And other highlights from round two such as Taj Burrow fighting on, Jordy aiming up and Neco’s rides getting burnt.

.

The virgin was clean, the virgin was sweet, and she looked good – under Dane’s feet. Pic: Smithy

Morning rolls around and the tide’s high and the waves fat. Call goes out that the girls are on so I go back to bed. As bad as that reads it’s the soft waves repelling me and not the surfing. I’ll be there for their round three. Hours pass and I eventually find myself splashing around at Duranbah for a pre-midday men’s call stretch of the legs. I bump into Ace Buchan and Joel Parkinson on the southern end’s right-hander. Both ripping. I can vouch for Joel having the killer’s instinct right now (along with that killer’s body). After confirming a looming wave was indeed mine (which it was) with a nod, something inside him clicked and he spun. The snaking came with a friendly smirk and a look of, “Forgive me, I’m an animal right now.” I do and you are. Go son.

Three rain squalls and quick chat with Dane Reynolds later I was on deck for the start of round two of the men’s. Hoping Dane took heed of my advice that his heat may be on. “No, they’re running the women,” He’d told me. ‘Pretty sure you’re on mate’, I replied. “First I’ve heard of it?”

Confident that Quiksilver foot soldiers wouldn’t let Dane miss his heat I concentrated on heat one. Taj Burrow took his time against wildcard Garrett Parkes (who was trying to rub out all memory of his two board-breaking shocker in round one). In a case of trading places Garrett went to work early, building scores and momentum – a strategy TB acknowledged in his post heat interview as his standard MO. But the cream of Taj’s surfing repertoire rose to the salty surface in the final five minutes as he scored a 7.97 and a 6.87. Despite these flashes of brilliance he was clearly still slightly injured and far from his best. But he’s up to the task I’m sure and loving life and his new easy approach to life on the circuit saying, “Over the years I’ve done the stretching thing, trained and had the headphones before heats and been all serious… but it’s not really me.”

The day’s puzzle was the judging of Neco Padaratz in heat four. With a lacklustre round one performance behind him and critics like Aussie surfer/DJ Adam Bennetts unconvinced he deserves his spot on tour at all (Adam’s recent Facebook post – “How the farrrrrrrrk is Neco on the CT??????” – garnered plenty of comments.), Neco had a point to prove. Well, Neco surfed a great heat. He got barrelled and did a power blast in the most critical part of one wave, landed backwards and rode out without blinking. He scored a poultry 6.8. Meanwhile his competitor Damien Hobgood scored an eight on his first wave and later told Neco: “I don’t know why they gave me an eight on that one.” Neco continued to get barrelled and throw everything into his turns but could only squeeze a 6.9 out of the judges. I know the judges loved Damo’s critical verts and that he was probably the deserved winner but Neco’s burnings seemed harsh.

There’s a few reasons why Damo scored high – above is just one of them. Pic: ASP

There was no confusion over Dane Reynolds’ high scoring waves. Bummed by his first round’s pitifully fat waves, Dane unleashed. Riding a virgin board that was actually shaped for Andy Irons, Dane parked his arse in barrels and shot himself into re-entries with cataclysmic precision. Curious about his craft that was glaringly longer than the tiny stumps he’d been riding, I asked Channel Islands team manager Travis about the board’s origins. “It’s a 6’1, 18 and a ½ by 2 and 5/16ths. It was made for Andy but he’d already grabbed a few boards.” Soaking up the dimensions I returned to my spot by the rack of boards in the surfers’ tent in time to see it thread the longest tube of the event so far. In prior heats judges had punished average tube rides, especially shakey exits. The pressure to pull in or not was high. Richie Lovett declaring that for a tube to score, “It’s gotta be real special.” Dane’s double pit was certainly that. He garnished the end section with a grab-rail reverse for good measure and scored a 9.33. There was someone else in his heat but I can’t remember who.

Dane and the never ridden, and her slice and dice action. Pic: Col B / ASP

The rookie model Al Merrick obviously did its job and the slight concave was to Dane’s liking. Though he told me afterwards that he’s still not convinced, “I’ve kinda been confused by boards lately and what to ride.” Riding a virgin something you do often? I asked, “No, I don’t normally do that.” I’m sure he knew what I meant. He may have had to push things on the unknown stick but watching him throw his – taller than you’d think – frame hard into camera-quick snaps you get excited about what he’s capable of when he finds a magic board.

Taking time out from the Snapper barrel’s warm embrace, Jordy Smith swooping. Pic: ASP

Commentator Ronnie Blakey then made the rain-soaked beach aware the next heat’s star Jordy Smith has (along with Dane) been toted as a next big thing – in the vein of Kelly and Andy. Legendary duels perhaps destined to make folklore. Despite not even being in the same heat, is Jordy mentally surfing against Dane? I doubt it. But when a surfer blows up like Dane did, the next surfer up (especially a showman like Jordy) will raise the bar or kill himself trying. He did just that. Grabbing perhaps the wave of the day, he parked his huge frame deep in the pit and the seconds ticked by. Two more visits to the womb later Jordy was the owner of a 9.73 (video below) followed by a 7.93. With that I’m done. Choosing to watch Kieren Perrow’s heat from our apartment’s balcony, I retreat from the rain. Happy to be dry and happy my day ended with an Aussie moving through. Even if it was by the skin of his chinny-chin-chin.

By Col B