by The Editors on December 16, 2010
It was not the prettiest final in Pipeline history. Australian Kieren Perrow and France’s Jeremy Flores spent the first 12 minutes waiting for a wave at the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Memory of Andy Irons. But none came through. Then finally Kieren Perrow put one down and then another and had Flores down until the last 2 minutes.
With a little under two minutes to go Perrow took what he thought was a good wave. He pulled in and got crushed. He didn’t know it at the time but he left a bomber backdoor barrel wide open for Jeremy Flores. The fourth year tour surfer took full advantage of that gift wave and surfed it out for a 9.37 to seal the deal.
Flores was one of the most stoked Pipeline winners ever. While waiting to take the stage he patted his heart to let people know how it was racing. “It is such a dream. I’ve been coming to Hawaii for so long,” Flores said on the podium. “This is my favorite place in the world. Thanks so much to all the Hawaiian people to accept me and let me get a few barrels. And thanks to my little island Reunion Island. It’s so small it’s not even on most maps.”
Flores, the first European to ever win at Pipeline, said that the reason he won was by staying at it all the way to the end. “Never give up,” he said. “I’m not going to give up. It’s the Pipeline Masters and this is it. . . AI forever. He’s the man. He was my idol all growing up. I dedicate this victory to him, of course.
Tour veteran Perrow knew he was close, but that the heat was not over. “You never think you’ve won until the hooters gone,” he said. “I wanted to be patient and wait for the one good one that came. And I took one that I thought was good, but then I saw Jeremy coming through the barrel and knew it was good. It’s been an unreal week. My family is all here. It’s been fantastic. The support from the crowd has been amazing.”
Follow the jump for the official word from the ASP including full results.
[Special thanks to Billabong for letting us use their free WI-Fi and Ms. Simpson for not being too annoyed.]
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by The Editors on December 15, 2010
Round 3 of the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Memory of Andy Irons finally got underway today and it was almost as if no one took a break. Kelly Slater made it past John Florence in round 3 then cruised through a perfect Backdoor barrel for a 10.0. Parko lost to Owen Wright in round 3. Dusty Payne eliminated Mick Fanning and grabbed a spot on the 2011 tour, and Jordy Smith slipped by a wildcard and into the quarterfinals.
“There are really good waves when they come,” Slater said. “There’s only one or two in a set, but they’re really good when they come. That 10 was a long one. It had that good north corner on it and the right was just growing. That one hit the reef really well.” . . . “At this point, I’ve had a great year and I’m happy,” Slater said. “I’m happy to make it through heats, but if I don’t, this is a fun event for me now and hopefully we’ll get some good waves.”
Stephanie Gilmore surfed Backdoor super solidly to win the Duel for the Jewel and the women’s Triple Crown Title.
It appears that tomorrow we will see the finals. For the official word from the ASP including quarterfinal match-ups and full results follow the jump.
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by The Editors on December 13, 2010
We can’t really figure this surf film out. Isolated features what appears to be amazing camera work and a cast that includes: Josh Fuller, Travis Potter, Jenny Useldinger, Andrew Mooney, and Jimmy Rotherham.
Isolated is obviously well-funded. It’s being produced by Ryan Phillippe. But all the fancy graphics, spear-holding natives, and over-the-top voice over aimed obviously at a mainstream audience makes the trailer a little tough to watch. Not to say that Papua New Guinea isn’t a frightening place.
“Enter a forbidden land on the most secluded corner of the globe. Where five world class surfers journey into a world left behind. They search to ride untouched waves and bring surfing to the edge of civilization. But what they find will change them forever.”
Is there really “no turning back?” Did they all die? Guess we won’t know until we see the film.
[Link: Isolated Film]
by The Editors on December 13, 2010
Maverick’s big wave pioneer Jeff Clark opened his new Maverick’s Surf Shop at 25 Johnson Pier, Pillar Point Harbor, Princeton-by-the-Sea, according to a story in The Mercury News.
The new shop will put Clark, a father of three, front and center as the public face of surfing in Half Moon Bay. Clark’s previous shop was harder to find, on a narrow street in the warehouse district of Princeton. Now when tourists come to the harbor looking for directions to Mavericks Beach, they’ll be able to ask the man himself.
It’s about time. . . Congrats.
[Link: The Mercury News]
by The Editors on December 10, 2010
Haleiwa, Hawaii artist and musician Ron Artis died Wednesday, December 8, 2010 of an apparent heart attack leaving a large hole in the vibrant life of Haleiwa town. He was 61.
His colorful gallery/studio a.k.a. Resurrection City was one one of the brightest spots on Haleiwa’s main drag. Literally covered in reclaimed and painted broken surfboards and music playing seemingly 24-7, the place was obviously the work of man committed to his gifts. The entire North Shore was his canvas, according to the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Artis. . .created 900 murals in the community and resurrected discarded surfboards to adorn his Haleiwa gallery. . . The Texas-born painter and musician . . . participated in a 2008 police-backed beautification project to cover graffiti in Wahiawa, painting 25 murals around the town.
One of his last musical projects were two songs written in memory of Andy Irons. His family has said on their website: “”Our Father Ron Artis is now watching us from Heaven he lived a full life and put everything into us and we will not disappoint him.”
Artis is survived by his wife and 11 children. Our thoughts are will the family.
[Link: Honolulu Star Advertiser]
by The Editors on December 10, 2010
California State University-Long Beach master’s degree candidate Ryan Pittsinger says surfing elevates people’s mood, according to a story in US News & World Report.
Pittsinger, a lifetime surfer and native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., surveyed 107 surfers after a 30-minute session in the waves and found that positivity and tranquility increased significantly while negative mood and fatigue decreased.
Wonder how this same study would go after a 30 minute session on a good day at Pipe?
[Link: US News & World Report]
by The Editors on December 10, 2010
Slate.com’s Matt Feeney has written a surprisingly insightful round up of professional surfing circa December 2010 titled You Should Worship Kelly Slater.
Like almost no surf writer so far Feeney sums up Andy Irons’ death, Kelly Slater’s number 10, and what it means both in and out of the “insular” world of surfing. He also has some ideas as to why Kelly isn’t a bigger mainstream celebrity like, say, Shaun White. But it is Feeney’s final paragraph that especially hits home:
So maybe the final limit to Slater’s fame is that he’s the dashing and deific king of a sport that is, in the wider world of athletic pursuits, something of a rogue nation. Surfing may seek attention, on occasion, but mainly so that it can invite that wider world to kiss its ass.
Be sure to read the rest.
[Link: Slate.com]
by The Editors on December 10, 2010
Luke Kennedy, editor of Tracks Magazine is lucky to be alive today after getting speared with his board at Sunset Beach on Oahu’s North Shore at 11 AM on Thursday, December 9, 2010, according to a stories on Waves Mag.com.au and Hawaii News Now.
The nose of his board had pierced him in the the front of the neck, just above the collarbone. Ross Clarke-Jones stood beside the ambulance and looked almost white. “I didn’t even realise it was Luke. It’s looks really bad. I tried to stop the bleeding, but when I tried that he couldn’t breathe,” said Ross. From all reports Luke’s board had snapped while he was in the shorebreak. How he impaled himself is unknown.
Luckily, there were bystanders on the beach who were able to stabilize him before he was transported to Queen’s Medical Center where he was reportedly in critical condition, according to the Honolulu Star Adversier. We wish Luke the best and hope for a speedy recovery.
Click the Waves link for the rest of the story.
[Editors’ Note: This story was updated from its original (and erroneous form) at 2:25 PM after we got a link and the following kind note from a commenter: “WTF kind of reporting is this? Read the story, the surfer has been named.” It’s that kind of team work that we depend on.]
[Link: Waves.com.au, Hawaii News Now and Honolulu Star Advertiser]
by The Editors on December 8, 2010
How easy it is to sit back while watching the Billabong Pipeline Masters In Memory of Andy Irons and talk about it not being “classic Pipe” or how great it would be if it was, and then a backdoor barrel like Dusty Payne’s (above) comes slamming though and it’s obvious that it is a better wave than most people will ever surf. But that’s how Pipeline is. And that’s how it was today.
Following his emphatic Round 1 victory, including the day’s high heat total of a 15.10 out of a possible 20, Payne notched in some late heroics in Round 2, netting a rare barrel up the beach at Gums. . . “I nearly started the heat at Gums but decided not to and ended up at Backdoor,” Payne said. “Then I was watching these really good barrels come through up there and decided to head up there. There’s not any current at Gums so I was just sitting there by myself and Andy (Irons) sent me a good one. I didn’t think I was going to get barreled in that heat, but there it was.”
If he can make it to equal 9th the 21-year-old Hawaiian is on the tour. Tomorrow round three lights up with heats including Kelly Slater vs. John Florence in R3 H6.
For the rest of today’s action follow the jump.
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by The Editors on December 7, 2010
Surfline has upgraded their iPhone offering with an all-new Surfline app which gives users global access to the Surfline HD cam network as well as all their other surf forecasting goodness.
Surfline’s all-new iPhone® app is the only mobile surfing app available with surf cams at over 150 of the best surf breaks in the US and Hawaii and LIVE streaming HD cams available at over 90 breaks for premium members. Surfline’s app provides the great useful tools and data that have made Surfline a trusted forecaster for surfers around the world.
We let our account expire so we can’t test how good the HD cams look on the phone, but if you have a subscription (and an iPhone) download the free app and let us know how it works. Follow the jump for the official release.
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With a little under two minutes to go Perrow took what he thought was a good wave. He pulled in and got crushed. He didn’t know it at the time but he left a bomber backdoor barrel wide open for Jeremy Flores. The fourth year tour surfer took full advantage of that gift wave and surfed it out for a 9.37 to seal the deal.
