It was America vs Australia, Tavarua island [the USA island] vs Namotu [where the Aussies stay], 5’9” spades vs conventional short-boards and a Floridian magician vs. a Coolangatta straight talker.
Up for grabs – an edge in the world title race and bragging rights in the South Pacific.
On the eve of his 32nd birthday Mick Fanning duelled it out with Kelly Slater, who is almost ten years his senior. That also means Kelly has ten more years of experience at Cloudbreak, a wave Kelly told Tracks he surfs “whenever he is a plane ride away from a swell.”
The night before finals day Kelly surfed till dark at Cloudbreak. He and Dave Wassel were the last in; eventually zipping back on the jet ski Kelly keeps in Fiji. None of the other surfers still in the contest were out there – just Kelly, tuning in with the swell and feeling out a different board. The morning of finals day he was back in the lineup on his own ski, weaving down the line with a go pro in one hand and the ski’s handlebars in the other – filming his friends and giggling as they bounced around in perfect six foot Cloudbreak. From the outset he looked like he was there to enjoy himself. Winning could take care of itself.
Kelly locks in while his caddy, Belly, throws his hands to the sky. natesmithphoto.com
Cue quarter final one and Kelly paddles out against Sebastian Zietz and drops a couple of tens. I’m not going to talk you through them. You can watch the heat replay for that. However, after the perfect heat Tracks did interrogate Kelly on how he managed to pick two, double-digit waves in a heat at Cloudbreak. As usual he was coy to begin with, “I’ll tell you after the contest, after I retire,” he smirked. Then he continued in more detail in relation to his first 10 “ When I saw all the energy focus wider, I knew it would give me a chance to get in. Seabass wasn’t really looking at it. When I talked to him after he said, ‘ I thought that thing was just going to be one of those weird double ups and do something funky down the line.’” Where Seabass was snubbing a set, Kelly was eyeballing tens. It was obvious that he sees things out there that others don’t.
Once again it was also impossible to ignore what Kelly was riding in heaving six-eight foot Cloudbreak.
“I can ride my short board (5’9” x 21/4) in almost anything, I just have to widen my stance a little,” he boasted. Then he went into a little more detail about why he thought shorter boards worked better for him.
“Once you brush off a little speed you can really steepen up in the pocket … I like that length, I like the radius of the turns … Definitely on the bigger ones you might want a little more weight. I went to a PU board instead of the epoxy today. It’s probably a ½ to ¾ pound heavier, so it probably has a little more inertia and momentum to it.”
‘Radius of turns’ and ‘inertia’ Kelly was using terms from geometry and physics to discuss his boards. Here in lies another critical point of difference between Kelly and most of his peers. He understands conceptually why his boards behave the way they do.
When he wasn’t in the tube, Kelly was throwing down hook combinations that Mike Tyson would be proud of. natesmithphoto.com
When it came time to surf against John John Florence in the semi, Kelly sensed a mood shift in the ocean. CJ had scratched through against Josh Kerr with a 7.77 heat total and then Joel and Mick had engaged in a mate vs mate grudge match where neither surfer could better a mid-range six. The barrels seemed sparse, so Kelly switched to turn mode while John John continued to follow his tubular instincts. Kelly’s high score of the semi was a 9.4 and he did the damage with three scything hooks and a massive carve on the inside. All of the turns made that part of the criteria which states ‘ most critical section of the wave’ scream out loud at the judges. With his delayed bottom turn and smaller board, Kelly was turning at least a metre deeper, a metre higher and twice as hard as the competition. If you wanted to score with turns then you had to commit to them like Kelly was. Plus, no surfer better understood when to gouge and when to hunt the barrel. Both were necessary at different times.
Even though Mick came up short in the final, tubes like this are more than anyone can ask for on their birthday. natesmithphoto.com
Mick’s final minute, double barrel against CJ in their semi was undoubtedly one of the finest moments of the day. However, while Kelly was dominating his heats, Mick was only just making it through. The momentum was with the Floridian and he certainly wasn’t going to grant Mick any concessions because it was almost his birthday.
As the surfers enjoyed a brief break before the final, the DJ on the Volcom super-cruiser, the Bel’mare, dialled in a traditional Fijian song with a hint of dance-music sample, and inspired a full-blown dance off between the locals on the Namotu boats and those on the Tavarua boats. It was Namotu for Mick and Tavarua for Kelly. The girls from Tavarua even had their own song/chant for Kelly. While the girls danced, Kelly was joking with his Fijian entourage and trading quips with the other surfers. It might have been Mick’s birthday but it felt like Kelly’s party.
As far as opening moments to finals go they don’t come much better. When Kelly failed to paddle into a set, Mick swooped and camouflaged his snow-capped head in the foam-ball, only to have Kelly one up him by dropping in to the biggest barrel of the day and throw his hands wide in an act of pure showmanship. Mick got the better score but Kelly won the moment. When Mick returned from a board swap Kelly put the first sword into the bull-a long drainer that earned him a 9.8. As Kelly flew past on the ski he hooted to his adoring, Fijian fan club who immediately launched into his customized war cry.
Then, with just under ten to go, Kelly slotted into a ten and delivered the final blow. A chant for USA went up amongst the Fijians as Kelly made his way on to the boat and hugged his girlfriend, Kalani.
Kelly’s performance during the Volcom Fiji Pro was something very special. natesmithphoto.com
When Tracks asked him if it qualified as one of his finest days of professional surfing he elaborated, “Oh guaranteed, right up there … To get really good Cloudbreak is just a whole different level to Restaurants.
It’s just more meaty and more powerful. It’s a man’s wave out here. You never know when it’s going to smack you around. At Restaurants you might get cut but you are never going to get smashed. It’s just got more juice out here and it’s a better wave in my opinion.”
Kelly was also sentimental about his relationship with Tavarua over the years. “I have a twenty year plus relationship with these people on the island. They’re like a family to me. The chief told me many years ago that ‘my island is your island and you can come here any time that you want’. They’ve always treated me like a son or something and when I won the contest here for the first time, all the girls in the kitchen were crying and hugging me.”
Kelly’s equally colourful and vocal cheer squad always have the champ’s back. natesmithphoto.com
It’s undeniable that Kelly’s affinity with Cloudbreak and the people of Tavarua factored heavily in his victory. Indeed the whole day seemed as much about putting on a performance for his local fans as it did about winning.
At the tour’s next stop – Bali – he won’t enjoy quite the same level familiarity but it’s clear at this stage of the year that he has the desire and the form to pursue another world title. Somebody else had better win the next one if they want to stop him.
