat 12: Luke Stedman (AUS) 12.70 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 11.60
HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 2: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 10: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 12: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)

Hurley Pro Starts

The first event under the new format, the Hurley Pro at Upper Trestles has started while we slept. I did watch the first two heats live on Fuel TV. The waves look typical, foggy, glassy and fun. It is definitely a wave you would love to surf but without the usual massive crowd.

The new format still  has a non-elimination round one. Dane Reynold's looked like he really didn't want to be in his first heat but tried a bit harder to win his round two heat. Most of the names got through, including Taj Burrow but in round two Fredie P and Bobby Martinez have both been eliminated.

Surfline are calling a big swell from down near New Zealand to hit during the waiting period. But they were optimistic about Chopes !

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.33, Dane Reynolds (USA) 12.94, Luke Munro (AUS) 10.33
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.50, Adam Melling (AUS) 14.46, Brett Simpson (USA) 13.83
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.40, Taylor Knox (USA) 13.30, Travis Logie (ZAF) 13.04
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.10, Gabe Kling (USA) 12.67, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.70
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.16, Rob Machado (USA) 11.47, Kai Otton (AUS) 9.67
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.27, Luke Stedman (AUS) 10.10, Kolohe Andino (USA) 8.43
Heat 7: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.50, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.26, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.93
Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.24, Daniel Ross (AUS) 15.23, Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.33
Heat 9: Jadson Andre (BRA) 17.03, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 11.46, Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.10
Heat 10: Andy Irons (HAW) 15.04, Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.57, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 5.23
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.47, Owen Wright (AUS) 13.66, Roy Powers (HAW) 8.50
Heat 12: Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.93, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 12.67, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.26

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Dane Reynolds (USA) 17.70 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 11.10
Heat 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.33 def. Rob Machado (USA) 10.77
Heat 3: Gabe Kling (USA) 12.17 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 11.44
Heat 4: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 12.16 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 9.93
Heat 5: Brett Simpson (USA) 10.93 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.77

HURLEY PRO TRESTLES REMAINING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Luke Munro
Heat 7: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 9: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Heat 10: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 11: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 12: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)

AI wins in Tahiti

Andy Irons won the Billabong Pro as most of us would have been eating breakfast. On the last day of the waiting period there were some nice wave, if a little windy and small. However there were plenty of little barrels and Kelly Slater got yet another 10 in his quarter final and the wave deserved every point with him taking off late under the lip, freefalling, almost losing balance and then slotting deep and long. He even looked back after coming out clean.




Andy was a deserved winner after surfing well all event and getting through some close heats after losing in round one. I've never rated AI. His stance is ugly and his feet are to far apart, he claims to often and was consistently over scored during his world champ years. He has then had the advantage of a guaranteed wildcard after his contest hiatus, something that wasn't extended to Tom Curren, Occy or Slater. However he has been working very hard with Parko and his trainer to get back in the game and his wife is pregnant. In what looked like an honest pre-event interview and in his interview with GT in the channel after the final, Andy showed a new maturity and self-awareness that wasn't there in the past. In the past he has been huge in the Europe and Hawaiian legs so at number 7 he is still in the title hunt. However he is already carrying his throw away events and can't afford any slip ups.

Slater has jumped up to second while Taj stays at third and Jordy at one.The tour has been trimmed in size with the two "injury wildcards" announced today. Kierran Perrow and Gabe Kling will stay on tour due to their early season injuries. We can also expect to continue to see Tom Whitaker and Dean Morrison for most of the rest of the season as a replacement for Parko, who isn't expected back before Hawaii and Kai Otten who has a serious spine injury.

The next event is in the US at Trestles. Not long to wait as it starts on the 12th.


BILLABONG PRO TAHITI FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Andy Irons (HAW) 14.67
2 – C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.33

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.00 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.93
SF 2: Andy Irons (HAW) 13.57 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 10.26

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.53 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 6.23
QF 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.80 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.33
QF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.67 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.77
QF 4: Andy Irons (HAW) 16.44 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 11.00

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.50 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.67
Heat 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.83 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.83
Heat 3: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.00 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 1.10
Heat 4: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.00 def. Manoa Drollet (PYF) 5.37
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.70 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 8.43
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.67 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 8.83
Heat 7: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.17 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.07
Heat 8: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 17.00 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.66

CURRENT ASP WORLD TITLE RACE TOP 5 (After Billabong Pro Tahiti)
1 – Jordy Smith (ZAF) 30,250 pts
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 30,000 pts
3 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 25,250 pts
4 – Dane Reynolds (USA) 23,750 pts
5 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 23,250 pts

Round Three

Round three has been done after two and a half days of surfing. Today's waves were pretty marginal and that is why it was only a short day.

In good news for Taj, Jordy was also taken out by Manoa Drollett. While this will probably be a throw away for Jordy, it also means he doesn't get away from his clutches. On the bad side both Slater and Mick Fanning are into round four. Slater has last event runner up Adam Melling, while Mick is against Andy (who won his heat by a fraction of a point).

Highlight of today is Pat Gudauskas pulling off a rodeo clown in his heat. While this gives an indication of the wave quality it is also claimed to be the first in a WCT event. However Pat pulled another (smaller) flip at a WQS event in the Maldives last year.




The end of round three also marks the end of this year's dream tour for 13 surfers.

- Drew Courtney (AUS), 31
- Neco Padaratz (BRA), 34
- Tanner Gudauskas (USA), 22
- Mick Campbell (AUS), 34
- Kieren Perrow (AUS), 33
- Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30
- Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), 25
- Blake Thornton (AUS), 25
- Dean Morrison (AUS), 29
- Jay Thompson (AUS), 28
- Nate Yeomans (USA), 29
- Ben Dunn (AUS), 24
- Marco Polo (BRA), 29

Tanner has had one of the shortest CT careers so far only lasting half a season, although it is not really his fault. Most of the rest have had a decent run. Deano, Mick Campbell and Kieren Perrow would have probably had a good shot at requalifying in a full season and have always been highly competitive. Looking at the list there is no real duds other than Neco and Marco Polo whilst people like Travis Logie are still there.

Chopes on - Taj out

Round one and a chunk of round two were done last night and this morning in contestable surf.. Round two has been a bit of a horror for the top seed in each heat with most going down for a 33rd.

Taj lost to local wildcard. The heat was close but Manoa got minutely higher scores to win.




Check out heats on demand for the action and Jordy's huge round one one footed air.

Chopes in no chop

Still no action at the Billabong Pro. With no backup venue the event is relying on a very distant call from Surfline of a small swell in a couple of days. 

Chopes has become another Munkuda is the last few years. After a couple of big scary events there has been little swell and one event finished after the waiting period. Like Spain, there always seems to be great waves for the trials and after everyone goes home. Even a change of dates hasn't helped.

Luke Egan also has to weigh up the effect that a poor result in inconsistent waves could do to those on the elimination bubble before calling it on. 

Day 1 - Lay Day

Small and inconsistent waves have resulted in a lay day on day one of the Billabong Pro. Some good heats on paper in round 1 but as it is non-elimination so most will be under whelming. The American websites are talking up Slater v AI v wildcard in heat 10.

Current world number one Jordy is in a hard heat against goofy CJ Hopgood and local Manoa Drollet (who always get a little local push in the scoring). Taj has Tiago Pires and a wildcard while Mick has last event runner up Adam Melling and a local wildcard. With Tahiti 18 hours behind not a lot worth getting up in the middle of the night for in this round.

BILLABONG PRO TAHITI ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS
Heat 1: Damien Hobgood (USA), Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 2: Jadson Andre (BRA), Luke Stedman (AUS), Nate Yeomans (USA)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Marco Polo (BRA)
Heat 4: Dane Reynolds (USA), Tom Whitaker (AUS), Blake Thornton (AUS)
Heat 5: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Roy Powers (HAW), Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 6: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Joan Duru (FRA)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS), Adam Melling (AUS), Tamaroa McComb (PYF)
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Manoa Drollet (PYF)
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT), Tuamata Puhetini (PYF)
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA), Andy Irons (HAW), Heiarii Williams (PYF)
Heat 11: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Dusty Payne (HAW), Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA), Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 13: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 14: Michel Bourez (PYF), Dean Morrison (AUS), Mick Campbell (AUS)
Heat 15: Taylor Knox (USA), Luke Munro (AUS), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 16: Chris Davidson (AUS), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), Ben Dunn (AUS)

Billabong Pro starts tomorrow

The Billabong Pro Tahiti starts tomorrow. There is a webcast and Fuel TV is showing it live but it is always at a weird time of the night.
There was some big swell for the trials and a few big wipeouts.

The event has been a bit of a bust over the last few years and because it is a barrel only can be a little boring and throw up an upset here and there. Goofies are usually succesful but naturals can use a bit of backhand flare. Expect lots of people to get smashed as everyone has to get impossibly deep to get decent scores.

Taj and Slater have done well here. Jordy hasn't and it has been a bit of a vodoo place for Mick until last year when he did a lot of pre event work. Parko is out probably until Hawaii with his fin gash. Apparently he hasn't even be able to walk on it yet.

This is the last chance for the lower end of the World Tour to get enough points to remain on tour. At the end the tour will be cut from 45 to 32 for the rest of the year. No big names in danger, only those who haven't made it out of the second round.

This is what a big swell looks like

Ry Craike at Tombstones

Tombstones 2010 from Tom Jennings on Vimeo.

Hype the swell !!!!

Coastalwatch is hyping up a massive 40'+ ocean swell that is likely to hit us on Sunday. The weather forecast is for a mostly sunny day with SSE winds so it could be one of those massive clean days down south that are great to watch but not great to surf.

Black is up to 40' !!!

Stormsurf has the swell tracking from deep in the Antarctic and brushing past the south west corner

Wax up the gun !

Never look down

With some shark sightings localy in the last few weeks this footage from the US will just add to your paranoia. Apparently the camerman was shadowed by a shark the day before so decided to take his SUP and a camera on a pole and see if he could find the shark again. Turns out he did and another for good measure, both white pointers. I'd rather not know what is below me.


Me my Shark and I from Chuck Patterson on Vimeo.

East Coast

The east coast had waves today. Not the east coast of Australia like last week but the east coast of WA. With a decent sized swell there is surf on the Dunsborough side of Cape Naturaliste. But with the lack of fronts so far this year and a mixed up swell direction it wasn't top quality.

The swell was inconsistent and with enough size to get the shortboarders (well a collection of fish, mid lengths and normal boards) out. Crowds weren't that big but with the long lulls and strange take off spots it didn't take much.

There were people out everywhere to Castle Rock. Even spots that weren't usually surfed were being tried. I surfed the Rocky Point boat ramp on the mal. One guy at Eagle Bay was getting the odd head height take off. PK wasn't that great and there was a few out off Meelup point.

Could be better tomorrow at some of the northern spots when the wind goes more south west and the swell sorts its self out. Or it could go flat.

Bells was cranking this morning. One digit air temperature and a wind that cuts right through you but what we would think of a classic Bells conditions.

Probably 30 out at Bells but spread out across a few peaks. No drop ins and the waves were overhead and a bit.

Winkipop was also firing. The crowd was about 15 but the take off zone was smaller and there were a few burnings here and there. The waves were a consistent head height but with the odd steamer coming through unridden every now and then. It is a great looking wave.

Looks like there have been some decent conditions locally but does that mean waves ? I'll be back Friday with two more weeks of holidays so it should either be flat, onshore or both !

Surf Report

From the Great Ocean Road.

Bells was big and blowing onshore at a million miles an hour. It was freezing so it is no surprise that there was no one out. Regardless of the mush you could see the potential.

Checked out SurfWorld Museum in Torquay. Nice but not overly packed with stuff. It was probably because I knew most of what they were talking about that kept my trip short but if your a newbie or think Kelly Slater is the oldest surfer in the world then it is worthwhile. There was a cabinet full of surfing books and bit and pieces. I had about a quarter of them in my house somewhere.

The only place there were any surfers out was at Lorne in some nice clean conditions inside the bay. The waves were pretty small and it was pissing down with rain.

Staying at Apollo Bay about half way along the Road. The Great Ocean Road is the windiest road I have ever driven on and it was wet and slippery. Good job I was driving an Audi A4 hire car and it drove like it was on suction caps.

It would be nice if the wind drops but I'm not holding my breath.

Jordy Wins

Jordy Smith has won the Billabong Pro at J-Bay beating Adam Melling. This is Jordy's first ever win on the WCT and he is now number 1 in the world and one world ratings.

Taj was knocked out in the semis when he made probably his first mistake all contest on his last wave. Needing a mid six with less than 30 seconds to go he caught a wave that would have been good enough for the score and started well but blew it on a big hack towards the end of the ride and was out.

Next event is Chopes in about a month.

Mexican Pipe

The Billabong Pro isn't the only surf contest on at the moment. There is a "star" event at Puerto Escondido in Mexico. Mexican Pipe looks like it was firing for a change as can be seen in the highlight video from day 1.

Finals at J-Bay

The Billabong Pro flows straight into its fourth day and the finals. Jordy Smith is in the water against Adriano De'Souza and with two monster airs has a 9 and a high 7.

Bede Durbridge takes on local wildcard Sean Holmes. Taj has Dane Reynolds is probably the hardest quarter final. Damo Hopgood, the last goofy in the event, then takes on Aussie rookie Adam Melling. 

With Slater out in round three and Mick in round 4 both Taj and Jordy could put themselves in a great position for the world title. They have been the standout surfers of the event so far and a bit a little margin. Both have been able to find the best waves, hunt the barrel and their lip hits are more critical and more fins out than anyone else. The difference between the top guys and the next rung down is the smoothness of their surfing. The next tier seem to always need to double pump their bottom turns where the best surfer hold their rail in one move off the bottom.

It will be an interesting day in waves that aren't great for J-Bay but obviously the forecast for the rest of the waiting period isn't good.

Holmes at Home

Sean Holmes has surfed his second heat for the day and taken his second big scalp. In a really tight heat he just sneaked past Kelly Slater in round three and has just beaten Andy Irons in round four. He will be taking on Bede Durbridge in the quarters.

Taj is in the water at the moment and has just blasted out the doggie door on a long barrel for an 6.8. His second wave had a tube and a series of massive, fins out hacks for a 9.77 leaving Tiago Pires in a combo with half a heat to go.

Jordy Smith destroyed Owen Wright and took advantage of being out at J-Bay with only one other to catch a fistful of waves.

Dane Reynolds, Mick Fanning, Damo Hopgood are amongst those left to surf in this round. Mick v Damo should be a good heat.

J-Bay Hat Trick

Day three of the waiting period and the rest of round three is being run. AI has just snuck past the stink bug style of Luke Stedmman and Slater is in the water against local wildcard Sean Holmes. The winner will take on AI in the next round.  Taj is in the next heat against Frances Joan Duru.

The waves are similar to yesterday although smaller and not quite as clean. Still you would die happy if this was as bad as your local ever got !

J-Bay Day Two

Into the second round at J-Bay after yesterday's non-elimination round one. Most of the seeds got through easily in the classic surf and so far today the heats have been okay but no stars.

Although the surf has dropped to about three foot plus it is still cranking and probably better than anything you've ever surfed !!!! Still that hasn't stopped the first ten of the event being scored by Bottle Thompson. With some big carves, a deep deep tube and a floater it deserved the ten. Check it at the heats on demand on the website.

As the day has progressed the size hasn't really dropped but it has become a little inconsistent with some heats being a little starved for waves. CJ Hopgood is the only significant loss so far, losing to Timmy Reynes, who was Parko's injury replacement. CJ is having a horror start to his year with his second 33rd to go with a 17th and a 5th. This means he will hold the 17th for the rest of the year.

Unfortunately some of the South African spectators have brought along those stupid bugle things from the soccer world cup. Luckily they only seem to blow them when a local is in a heat and only Jordy and Travis Logie (who seems to have learnt how to surf this year) left.

Looks like they will run to round 3 heat 5 today and hope for more swell tomorrow. Watch it live on FuelTV or the net.

Heaven

The Billabong Pro J-Bay has started in classic 4 - 6 foot offshore conditions. These are the waves you dream off, long fast open sweeping sections with a tube ride thrown in for good measure.

The heats are bashing through but the last four have been classics. Jordy Smith just smashed his heat, Slater threw a lazy carving 360 to score 15 Plus for his two waves. This was despite his filght being delayed and him not arriving in J-Bay till this morning, with boards but not clothes as his bags are still travelling. He rode a 5'8" ish round tail with five fin plugs.

Taj was next up and ripped out two big layback snaps and a coverup or two. Mick Fanning then tore the roof off some for the highest heat score so far in round one.

As usual for a Billabong event the webcast is top notch but it is also being broadcast live on Fuel TV for those with Foxtel. If you missed it there are heats on demand on the Billabong Pro site.

J-Bay tomorrow

The ASP world tour finally kicks back into life for event 4, the Billabong Pro at J-Bay. This event always seems to get waves although the wind can be an issue sometimes.

It will be interesting to see how the long lay off has effected the surfers. Kelly always seems to be able to switch it on and off as does Mick. Taj will be the most interesting as he was on a roll prior to the break but J-Bay is a place he generally does well at and really suits his style. Interestingly Taj, Mick, Parko and Slater have basically owned this event in the last few years. Between them they have had 40 starts in 13 events for 9 wins, 3 seconds, 7 thirds and 6 fifths.

Parko wont win this year as his foot injury will keep him out. Below is news footage of the wave that has probably killed any chance of him being world champ this year.



THE TOECUTTER from Joel Parkinson on Vimeo.

Ouch

Parko is out of the Billabong Pro starting at J-Bay next week after cutting his foot. If you think that sounds a bit wimpy check out the photo on his site.

Newsletter this week

Hopefully the newsletter should be in members inboxes on Friday morning. This will be the "Travel Edition" and there may be a surprise (or a prize) or two.

As a taster have a look at this photo -

ISD video

A little bit of poor quality video from the Bunbury trip on Monday.

Something to watch

You can see why this is considered one of the best logging waves in the world and also why you would never bother trying.

Malibu Madness- Sea Movies from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.

And some Parko

MONDAY MORNING from Joel Parkinson on Vimeo.

Happy ISD

A solid looking swell for International Surfing Day today.

About eight of us are heading south tomorrow to celebrate. Swell should be around three metres and winds pretty light but with a touch of west. Fingers crossed.

International Surfing Day forecast

Stormsurf has pretty red and purple blobs hitting the southern corner. Red means bloody big and purple means bigger than red !!!

The text forecast shows 13 feet at midnight dropping to 10 is by lunch time.

Bad day

Remember it is always harder to get in than it is to go out.

Don't laugh because karma is a bitch !

Lima wins Peru

Silvana Lima has won the world tour event in Peru. Who knows what it was like as there was no coverage other than an ASP press release.

With her 5th place WA's Clare Bevo moves up a couple of places to 13th.

The womens tour goes into a break until October. Hopefully it will get better treatment when it returns for the Rip Curl Pro in Portugal.


MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC FINAL RESULT:
1 - Silvana Lima (BRA) 16.50
2 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 10.77


MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.77 def. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.00
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.60 def. Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 11.56


MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.43 def. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 11.23
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 11.86 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 10.50
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.27 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 13.70
QF 4: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 14.14 def. Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 13.43


Current ASP Women's World Tour Top 5 (After Peru):
1 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 4716 pts
2 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 4224 pts
3 - Silvana Lima (BRA) 3612 pts
4 - Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 3588 pts
5 - Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 3180 pts

Women on in Peru

The Womens World Tour is battling away in Peru. Very hard to tell what is happening as there is no website or webcast.


Steph Gilmore is through to the semis, as is WA's Clair Bevo. Regardless of what happens it will be Clair's best result of the year so far.

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sage Erickson (USA) 13.57, Anali Gomez (PER) 11.83, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 9.84
Heat 2: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 10.26, Nikita Robb (ZAF) 9.50, Valeria Sole (PER) 5.17

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 16.00 def. Nikita Robb (ZAF) 8.43
Heat 2: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 13.60 def. Melanie Bartels (HAW) 11.67 
Heat 3: Paige Hareb (NZL) 13.33 def. Rebecca Woods (AUS) 9.84
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.50 def. Julia de la Rosa (PER) 8.60
Heat 5: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.00 def. Anali Gomez (PER) 9.37
Heat 6: Coco Ho (HAW) 14.00 def. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 11.77
Heat 7: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 15.17 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 9.50
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.17 def. Sage Erickson (USA) 13.60

MOVISTAR PERU CLASSIC QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)
QF 2: Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Coco Ho (HAW)
QF 4: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) vs. Sofia Mulanovich (PER)

International Surfing Day

The WAPSurfriders will be commemorating International Surfing Day on the 21st June 2010. This will be the fourth year that we have done something and we have scored waves most times. 2007 at Mitchell Rocks was fun as was 2008 where we surfed Grunters, Gas and Meelup all in the one day.

ISD is meant to be the 20th to coincide with the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere but thats a Sunday so we'll go Monday, which is still the 20th in America (if that makes sense !)

There are two events planned - one down south and one at Triggs for the metros !

Trigg - meet at the Trigg point carpark at 9.00. Mark Neates is arranging this session so email or contact him at Fit for Life if you're interested.

South - dawn run to be in the Dunsborough area about 7.30. Dave Hurdle is arranging the trip. The exact meeting point will be arranged closer to the day when the weather is known. Email him if you want to join the south west crew for the day.

Bored ????

I bet you've never been so bored that making a stop motion surf video this detailed sounded like a good idea. It is fun to watch though.

Pro surfing at Triggs

Well Pro Junior anyway. The Chill Pro Junior is underway on day two and they have some little waves for the girls who are first up.

There is a live web-stream but it is a bit hit and miss.

Freesurf online magzine

Open publication - Free publishing - More surf

Something for an onshore Sunday

Stay at home and watch a video. Here's three to get you started.

One for the shorties



One for the longboarders

duskie from Tom Woods on Vimeo.

And one for those in between

JOEL TUDOR - RINCON from Matuse Inc. on Vimeo.