Some #Tournotes
In case you hadn’t realised, the men’s Fiji Pro has been on hold since last weekend and the pros have taken it upon themselves to lap up the indulgences of a surfer’s paradise. Some find waves, others play ping pong, shoot hoops and feast on elaborate buffet breakfasts. I’m sure all the guys can agree when Kolohe declares that his “life sucks”.
Oh and of course they had to make two editions of #tournotes this week, just to rub it in even more.
Fiji Freesurfs
While the waves have been declared as ‘flat’ for the last week in Fiji, this video provides pretty good evidence that there has actually been fun barrels at Restaurants. Rumour has it that WSL Commissioner Kieren Perrow just wanted a few waves himself and so he called the contest off. Just kidding. The actual reason for the lay days was that the good ones were far too inconsistent and therefore the conditions were not ideal for holding a contest.
Check out the best surfers in the world tearing one of the best waves in the world in their free time.
Kerrzy’s Face Gash
As you can see in the video above, Kerrzy copped a wild board to the face during one of the freesurf sessions. His board connected with his forehead right on the stringer, leaving him covered in blood. Kerrzy gave us a little behind the scenes Insty shot of his wound. It looks very nasty and resembles the damage of a fin cut, rather than a board to the head.
Kelly’s Backside Barrel Lesson
Pig-dogging and no-hand backside barrel riding are some of the hardest things to do in surfing. Kelly Slater decided that he would come on the WSL’s morning show and school everyone on how to get properly slotted backside. As the best competitive performer ever in backhand tubes, Kelly’s got some credentials to be talking about this sort of stuff. Maybe this will teach you how to surf better… but don’t get your hopes up.
Kelly’s Killer Whales
Kelly hasn’t just been spending his time in Fiji surfing, schooling people on backside barrel riding and relaxing by the pool, although I’m sure he’s done plenty of that. On Wednesday he also submitted a statement, on behalf of PETA, which questioned the ethics of keeping orcas in captivity. The statement comes after the death of SeaWorld killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau and the film Blackfish which highlighted the oppressive nature of keeping orcas in captivity. Perhaps Kelly is revealing his plans to become more heavily involved in environmental activism after his pro surfing career. You can read the full statement here.
Desert Point Is An Oasis
The first legitimate swell of the season has lit up desert point and there was certainly a huge crew of pro surfers on it. With any luck, this is a sign of another epic season in Indonesia and those of us who are making the journey up to the land of lovely lefts will hopefully score big time. Watch as Craig Anderson, Brent Dorrington, Nick Vasicek, Conner Coffin, Sheldon Simkus, Mitch Parkinson and Chippa Wilson get tubed out of their minds.
Some Spring in Vincent Duvignac’s Step
According to Duvignac, the star of this clip, spring is definitely the best time of year to surf in France. The days are longer, the waves are better and the sand banks are usually in good shape. Watch this clip, compiled over three days of fun waves, which features great form from the French pro surfer.
A Teahupoo Compilation
Red Bull, being good to us as they are, has made a little compilation of the best waves and the worst wipeouts at Teahupoo so far in 2015. There’s nothing like watching a few below sea level kegs barfing out avalanches of spit and thunderously sucking the unwilling over the falls. The footage in this clip is raw and you can hear the emotion of the onlookers and the power of the heaviest wave in the world. Watch as your Friday just got better.
