Scary BIG !!!

Early season Chopes at its massive best. Watch for the crew flipped out of their boat in what is meant to be the channel

Bells has started

Bells has started with the first two rounds of the womens event today. Can't tell you what the conditions were like as I was working and no heat on demand have been loaded yet.

Clare B won her round one heat and heads straight to round three with Steph Gilmore and Marges winner Chelsea Hedges. Wildcard Tyler Wright moved into that round with a second in round two.

When the mens round one starts most heats have at least one surfer of interest. Parko and Mick both have wildcards including last year's trial to final wildcard Robbo.

The website is a bit glitchy at the moment but hopefully they will sort it out soon.



RIP CURL WOMEN'S PRO BELLS BEACH RESULTS

ROUND 1

Heat 1 First: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Second: Carissa Moore (HAW), Third: Rebecca Woods (AUS)
Heat 2 First: Coco Ho (HAW), Second: Paige Hareb (NZL), Third: Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
Heat 3 First: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Second: Tyler Wright (AUS) Third: Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
Heat 4 First: Silvana Lima (BRA), Second: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), Third: Nikita Robb (ZAF)
Heat 5 First: Claire Bevilacqua (AUS), Second: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Third: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
Heat 6 First: Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Second: Melanie Bartels (HAW), Third: Amee Donohoe (AUS)

ROUND 2

Heat 1 First: Rebecca Woods (AUS), Second: Nikita Robb (ZAF), Third: Amee Donohoe (AUS)
Heat 2 First: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), Second: Lee Ann Curren (FRA), Third: Bruna Schmitz (BRA)

Another WA video

Another video from the Hawaiian pros over for the Margaret River contest.

Insurfnews.com - The Last of the WA Freesurfs from Andrew Oliver on Vimeo.

Good news, bad news kind of day

Good  news - don't have to start work until 2
Bad news - workers are due at my house by seven so I can't sleep in

Good news - they haven't turned up by eight so I can go to the beach
Bad news - the wind is mostly onshore, the swell is to southerly to hit the BP reefs right

Good news - its a nice day for a ride on my bike
Bad news - as I come to the top of the hill overlooking BP a surfable set rolls through Juniors

Good news - wind has turned offshore and there is a new bigger straighter swell
Bad news - I'm on my bike so it will take me a while to get back

Good news - nothing much has changed
Bad news - it is breaking pretty close in and some of the rocks aren't very deep. Better keep an eye out and surf Juniors

Good news - first wave was a decent size, had a bit of power and a little wall
Bad news - bit hard to pick where to take off, its so shallow I'm touching the bottom as I paddle out

Bad news - its a bit inconsistent and I'm not very patient
Badder news - might just sneak a little further inside and catch a in-between one while I wait for a set

Good news - caught a little runner
Bad news - the rock that has no water over it right in front of me

Good news - I didn't hurt myself when I hit the reef
Bad news - I now have a twin fin but not in the right places

Good news - I now have time for the other things I needed to do before work
Bad news - there are still waves and I can't surf them

A couple of videos

Super shallow reef down south last week



Some more WA action from the visiting Hawaiian's and crew

Insurfnews.com - WA Freesurf from Andrew Oliver on Vimeo.


Some Kassia action from last weeks Noosa event (just for your Coley)

And a big tube stack from the weekends Lancelin trip

Taj loses Drug Aware final

TB has lost to Josh Kerr despite being in a strong position for most of the final. Taj locked in two eights and even Kerr thought he was done. With about five to go he took off on a wave and decided to put on a show for the crowd. Two big airs later and he had a 10. He backed it up with another air and Taj was left with three firsts and a second in his last four events.

FuelTV has been showing the event live for the last day or so which is good because the webcast has been crappy. 

Men's finals @ Margaret River from erica hosseini on Vimeo.

Why would you leave this ?

Tweeds and Lewie have joined up with Dave Clemans and a crew from Perth for a trip to Lancelin this weekend. Its Dave's birthday but Lewie has tacked on his send off from Bunbury as it is the only way he could be sure anyone would turn up.

This morning treated them to four feet back beach. Tweeds is trying to convince the others to tow in at Eddie Island.

MR Pro battles on

Margaret River 6 Star Prime WQS from erica hosseini on Vimeo.


Size hasn't been an issue at the Margaret River Pro. Running it when I'm at work and probably the worst website ever for a WQS prime event has.

When you can finally find the results (try here as they aren't accessable from the MR Pro site) you'll find the men are almost finished round 3 (or the round of 48) and the women have complete two rounds. Taj Burrow has been on fire and has made the best of the conditions. His next heat has him against a Brazillian and some one from Uraguy. Yadin Nichol is the other West Aussie still in it but he has a horror heat with two WCT surfers Hawaiian Kekoa Bacalso and last year's surprise packet Aritz Aranburu.The big name to drop out is Parko who didn't make it out of his very low scoring first heat

Both Hopgoods are still in as is Mick Fanning, Ace Buchan and Bede Durbridge. If they get good waves heat five will be a killer - Ace v Mick v Damo.

Some strong heats in the womens event. WA's Felicity Palmateer is the only non-WCT surfer in her heat but Clare B has an easier time. Laura Macaulay is still in it in a winnable heat in decent waves. Heat four has a glamour girl (Blanchard), a world champ (Hedges) and the daughter of a world champ (Curren). This followed by the WCT rookie (Enever), the blogging model (Hosseni who is very honest that the 8 foot second day had her scared) and Owen's sister Tyler Wright.

Drug Aware Pro

Call it whatever you want, it will always be the Masters. The Drug Aware Margaret River Pro, a 6 star WQS event, starts Monday after the trials this weekend.

Jake Patterson has fallen from his lofty WCT position in retirement. Not only does he have to enter his "home" event via the trials (which he won from WAs Dave Delroy-Carr) but they spelt his name wrong on the results page of their website.

With the upcoming move to a single ranking system and a short break between Snapper and Bells, this years Pro has some decent heats right from the first round. Just about every heat contains a former WCT surfer and round 1 (the round of 128) has two former world champs (Occy and Sunny). Sunny is up against Bra Boy and big wave charge Mark Mathew, which should make a good heat if there is some swell (the Naturaliste Buoy is over two metres and heading straight up).

This year's Pro is a bit of a family event. The Macauley family have only two entrants, Bronte and Laura, after Dad Dave got knocked out in the first round of the trials. The Gudazkus brothers are here as are brother and sister combos Owen and Tyler Wright (Owen won the Boost Surfsho comp today) and Mason and Coco Ho from Hawaii.

Others of interest in round 1 include Frenchman Patrick Bevan who threw a pile of spanners in the championship works last year in Europe as a wildcard., John John Florence who isn't little anymore and Nat Young, the American grommett not the former world champ.

The WCT surfers are seeded into round two (round of 96). Taj is in the first heat and on a red hot roll. Yadin Nichol takes on Dan Ross in heat four. WA's Ry Craike is in heat 10 with world champ Mick Fanning up against Josh Carr and German Marlon Lipke. Joel is in the last heat of the round against Chris Ward and Dayan Neve. Kai Otten will be one to look out for. The waves suit his style and he surfed well at Snapper. He is against 2008 WQS champ Nathaniel Curran, who must be disappointed with his WCT performance last year.

Theres a few big names in the Women. Courtney Conlouge from the US is an amatuer world champ who impressed in big Huntington Beach during the last US Open. Alana Blanchard will be hoping for big waves to show her stuff after a poor 2010 was brightened by a QS win in Hawaii. Bethany Hamilton will return and Erica Hosseini, an American also does media and modelling work is blogging her way here. According to her feed she arrived a few day ago and has had two waves and as many coffees.

There will be a webcast and live scores are available on the event website.

Surf on Mars

A test -

1. have you ever looked at waves caused by boat wake lap on the shore of a lake or river and thought "If I was an ant I could be totally barreled on that !"
2. did you watch the beach landing sequence on "Saving Private Ryan" and decide what board would be best for the onshore waves battering the landing craft ?
3. do you know that the waves supposed to be Bells in "Point Break" was not only going the wrong way (it was a left) but was reversed stock Waimea footage ?
4. have you washed you clothes in "Surf" washing powder just because its called surf ?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you'll probably look at this picture from the Mars orbiter and think "That looks like a nice point break." Thats what I thought anyway.

Taj wins

Taj has kept his roll intact for another contest by winning the Quiksilver Pro. This makes it three from three for him after his win in last year's Pipe Masters and the WQS Burleigh Pro.

Taj beat Bobby Martinez in the semi and then Jordy Smith in the final. The waves had some size but weren't great although all four surfers today did some nice big moves. Taj deserved to win as just about every top turn he has made all contest long had the fin out and his was floating sections humans would consider to be close outs.

The Roxy Pro is down to the semis and could finish any day now.

Wow !!!

Some of the surfing in round three and the quarter finals of the Quikie Pro was un-freaking-believable. The waves for Taj's heat weren't great but he surfed well. Jump forward to his quarter final and he smashed Adriano DeSouza with 17.77 out of 20.

Jordy Smith schooled Slater who couldn't seem to catch any decent waves. Aussie Kia Otton knocked out Mick Fanning by 0.2. Parko went down in the quarters to a red hot Dane Reynolds. Dane's two wave score was a massive 19.2 out of 20. His highest scoring wave was a 9.93 but could easily have been an 11 ! He pulled into a tube and disappeared so deep the camera man almost stopped filming. He burst out and followed up with a couple of fin free hacks and a big floater.

Anyone who complains about contest surfing being conservative and safe obviously didn't watch it today.

A couple of womens heats were run with no particularly unusual results.

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.86 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.50
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.53 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 10.60
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.06 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.43
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.76 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.57
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.44 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.23
Heat 6: Dane Reynolds (USA) 12.63 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 10.33
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.97 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.17
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.10 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.17


QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.70 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.40
QF 2: Bobby Martinez (USA) 16.66 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 10.64
QF 3: Dane Reynolds (USA) 19.20 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.47
QF 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.10 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 13.77


QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS:
SF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Bobby Martinez (USA)
SF 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)


ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Coco Ho (HAW) 15.17 def. Amee Donohoe (AUS) 3.97
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 16.33 def. Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 14.84
Heat 3: Rebecca Woods (AUS) 14.60 def. Paige Hareb (NZL) 11.08
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 16.00 def. Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.03


ROXY PRO GOLD COAST REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
Heat 6: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) vs. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
Heat 7: Melanie Bartels (HAW) vs. Jessi Miley-Dyer (HAW)
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Carissa Moore (HAW)

Round three is done

Round three of the Quiksilver Pro was completed today in a mix of waves. Early heats were effected by the high tide making the waves inconsistent and pretty fat. Taj and Owen Wright's heat was the second of the day and the waves really didn't let the do much. Taj still cranked off some good moves but it wasn't the fireworks heat that was expected.

There were no real surprises with all the big guns getting through. The only semi upset was AI going down to Bobby Martinez but Bobby is a consistent top 10 finisher and this should have been expected to win. Welcome back Andy here's your 17th !

The weather forecast for the next few days isn't great so expect the women to run. In the men the champagne heat should be Slater v Jordy. 

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.00 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.46
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.10 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 13.70
Heat 3: Chris Davidson (AUS) 11.00 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 9.27
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.84 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 6.67
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.16 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 11.26
Heat 6: Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.73 def. Luke Stedman (AUS) 13.40
Heat 7: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.97 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 12.60
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.74 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 10.43
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.63 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.20
Heat 10: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.17 def. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 12.64
Heat 11: Daniel Ross (AUS) 13.54 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 11.00
Heat 12: Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.57 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.23
Heat 13: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 19.30 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 7.37
Heat 14: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 13.06 def. Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.43
Heat 15: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.37 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 7.56
Heat 16: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.23 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.77

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 2: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Daniel Ross (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)

Doing number twos

Round two of both the Quiksilver and Roxy Pros were run today in ok surf. No real surprises with highest rated surfers generally winning, except Ben Dunn beaten by WQS champ Dan Ross and Roy Powers who had AI. Andy was throwing buckets on each turn and found the only clean tube of the day. Despite being hugely overscored on his second wave Powers wasn't close. Expect to see this line again over the season - Travis Logie got a 33rd.

In the womens WA Clair Bevo was knocked out and the two former world champs (Hedges and Mulanovich) cruised through.

Heats to watch in round three -

• Taj vs Owen Wright - the aerial master vs the apprentice. If the waves are good will be a killer. Taj said in his round two interview that he has given up all that stretching and training and is just going to free surf in his heats.
• Bobby Martinez v Andy Irons - goofy v natural. Bobby is one of the few backsiders that can go vertical enough at Snapper to challenge and AI is looking red hot already
• Mick, Joel, Dane and Kelly's heats just because they are in them. They should all win.
• Steph Gilmore v Tyler Wright - a world champ whose style is perfect for Snapper vs Owen's radical little sister
• Sophia vs Carissa - the "old" guard vs the new school. Carissa will be one to watch all year.

Coverage is on the webcast and live on FuelTV, who also have a full highlights package at about 4 and 7 each night WA time.

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 9: Dean Morrison (AUS) 15.17 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 11.33
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) 13.83 def. Nathan Yeomans (USA) 11.37
Heat 11: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 9.53 def. Jay Thompson (AUS) 8.07
Heat 12: Mick Campbell (AUS) 15.17 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 14.00
Heat 13: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.00 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.54
Heat 14: Daniel Ross (AUS) 12.43 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 7.97
Heat 15: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.57 def. Roy Powers (HAW) 13.36
Heat 16: Luke Stedman (AUS) 10.44 def. Drew Courtney (AUS) 9.57


QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 2: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 3: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Owen Wright (AUS)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 6: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 7: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 10: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)
Heat 11: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 12: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 13: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 14: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Mick Campbell (AUS)
Heat 15: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 16: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)


ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 14.83, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 12.76, Nikita Robb (ZAF) 9.67
Heat 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 12.94, Paige Hareb (NZL) 12.43, Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 5.23


ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Coco Ho (HAW) vs. Amee Donohoe (AUS)
Heat 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
Heat 3: Paige Hareb (NZL) vs. Rebecca Woods (AUS)
Heat 4: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)
Heat 5: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs. Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
Heat 6: Chelsea Hedges (AUS) vs. Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
Heat 7: Melanie Bartels (HAW) vs. Jessi Miley-Dyer (HAW)
Heat 8: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs. Carissa Moore (HAW)

Girls and boys compete today

Round one of the Roxy Pro was done and then it was into round two of the Quiksilver Pro. The waves were smaller and a bit fluky but more than contestable.

The girls were ripping, especially the groms like Carissa Moore. Winners of round one are into round three while  those who lost are into the two round two three surfer heats. WA's Claire Bevo had a third in the second heat of the day when the waves were fuller and a less frequent. She has a hard round two against former world champ Chelsea Hedges and Kiwi Paige Hareb.

ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 15.20, Carissa Moore (HAW) 13.33, Paige Hareb (NZL) 9.53
Heat 2: Coco Ho (HAW) 11.70, Rebecca Woods (AUS) 9.07, Claire Bevilacqua (AUS) 7.66
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 17.37, Tyler Wright (AUS) 16.54, Bruna Schmitz (BRA) 9.73
Heat 4: Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS) 12.00, Silvana Lima (BRA) 11.04, Nikita Robb (ZAF) 7.60
Heat 5: Lee Ann Curren (FRA) 16.07, Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) 14.20, Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 13.57
Heat 6: Melanie Bartels (HAW) 16.63, Amee Donohoe (AUS) 9.93, Chelsea Hedges (AUS) 6.90

ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Nikita Robb (ZAF)
Heat 2: Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL), Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)

Taj easily won his round two heat against a wildcard. Dane and Jordy both got through as did Bobby Martinez with a high two as his second wave.

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.84 def. Garrett Parkes (AUS) 11.83
Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 14.93 def. Blake Ainsworth (AUS) 12.76
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) 10.07 def. Craig Anderson (USA) 8.70
Heat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.57 def. Neco Padaratz (BRA) 13.73
Heat 5: Dane Reynolds (USA) 17.33 def. Blake Thornton (AUS) 10.23
Heat 6: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.86 def. Marco Polo (BRA) 10.27
Heat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.87 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 13.37
Heat 8: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 16.10 def. Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 15.56

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Nathan Yeomans (USA)
Heat 11: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 12: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 13: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 14: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 15: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 16: Drew Courtney (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)

Fuel TV are showing both events live or it is webcast at quiksilverpro.com.au