Beach Grit On Surfing’s Heritage Heats

by The Editors on September 18, 2014

Potz Ger

Yesterday, after watching Kelly Slater catch another magical last second wave to claim his 21st heat win over Taj Burrow and ending what Johnny Gannon later described on Instagram as “a cunt of a day,” we were interested to see the Heritage Heat. The APS’s idea is to allow former surf greats to get some time in the water in front of the fans. In this case, former World Champion Martin Potter and nude surfing originator Brad Gerlach were to rekindle old rivalries and settle things once and for all. What happened was something different, and as usual, no one described it better than Chas Smith:

The art of aging gracefully, and to be sure, it is an art, involves transitioning from stage to stage with taste, decorum, all deliberate speed. It does not, and I repeat DOES NOT, involve surfing in “Heritage Heats.”. . . Athletics (real athletics, not bocce, golf, race car driving etc.) is a field that becomes fraught with pitfalls as life’s sun begins to set. Of course, people should stay fit and active at all ages and surfing is a wonderful pursuit at all ages. That saltwater soothes, that glide feels so fine. But the older surfer should practice his art quietly. He should not practice his art during a surf competition in front of judges on the same waves just surfed by Taj Burrow (forever a 12 year old).

For the rest of Smith’s insightful treatise on aging surfers, click the link. For Derek Rielly’s interview (How I Fucking Smashed Pottz) with heat winner Brad Gerlach, click here. Ah, Smith and Rielly, what a pair.

[Link: Beach Grit]

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