Trestles is two am torture for Australian viewers. Trestles is America ‘F&ck Yeah!’ after an Australian leg replete with mellifluous Ozi voices. It’s ‘Chris Cote’ screeching into your lounge room in the early hours of the morning as he reaches for a rock song or knife fight metaphor to sum up every wave – some of which are pretty good. And is that the burning scent of civil unrest I smell in the background as thousands took to the streets in L.A and the Orange County (Trestles turf) to protest against Trump’s immigration blitz – on his birthday.
Well, the surfers were certainly on fire all day at Trestles. Trestles, what a wave. It reels along the cobblestones at the perfect pace, delivering ample power to facilitate any move in the surfing lexicon. Trestles minus the usual crowd is one of the plum perks of being a pro surfer. Just ask Yago Dora who turned finals day into a surfing exhibition for the fans with hard-ass seats on those rumbling rocks. Yago gave them plenty of reasons to get on their feet but he kind of did it the hard way. In both his quarter and semi he was against the ropes, chasing a score with precious minutes left. On both occasions he went to the lefts and launched his trademark steezy airs, flying like a leopard leaping from a tree to pounce on prey – Ethan Ewing and Griffin Colapinto were the early victims of Yago’s big cat prowess.
It was good to hear Kelly drop into the booth, tossing pearls of surfing wisdom like a mystic descending from the mountains to hang with the masses. The only person with a more encyclopaedic memory than Joe Turpel. He can answer anything, just don’t ask him his kid’s name. When Yago was given an incomplete for the best air of the day, in the semi against Griff, Kelly offered a perspective. “I don’t think the kids at home are going to be too worried about whether or not that was a completion.” The judges didn’t quite see it the same way.
In the final Yago kicked off with a lofty, tail-high spin and kept Kanoa Igarasihi in the rea-view mirror. Kanoa still went excellent range and even threw in a late Kerrupt flip of his own, but he couldn’t catch the flying cat, Yago Dora.
Dora heads to Brazil, a favoured location, ranked number two, nipping at Jordy Smith’s heels. Thanks to next year’s rule changes (or reversions you might say), it’s the last time we will see the final five model. There are still three events before the Fiji finals, but we must now begin to think of Yago as a genuine title contender and not a perennial underachiever lurking in the shadows. The flying cat is out of the bag. It was good to see that Yago’s dad, Leandro, still cheers for his son, although he coaches Jack Robinson. Jack looked in better form than we’ve seen in recent events, despite bowing out in the semis to old friend, Kanoa Igarashi. It’s still one of the weirdest scenarios in world sport. Dad coaching the other guy to beat his own son. What do Yago and Leandro talk about over dinner?
Right now, Jack is just outside the five (seven) as is Ethan Ewing six) who again suffered on finals day at Trestles because he lacks an in contest (he has one in free surfs) aerial attack. The upper and lower body always enjoy a great conversation through Ethan’s carves, however the absence of an aerial act means it’s difficult for him to take scores higher with a single move. He’s like a boxer with the best jab and one-two combo in the game, but no knock-out blow. And Yago showed he is vulnerable to that kind of punch with his last minute theatrics in the quarters.
In the women’s, Bettylou Johnson’s Matt Biolis equipment served her like a fifth limb; it was just so connected to her feet as she thrashed at lips and laid deep furrows in the Trestles rights. Bettylou never missed a beat, averaging above the excellent range (sixteen points-plus) in all three of her finals day heats, accounting for Caroline Marks, local gal Sawyer Lindblad and Molly Picklum along the way. Johnson is living proof that surfers on the CT can still make dramatic performance leaps and change the way they are perceived as competitors. The potential was always there for Bettylou, but there is way more power and precision in her attack now. With two event wins in 2025 she catapults to number four in the world and announces herself as a definite contender with her current form.
Trestles definitely plays better as an event without the final five pressure. It allows the surfers to take more risks at a wave that lends itself to the highest performance levels in pro surfing. It’s common to see two surfers posting scores in the excellent range, which is great viewing… If you couldn’t do the all-night vigil then it’s certainly worth cranking up the replays and enjoying the show. ‘F#$K Yeah!’
