Days off

Got a couple of mid week days off as I'm working the weekend. Emailed a few friends with view to heading south. As usual people started dropping out here and there until it was just two of us.

Conditions were nice. The swell was pretty small (around 1.4 on the buoy) and the offshore was howling but after checking three spots we decided on a beach break just north of Supertubes.

The waves were only about 1 - 2 foot but super clean and wally. Even at that size there was plenty of push.

The warning of a washed up whale carcass bringing sharks kept us watching and the super clear water had every piece of weed looking like a creature.

It took me a while to get some rhythm, missing a lot of waves and getting stuck behind the section but my friend was surfing better than I had seen before. We swapped board and he pulled off a couple of big slashes on my short and loser dhu-fish.

The only negatives were having to leave with waves still pumping in, ending up with a swollen elbow from a rail collision and sunburn.

Did I mention that we were the only ones out ?

Elsewhere there were plenty of winter banks hanging around. The stretch from Rabbits past Shallows had a number of peaks and quite a few surfers. Mitchell Rocks may not have been throwing up the Cyclone Biancca wedge but there were one or two peaks. They did look a bit frustrating as the surfers tried to decide to wait out the back or inside for the suckier and more consistent one.

Hot and offshore over the next few days. It doesn't look like there will be much swell but you can always be surprised.

Contests news

The Hawaiian season is just about to kick off. The Vans Triple Crown is back thanks to the ASP giving some events extra points despite not meeting the prize money thresholds.

The first event a Haleiwa has been on hold for the last few days. It will be webcast in the middle of the night at http://vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com/reefhawaiianpro2011 and is expected to start tonight.

Over in Italy the final event in the World Longboard Tour has finally started in one foot wind swell 180 ks away from the primary venue. Apparently a solid overhead swell smashed the venue the day before the event started and it has been billiard table flat since then. The WLT has smaller fields so they hope that the little pulse will allow them to finish the event today and crown a world champ. Heats are in the water right now but due to the change in venue there is no webcast.

Boost

More Taj and Jay Davies down south boosting in onshore crap.

1111 from Elsegoodproductions.com on Vimeo.

Something different

This doesn't look quite as scary as I thought it would but I bet in real life your heart would be pounding out of your chest.

Small again

Some small but fun waves this morning. The bank at the south end of Juniors was throwing some hip dribblers onto the rocks but the crowd of four was massive for the compact take off spot and the number of waves.

There were plenty of people enjoying the sun and the shallow close outs up the beach.

I surfed like a kook. This time I can't blame it on the waves, my board or my disintegrating back. It was all me. And I broke a leggie for good measure !

Not to sure what next week will bring. One forecast is for wet weather at the end of the week but another if for a stinker ??

Not a good day

To be going to work !

There is some wind swell in the water and light SE winds. It looks like it might clean up as the morning goes on.

If you're up and thinking about it, a run down south might be worth the effort.

Little

A little wind swell in the water with some light mainly offshore winds. BP has some peaks but the low tide has exposed a few rocks at Juniors.

With the light winds it might not be worthwhile for long.

Now

It's eleven

Oops

Slater isn't the eleven times world champ yet. The ASP have messed up and miscalculated.

To win he needs to get through one more heat or Owen Wright to lose. To lose he would need to not win another heat and Wright would need to win the the Search and Pipe.

Look for some make up scores for Slater.

This is a huge stuff up for the ASP. Kelly's win was getting mainstream publicity but now all the focus is on their inability to understand their own rule book.

With judging controversies, the mid year cut off causing angst, Bobbies rant and now this the ASP is not doing a good job of convincing surfers it is the best way to go.

Perhaps now that they awarded the title on the anniversary of Andy Irons death they will leave the contest on hold so they can make it 11 on 11/11/11 !

There have been a few lay days in a row because of bad weather. The rumour is Monday is the next go day.

Ke11y

Kelly Slater has just won world title number eleven.

The Search round three continues. Taj is out, losing by less than a point.

Search on

The Rip Curl Search San Francisco has just started in wobbly beach break conditions.

Slater just needs to make two heats to win his eleventh world title and his first in mainland USA.

Webcast looks good again.

Sunday Night Movies

I've been in Perth for the last week but I get the impression it has been flat. Here's a selection of some of the best videos from WA recently surfacing on the net.

Pumping waves down south

Brenno Dorrington // North Point from Tom Jennings on Vimeo.

Bunny Bay from Taj Burrow on Vimeo.

And up north

Low tide delight..gnaraloo from nate brejnak on Vimeo.

And a bit of both

Bummer

I've got another day off because I'm in Perth for work for the rest of the week. I was hoping to get wet after deciding to wait out yesterday's crowds. Unfortunately it's basically flat with strong offshores.

Still waves

Still some waves about especially at Juniors again. The wind was a bit stronger and more south.

Got a new camera so expect some better quality photos in the future.

Grey

Grey and drizzly today but that also means light winds and glassy.

I was surprised by the lack of people surfing because there was still some swell about.

I had a late session of the Juniors to again. The swell was slightly smaller but with frequent sets. The lefts were a bit better but the rights were just a little closer to the rocks. Unfortunately this meant that the best section for a move was right on to of the rocks. Still it was worth the paddle.

The down side was that after the others went in I was alone and wishing I hadn't read about the shark attack at Rotto before I came to the beach.

It's my birthday tomorrow so I might be able to eke out another session after the morning festivities.

Spring break

I ended up with a surprise day off and some nice little waves at Juniors. The rip was causing an A frame peak and the swell was only about two feet but it kept coming.

The rip was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that it made the waves break and that you could let it drag you back out if you caught a right. The curse was that it moved the take off around a little and it pulled you to far out and pushed you north.

I tried a couple at BP Reef. It was breaking way inside but one rock just after the take off was nearly dry sucking and that tended to ruin it.

The crowd maxed at four while I was there but that was about the limit it could take. Luckily everyone was pretty cruisy because one wave hog would have ruined it for everyone.

Looks like rain for the next few days.

Slater close to 11

By making the final of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal, Kelly Slater is a ninth away from an eleventh world title.

After winning two heats with last minute waves Taj had the tables turned when Slater pulled out a 10 in the last minute of their semi. Ironically Slater had joked in his interview after the quarters that he would have to beat Taj in the last minute again after the two have had some epic heats this year go to the wire each time.

The waves and surfing at this event were some of the best I have ever seen in years of watching pro surfing. On the last day most people lost heats holding at least a nine and some, like Julian Wilson, holding a ten ! Even though most scoring waves were tubes it wasn't boring pull ins like Chopes and the easy paddle out meant plenty of waves were caught. Despite the long days the webcast/broadcast was top quality and the commentators did a good job







Taj has moved to fifth with his third and Adriano up to third with his win. In reality Kelly would have to crash very early in the next two events and Owen Wright win for him not to be world champ yet again.

Next event San Francisco. I bet Kelly would love to have win a world title in mainland USA.

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING FINAL RESULTS:
1 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.67
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 14.73

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.50 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.87
SF 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.83 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.03

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.94 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.50
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.70 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 7.67
QF 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 17.60 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.53
QF 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 17.10 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.60

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING HEAT 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Julian Wilson (AUS) 6.83 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 3.50
Heat 2: Heitor Alves (BRA) 15.40 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.74
Heat 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 18.93 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 17.96
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 17.44 def. John John Florence (HAW) 17.06

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.13, Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.70, Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.10
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.30, Heitor Alves (BRA) 17.20, Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.40
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.30, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.64, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.67
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.00, John John Florence (HAW) 17.84, Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.10

RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL REMAINING ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.60 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 8.10
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.56 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.30
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.27 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 14.54
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW) 17.33 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 16.96

ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 5 (after Rip Curl Pro Portugal)
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 58,150 pts
2. Owen Wright (AUS) 45,650 pts
3. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 42,450 pts
4. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 41,100 pts
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 40,950 pts

Bazzas

Portugal is pumping again and there are nines and tens everywhere. Currently it is the quarter final between Slater and Alvez.

Already they have finished round three, all of rounds four and five and the first quarter. The current plan is to crown the winner today.

Taj had surfed twice for two wins including in round four where he got a high eight with less than 30 seconds to go. In his quarter he beat Julian Wilson by 0.4 with a nine on his first wave and a high eight in the last minute to match a killer from Wilson that scored a ten.

John John Florence had treated the place like Backdoor Pipe without the consequences and getting shacked of his nut. However he just lost to Bede in a close heat that was starved a little for waves.

The swell is dropping but there are enough waves that almost every losing surfer has at least two eights and every winner a nine.

With Owen Wright and Jordy both out Kelly can put one hand on number eleven with a win.

Six more heats or 250 minutes of water action left. The webcast is consistent as is coverage on FuelTV.

Wow !!!!!

The Rip Curl Pro is turning on one of the best days of pro surfing in ages. The waves are grinding beach break pits breaking a few metres from shore and going both ways.

Round two has finished and they are well into round three. Taj has won both his heats today.

The last heat Kai Otten and Julian Wilson was all time. Both started with a nine. Otten's first wave looked like he had been caught in the tube twice but he busted out for a deserved claim. Wilson backed his nine with one of the biggest waves, a solid six foot plus and a deep, perfect tube ride.

There is another two or so hours of surfing left in a marathon day. They have talked about knocking over the event tomorrow which could see the winner surf six times !

FuelTV and the webcast are amazing.

Round two

Taj through. No upsets yet.

Live on the web and FuelTV

Taj third

Heat three and Taj suffers from an interference in a heat slow for waves. He gets a second chance against Taylor Knox and Dan Ross goes through.

Owen Wright in the water against Pat G and the local wildcard.

Dane Reynolds has decided not to turn up again.

Portugal is go

Round one has hit the water a few minutes ago in some clean beach break waves. The swell is expected to build over the day and Parko has already got barrelled.

Rip Curl's webcast is on and working and it is being shown live on FuelTV for those with Foxtel.

Swell

Plenty of swell around. The major buoys are all over four metres. It's already 21 degrees so it might be a big day for the clubbies.

Don't forget that the fun run is on this morning so Ocean Drive is closed and the carparks full.

Too late

The breeze did a 180 about noon and it is blown out.

It looks like another bigger swell is in the water and overtaking the first one. The forecast for tomorrow looks good for swell and winds again.

Before it got too bad I snapped a few picks of a guy at the Groyne and some groms at Fraggles.

Made the drop and got smashed in the tube

A micro second before getting smashed

One of those day

Sunny, offshore and bulk loads of swell locally. A front that didn't do much weather wise is pumping a solid swell at our corner.

I haven't had time for a good look but there does seem to be some waves between the close outs. The only real negative is that the tide is pretty low

Rookie wins

In the battle of the next generation Gabriel Medina has beaten Julian Wilson. Medina has only just made the tour at 17 and two years ago he won the "King of the Groms" section at this same even two years ago.

Wilson has had a second half comeback after a poor start to his rookie year.

Next event - Portugal

Taj out

No old bulls left. Taj lost to Julian Wilson and Taylor Knox has just been beaten by Media. Gabriel had a neat perfect 19 plus semi score.

Julian and Jordy are part way through the other semi.

Old bulls v Young Bulls

Today is finals day in France and its young versus old for each heat except the one in the water at the moment. So far its one all. Taylor Knox has continued his run beating Michel Bourez but in an upset 17 year old rookie Gabriel Medina has thrashed Slater 16.66 to 8.60.

The current quarter is Jordy v Alejio Muniz followed by the old bull Burrow and young bull Julian Wilson.

I would love to recommend that you watch it on the webcast but again it just jumps backwards and stops then jumps backwards again. It is 100% unwatchable. Shame Quiksilver shame.

Finals Day ?

Round four is over with Kelly and Taj both through.

The webcast is a disgrace again and it is impossible to watch as it skips backwards and plays the same minute over and over. From the two minutes I could see it seems that Slater got another over score to beat rookie Gabriel Medina, who was on fire.

The judging is a joke. It seems to change from event to event and sometimes heat to heat. Some of the top ten appear to be getting favourable scores every time they take on the newbies. Every wave takes forever to be scored, making it appear all the more suss.

The contest is on hold for the tide. Days are long in France so it might finish today is some contestable waves.

More of the same

Taj, Slater, OwenWright, Julian Wilson and Jordy Smith are all through to round four. Taylor Knox is having his best contest for ages and new boy Gabriel Medina is also through.

Taj just made it after beating Travis Logie by a fraction of a point. Taj's two scoring waves were short on manoeuvres but those he pulled off were massive. Martin Potter and the other commentator didn't think he got the score on his last wave, a big backhand smash and finished the heat off talking up Logie. Unfortunately for them the score on Taj's last wave took forever to get locked in and wasn't final until seconds after the heat finished.

Logie is one of my least favourite surfers on tour. For years he clung to the bottom rung, barely winning a single heat all year but to give credit where its due his surfing this year has improved massively. He had a third in Tahiti and is only just losing a couple of other heats.

After some fog this morning France time a lay day has been called.

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 9: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 12.70 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 12.60
Heat 10: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 12.53 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 6.50
Heat 11: Brett Simpson (USA) 13.76 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 7.67
Heat 12: Kieren Perrow (AUS) def. Chris Davidson (AUS)

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taylor Knox (USA) 9.77 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 6.50
Heat 2: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.76 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.60
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.34 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 12.00
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.83 def. Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.26
Heat 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 12.56 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.96
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.90 def. Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 6.90
Heat 7: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.16 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 13.83
Heat 8: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.60 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 8.76
Heat 9: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.33 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.07
Heat 10: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.47 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 15.34
Heat 11: Damien Hobgood (USA) 13.00 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 11.34
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.17 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 8.57

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taylor Knox (USA), Michel Bourez (PYF), Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Gabriel Medina (BRA), Kelly Slater (USA)
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Julian Wilson (AUS)
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Owen Wright (AUS)

Windows

It was offshore this morning with some small swell but by lunch time the wind had swung southerly and got stronger. There was a small window just as the wind was changing where the rip bowl at Juniors started to throw up some fun waves for the two guys out.

BP reef almost came to life and there were a couple of bombs that near the old outside take off point. People who have surfed around here a long time will remember the days when the ride at the reef was twice as long because the wave broke on the outside ledge. In those days you wouldn't bother paddling out if it was only breaking in the currents spot. No one seems to know why the wave has stopped but there doesn't seem to be as much sand movement as in the past. Perhaps we are wearing the consequences of construction and dune stabilisation around Dallyellup.

I just missed the window so went for a hand plane session at Barnacles on version two. I got a few fun lefts but the rip and the drift were pretty bad so I found myself getting washed to the edge of Juniors a couple of times. Still worth the effort.

The forecast for tomorrow is moderate easterlies before a SSE change. More importantly Bathurst is on and it is the one day a year where I sit on my fat arse and watch sport. Go Skaffie (or any Holden).

Live blogging

Can't get much more up to the minute than a posting from the BP carpark.

Great conditions today, sunny, offshore and plenty of swell. Mostly closeouts in town but if you have the time head south, even if it is only to Capel.

Quikie Pro France

The Quiksilver Pro has started in France. Round one is done and round two is in the water right now.

Taj is through to round three as is Slater, the back from injury Jordie Smith and Fanning. Young guns Owen Wright and Julian Wilson also topped their first heat.

The big casualty so far is Parko, who has just been eliminated by a Moroccan wildcard in a heat where neither had a double figure two wave score.

The waves have some size with sets in the eight foot range. However there is plenty of crap amongst the nuggets.

As usual the Quiksilver webcast is terrible. It doesn't stream properly, keeps stopping and jumping back to repeat the same footage over and over. It didn't happen at the Trestles or Chopes or any contest not sponsored by Quiksilver.

Handplane Three

Had an unexpected day off today but there was no surf. I have all but finished hand plane three. All I need to do is add the strap.

I have kept it flat across the bottom with no concave or v and the only rocker is in the nose entry. I'm hoping that will give it extra speed and the stinger design with a fairly straight outline will put a bit extra rail in the water for control. More than likely is the fin will act as a brake.

It's 100% recycled material but I have some concern about the strength due to the age of the glue and lack of proper clamps.

Now all I need is to wait for a clean day and for the sand around Barnacles to move onto summer configuration.

Disappointing

All psyched for another small day of surf locally but found nothing but closeouts. Still a little swell but the tide isn't helping and it's not worth the bother, despite it being 25 degrees.

Alive

Plenty of action in the water with real whales, dolphins and some fat old bloke that looked like a whale (me).

The swell had dropped off again but the wind was offshore. BP had some fat but fun waves on the beachie. The really low tide made the reef and Juniors no go zones.

It is still offshore and probably the warmest it has been all day. Get out in the sun because the rain is not far away again.

Spring in the city

Another almost perfect spring day. The winds have been light but onshore and thee is still plenty of swell rolling through.

BP was the pick today with rideable waves from Barnacles to the groyne. Juniors was nice with some lefts and rights off the rip and a few wider ones. The low tide made the reef pretty sketchy but the odd one pushed off the bubbles for a short ride.

I surfed a couple off the reef and then a few out of a rip a little further north.
There was one guy at Juniors getting nice waves for his drop knee style and he was joined by some kids wagging school.

Looks like tomorrow might be similar but with light se winds early before a sse change. The swell is meant to still be hanging around the two metre mark at Naturaliste.

Slow

Another slow start to the morning for me and it seems that I might have missed a few waves. The wind is onshore and looking like it will strengthen over the afternoon. The swell has dropped but there is still plenty of it with the rips along BP beach making for some rideable corners (between the close outs).

The tide and wind will be against you unless you get on it very soon.

Go the Eagles !

Update

The wind stayed light but onshore and with the low tide the conditions were worse than they looked. The smaller ones looked ride-able but to get anywhere near them you would wear all the sets on the head.

Earlier in the day I had commented to someone that the groyne looked ok if you were doing tow ins. Someone must have heard us because there was a tow crew out this afternoon and finally they were a crew that knew what they were doing. No full speed slingshots or dug rails, these guys towed in at the speed of the wave and were able to take off way outside. This gave them enough speed to beat the sections but not too much to prevent them actually riding the waves.

Light

The winds are pretty light onshore and there is plenty of swell. Apparently there were some reasonable waves in between the closeouts before the tide dropped.

If you haven't already got some you might have missed it for today. Tomorrow morning looks ok and then rain and onshore next week.

The Bay yesterday

The Bay yesterday

Same again

For the third event in a row Kelly Slater and Owen Wright have faced off in the finals. This time is was Slater showing that he is still better than yet another generation of rippers by riding the winning wave in the last minute and with a mix of air and full rail vertical surfing.

Josh Kerr continued his career season as is now in fifth. Julian Wilson has finally found some form and is starting find his feet (getting revenge on Parko for his last wave loss in round four). Slater has pulled just a little closer to his 11th title and Taj is now sixth and hoping for a miracle. Jordy's injury has dropped him to 8th but he can throw both of these events away at the end of the season.

The next event is the Search in San Francisco.

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES FINAL RESULT:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 17.50
2 – Owen Wright (AUS) 16.74

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.40 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 16.57
SF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.74 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.04

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.77 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 12.50
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.60 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 11.07
QF 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.67 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.67
QF 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 18.23 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14.93

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Heitor Alves (BRA) 12.74 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.80
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.27 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.97
Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.23 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.27
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.67 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.37

CURRENT ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 10 (After Hurley Pro at Trestles)
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 44,950 pts.
2 – Owen Wright (AUS) 39,900
3 – Joel Parkinson (AUS) 35,400
4 – Adriano de Souza (BRA)31950
5 – Josh Kerr (AUS)30,800
6 – Taj Burrow (AUS) 29,250
7 – Mick Fanning (AUS)28,200
8 – Jordy Smith (ZAF)27,500
9 – Jeremy Flores (FRA)23,700
10 – Michel Bourez (PYF) 22,250

Too late

Plenty of choc milk swell and southerlies early. A few people have been tempted into the water by the odd clean looking wave but it is pretty marginal.

In the hour it took to look everywhere and walk to the Bay and back the wind had started to swing to the south west and the conditions will get worse.

Taj out

Taj got stuck with the first heat of the day again and has lost to Hetor Alves.

The heat was really slow for waves and neither surfer really got anything great. Alves probably got the best waves of the heat in the first couple of minutes while Taj was left waiting for a wave that didn't come.

He was massively under-scored on his last wave (probably by about two points) but it still wouldn't have been enough.

Josh Kerr is in the water now against Jeremy Flores.

The event will finish today.

SW local win X-Fighters MX

Not surfing news but close enough. Donnybrook local Josh Sheehan double back-flipped his way to the Red Bull X-Fighters title in Sydney on the weekend.

Read the article here.

Round four finally goes big

The promises of high performance round four heats was finally met last night. With sets around head height and runners both ways there were plenty of big hacks and airs. Unfortunately the judging continues to baffle everyone and feed the conspiracy theorists (see this post from philosurfical). There seems to be bonus points given to the top 10 (except Bede Durbridge). The judges have obviously decided that anyone can do an air but not everyone can do a reo. Even I can do a reo (every now and then) but I'm will never do an air (on purpose).

Taj was fairly beaten by Adriano de Souza with both going to the air. Julian Wilson couldn't beat Parko's re-entries with am air where he switched the board around, landed surfed goofy, switched back and threw and air reverse. Owen Wright beat John Florence who surfed well in his maiden event (he made the tour due to Yaden Nicols broken leg).

The internet rumours are that the event will finish tonight as the forecast if for a dropping swell.

Head to the website and watch the heats on demand. They have built on the format from the Quikie Pro so you can watch entire heats or any of the scoring waves. You can also select your favourite surfer or only waves over a certain score. And unlike the Quikie it actually works and streams nicely.

UPCOMING HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 2: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 3: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.33, Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.93, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.23
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.90, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.60, Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.77
Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS) 16.73, Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.20, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 12.46
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.06, Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.77, Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.50

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.50 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 12.97
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.50 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.10
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.27 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 9.57
Heat 4: Heitor Alves (BRA) 11.63 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.43
Heat 5: Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.33 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 11.83
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.64 def. Tom Whitaker (AUS) 12.93
Heat 7: Owen Wright (AUS) 17.84 def. John Florence (HAW) 17.13
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.13 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 8.17
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.80 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 10.40
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.00 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 16.80
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) 14.23 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 9.00
Heat 12: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.93 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 13.17

Taj through to round four

Taj has just beaten Kai Otten in round three of the Hurley Pro.

The waves are super clean and up to about four foot. There are plenty of good heats coming up.

Two Brazilian's in the water now for heat two but I'm going to sleep !

What were they watching ?

Round one of the Hurley Pro was run overnight in small, slightly fat but contestable waves. The standard of the surfing was good but the judging was completely unfathomable. One surfer seemed to get a seven for some standard reos and someone else would get five for the same turns but an air reverse as well. The only consistencies were that vertical re-entries that popped the fins out the top of the wave were scored high and the top seed in each heat seemed to get the bonus points.

Watch the heats on demand that Parko, Taj, Slater and Julian Wilson won. They all did enough to win but compare their scores with the others in their heats. Jadson Andre in Parko's was throwing fins out turns for no return, yet Travis Logie was getting better scores for rides that I could have pulled off.

The judging just seems to get more confusing every event. One day airs are scored high, next its floaters, then its reos, then airs again, no wonder the ASP struggles to reach their dream of "mainstream audience" appeal. If someone who has surfed for 25+ years and watched competitive surfing for as long can't get close to working out the score then how do they expect a footy fan from Northam to understand it ?

It seems that there might be a lay day tonight but if not and you're up around 11.00 pm onwards then FuelTV is broadcasting plus a good webcast and iPad apps.
HURLEY PRO TRESTLES ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.96, Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.53, Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.00
Heat 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 15.43, Heitor Alves (BRA) 14.13, John Florence (HAW) 9.43
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.66, Adam Melling (AUS) 12.36, Chris Davidson (AUS) 9.80
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 13.60, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 13.37, Conner Coffin (USA) 11.87
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 14.57, Rob Machado (USA) 13.50, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.40
Heat 6: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.67, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 13.10, Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.13
Heat 7: Taylor Knox (USA) 13.70, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 13.50, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.80
Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) 15.40, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.50, Kai Otton (AUS) 9.83
Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.17, Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.87, Dusty Payne (HAW) 8.77
Heat 10: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.60, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.33, Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.53
Heat 11: Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.00, Damien Hobgood (USA) 9.90, Daniel Ross (AUS) 6.75
Heat 12: Brett Simpson (USA) 12.40, Tom Whitaker (AUS) 11.94, Mick Fanning (AUS) 11.90

Hurley Pro starts now

The Hurley Pro at Trestles is just starting with the trials final. After that it is straight into round one.

The conditions look nice but the swell is small. Jordy is still out and Dane Reynolds isn't coming.

This is the first event since the mid season cut. Bobby Martinez and CJ Hopgood are gone and three rookies are in. WA's Yadin Nicol is meant to be one of the but had given his spot to John Florence due to a Artois injury. He had worked so hard to make the tour it must be very disappointing.

Webcast and decent iPad app are available. Hopefully the webcast is better than Quiksilver's attempt in New York

Handplane version three

With the crappy weather it seemed to be a perfect time to start bashing away at my next attempt at a hand plane (or hand board whichever). This one has started life as a couple of broken breeze boards off my house and a piece of packing material. I'm not overly confident that the old glue I used will hold it all together as I lacked the necessary clamps. I'm thinking of ways to get around that.

My rough plan is for a "stinger" shape with a fin. It will be longer than the other boards and with less rocker. I'm trying for more volume, a longer rail line and flatness to give more speed in fatter waves.

It might already be jinxed though. The initial photos were on the camera that got stolen from my garage, some of the tools I had out were used to steal my bike and I went to use my drill (the tool I needed the most) it has stopped working !!!

It won't stop me giving it bash though. I can always fall back on version two or the Hydro plane or make another one. Version three won't be the last.

Back to winter

A crappy end to a crappy week. As well as there being nothing worth surfing (except for the desperadoes) some bastard broke into my garage and stole my bike and under-water camera.

Its a long shot but if anyone notices a scum bag riding a white and blue Giant XTC mountain bike, complete with disc brakes, the mounting for a speedo and a LED front light (no back light) in almost new condition, please ring the police.

Looks like you might be keeping your boards in the shed for a few more days. With the winds from the south it will be hard to find somewhere sheltered enough to make it worth it.

Spring

The continuing spring weather has straightened the banks and covered most of the beach in weed.

I got wet out of the rip at Juniors on the in-betweeners as the rest closed out. There were a couple of groms on the reef and the very odd fat burger at the groyne.

Apparently Marges was 10 foot yesterday and classic. Check out Coastalwatch for the story.

More of the same tomorrow.

Owen + $300 000

For the second event in a row Owen Wright and Kelly Slater have fought it out for the title. However this time the young Aussie was successful, easily winning after a blitz in the first few minutes.

Slater holds onto his number one spot and moves a little further away. After his first win on the big boys tour Wright has moved to number two.



QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK FINAL:
1 – Owen Wright (AUS) 17.90
2 – Kelly Slater (USA) 14.53

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK SEMIFINALS RESULTS:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.07 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 18.33
SF 2: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.84 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 9.63

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK QUARTERFINALS RESULTS:
QF 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 14.77 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.37
QF 2: Kelly Slater (AUS) 15.50 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 15.00
QF 3: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.10 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 10.10
QF 4: Owen Wright (AUS) 12.93 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.44

ASP WORLD TITLE TOP 10 (After Quiksilver Pro New York):
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 34950 pts
2. Owen Wright (AUS) 31,900 pts
3. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 30,200 pts
4. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 27,000 pts
5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 26,750 pts
6. Josh Kerr (AUS) 25,600 pts
7. Taj Burrow (AUS) 25,250 pts
8. Mick Fanning (AUS) 23,000 pts
9. Michel Bourez (PYF) 20,500 pts
10. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 19,700 pts

Again !

Taj has lost to Slater again despite holding a nine and leading with just over two minutes to go. The margin was less than a point.

Needing better than a mid seven Slater has taken off on a decent sized wave, pumped for speed and blasted a huge air 360 landing no hands and claiming. For that single move he got a 10 ? It didn't deserve a 10 but was probably a high 8. Taj came back with another nine but it just wasn't enough after the overscore.

Owen Wright is in the water now against some Brazillian. I hope he wins. If he does expect the final to be won above the lip. I won't be awake to see it.

Slater wins quarters

Slater has beaten Josh Kerr by half a point in another close final. Both went to the air but Slater lucked into a deep and clean backhand barrel.

This means that TB and KS will face each other in another semi. Taj will be keen on avenging his loss at the US Open a few weeks ago when he was underscored in front of a big crowd.

The webcast is so dodgy it is impossible to watch. It seems to stop everytime there is a wave about to be ridden. It then jumps backwards and shows the same footage over and over. Its really disappointing as the surfing is so good and the webcasts from Billabong at J-Bay and Chopes were so good. I even tried my computer and two different iPad apps but neither worked very well.

Taj to semis

Taj has just won his semi by less than half a point. His last wave won it with less than a minute to go.

The webcast is still crappy and choppy but try and watch Slater and Kerr in this semi.

Finals Day

Final day starts in a few minutes in New York. Taj is first up against Jadson Andre. Slater is the only American left in the contest with the rest of the spots filled by Aussies or Brazillians. He will take on Josh Kerr who has been racking up huge airs and nine pointers all contest. Watch his round four heat for his "varial", punting, spinning his board under his feet and landing goofy (he is a natural). He followed it up with a huge alley oop.

With Parko out and Jordy not competing Kelly can consolidate a bit of a lead, especially if he wins. Taj can also make up some points after a couple of bad results.

Potentially one of the best heats is the fourth quarter between Owen Wright and Julian Wilson. Both will go big.

Looking at the webcast it look like there are still waves and at the moment it is offshore.

Bobbie is disqualified

The rest of round two and some of round three was run in slightly bigger but messier waves in New York last night. It was pouring down with rain at times and the event (like the US Open tennis) has a break mid morning to let it pass.

Bobby Martinez won his heat and gave a heart felt post heat interview where he expressed his disgust at the state of the ASP and the mid season cut which happens after this event.

“First of all, I’d like to say (an the ASP are going to fine me) ‘cuz I don’t want to be a part of this dumb f***ing wannabe tennis tour. All these pro surfers want to be tennis players. They want to do a halfway cutoff. How the f*** is somebody who’s not even competing against our caliber of surfers ahead of 100 of us on the one world ratings. They’ve never been here. They’ve never f***ing made the right to surf against us, but now we’re ranked upon them. Come on now. That’s Bullshit. That’s why I ain’t going to these stupid contests no more. This is my last one because FTW, my sponsors is here and I just tell it like it is. This is my last one and I don’t like tennis. I don’t like the tour… Who gives a f***? You know what I mean?”

“I’ve been here before. I love this city. I’ll tell you right now, if my sponsor wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be here for this dumb contest. ASP? They f***ing…surfing’s going down the drain thanks to these people.”

This has been his line for a few weeks and he does have a point. He doesn't think that someone on the world tour should be dropped because someone on the lower level, who never surfs against the best in the world happens to get a better one world ranking off that tour.

There is the odd surfer like Owen Wright or Julian Wilson that you think could go straight to the top level tour but even they have struggled in the big time. When you look at the ratings people like Bobby, CJ Hopgood and Freddie P might be dropped for some no name Brazillian who can throw airs and claims in hip height surf.

Regardless of the truth of the matter he was disqualified for "damaging the image of the sport". It will last until the ASP can decide if to ban him for the rest of the year. It is probably academic as he will miss the cut and is not likely to chase points in the prime events.

The ASP emailed Bobby his suspension notification. It seems to be spiralling out of control at the moment. There apparently will be no Triple Crown in Hawaii this year, the womens tour has already finished and the top surfers are choosing not to turn up to events. The judging is inconsistent at best and the administration seems to wander between press releases that make matter worse not better (eg: remember this one after the Owen Wright "commitment" debacle in Brazil or click here to see their email to Bobby). The ASP need to be careful as their core audience is starting to get annoyed and will start watching something else.



On the positive side Taj is through easily to round four but will probably draw his nemesis Josh Kerr. Being a non-elimination round their might be some big airs being thrown down. Mick Fanning lost to Freddie P this morning and Slater got a walk through due to Bobby's naughtiness.

The event is on now and rumoured to finish tomorrow. It is still brown and small enough for you to imagine that Bunno could hold its own world tour event. The webcast is patchy again.

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 5:  Josh Kerr (AUS) defeated Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Bobby Martinez *Will not be surfed. Martinez disqualified from competition.
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) lost to Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 8: Kieren Perrow (AUS) lost to Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 12: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)

Taj finally overscored

Taj has won his round one heat in New York, beating Pat G and Bobby Martinez. The waves look like a good day in Bunbury, muddy, brown and hip height. Most of us would struggle to get past the first section in the offshore mush.

Taj got a big score for a single air and then probably just a little overscored on a couple of backhand hacks. Regardless he deserved to win (Pat was overscored too) and he will have no problems in both the small conditions and if the waves pick up. The forecast is for a rising swell from a hurricane that is travelling along the coast.

As usual the Quiksilver webcam is a bit patchy and there is no live coverage on FuelTV.

New York New York

The Quiksilver Pro New York starts tonight. First call is around 10.00 pm our time so most will have to watch via heats on demand.

Plenty of injuries with Jordy Smith the biggest. He obviously hasn't recovered from his broken ribs caused by big Chopes. This has given Travis Logie another event as an injury wildcard.

QUIKSILVER PRO NEW YORK ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Dane Reynolds (USA), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS), Patrick Gudauskas (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 4: Owen Wright (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA), Bobby Martinez (USA)
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Asher Nolan (USA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Daniel Ross (AUS), Balaram Stack (USA)
Heat 7: Adrian Buchan (AUS), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Cory Lopez (USA)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS, Chris Davidson (AUS), C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Heat 9: Michel Bourez (PYF), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 10: Damien Hobgood (USA), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Josh Kerr (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 12: Julian Wilson (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Taylor Knox (USA)

Some videos for a crappy weekend

I'm posting these Chopes videos because I'm predicting Sunday will be crap and hoping that I jinx myself and the offshores mention in one weather report come true.










Or if you've got a spare three hours view the tow day as streamed live