The jewel of the west evades the pro surfing package
During the first heat of today’s much-hyped move to North Point, the commentators interrupted an extended lull by cutting to Ronnie Blakey and Commissioner Kieren Perrow chatting among the coastal heath. Raven locks blowing in the wind, Blakey gently probed the commish.
“Big call to get it down here to North Point. The crew were working all night to get it happening. Are you happy with the decision?”
“It was a huge night,” replied KP, “everyone put in a lot of effort. We had our fingers crossed to wake up and have six-to-eight foot perfect North Point but it wasn’t quite the case.”
The WSL have undoubtedly improved webcast quality, yet the increased production comes from extra manpower and technology. This was no twenty minute delay as they move from Bells to Winki. They worked all night for the venue change.
The comp was delayed three hours and then ultimately ran in paradoxically perfect waves: twenty minutes of inaction was punctuated by a flawless barrel and then it was back to zip. Waves came in solos not sets. It was the kind of surf that favours photos not video.
The inconsistency of the surf meant back up scores were rare. Hell, Julian Wilson won with a combined score of 4.90. In the same heat Josh Kerr didn’t even catch a wave.
While all this action and idleness was happening comments were being made on the sanity of the WSL’s decision. Mainbreak Margs was macking, reportedly 10 - 15 foot on the sets and tickled by a light offshore. A golden day for the old dame.
And as I toggled between the webcast, Twitter, and Facebook I once again marvelled at the pro surfing project. The sun was out, the wind offshore, and the southwest region was getting spanked by ten feet of swell, surfers were getting great waves all over, and it still wasn’t quite gelling for the WSL.
Here was the best wave in the west with a forecast that just 24 hours out had local surfer Jake Paterson telling Stab was “the best you could ask for.” Informed by said forecast, Jake said, “it could be best-ever...It’s a 100 percent likelihood of them running at North Point, and it’ll be 10 out of 10 conditions.”
The Margaret River Pro has a seemingly catch all situation with three different venues that work in a wide variety of swells, yet the “10 out of 10 conditions” still somehow slipped by. Save for Seabass’ ten-pointer they went hungry at the banquet.
But just for a moment let’s imagine the surfers stayed at Mainbreak, nursed their seven-footers off the bottom and swooped majestically off the top. No doubt more waves would have been ridden, and no doubt footage of North Point - those five or ten great waves that broke all day - would’ve hit social media and damned the WSL’s decision to stay.
There’s no unfolding moral to this story, no secret insight you didn’t see coming. No, day one at the Margaret River Pro was just another reminder of how much a prick pro surfing - at least in it's current form - is to package and sell to the masses.
It was supposed to be a red letter day in surfing, but would any non-surfer sit through six hours of that..?
Comments
So jake patto was calling it for sure . It happens to the best of them its gambling ..
From my experience a swell coming from sth of 215° degrees on SN @ margs becomes more unlikely as the swell is further sth ie todays 209 ° for example . Every degree less than 215 increases the chances of the waves not being as big as expected .
You summed it all up in the last paragraph. Are the good people behind the WSL the only people that can't see that?
Mother nature can be a cruel mistress.
" ... just another reminder of how much a prick pro surfing - at least in it's current form - is to package and sell ... "
Ding. Ding. Ding.
You nailed the core issue ----> "in its current form"
The circus is well over due for an overhaul.
Literally the only signal drop the entire day, wonder what he said haha.
&t=81m50sEveryone's pointing to the last paragraph, and to an extent it's a good point. The question is though, how could you overhaul the comp to make it easier to sell? To me (it may be my own subjectivity here) the pro surfing league seems to be more popular than most other competitive alternative sports, which is quite a remarkable feat given the obvious challenges with packaging surfing to the masses.
Current iteration is (mostly) fine by me. A lifetime of surfing has inured me to the whims of nature, but yesterday was another lesson in the limitations of the sport. With a gold star forecast and a massive media push pro surfing should've been served up on a platter. But in the end who actually consumed it?
I'll sit through six hours of it 'cos I know that's how surfing works, but the non-surf audience and non-endemic sponsors the WSL is reaching for? Fuck that...
Less comps. High quality locations.
Fiji
J-bay
Bali
Tahiti
Pipe
At least at those locations it's very hard to get skunked.
It's not like they weren't informed that'd be too south. Seabass saved them as that wave will be remembered for a long time, but just as easily forgotten if he got clipped.
yeah boring as fuck..... So is round 1 in the US masters golf... Day four at Augusta is the go... Something in that for everyone.
Having watched both days now I'm glad they ran it at NP yesterday. Yes it was slow but when they came they were amazing waves and made a nice contrast to watching mainbreak today which to me is quite a short wave and to be honest a bit monotonous. Not a lot of room for variety.
Haven't seen a lot of mainbreak but I always thought it was a left. Guess swell angle plays a big part cause the last 2 years I've only seen people going right? Or it is too big for the left?
When they do the pulled back shot, some of the lefts look like they're standing up really nicely and running off. Dunno why noone is going left.
Less scoring opportunity under the modern criteria, that's the reason few people go left. It's longer, but it's also fatter, flatter, and it doesn't usually end with an oncoming section to hit.
2001: A SW Odyssey.
Check 3:33. Hah! Old mate, ex-shaper (amongst other things) now bouncer, gets bounced! Actually, guess those spots and players, comrades. Heady days.
Great clip thanks turkey . Good to be reminded of the boatramp that day . I saw the bouncy belly board takeoff .
It's a small, small world
After struggling to find somewhere comfortable to watch Round 1 at North Point, I gave up and watched it on the big screen in the lounge at Main Break, while stuffing myself with great food and local wine. I also had one eye on what was happening out the window, and in my view it was pretty close to uncontestable. Sure, there were a few hardy gun-totin' locals out there dodging sets, but at its peak it was washing through. So the WSL didn't have a good option, just an option. Re going left, last time I was here it WAS a left! Sure, it's fat and slow, but today Josh Kerr would have avoided elimination if he'd jumped off the ski and gone left in the final minute. Anyway, IMO Margs is wild coast Australia at its best. I hope the WSL doesn't lose it.
@ stunet so under the current scoring criteria. How does some one hit three reentries and get a score in the excellent range. So variety of manoeuvres should be removed from the criteria!!
Its funny how the wsl and their surfers wanted it at north, and the commentary was all about "its good that we have waves like here jbay chopes fiji and ....brazil, it makes sure the world champ is good in all conditions" . It really is a load of tripe, if they wanted a champ that is good in all conditions they would have them out in massive conditions like yesterday at margs. i understand it wasnt that contestable but it would have sorted out the men from the boys and provided a different type of contest that isn't on the tour. Not one comp is held in really big surf.
Joe public yesterday was looking at north point saying, "why aren't they catching waves", at margs joe public would have been saying "these guys are gladiators". It would have given alot of cred to this years title race.
Oh well....
The world champ should be able to surf 1 foot to 20 + foot. In all conditions . Pretty simple concept really.
I agree.
Yerp i agree to they have jet skis at 3ft snapper usem at margs when its pumping.
Yep .
They used to rate it as a big wave break .
Where is the thread where I can say that Barton Lynch is by far the best commentator in the booth?
Barton for President!
Mainbreak wasn't lining up.
Hope its on at the Box this morning - looks like it could be a chance
45 mins ago got an email saying it's on at The Box. Beauty!
Tuned in at it's on at Mainbreak. Let's see how this goes...
Yes disappointing but mainbreak does kinda look alright this morning. Better than the other day. Loving Barton Lynch's commentary - full grommet enthusiasm.
Whoahhhh...... Pumping..... now this is good viewing.....
Holy crap.... The set that worked Pupo and Wilson.....
BTW, Slater has never won in 12 foot plus big meaty walls..... All well and good winning titles via Huntington, Brazil, and barrels..... MR won in all conditions from 2 foot burleigh to 15 foot sunset to 10 foot pipe.... maybe not as many titles.... But MR will always be the best ever in my eyes.... Changed surfing forever.
Didn't Slater win the Eddie?
Reckon he might have won pipe, the triple crown, chopes and cloudbreak a couple of times too :)
Waimea is just a takeoff, not a big winding off peak/ bowl like sunset, or margs..... But MR won there too btw.. The duke, was it? or smirnoff?
Yeah, fair point.
But I still think he's a master in any condition. Maybe slightly less so now days
He's a master at everything bar big deepwater margs/sunset etc.... Still in my eyes the 2nd best surfer in history... But that's purely subjective.. I could go on, but I'll shut up lol
It's really odd that he hasn't won in those conditions isn't it. I wonder why it has evaded him
If Kelly has a weakness it is Sunset type waves and despite having competed many times at Sunset he hasn't won there.
But has there ever been a ASAP/WSL tour comp in 12 foot plus rights?
He is definitely capable of it, probably now more than ever in the big stuff, i think he was just a little unlucky this morning being the first heat and looked like he was just frothing, I'm sure if the heat was longer sooner or latter he would have pulled off something crazy big carve or barrel.
JJF though fark.
Comparing MR and Kelly?
MR was ahead of his time but Kelly wins down hands down as the best surfer ever not only has did he beat MR 4 straight but has 11 world titles and has broken pretty much every record, and changed the face of surfing in so many different ways.
People are quick to right him off these days, but lets put it in perspective he is 45 and like every other year he has been on tour is still in the top ten.
I think Haleiwa has been around the 12ft mark for competitions.
MR "ahead of his time"????? Ummmmm, yeah..... I never wrote slater off.. I reckon he is the second best surfer in history.. But one has to take in more than the amount of "titles"... Who were they up against? Were the rules changed? What was surfing like before them? What surfing in a better place when they retired? Did they influence board design and how much?
"Who were they up against?"........... There are era's and "windows" in solo sports. In the tennis world, many consider L Hewitt to be quite lucky with "timing".... He had a small window... He got the most out of that window... He came into tennis at the end of an incredible era.. Sampras and Agassi were in their twilight..... Hewitt filled a void... He got the most out of a few years, before another batch of incredible talent entered - Federer and Nadal being the headline acts.... Now lets look at Slaters early era.... He overly stood out... It was an window between 2 great era's... In the early 90s, The Curren/Carroll/Hardman/Lynch/Pottz/D Ho era was coming to an end. Incredible talent pool.. Now with the greatest respect to the Hoy's , Beschens, Wills etc, the talent pool of the 90s was nowhere near as deep as the 80s.... Garcia was good in power...
Slaters early window probably lasted till Occy's cameo..... Then Irons turned up.... Fanning, Parko... Now Medina, and that absolute freak JJF.... So I truly rate Slaters post 2005 titles as his best.... Actually surfing against world class talent.
Now lets look at MR..... 1973/74/75 there was no world tour.. In 73, pretty sure he won the aussie title at margs... In 75 he won the world pro smirnoff at age 17. So he won titles going from the Nat young era, and during the MP/PT/Lopez/Reno/Bk era.... When the ISP started in 76, he was against the ageing 70s champs, PLUS a new breed - a guy south african guy named Shaun, some island dudes like Michael Ho, Dane, Buzzy, and a bunch of incredible aussies - Rabbit, Horan, Anderson etc.....
But MR's era was a special time in surfing.... There was no "window".....Incredible talent thanks to amazing board evolution just kept coming.. In MR's final title year, 2 young guys won their first comps... Their names? T Curren, and T Carroll...
pretty fair call SD>.
If you dismiss everything Slater did competitively before 2005, then you are just left with 5 World Titles and three 2nds, which still easily makes him the greatest ever.
Forgetting the comps, his free surfing was enough to redefine high performance surfing.
Wally..... That was just talking about who both in question were against... Slaters era, this modern era, is like a kumbaya love in.... It was almost a blood sport back the 70s and 80s... Totally different rules... None of this priority crap... Guys like MP, Rabbit, Ho, would chew you up. I reckon Irons would've had at least one more title using the old format... Irons would've done well in the 70s/80s... A bit of mongrel...
And since the 90s, finances haven't been a problem.. I'm sure MR skipped some of the 76, 77, 78 and his 79 title year due to finances.
And here's another thing that makes MR unique.... In 1975, he won in Hawaii on a single fin.
He won his titles on a twin... And I'm pretty sure he won his last comps in 85/86 on a thruster...... So he surfed and won through 3 eras of surf craft.
And just like Slater, his free surfing during the mid to late 70s changed the face of surfing forever. In fact, some of his moves would hold up today, especially at 12 foot sunset.
And it was MR's sheers professionalism that took surfing from a hippy past time to a sport backed by the likes of Coca Cola.
The surfing world is a richer place because of Mark Richards.
But mate, this is all subjective.... You're as right in your mind as I am in mine.... It's all good.... Slater is a champion.
ha ha i can't believe we are even having this conversation it's not even a competition Kelly was the best through many generations, he was so far ahead when he burst onto the scene when Elko and Curren were still around, then the Momentum generation, Andy Irons era then the Coolly boys generation, etc it's really only in the last ten years that the top ten have caught up and are overtaking him, although he is still in the mix and has always finished in the top ten.
There was plenty of great surfers in the 90,s they just were so far behind Kelly that they are basically forgotten, the whole momentum generation ripped.
Kelly has also possibly had a greater and longer influence on surfboard design than anyone, bottom shape, fins, narrow/thin, short wide, quads, even materials, not for just pro's but moire so for everyday surfers.
MR deserves his spot in history and is one of the greats, but it's just crazy to compare him to Kelly or what Kelly has achieved.
I'm entitled to my opinion... It's like comparing Rocky to Mike Tyson... Or Borg to Federer... Or Jack to Tiger.... Different rules, equipment, adversaries, conditions. Bottomline, MR won at sunset, pipe qld, Margs, 2 foot, 35 foot, single fins, twin fins, thrusters, financing himself.
JJF!
Wow how good was that! Next level. Good viewing today - best I've seen it for the comp I reckon - absolutely pumping.
JJF absolutely ripping.
"But just for a moment let’s imagine the surfers stayed at Mainbreak, nursed their seven-footers off the bottom and swooped majestically off the top."
Clearly, MB is a very contestable wave. Unfortunately, there's only one John John.
I can't see Kelly getting past the 3rd round at Bells.
JJF! In the words of Strider: "Are you kidding me?!"
Those last two heats were a View From A Blue Moon in a coloured singlet.
That was off tap.
Those waves would have been nigh impossible to ride for a mortal yet he fucking slew it.
Amazing.
_ threefins insta.
superhampunch 1000 - is a bit clearer
Yeah how was the wind in the first few heats,fuk,best and most exciting contest ive watched in a while,i think the WSL scored big time today,unbelievable surfing from Jules and JJ .Hope its still this good tomorrow!Would love to see the women out there too. JJ for the win.
Has Kelly won at Sunset? If not, that must buuuuuuuurn
Nope
And i read he has competed in over 12 comps there, it's kind of strange really because he has and does rip there even though he says he is not a fan of sunset.