The US Open of Surfing comes to Snapper Rocks!

WSL gives a beautiful demonstration of the sunk-cost fallacy… 

I got a sick sense of joy watching the Vans US Open of Surfing unfold on my laptop today. It was a hopping, groveling mess; a beautiful demonstration of the sunk-cost fallacy that delivered on a promise of schadenfreude for which I’ve been eagerly awaiting the past ten or so days.  The WSL’s first big outing was a flop, and everything surrounding it has been appalling.

A supposed $100k extension bought the men a taste of the women’s tour. God only knows how much the guys who washed out during their luck-of-the-draw shitfest heats enjoyed dishing out the dough for the last-minute airfare changes and hotel booking extensions that earned them the privilege of making a mockery of both their ability and the notion that surfing can ever be a mainstream sport.

How quickly we forget the pre-Dream Tour days when the athletes fought to ensure that the right thing would happen when a contest doesn’t deliver: the points get split, the prizemoney does too.  Gabby doesn’t like it, and why should he? When Micro makes the surf look small no one should be in the water.

Perrow’s bosses are mad that Medina said a swear. Freddy P had a meltdown.

Judging criteria – speed, power & flow. I believe I ticked all the boxes, not to mention innovation. Under scored?? I think so. Haha. #areyounotentertained #bestjobieverhad #thisissnapper

So did Josh Kerr.

Fustration/anger are emotions I really try to stay away from! Today that didn’t work!

 

The commentator clowns insist on referring to the WSL in the third person, as though it were a sanctioning body rather than a sideshow.

The cabinet beneath my bathroom sink sits slightly ajar. This morning, when I was shaving, I leaned in to get a better look at my throat. My thighs pressed against the door and pushed it shut, pinching the tip of my dick. It only caught a tiny bit of flesh, but it was enough to make me screech and jump back, totally confused by the sudden stabbing pain in my cock.

I’m sure it looked funny to an outside observer, but like today’s event, it was no fucking fun at all to take part in.

 

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 3 Results (1st to R4, 2nd = 13th):

Heat 1: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.00 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 8.77

Heat 2: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 13.67 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 13.20

Heat 3: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 15.77 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 9.93

Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.60 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 11.90

Heat 5: Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.43 def. Nat Young (USA) 8.94

Heat 6: Glenn Hall (IRL) 14.23 vs. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 7.50

Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.56 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 15.00

Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.90 def. Owen Wright (AUS) 14.44

Heat 9: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 14.76 def. Freddy Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 1.13

Heat 10: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.67 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 13.90

Heat 11: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 18.50 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 15.74

Heat 12: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 17.83 def. John John Florence (HAW) 16.13

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 4 Results (1st to QF, 2nd & 3rd to R5):

Heat 1: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 17.23, Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 13.47, Italo Ferreira (BRA) 13.37

Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.37, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.13, Glenn Hall (IRL) 10.50

Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.50, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.50, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.50

Heat 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 17.83, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.57, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 12.23

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Round 5 Results (1st to QF, 2nd=9th):

Heat 1: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 17.34 def. Glenn Hall (IRL) 13.33

Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.73 def. Italo Ferreira (BRA) 15.50

Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.94 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 16.07

Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.83 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.83

Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Quarterfinal Match-Ups (1st to SF, 2nd=5th):

QF 1: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Wiggolly Dantas (BRA)

QF 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)

QF 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

QF 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)


Gabs: Next time Micro says fuck off I will teach him!

World champ ain't real thrilled about coming second last to average surfer… 

Let’s be real honest. Glenn Hall, an engaging falsetto from Australia’s Central Coast (forget that dubious Irish ancestry that got him into the world amateurs years ago), ain’t the kinda surfer you’d spend money on a webcast to see. (It’s coming!)

And, yet, here, at Snapper Rocks, in miserable little waves the WSL has waited 10 days to surf, and were forced to surf because of the unwieldy nature of having concurrent men’s and women’s events with a total of 45 surfers, he just beat the reigning world champion, the 21-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Medina. By an interference.

The interference was plain enough. Micro had priority. Gabriel pushed it too far; Micro milked it and got it through. Y’could see Micro lighting up on Gabs but you could also sense he pulled his words, just a little, because as every surfer knows, you don’t smack talk a Brazilian, not when his countrymen are “passionate” and whom also enjoy practising a lethal form of jiujitsu.

In his post-heat interview, Micro, who looked like he’d been outfitted by a stylist from Back to the Future with his giant plastic watch and plastic sunglasses housing reflective blue lenses, was smart enough to talk up Gabriel.

“He’s a really good dude, passionate in the water and a legend out of the water.”

What was Gabriel saying to you? the interviewer asked.

“He was telling me to calm down…”

Soon, Gabriel appeared. He was very sad. He said, “You know, the waves are pretty bad. Ten days for waves like this? KP didn’t do a good job… I hope he can do better.”

Gabriel said he was confused by the rule that sunk him and then… unexpectedly… although perhaps it shouldn’t be unexpected given Gabriel’s sulky form, he said, “Next time Glen Hall say fuck you to me, I will teach him…”

Peter Mel, who has never panicked in his life, even at 20-foot Mavs, stole the air and sputtered:

“Uh… uh… uh… not a happy man…”

Ironically, it’s the best thing to happen in this contest. Will the WSL recognise it as such?


That's you, by the way, unable to catch the micro surf on your longboard (mal).
That's you, by the way, unable to catch the micro surf on your longboard (mal).

Surfline has no shame!

It trashes the WSL while taking its $3.50 paycheck.

The Quiksilver Pro is continuing its li’l bit depressing march today, and by the grace of God it will soon end. Those waves! That ugly! And it must be one thing for the WSL to cop flak from what Tracks magazine (the surfer’s bible no less) deemed, “…bottom feeding journalists.” But it must be quite another for them to cop flak for shitty waves from forecast sponsor SURFLINE!

It was poor Pete Mel who usually stood on the beach during those lay days and hyped the upcoming swell, courtesy of Surfline provided models, information, science, “It is going to get good! Hang in there!” But then Surfline runs the story “The Quiksilver Pro Round Two: Because we had to.” Ouch! And to end with a preposition! Double ouch! And “Because we had to” why? Because you were desperate enough to take the $3.50 media partnership that the WSL was offering and forced to cover the event? Triple ouch! The story continues with the clearly snickering line, “The world’s best surfers in the world’s best waves…” Well they got it half right. (Read here!)

But what of all that Pete Mel hyping courtesy of Surfline provided models, information, science? Just rude. They fed the WSL a line and then trash the event after it was clear that no, and I mean NO, waves were ever coming. I guess it is very easy to slap Graham Stapelberg when he is down. “BUT…” I shout as I mount my high horse “…the horrible, unsurfable surf is the one thing I have liked best about this inaugural WSL event!” I like it because it is honest. The ocean is, of course, cruel and the WSL is reacting as best as it can, which is as good as anyone could have reacted. There is absolutely nothing to do with shit surf except cancel, which is just as pointless as running in slop.

Yes, the WSL chose to trot out a silly commentary crew (Pete Mel and Chelsea Cannell totally exempted), chose to change its name to the most asinine thing ever, chose not to change its logo even though it was drawn by an art school drop-out, chose not to pay anyone, chose to let surfers choose stupid numbers, chose to commission a graphics package that looks the way it does, chose to try and be the NFL, chose an almost endless amount of very bad things. But it did not choose this shit surf. This shit surf chose them. It chooses us all. And Surfline can go fuck itself.


Yellow surf trunks
You like a little detail? Wait til you see the care tags and the history of BeachGrit inscribed inside… 

FREE SHIPPING ON BEACHGRIT SURF TRUNKS!

Anywhere in the world! And tees too! But so limited!

Just arrived, and already mostly sold out (friends!), are the BeachGrit four-button fly surf trunks. New colours, too, House of Bourbon red and Zipperhead yellow.

The Zipperheads are all gone; there are two pairs of the House of Bourbon reds (both in 31″ waist); one pair of the Black Eunuchs (black) in 30″; White-ish Eunuchs (grey) in 31″ and the Black Virgin Marys (zebra stripes) in 32″.

All are $US69 with free shipping anywhere in the world. Tell me your t-shirt size (email [email protected]) and I’ll include a sleeveless tee.

All trunks were made as per below.

BeachGrit believes that a pair of trunks must be flattering, a little sophisticated and has some edge and follows these design principles:

1. It is made from the soft cotton. Nylon is so… retro-future don’t you think? Oh, it doesn’t dry as fast? Do you really care enough to wear the same material factories use to manufacture tents?

2. The leg is short.

3. Button flies. With custom buttons. Velcro catches, zips corrode and threaten your vitals. Buttons?  A little extra work, at times, but as reliable as the continual victory of capitalistic democracy over facism.

4. It must be designed by the best in the biz, in this case, a Mr Rama McCabe, a Byron Bay-born surfer of impeccable style. How else can we be assured of the perfect silhouette and detail?

Size-wise, they fit a little big so order one size under.

Click to buy here. 

Any questions email [email protected]


Ask Pam: “I hate you right now!”

And, hey, I'm going to have a baby brother!

Pam Reynolds is the French bulldog of American lovers Courtney Jaedtke and Dane Reynolds. Over the past six months, Pam has become the animal kingdom’s own Dan Savage, giving frank, and often surprising, advice on love, loneliness, whales in captivity, existentialism and the Beyonce-Solange-Jay-Z split.

In this episode, “D” from the British Virgin Islands writes of a love let free and the pain contained therein. “D” also included the synth track “I hate everything about you.”

Alexander from Sydney bemoans humanity. “Some people just shit,” advises Pam.

And from Spain, Andrea Aparicio is curious of Pam’s mama’s impending birth.

“Hi beauty!

Im so expectant about your mother’s last post

Is true you are going to have a sister or brother???