Things got a little heated in the press pit last week during Kelly Slater’s tell-all post-heat interview. When a WSL representative asked Kelly what he thought about the North Point Mobile option in WA, Kelly barked back with apparent cynicism.
“Hype it up man, hype it up. We’re going to go to Margarets and surf twenty more years before we get to surf North Point. It’s just not going to happen. I love the idea that it’s on the possible stages to be run there but I actually think it would be nice if they look at running it there even if it’s four-feet because there will be some airs and little barrels.”
Kelly obviously wasn’t convinced the WSL were sincere about their claims to run at North Point. Kelly also knows that a sideswipe from him carries a lot of weight and puts more pressure on the WSL to make good with their claims.
If Kelly wasn’t buying in, it seemed some of the other surfers were happily swallowing the WSL Kool-aid. When Tracks asked Miguel Pupo if he was ready for a rematch with The Box, where he famously leap-frogged from the lip during a heat back in 2014, he reflected on the moment and smiled before stating confidently. “They want to go to North Point this year.”
Maybe Miguel was just hoping he could dodge another horror encounter with the Box’s sledgehammer lips, but he seemed convinced that North Point was an option.
Freight train triple barrels at North Point is a titillating prospect and by including it in their pre-event spin the WSL are relying on the mere power of suggestion to add sparkle and suspense to their tour. I hope more than anyone that their intentions are honest but if you ask well-informed locals the biggest obstacle may be far beyond their control.
“The WSL love to talk it up,” exclaimed local photog, Russ Ord who has shot North Point on numerous occasions over the years. “Proper North Point only really happens 5-10 times a year. Last year it was good for maybe half a day during the contest window.”
With the current forecast pointing to fun, four-foot conditions at Main Break rights it’s unlikely that anyone will get the chance to call the WSL bluff, but if the swell does flare-up the pressure will be on surfing’s governing body to prove that that they can go mobile and make the magic happen.
Jack Robinson soaring at North Point. Photo: Domenic Mosqueira
