"Meanwhile, I’m just over here throwing words around and waiting for the wind to stop."
You were thinking I forgot about you, that I wasn’t going to write anything about the women’s round of 16 that took place at Keramas yesterday. I did not forget about you! I would never do that. I am running around like a fool, throwing words all over the place. Out of necessity, I will keep this update short and sweet. Snackable. I do like snacks.
The big story from yesterday’s heats at Keramas came during heat 3. Silvana Lima’s been out of competition since J-Bay with a knee injury and did she ever come back with a slam. Lima beat out Caroline Marks and opened the way for a potential lead change in the world rankings.
I had forgotten how much I love watching Lima surf. She’s so fast and exuberantly unpredictable. Her opening wave featured a cheekly little barrel. Lima highlighted the one weakness that Marks has shown. While Marks had her characteristic strong, vertical turns, there wasn’t as much variety as Lima threw down.
In other notable early exits, Malia Manuel, who came out of Bells as the world number two, lost out to Courtney Conlogue. I’m not sure I quite get the new seeding. How did the two finalists from Bells, ranked number 2 and number 3, already meet in the round of 16? Got me. If she makes the finals, Conlogue could overtake Marks as world number one.
Last year’s winner at Keramas, Lakey Peterson also went out in yesterday’s round 3. There weren’t a ton of waves on offer Peterson’s heat and Bronte Maccaulay took an early lead. Peterson’s highest score was a 3.5. It just really wasn’t her day. In typical do or die style, she surfed eleven waves in an effort to find a score. I understand the desperation, but I wonder if a little more chill might have served her better.
Both Stephanie Gilmore and Carissa Moore made it through to the quarters. Gilmore in small waves is always a marvel to me. She is so long-legged and yet somehow she manages to fold herself down to fit into the tiniest corners. She threw a nice fins-free turn in her opening wave, which, more like this, please, Steph. She said in a recent interview with the crew at Stab that she felt she often didn’t push herself enough to be progressive. Sometimes, she gets too caught up on being graceful, she said. Dear Steph, you can be both. Really.
It was a little sleepy all around out there in Keramas yesterday, with good waves a bit few and far between. I love a skateramp style reef break, but long lulls are a drag to surf and to watch. So here’s hoping there’s more waves for the quarterfinals. The Gilmore-Conlogue matchup should be seriously good times and I’m looking forward to watching what Lima comes up with against Fitzgibbons. Moore meets Hennessey and Maccaulay surfs against Van Dijk.
Meanwhile, I’m just over here throwing words around and waiting for the wind to stop. Please let me go surfing, wind! I have been extra good this week. I totally deserve to go surfing.
A slam!?
she barely beat a 17 year old rookie.
Heat could have gone either way.
non story
Silvana was so lit! She’s a reminder that playing it safe is boring and if she keeps surfing like this this year, she’s going to push up the level of everyone.
I love the way she surfs, she’s great!
Nikki VD will probably make the semis. Weird seeding but makes it interesting.
VD – hehehehehe
The other tropical place which was not so protected.
https://www.theguardian.com…
What I need to know is how Silvana Lima can be a professional surfer, AND the capital of Peru, at the same time.
Same way Medina can
Acai.
She might be like the female “ Oracle of Time “ Norma Cenva from the Dune Series who is capable of being in many places at the same time ? Or as they say SHORTENING THE WAY ?
I don’t recall that from the books.
World Spice League, the spice must flow, power, speed?
Just finished reading the last in the series , Sandworms of Dune written by the son of Frank Herbert , 30 years after I read the original .
https://getyarn.io/yarn-cli…
I think I only managed about 4 of the original.
Took me more than a generation to read them all so there is plenty of time for a young bloke like yourself to digest the last few volumes .
and a monkey…
The airheads lost again
That’s 3 for 3
Red Bull gives the CT Surfers wings ?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Who’s the brown eye for?
Brown Eye Sees All
I’m cheering on your proboscshark monkey series.
Obscure repetition should be encouraged at all costs.
Ad Infinitum …….
I don’t know where I’m going with it, but it seemed amusing to me.
I’ll keep going for pure art’s sake, darling.
Carissa obviously lost her heat to Paige. Paige’s 1st scoring wave, hucking two very powerful & perfect backhand reos, underscored.
I watched it a few times and Paige definitely got the hollow double ups and went to town on them which the judges have been dribbling over at this event ….. ? While Carissa surfed wonderfully but on much softer waves .
If I have a minute, I’ll watch again!
Steph’s massive first turn on the one wave was pretty f’ing heavy.
Guaranteed it’s not called the seeding round by next year. They seemed to have rushed that decision. Probably didn’t even look at the definition of the word. Besides the name it doesn’t make sense to have top rated surfers meeting so early in the draw. Fail.
Gonna end up with a super flat end of Comp leaderboard and 5 contestants battling it out at pipe… oh wait that does sound shit…. oh and we get to see more the epic head to heads without one of the seeds losing in the semi final? Not so bad in my book. There is no coasting thru, gotta win from the first heat to the last…. I’m still not totally sold, but I’m willing to withhold judgement until we see how it plays out…
SL rips
Yasss, I’m a fan 🙂
Another big admirer here! Love her style and her everything.
So are Italo and Jadson who were there to cheer her on, videoing her heat . Another site raised a point about the Brazilian contingent not appreciating the beach commentary during the heat , which in their opinion , was overly biased to her competitor wearing the yellow jersey . It was a wonderful day for the Australian women too , filling up 4 of the last remaining 8 spots which was the norm until recently .Looking forward to see Tyler make a comeback when she is ready .
Get your gear packed cause rumour is that Beach grit is sending you to Wacko to do proper story on the wave pool.
Ha ha, it’s true that I’ve never written the “my first wave pool” story!
It’s time!
What? That Jen got da amoebas?
I disagree!
JEN!!!
Stay the fuck away from dem noceans!!!
I am scared of the amoebas, for sure. I think they have chlorine and stuff now? Idk.
Nose clip! It’s the only way!
Caroline Marks is Wade Carmichael’s sister. Cross the eyes and dot the titties.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Harsh, I reckon Wade looks like Grug
They are both beautiful Australian creatures mate. They give me pride. Fuck Silvana the dog breeder.
haha what kinda dawgs??
Na it’s for lost dogs it’s a good cause. Feel sorry for the little buggers. Brazzos can’t even look after themselves let alone their doggos.
Oh for reals? That’s a nice news story then. A WSL media house feature piece on her and her love of loveable brazza pooches would be enough to melt my black heart.
Irrefutable point WPS.
At least we’re not Venezuelan turds who eat their dogs.
Take what you can get I guess mate.
Do they have a choice at this point?
Gremlins* not dogs mate.
ever seen them in the same room?
I think they should mate – imagine the power from the offspring.
Ken oath!
Both built like brick shit houses!
Caroline could possibly get a job concreting with the other Central Coast beast, Shane Holmes who came second to Taj at Keramas in 2016 and described himself in a interview in Tracks .
“ I’m just a concreter who likes surfing.”
Surely the WSL could use some world class power surfers to build their pools ….?
The universal approach to estimating wave height varies across many jurisdictions and even within most communities….3ft back or 6 foot face? Hawaiian size or Wozzel size. I have always liked the idea that waist high, head, head and half seems to be better balanced. But watching Silvana Lima (who was clearly dominant) all waves are well overhead. Any other ideas?
Ha! No idea. She is tiny, though, for reals.
Put her back on the Brazzo gremlin tour.
Jen, you’ve sparked a thought.
The seeding round, I understand that no one understands it. But would it be possible for a championship underdog to throw a first (sowing) round in order to meet a points leader sooner, backing themselves to knock them out and go on to take (reap) a bigger margin of points than if they’d met later in the comp?
If so, who will be first to game the seeding round ?
Oh god. That sounds even more complicated than the actual format! Also, I feel like that relies on the very fickle and unpredictable ocean a little too much.
it would be a good laugh though.
If it worked, it would be insanity!
On the Origin of the Surfing Species ? That’s evolution baby ……..
OOT, when are you going to drop some more onomastics?
Just a thought: set aside 2-3 days to hammer out the etymologies of the full men and women’s CT, and any other notable free surfers and/or surf personalities, and then you’re all set with some A-grade comments you can trickle out over the next couple of months…
Obviously Jordan comes from the Chicago Bulls or possibly biblical ,East Bank or West Bank , but where does Smith come from ? He ain’t no blacksmith ….. ?
Not a wordsmith either! His dad’s a foamsmith but I’m not sure how far back the lineage goes.
This could explain why he is a Frother having been created from the Durban FOAM smith ?
i already did him: Origin of the name Jordan: Derived from the Hebrew yarden (to flow down, descend)…
i think that says it all really
Thanks OOT . I visited the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee but never made it to the source at Mt Hebron from where the Jordan “ yardens “ .
Surprisingly good name for a surfer , to flow down ( yarden ) and then hammer it like a smith ? Could lead to a new surfing term to describe flow , YARDENING ?
true true. the cubicle got busier and it feel from mt thoughts. there will be a comeback!