El Salvador Pro 2024: Day One
El Salvador Pro 2024: Day One
Punta Roca is not a bad wave - it's just not a CT-standard wave.
The day started with a nagging devil wind, eventually clocked around to light and variable and ended up light onshore. It looked fun to ride but at all times maintained a thoroughly B-grade status, especially when butted up against a couple of epic days at Teahupoo only a week ago.
The performances had their moments but basically reflected this B-status. 215 waves ridden across eight men's and eight women's heats in 4-6 foot point surf with four excellent rides across the entire day. A helluva lot of sleepy 6's and stinky 4's. To be fair, there were some really well surfed 6's in the mix. More on that later.
The contest tower inconspicuous among the palms (WSL/Hughes)
At times the long-period swell went AWOL for long stretches, leaving surfers marooned in the lineup requiring back-up scores. Sawyer Lindblad and Tyler Wright both suffered this fate after strong opening rides.
As a vehicle for a tourist-led rehabilitation of an incredibly violent drug-fuelled past, El Salvador's backing of this event looks to be in roadworthy shape. Tricky ingress and egress over slippery boulders, but a cakewalk for anyone used to Australian pointbreaks where much more consistent swell energy requires far more nimble footwork and capable decision-making. Otherwise, an attractive-enough, easy ride with multiple turn sections - close enough to a warm-water Bells Beach without the proper Bells Bowl when it gets big. You could imagine a lazy day, breakfast, waiting for the midday glass-off, a surf, a siesta, another late one then an ice-cold pilsener or four on sunset. All in boardies, no wetsuit required. Nothing that would really justify hopping a steel bird across the Pacific, but a pretty easy trigger to pull if you found yourself in the Americas.
Jack (WSL/Hughes)
The excellent rides were a mixed bag. With a light air wind, the first 8-point ride went, predictably, to a launch from Jack Robbo on a speedy crumbler. Nothing that would have raised an eyebrow now for over a decade, in fact it would not have made the B-roll for Modern Collective, but it did show clear intent from judges about what they wanted to see. Same went for JJF. An air that would not make a video edit from a decade ago but comboed up with some big turns for an 8.50. Yago Dora confirmed the aerial bias from the judging panel by netting the single highest wave score of the day, an 8.87, for a pop shuv-it/varial and air rev combo on a minor inside wave. Ticket-clippers - AKA coaches - would be advising their meal tickets accordingly, one would think over a pupusa and cerveza this evening.
Three airs from Yago, all succesfully made (WSL/Hughes)
One excellent score for the women, awarded to Tatiana Weston-Webb for a couple of crisp turns and a high-speed up and over lip-hit to end. The best surfing went to Molly Picklum, looking to salvage pride and prestige amongst peers and the general sporting public after a dismal showing in Tahiti. There was ample spike and sting in the Pickles attack. If the judges hadn't been so hell bent on saving excellent scores for aerial surfing, Pickles' second ride, a 7.90, could have gone high 8.
Apart from men's heats 2 - 5, which are recommended viewing for the condensed replay, the roster is starting to begin the post-cut malaise, whereby those who are unable to make the Final 5 drop off that crucial 10-15% in intensity. We'll name names in due course - no-one will be phoning it in on our watch - but the signs are there.
Pickles (WSL/Hughes)
Not so on the women's side of the draw. The ten post-cut incumbents are all ridiculously capable of making the five in the condensed field. In fact, it feels like some version of the Top 10, if they persist with a Finals Day should be in contention. Maybe a two-day event at Cloudbreak. One day leaderboard style, one day mano-a-mano bracket style with the Top 5.
There is a very big opportunity this year for the Olympic Gold/World Title double and no-one seems more motivated than John Florence, especially with Filipe Toledo out of the mix. Given a decent swell at Lowers, John showed today what he is capable of in slopey rights. You'd take Toledo to beat him nine times out of ten at head-high Trestles but in the current field Florence comes right to the front of the pack. Especially if he comes in at number one. A good result here and Cloudbreak almost guarantees front-runner status in September.
John has never been good at disguising his emotions. When he is disinterested or disillusioned, as he was last year, it's immediately apparent in his surfing. Compare those lackadaisical performances from a year ago with today and you can see the current level of motivation. It's high, even if he wanted to ride off into the sunset next year (doubtful) he would want to go out a winner. It's good for him, it's good for his family, it's good for business. No external deity required.
John John (WSL/Hughes)
Same goes for Gabe, of course, with the Brazilian pro surfer-loving deity added in. Gabe is coming from much deeper in the field, so each heat has more pressure applied but he looked loose and in attack mode today. The one thing that impressed me the most about Gabe's backhand surfing in real life and which is lost on the webcast is the length and drive in the bottom turn. It's almost a manoeuvre in itself, unscoreable of course, but the drive from deep behind the section looks almost fake. Like the drive you see from someone holding a rope behind a jetski. Two 7's for Gabe that could have been 8's on any given day.
Just some minor bookkeeping to close. I would like anyone who watched live or replays of any type to note and comment below on Griffin Colapinto's opening turn on his 3.97, Liam O'Briens two turns on his 7.33, and the final backhand blast from Connor O'Leary on his 6.67. Very high points of the day that won't be reflected in the official record.
//STEVE SHEARER
Comments
On the subject of length and drive, has LOB taken JWs old mantle of best forehand bottom turn on tour?
Sections that would see plenty of his peers double- or triple-pump, and he's just coiled up, holding that rail in and accelerating.
Not sure if John's ahead of the pack at Trestles, maybe Griff just in front of him?
LOB looked sensational on his waves.
LOB has been very unlucky this year. He can really surf. Pops is 100% on point. Please judges - no pumping up scores for middling airs - sick ones maybe.
Pickles looked good - so did Caity. Have not checked the draw but hopefully they only clash in a final.
Not a CT Wave? Maybe not, but faaaark, looks like a shit tonne of fun!
Put Margies and Rio on that list too - agree AB, you’d still go for a paddle though
Open faced power , length, down the line, looks like the best surfers were doing the best surfing, what’s not to like?
J J thought it was pumping, and Gabe thought the waves were incredible, so it cant be too bad!
This a much better wave than Bells and the beachies of brazil or portugal.
Longer but better? Have you seen Bells pumping like back in 2006 with Kelly winning it (I think) it was powerful, heavy, and fast something this doesn't seem to be. When its on at a low to medium tide it's a good wave. Have you surfed it good?
Every where is good when it’s 6-8 and offshore, the 3 best surfers weren’t complaining!
Mate, really? Bells is a sick wave when it's on. You must be too used to the straight-handers at Burlz these days :)
Only the little ones for burlesque Karen. He doesn't like it when its over 4 foot and please dont mention deep water reefs to the resident Karen. Thinks Sunset is a shit wave!!!! HA!!!!!
Sunset is a shit wave. There is a reason the worlds best ONLY surf it around the contest.
Bells shouldn't be on tour, its fat and slow. At least this wave has some performance elements to it.
Bahaha! How to say you’ve never surfed solid Bells
How often is it solid? anywhere an be all time on it's day. This waves is way more high performance than bells. Look at the airs they are doing today, never seen those at bells.
Slater air reverse 2012.
one air 12 years ago. LMAO you really are a peanut
“Look at the airs they are doing today, never seen those at bells.”
Yes we have. Lmao
I imagine 8 ft Bells would bore a surfer of your ability.
you referenced 1 air from 12 years ago compared to 8+ airs in one day. you forgot to mention that air was at 3 foot Rincon, LMAO
Thx for bringing your vast knowledge.
Why you aren’t in the WSl booth is a mystery?
Ha ha, jeebus this guy is classic.
Anyone having a skull of their beer every time the commentators (especially Flick) say “I feel like…” would have been legless pretty quickly
Scull on cobblestone rocks and you’re going to be leg less before they make “the call”
Ha ha. I’ve noticed that too and every time she says it I think straight away of this cracker scene from the Iron Lady. Maybe Flick’s in need of a scolding from Maggie. “People don’t think anymore. They feel. Do you know, one of the great problems of our age is that we’re governed by people that care more about feelings than they do about thoughts…”
?si=A6VD-1GbDSPoNm2jPunta Roca is way better than Bells and there's nothing soft/fat about it, especially at the top of the point. Pretty crowded to surf though and I'd only do it when it was 5ft plus. Getting in and out is no picnic because it's always super slippery owing to the filthy river at the top, a feature of most (all?) salvadoreño points and even if the swell is small, the super long period can knock you over and humble you on barnacle rock pretty quick. My ankles and feet are all scarred up from my time there.
Also a slight note, it never glasses off at midday, unless there's a local storm and then it swings offshore sometimes. But 95% of the time it's glassy mornings until 9, strengthening onshore and then it will get light onshore in the arvo.
For the curious there's three points that I can think of that get more hollow than punta Roca in el Salvador, two are very well known, one is short and imperfect. Good country, worth a stop if you're doing the central American circuit. Very safe for gringos as well! Which definately did not used to be the case.
Cheers.
Are the rivers polluted or just silty?
Polluted! From memory the dirtiest was the punta Roca one because it outflows from the capital I think, which is at a high elevation compared to the coast. The other dirty one was the one that runs out at tunco. I also lived next to one and they're fucking filthy, not at the Bali level but filthy. The rivermouths have good surf as well generally.
That said I only got sick once from it and I got sick the other day surfing an east coast breakwall! So el Salvador and Australia are tied for bacterial infections!
Yeh there's a couple of sick ones around, i slept in a hammock for 2 weeks and surfed one flat out with only a few others most days.
How did it become so safe? I’ve watched a couple of Vice videos of the gang warfare there and it looks like it used to be a mental case
Also lined up 8-10 foot bells would poo all over anything P.R could serve up
Because of their president. The press likes to shit on him and indeed, his story is still being written but there's two facts: One, he cleaned up the gang problem 100%. Two, his approval rating is something like 90% and unlike Putin and the North Korean bloke that have similar approval ratings, his are real and the people love him. I was always asking the locals and their opinion was pretty much the same.
Once again, we'll see how the story plays out but it's started well.
How’d he clear up the gangs? Take them out the back and ‘deal’ with them?
Pretty much. Watch a doco on it but keep in mind that despite the criticism leveled against him, he fixed a problem no one else had fixed in a decade or two.
The president built a mega prison and literally put like 70,000 gang members in it. Went to war with them. Very harsh etc but means kids can play in park without gunfire and local businessss can sell their stuff with out stand over stuff - lots of docos and articles about it, very brave guy as obviously risking death for himself and family
Sounds pretty wild. I’ll check it out
The best part of this comp is the next two comps.
Nias Pro - June 8 - 15
J-Bay Classic - June 17 - 23
Women's Invitees:
- Alana Blanchard
- Sage Erickson
- Sally Fitzgibbons
- Stephanie Gilmore
- Coco Ho
- Sierra Kerr
Men's Invitees:
- Adriano De Souza
- Michael February
- Jack Freestone
- Mason Ho
- Sean Holmes
- Josh Kerr
- Travis Logie
- Mark Occhilupo
- James Ribbink
- Steven Sawyer
- Kelly Slater
- Owen Wright
Over the hill...
Farm teams challenge of the super egos.
Mason Ho super ego? Nah.
Sounds like the Liv tour has just begun
Yago got all his good scoring waves with 3rd priority. Crazy.
That "inconspicuous " judges tower...looks like a stereo system I owned in the 90s without the speakers.
Agree Steve, that opening turn by Griffin looked like a serious statement of intent from someone supremely confident in his ability. He's going all-out to win the comp. And yes, Conor O'Leary and Liam O'Brien often get underscored, as evidenced again by the two rides you highlight. Maybe their coaches need to have a few words with the head judge and/or judges, if they haven't already, to inquire why, and for a bit of psychology... As for your claim that Punta Roca is a B-grade wave, well, we probably haven't seen her really going off good and proper yet. If the waves currently on offer were a lot more consistent, it's still a worthy CT venue in terms of adding variety and balance to any tour. PS - Interesting contrast with the older guard in the women's event. Do you think Tyler's world campaign this year is over? After her first repetitive layback hack, she seemed to think that she shouldn't have done it, then lost confidence in her ability to go more vertical and show the judges some new angles. Whereas Brissa looks more confident in yellow with each heat and comp, while Joanne and Tati also still look to be firmly in the race for this year's world title? I hope Tyler regroups and works on adding some new stuff other than those layback variants. The judges seem to be off them altogether by the scores. In her favour, she generates more speed than just about anybody, so all sorts of new moves are possible with some off-season training and good coaching. Go for it Tyler!
"the roster is starting to begin the post-cut malaise, whereby those who are unable to make the Final 5 drop off that crucial 10-15% in intensity"
Are none of these people motivated by money? An US$80k payday for a win has still gotta be fairly significant to some of them, especially those a bit lower down the rankings.
Okay just watched the post show, missed the live stuff today pigging-out on some tasty little a-frame beachies. First comment - the goofy girls (with the exception of one late hit from Tati) looked boring. Despite them talking up Caroline constantly, doing the same 10 o'clock turn was boring AF. Jack and JJF looked spicy, Yago went peak Brazzo for the points. Can't blame him, I guess. Molly looked much more committed than at Chopes, that late hit in front of the dry boulder was hectic. Last point is the Post Show couldn't be more embarrassing. Kaipo saying "lets cheers" - such a rebel - with Flick giggling like an idiot but neither actually having a sip, was a new low point in cringe TV. Please bring back Ronnie and Vaughan
I like the terms 'ticket clippers' & 'meal tickets', nice write once again Steve & agree LOB is often underscored, he dropped some hangers in the replays I saw.
I don't care how good that wave is, it is fucken dead arse boring as a comp venue.
I remember reading about it in 80s surf mags, and I was so keen to go. Photos made it look like right point heaven too, but I've been cured.
I’d be curious to ask why you don’t think it a CT worthy wave Freeride?
I’m not a huge fan but if you compare to Saquerema, Bells and Margies on average days and Peniche it’s no worse.
It’s a better wave than Trestles by the looks too. I probably get your drift watching the replays just then, even at size it seems like a better than average day at Cabarita.
Also what’s the go with Connor O’Leary? I was rating him as the best backside surfer in the world last year and can charge like nobodies business. Seems to be having a fairly mediocre year - had he peaked?
It needs size to become even remotely interesting, and it needs a lot of swell to get big.
Also, they're long period swells with long lulls.
This is absolutely true. At the size it was yesterday for the comp, I'd surf other waves.
El Salvador is like Bali in that you can surf a good wave everyday. As you go west from Punta Roca, the waves get bigger from the same swell.
It looks more interesting than Margs short right, and JJ thought it was pumping! So it must be alright
Yeah heats 2-5 it looked pretty good.
Always a weird wobble and sections on it, flat faced, and hard to get hold of.
I am biased at the moment, because I've just come off a month of really good point surf with proper hollow sections.
This just seems irredeemably b-grade to me- as a spectacle.
But recency bias is undoubtedly clouding my views.
I disagree with your take on the wave. I think there's only been one day in the last few years where it's been good for the comps, check out Bryan Perez's YouTube to see the wave when it's working, but where I do agree with you is that for a comp, there's no right hand point on earth that's a better venue for pro surfing than snapper in autumn.
Very few lulls, sand points > rock/reef points, way more hollow and punchy which is not just good for barrels but way better for turns. Also a beautiful part of the world to boot! With clean water!
But for the average punter, surfing in el Salvador is way better, for myriad reasons, then living at an east coast point. I've done both actually because I lived on the GC for several years and Australia doesn't compare, at least for surfing. It's not even remotely close.
Yeah I don’t think it’s fair to compare Punta Roca to Freeride’s spot. That joint is one of the best points in Australia and probably the world. Not many special places like that will let a CT within coo-ee of it (nor should they).
To your point, it really does show how good Snapper is for competition surfing. Really long period spots make it pretty difficult for both the viewer and competitors alike
Would be a great spot to have as your local and looks fun but just feels a bit lacklustre for some reason and sure doesn't help being slotted in after Tahiti.
Can we talk about “back up scores” - they are not back ups - they don’t replace anything. What they are is the second scoring wave kept and carry the exact same weight as the first. That is, the ability to make 50% or more of the total score. (Only 50% if the first wave was a 10). So they are the second countes wave and are always an opportunity to improve the overall score .
Didn't manage to catch any of it live, just watched a few of the condensed heat replays. Think that'll be the best way to watch this comp. O'Leary's closeout hits were far and away the highlights from what I saw.
Ethan Ewing thinks it’s a high performance wave, his favourite sort of a wave to surf, he definitely has his fair share of good waves at home
Tourism El Salv in da house
Those cutbacks John does off the tail are horrific to watch.
I’m just exploring ideas here, and I don’t even know how much truth is in this. I do feel there is some though.
Regarding the WSL, and it’s watchability. Maybe it’s not them, maybe it’s us. Maybe the product is good, great even, and thanks to group think, this space has just become a home for grumpy old men. I mean, scroll back up and take another look at that cover shot for this article.
Sure there’s decisions that shit me too, like not running at the Box, or Pipe on the big day, or a Trestles final five, any final five lol. Okay and Elo was cringe too, so this list is getting too long now haha. But mostly just look at what they are doing. I reckon we waded through a bad patch of surf and leadership but that’s already over and we already have something that I’m watching more of not less. When the waves are good like they are now, it’s a good product. When the waves are great, like they have been at times at almost every stop this year, the product is also great
It's definately the product. The webcast went for 10 hours, 44 minutes. Out of that, the only thing worth watching for me was two heats which have highlight videos on YouTube. Out of those highlight videos , 60% is replays or bullshit.
So out of nearly 11 hours, I find....6 minutes to be worth watching. As an entertainment product I get more out of reading these wrapups!
I’ve gotten into the habit of having replays of good days on while I go about my day. I thought it was great yesterday, the 3-4 hours of men’s heats I had going. I got through all of finals days of Chopes this way, chunk by chunk, plus all the other good days over the last year or two. I think the product is great, and personally won’t be bagging it out anymore
Can you replay the whole day? That would suit me far better than the highlights. I watch the same way as you. Especially with time zones that don’t suit. And I read the write ups as a more informative approach than listening to a lot of the commentary
Yeah you can replay the whole 11hr day on YouTube. Great if you miss a good day working or something. First one I did was from pumping Pipe a couple years ago. Put it on the tele if you’ve got a day at home
That’s great. Sounds like the perfect option. Cheers mate
In a perfect world the tour would be held in only the best surf spots in the world. Unfortunately due to the financial realities of Pro Surfing we can't have that. If I was an eccentric billionaire I'd bankroll the following tour. Not all perfect waves but all pretty consistent and also a good range to keep things interesting. That's why Raglan's in there, be nice to see a long rippable left. Fuck the final five. If you're world champion after surfing all these spots you deserve it.
Snapper
Raglan
Nias
Keramas
Uluwatu
Teahupo’o
Cloudbreak
Arica
J-Bay
Mundaka
Sunset
Pipe
I’ve been surfing for many decades, and for a majority of that time , no internet etc only had a passing interest in the world of pro surfing, so the idea that the WSL is a necessary part of surfing life ,and they have to do everything to make us happy is a bit unrealistic?
I think @shoredump and @Juliang are onto something. I’ve found myself being more into WSL this year, from having no interest, mainly because of the waves being ridden. But now with the quality and quantity of surfing available on #insta and YouTube, most of the surfing world probably wouldn’t really care if WSL stopped. Competitive surfers and the surfing industry would, but the rest of us, not so much. I’d be more upset if Nate Florence etc stopped vlogging than WSL existing.
why dont the females do airs too
They've always struggled with reverse.
I don’t think the WSL is a bad thing per se , good for young fans and girls, the live aspect of the worlds top surfers is of interest,but the amount of importance and critical analysis placed on every wave and site , sometimes seems over the top.
Yeah I’m finding this wave really light and refreshing to watch. The pros are clearly given the opp to be as creative / expressive as they’re brave and capable enough to be. You really want to see the free surf vibe be held in within the contest canvas. Makes me feel like being on a holiday as I watch a screen. Healing.
Some close heats, long waits for set waves, totally relatable waves.
backhand blasts
smooth surfin on wobbly waves
Really tried to read your concise appraisal of the Wsl contests, but was constantly blocked by ads for THE UNAUSTRALIAN newspaper. Don’t want people reading anymore?
Robert, we don't have an ad sales team - any ads you see on the site are automatically generated by Google, and it's based on your previous browsing history.
If you subscribe to Swellnet Pro, you'll never see another ad again, and you'll also be supporting a small local business (the last remaining Australian-owned surfcam/surf forecast website, too).
Thanks Ben for your quick response. I think I will subscribe since you put it that way. Just need to confirm my employment status midweek first.
Got any low paid jobs opening up?
I know how to string several sentences together
Thanks Robert.. I'll keep my eyes open for you.
ads? get adblock plugins, or a browser that already does it without a plugin, like Brave. you can also watch Youtube without any ads with Brave.
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