When it gets 10-foot at Bells it sure makes for great theatre. Watching Kelly Slater throw himself at a six foot lip was both frightening and amazing as he slid into the lead to take victory against unknown wildcard, Timothee Bisso. Asked if the commitment to the oncoming section was a reflection of where his headspace is at this season, Slater agreed.
“Yeah I think so. As I was going up for that section I was imagining being in here [the grandstand] and being one of the guys watching going, ‘Yeah hit that thing!’ I knew Jordy or one of the guys would have yelled at me if I didn’t hit it. [Laughs].”
“I was thinking I had about a four-per cent chance of making this thing but I’m going to go for it. I actually nearly stuck it at the bottom but I was a little doughy on my back foot and I didn’t know if I really wanted to commit to the landing on that thing. I could’ve either hurt myself or broken my board.”
When the million dollar question about this his equipment was raised, Kelly was coy and keen to keep his “mystery shaper” under wraps. “It’s a 5’11 but it’s a lot weightier than my normal board … it kind of pushes through the chops better.”
Last night, at Winki, Slater was spotted riding a Simon Anderson, and reportedly ripping. Cast your mind back to 2006 where he chalked up two victorious, including Bells, three seconds and a third on his magic Simon riding it until it was yellow. That year he went on to win the world title but fast-forward to 2016 and he’s all about experimental designs. However Kelly hasn’t ruled out ditching it for a hand shaped Simon in round three.
“Yeah possibly … that’s what I rode in ’06 when I won and it was one of my all time favourite boards. If one of the boards feel good under my feet I’ll ride it so I may try that later today.”
When asked about why Simon’s shapes seem to work so well at Bells, Kelly responded. “I think he’s channelling ’81 energy. Simon’s boards have a certain rocker and feel to them. There’s nothing tricky to the board. Just a classic line template. The good Simon I had in ’05, ’06 I think I won fouror five events on tour with that thing, it was just amazing. The very first wave I got on it at J Bay I bottom turned and did one high line and I knew it was the best board I ever had,” said Slater.
On a board that was borrowed from his Dad, Mason Ho defeated Jeremy Flores in the first real upset of round two. Despite surfing with uncharacteristic restraint Mason controlled the heat. Mason once described surfing big Pipeline as being like a small cat being chased by a dog. At Bells the metaphors kept rolling off the Hawaiian’s tongue.
“Out here it’s like being chased by an elephant seal. [Laughs] Those things kill people right? Out there you could die. If you break your leashes without the jetskis … woo!”
The big showdown for the day came between Lennox Head injury wildcard, Adam Melling and South African Jordy Smith. In conditions custom made for Jordy’s searing power turns all eyes were on the big bru to perform after a poor result in round one. His 9.20 late in the heat heralded a return to form as he displayed power surfing at its finest on a day that saw the world’s best mostly fighting to survive.
“I love big open faced waves,” said Smith after the win. “Having the opportunity to really throw all the power you have to throw into a big open face and big wall of water is really something special. You don’t get it very often. Even to surf Bells like this as big as it is doesn’t happen either.” Although happy with today’s win, previous losses in sub-par conditions seem to weigh heavily on the South African’s mind.
“I tell you what, the most frustrating thing is when you try really hard in preparation and you just don’t get those opportunities in your heat. That’s what really hurts your soul you know what I mean. When you get those opportunities and you lose from not surfing good enough I’m ok with that. But that’s the game of surfing and that’s the game we all play.”
In other results, Dusty Payne showed true grit against Josh Kerr, defeating the Australian with a 13.84 total. Despite falling on his 6.67 the commitment he showed hitting the final section sent the crowd wild.
American surfing’s great hope, Kolohe Andino, was knocked out in the final moments of his heat against Sebastian Zietz. The Hawaiian took victory by 0.10 to send the despondent Californian packing. Andino’s coach Mike Parsons was seen shortly after the heat intensely discussing the result with one of the senior judges. The result instantly made Matt Wilkinson’s yellow jersey look a whole lot more cosy.
Taj Burrow was the next major scalp of round two falling to Brazil’s Miguel Pupo. Despite earning the highest single wave score in their heat, an 8.67, Taj fell agonisingly short to take home his second early round exit for the season. Pupo stabbed at the gurgling Bells wall, flowed, and completed his two high scoring rides.
All eyes were on Stu Kennedy in his heat against Matt Banting. Was his Gold Coast blitz simply a fluke? Would the Sci-Phi wonder stick perform as well in the bumpy eight-foot Bells conditions? These were all questions being asked of the whirlwind lad from Lennox Head. Despite looking a little jittery in certain sections, Stu and his Sc-Phi cruised to victory over Matt Banting. A good result at Bells means his status as a legitimate WCT competitor will be confirmed.
Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 2 Results:
Heat 1:
Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.43 def. Tim Stevenson (AUS) 11.67
Heat 2: Mason Ho (HAW) 10.64 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.80
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 12.90 def. Timothee Bisso (GLP) 10.50
Heat 4: Dusty Payne (HAW) 13.84 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.94
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.87 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 14.50
Heat 6: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.23 def. Alex Ribeiro (BRA) 5.27
Heat 7: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 13.94 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.84
Heat 8: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.10 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.00
Heat 9: Caio Ibelli (BRA) 16.83 def. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 16.43
Heat 10: Stuart Kennedy (AUS) 13.20 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 10.57
Heat 11: Conner Coffin (USA) 14.53 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.20
Heat 12: Michel Bourez 14.17 (PYF) def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 10.83
Round 3 Match Ups:
Heat 1:
Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
Heat 2: Nat Young (USA) vs Stuart Kennedy (AUS)
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs Miguel Pupo (BRA)
Heat 4: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs Kanoa Igarashi (USA)
Heat 5: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) vs Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs Mason Ho (HAW)
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs TBA
Heat 10: Kelly Slater (USA) vs TBA
Heat 11: John John Florence (HAW) vs Caio Ibelli (BRA)
Heat 12: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs Davey Cathels (AUS)
