2025 MEO Rip Curl Portugal: Day Three

Steve Shearer picture
Steve Shearer (freeride76)
Form Guide

In the end, and despite yesterday's provocations, Supertubos and the snot-green, scrotum-tightening Atlantic did not produce an epic day.

I calculated the window of favourable wind and rapidly rising storm surf at 22 minutes - of which fortune was smiling on the enterprise because Jack Robinson was in the water for that brief window. Following on from four dull women's Quarter-Final heats where the rising swell remained tentative but closeouts somehow still remained common, Jack Robbo found gaping caves, two of which: one left and one right, offered slender exits.

Of the nine heats conducted, only Jack's two consecutive rides elevated the day above a dreary mediocrity. Immediately following Jack's two rides, onshore winds and belligerent storm swells turned Supertubos into a basically unrideable cauldron. No other competitor in those Round of 32 heats was able to garner more than a 5 point ride.

Round of 32...shit! We've been going for days and we're only at the Round of 32!

Robbo (WSL/Geada)

Apart from Callum Robson's 10-point drainer in 2023 - a unicorn wave plucked out of a morass of ugly closeouts - has there been an epic day at Supertubos since it was moved from the fall (October) to early spring (March)? It's starting to seem like a false premise when, year after year, it doesn't deliver anything like its namesake suggests.

A brief recap of the women's Quarter-Finals follows:

Caz Marks found two lefts with more than two turns and was thus able to log a pair of 5-point-plus rides over her opponent, second trimester pregnant Johanne Defay who could only find one-turn waves. It's unclear how many more events Defay plans to surf, although she has expressed a desire to compete again as a mother.

Pickles was canny, competitive, and surgical in execution against Tyler Wright. A scrappy paddle battle to start the heat put plenty of space between the Australians with Tyler surfing short rights and Pickles sticking to longer lefts. The slump of last year seems to have faded for Molly. All the wobbles and yips have been replaced by calm, confident surfing and decision-making. Whether that will be good enough to beat Caity Simmers (0-6 record) remains to be seen.

Pickles (WSL/Masurel)

The much anticipated Simmers/Brooks Quarter was largely a dud. Waves never picked up. Caity spent most of the heat sitting on a 5-point ride - a slippery backwashy left that eluded proper turns - while Brooks took her brash approach to a long left and short punchy right. The contrast in styles between the smooth, retro-futurism of Simmers and the very pure Brazilian approach of Brooks was jarring but in the end Simmers' lack of decent opportunity was definitive.

Gabby Bryan bested Bella Kenworthy in a low-scoring affair as the swell jumped and the lineup verged on the chaotic.

Only one further point of interest to note on an abbreviated day of competition.

Caity Simmers (WSL/Masurel)

While the Brooks/Simmer Quarter was in progress, a Portuguese big wave rider and Patagonia ambassador in the booth, ostensibly spruiked his WSL-supported environmental project Hope Zones. Cool guy doing great things. Most notably a commercial seaweed farm at Nazare which unites the surfing and fishing communities there. Seaweed is incredible; it's ability to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and convert it to useable biomass while increasing local biodiversity is phenomenal.

The WSL continues to support and align itself with these progressive causes.

Is this a sustainable (to use the jargon) path for the organisation?

There are threats to the integrity of their mission, either accepted at full face-value, or more skeptically as examples of greenwashing.

The major threat, obviously, is fossil fuel guzzling wavepools in the Middle Eastern petro-states. There's not a damn green thing about them - a fact made obvious when not even the WSL could find a green spin on them. Eventual sale or expansion via petro-dollars could cause the WSL green marketing machine to collapse under the weight of its own contradictions.

Liam O'Brien (WSL/Geada)

The other, perhaps more subtle, threat is the general rightwards, reactionary shift led by the US but with offshoots in Europe. Young men in particular are increasingly leaning rightwards, as shown by a photo taken at a recent UFC event with Andrew Tate, manosphere influencer and alleged rapist/trafficker and members of the San Clemente 2 percenters, notable among them current CT-surfer Cole Houshmand.

I make no comment about Tate due to a wilful ignorance (I don't want any of my algorithms being distorted by his junk) other than to note that if even half of what is written about him is correct he seems a vile human and a rotten example for young males to follow. He may be much worse than that.

The point is, as an organisation the WSL may find itself increasingly at odds with its membership. Promoting progressive causes that were politically desirable when Dirk Ziff took over the show but that are now out of favour and not shared by the rank and file athletes or perhaps the new CEO.

Something, in that situation, would have to give.

Bank that thought for now and we'll revisit it in six or twelve months time.

As for Supertubos. With the failure of the current Atlantic storm to deliver an epic day I guess we tune in tonight to see a fading swell under onshore wind, hopefully weak enough to let us plow through some competition before the next storm hits.

// STEVE SHEARER

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Women’s Quarterfinal Results:
HEAT 1: Caroline Marks (USA) 11.10 DEF. Johanne Defay (FRA) 8.60
HEAT 2: Molly Picklum (AUS) 12.93 DEF. Tyler Wright (AUS) 7.93
HEAT 3: Erin Brooks (CAN) 12.67 DEF. Caitlin Simmers (USA) 12.40
HEAT 4: Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 7.70 DEF. Bella Kenworthy (USA) 6.06

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Women’s Semifinal Matchups:
HEAT 1: Caroline Marks (USA) vs. Molly Picklum (AUS)
HEAT 2: Erin Brooks (CAN) vs. Gabriela Bryan (HAW)

MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Presented by Corona Cero Men’s Round of 32 Results:
HEAT 1: Jack Robinson (AUS) 15.67 DEF. Ian Gentil (HAW) 2.83
HEAT 2: Liam O'Brien (AUS) 9.80 DEF. Crosby Colapinto (USA) 8.40
HEAT 3: Yago Dora (BRA) 7.57 DEF. Samuel Pupo (BRA) 7.10

Comments

Alex Papas's picture
Alex Papas's picture
Alex Papas Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 1:59pm

nice recount, steve.
agree completely re tate.
cool news re hope zones.
heavy re the wave pool - surely they could whack a couple solar panels on it for some green cred? i'm given to understand it's always sunny in abu dhabi

simba's picture
simba's picture
simba Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 2:00pm

Didnt watch it so thanks for the info....seems i missed 2 waves of Robbos.......anyway heres hoping for a Molly win .

Hiccups's picture
Hiccups's picture
Hiccups Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 2:18pm

I'm not down with Erin's style, but Hogan's ghost she's sharp.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:36pm

Looks very forced at times , wavepooly

Gowsa's picture
Gowsa's picture
Gowsa Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 2:30pm

What shame that such a great timeslot for AUS viewers, has such inconsistent waves.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 2:59pm

You must be a night owl mate- fair whack of it occurs after midnight.

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 2:33pm

I tried to watch, I really did. Got through a couple of heats of the girls then pressed on.

I notice Tylers leg has grown back. Good to see.

More tubes please's picture
More tubes please's picture
More tubes please Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 2:54pm

Interesting how that Cole Houshmand photo has been generally ignored by the surf media, with the exception of Beachgrit and now Swellnet.

Do you think the same would apply to Medina if he posted that shot?

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 3:00pm

Not sure, probably not.

He was mates with Bolsonaro I think.

garry-weed's picture
garry-weed's picture
garry-weed Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:03pm

Andrew Tate is vile.

Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:04pm

Watching that linked Robbo clip and halfway through, sounds like someone from Surfline saying the forecast looks great?

geoffrobertford's picture
geoffrobertford's picture
geoffrobertford Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:11pm

haha yeo I heard that!

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:16pm

Looks pretty windy to me.

Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone's picture
Nick Bone Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 5:32pm

Yup. It's just the classic gaslighting of the Wozzle. Actually, is it gaslighting if it's just lying to your face?

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:34pm

So far I've watched 6 waves all through tvs in restaurants playing it as I go for the morning walk .

Nolan's picture
Nolan's picture
Nolan Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:55pm

Jack’s first wave - air drop into flats into successfully navigated impossibly deep pit before oncoming closeout snuffed all chance for a 2.83 - was the best wave of contest for me ticking key boxes: Commitment, Degree of Difficulty, Progressive Manoeuvres, Speed and Flow.

Surely deserving a higher score and demonstrably better than his 2.9? How many surfers globally could have pulled that off?

Do we really need nature to throw up a unicorn finish outside the surfers control to award just credit?

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 4:59pm

Wasn't always the way. For a few years they rewarded time spent in the tube, though we ended up with scenarios where, to cite one infamous one, Owen Wright won a heat at Teahupoo despite not making any barrels.

Tough call. If you say they're judging non-makes then that has to apply across the board.

southernraw's picture
southernraw's picture
southernraw Tuesday, 18 Mar 2025 at 5:32pm

Fell asleep just after the Robbo heat. Woke up briefly, saw Pupo V Dora on the screen, couldn't make sense of the fk that meant, the letters of both names looked strangely symmetrical,(throw a Yago in there and it really confused me) that's all i could understand, so went back to sleep. Seems i played it perfectly.