We’ll just say it here: John John Florence and Kelly Slater (pictured above) will meet tomorrow (Saturday, December 10, 2011) in the quarter finals of the Billabong Pipeline Masters In Memory of Andy Ironsin what promises to be the heat of the decade.
“I see John John as the guy to beat,” said Slater. “He’s had (two) tens in his heats and he’s probably the best guy all around out here now. I lost to him earlier (today) – it was kind of a non-elimination thing – but if I were to lose to him tomorrow, it’s definitely no shame. I think he’s better than everyone else in this contest. Jamie (O’Brien) might give him a run on his day, but right and left, big and small, John John’s pretty much the man out here now. If you’re going to win a contest, you want to win against the best guys and unfortunately I got him in the quarters instead of the final, but I’m going to have to surf this one like a final.”
But that’s not all. Seems the quarters are stacked with all the right surfers in the right places. Jamie O’Brien vs. Joel Parkinson. Kieren Perrow vs. Gabriel Medina, and yeah even the Michel Bourez vs. Evan Valiere match up should be good. After what seems like years of less than epic finals this year is shaping up to be just that.
For the details of how it went from Round 3 to the quarters follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Day one (Thursday, December 8, 20111) of the Billabong Pipeline Masters In Memory of Andy Irons was a reminiscent of the good old days of Pipeline contests when the waves were bombing, the surfers charging, and everyone was happy just to have survived their heat. As Kai Barger said following is first heat, “I was scared to death out there.”
While we enjoyed watching Kolohe Andino learn to survive on the fly in 13-foot Pipeline barrels the highlight of the day had to be John John Florence’s perfect 10 score in round two.
“I got that barrel right off of the takeoff and it pinched and I couldn’t see anything,” Florence said. “It was really sketchy and then I pulled in to that other barrel. It was fun. The waves were firing. It’s the best Pipe has been in so long. There are so many waves that people don’t really see. There are ones going underneath and wide ones, they’re just everywhere.”
The rest of the heats were mostly studies in how low surfers could score and yet still advance. The winner in the lowest scoring heat was Aamion Goodwin. In his Round 1 heat against Taylor Knox Goodwin advanced with a 2.20 to Knox’s 2.13. Round 2 Travis Logie advanced over Bruce Irons 3.57 to 2.70. More than anything the low scores showed just how mad it was in the Pipeline lineup.
Round 3 starts today with all the ASP hitters back in the mix. Joel Parkinson and Aamion Goodwin will kick off the day at 8 AM HST (10 AM PST). Kelly Slater gets in the water against Marcus Hickman in Heat 6. Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP plus video. [click to continue…]
Never thought about surfing Beautiful British Columbia Canada? Watch Ben Gulliver’s new film Tipping Barrels and you just might change your mind.
‘Tipping Barrels’ is a unique combination of surfing and environmental journalism that follows surfers Arran and Reid Jackson on a trip into the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, where they learn more about the region and the issues confronting it.
It’s got surfing, hippies, bears, and camping. What more could you ask for?
ASP Women’s World number two Sally Fitzgibbons drops her top and covers up with her hands for a saucy Stab Magazine photo shoot which appears in the Issue #53, according to a story in the Illawarra Mercury.
Stab Magazine editor Derek Rielly said such shoots were a sought-after rite of passage for female pro surfers because the magazine had a history of showing them in a “glamorous way”.
Apparently, no matter how talented a woman is, the world’s only real interest is in seeing her all dolled up and ready to reproduce.
It may not be the year end title decider like it has been in the past, but the Billabong Pipe Masters In Memory of Andy Irons is going to blast off this morning at 10 AM PST (8 AM HST) in some bangingly overhead surf. Vans’ Doug Palladini has even taken to the Facebook airwaves to remind people:
If you only watch two days of surfing online this year make them tomorrow [Thursday] and Friday. The Billabong Pipe Masters will start at 8AM Hawaiian time with a ginormous 10′-15′ NW swell. I just spoke with Randy Rarick as he watched a 10-foot bomb decimate the line-up. It’s on…
Matty Wilkinson and Marcus Hickman will kick of the event in Round 1 Heat 1. Other heats to look for include Bruce Irons in Heat 4, Dane Reynolds in Heat 8 and Kolohe Andino wildcarding it against Laurie Towner in Heat 9. Follow the jump for the today’s heat line-ups. [click to continue…]
Truthfully, we’re still to busy rolling through all the Instagram photos from last night’s 2011 Surfer Poll Awards to really know anything other than that this years crop of attendees were hot, hotter, hottest. But we thought it would be good to at least mention who won: Kelly Slater took his 17th title and Carissa Moore took her first.
“The first one I won was in 1992,” says Kelly Slater. “I remember the cover shot was me, and it said Curren, Carroll, Potts’ names too. That was pretty mind-blowing at the time to win against those guys. Now I’m still inspired by the crew of guys coming up right now—Dane, Julian, Medina, John John.”
Current ASP women’s champ Carissa Moore seemed the most surprised:
“I’m still grasping the situation,” said a visibly shocked Carissa Moore, “but it’s amazing to win this award. It’s a great night in surfing and I’m so thankful for all my fans for voting for me.”
For those still locked in the 90s and paying for cable TV, The 41st Annual Surfer Poll Awards show will air live on Time Warner Cable in Southern California and Hawaii on Tuesday, December 6, 2011.
The 2011 awards show, which will honor the world’s favorite 10 men and 5 women surfers, will take place at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii during the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. Awards will also be presented for top video parts, movie of the year, and many other special awards for those who have made an impact in the world of professional surfing this year and years past.
John John Florence, 19, grabbed the Vans World Cup at Sunset against Michel Bourez, Adam Melling, and Hank Gaskell and took the lead in the 2011 Vans Triple Crown on Friday, December 2, 2011.
“This is my first 6 star Prime win, it’s at home, it’s one of my home breaks and all my family and friends are here, so it’s one of the best moments of my life, for sure. It means everything. I’ve watched these guys since I was so little growing up here and coming to events when I was six years old, getting their autographs.”
For the official word and complete results follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Watching the Vans World Cup of Surfing is a reminder why Sunset Beach is one of those surf spots that can deliver everything on one wave. A hulking, shifting wall of chop, a spitting barrel, and bone crushing closeout. And yesterday, Dane Reynolds reminded those who thought he’d given up that he still can pretty much anything better than anyone in the world.
In the final heat of the Round of 64 Reynolds blew past Hank Gaskell, julian Wilson, and Tomas Hermes with a highest of the contest so far 18.37.
“I saw Hank and Julian sitting about 10 or 15 yards further out than me, muscling the peak. No matter what the lineup, I like to sit further inside. I like to see the waves coming at me. I guess I got one they couldn’t catch, a smaller wave with nice lines. I did a couple of turns on it, it felt good, but I didn’t know if it was a three or an eight. Turns out it was a 9.3 or something. . . “Competition for me is just an opportunity to see what pans out. I got really nervous, but it’s pretty rad to feel that sort of intense pressure. I kinda dig it. It makes you surf in a different way. And whatever happens, you always learn something from it.”
Is this the new competitive Dane Reynolds speaking? Sound like it. In other action Jordy Smith, Evan Valiere, Dusty Payne, Josh Kerr, Michel Bourez, Taj Burrow, Dane Gudauskas, Ian Walsh, Damien Hodgood, Adrian Buchan Sunny Garcia, and John John Florence all won their heats. Follow the jump for the official word and complete Round of 64 results. [click to continue…]
Filmmaker Jack McCoy takes the Tron crew surfing in celebration of the first day of summer in Australia.
On summer’s eve, 17 Strongbow surfers descended on Bondi Beach in custom made glow-in-the-dark surfboards and wetsuits as an official “welcome to summer” for Strongbow. Channel 10’s Bondi Rescue lifeguards, Corey Oliver and Andrew Reid, were among the surfers taking part.
