The World Surf League unveils technological miracle!
I think you must drop what you are doing right now, even if it is very important, even if it a much needed dentist appointment, and tune in to the World Surf League’s groundbreaking split screen hosting of Jaws and Honolua, both on Maui, both featuring feats of physical and emotional strength.
Back to the split screen, it is a technological miracle. You can silence Joe Turpel (Honolua) and listen to Kaipo (Jaws). You can silence Pottz (Honolua) and listen to Pete Mel (Jaws). You can silence everyone or play both streams at full volume.
All very genius and I think twice as genius in light of the colossal technological fuck up that was Tiger vs. Phil.
Bravo World Surf League!
But wait, who is going to win? Besides us the viewers if we silence everyone?
Judge the heat ,not the waves?
Surf for 30 mins no rules
Who surfed better.
What about the womens QS, ?
I’ll give you this LGR, it just seems more wrong for pumping waves to go to waste at Honolua Bay than nearly anywhere else. It’s just such a dreamy scene and beguiling wave, I can barely stand to watch it on TV without aching anxiety about it. Can’t imagine standing on the bluff and watching empty lines pour through. I think I’d have a nervous breakdown.
Never seen more tube dodging in me farkin life!
Sorry I’m all about the women’s tour, etc. but for fucks sake girls figure out how to get a tube on one of the best days of the fucking year or you don’t deserve it!
Even Joe and Pottz were on the verge of saying the very same thing after one too many perfect sets were let pass by…
It hasn’t been their finest hour eh. Did a bit better in the afternoon, but earlier? Maybe over-coaching? They just didn’t look natural, surfing a bit mechanically on a wave that wants you to trust your instinct a la C Moore.
In the ladies’ defense, Honolua at that size is tricky, mostly “in between” sections that you sort of race through waiting for the meaty snap or barrel to present itself. At that size it’s a very hard wave to always be doing something. And the tv cameras can’t seem to be set up to show the reality of the place. Surfing there is a lot more time spent racing sections down the line than they can make it look. It looks a lot more killable on TV. And then it goes super-hollow sometimes when it doesn’t seem like it’s going to. I’ve been embarrassingly sucked over in the barrel there when I thought everything was A-okay. It’s interesting to to see some of the better point break surfers struggle – Honolua looks like a point break but really acts more like a reef break. It can punish you a lot harder than it seems on the kind of swell the women were surfing.
Bigger and it turns into heavy grinding runners that make more sense if you have the balls. Smaller and it’s a lot more like a rippable hollow Trestles kind of wave broken into distinct and easy to read sections. I’m sure you probably know all this already Nick.
But yeah, most the women weren’t surfing too well. You’re certainly right that the place rewards instinctual surfing because it’s hard to read, doesn’t care what your coach told you to do. Still, it must be really hard to be expected to be always doing something when what’s called for is seagulling long smooth arcs most of the time.
If the WSL is about “equality” they should do the viewers a favor and alternate years with the women at Honolua and the World Cup at Sunset. Let the Women decide a world title at Sunset every other year and let the men (even if it is QS/CT mixed bag) have a go at epic Honolua. I reckon if it were men today, we would’ve seen the best contest QS or CT all season. The women would also benefit by crowing a world champ on Oahu as well. The media is all here and the crowds would be just as or bigger than Honolua.
Like watching paint dry…I’m gone never going back!
Burned once shame on them, burned twice shame on me!
Kai – what an animal – huge air drop to handle fuck me mental!!!
Can I mute them all and stab myself in the ear with a ice pick instead? Peter Mel must have said the word ‘gladiator’ 87 times.
The WSL better not kill the free surf broadcast.
Kempers and Twigg’s first waves were absolutely crazy and I wonder how many competitors are just going to go home and chill for the rest of the day? Not many at a guess.
A free surf would be even more dangerous with more people out?
Suck it, big wave tour, I am glued to Honolua rn. Glued. Or I was until it went into some dumbass recap thing. SHOW ME MOAR SURFING!!!
Carissa looks amazing, can I just watch Carissa all day. Steph looks like a world champion, Lakey sadly does not. At least, based on round one.
seriously! what is the point of this rambling?
big wave tour just went from, totally shiek to totally geek
big waves too big now. comp called off. get ready for the free surf.
I don’t understand why it just can’t turn into a tow event now?!?
Everything is in place is it not?
for sure! they said something about the skis being over worked, but that seems like a lame excuse. if it’s pumping and you’re sending 6 guys out, work out how you’re going to pull them out of the whitewater freight train.
and they’re going to be out there either way…
Umm ok
– Negs there is no provision for turning one of those things into a tow event. As a result most of the surfers wouldn’t have been equipped for the change: boards, teams etc etc etc
– Owen it ain’t that simple mate. If you got a set like the ones beginning to hit today, two people caught waves and ate it and then everyone was caught inside, a predictable worst case scenario, the skis couldn’t be sure to have dealt with it. I mean I wasn’t there so I have no real right to an opinion on it, but it did make me think it was not a question of safety so much as a question of death.
i just mean they’re running a comp with 6 people in a heat and you want it to be as safe as possible, don’t they already have a plan for that scenario?
but yeah, i obviously don’t want anyone dying, and have no experience with anything remotely like this, so i’m more than happy to be wrong. also this free surf is amazing. happy days.
All the expense, infrastructure & planning thats gone into a big wave event and no contingency plan to take that event into the next level?
From my armchair it seems like a lost opportunity.
Well Kai’s not losing the opportunity
Show of the fucking year.