The rebel's rebel Ira Opper on ground (obviously).
The rebel's rebel Ira Opper on ground (obviously).

Exclusive: Miki Dora and the lawsuit that changed surf journalism forever!

A true story.

Miki Dora’s gilded stool in surfing’s Great Valhalla is next to Michael Peterson’s, near Andy Iron’s with Button Kaluhiokalani’s but a few ale horns away. He’s iconic, legendary, emulated, even worshipped by a handful of die-hard nostalgists.

Me, I’ve never found the man that compelling. Sure, his gilded stool is there in surfing’s Great Valhalla and his name looks good in print. Miki Dora. Mickolas Dora. Even Mickey Dora and his face looked good in photograph, like a discount Pete Taras, but other than that he never cranked my shaft.

He was a rebel and an asshole, two traits I hold dear. A con-man, outlaw, ne’r-do-well. Three more. He should be my favorite surfer instead of Ryan Callinan but I can’t even be bothered so what’s my problem?

I’ll tell you.

The 1989-1991 Superior Court of California case presided over by the Honorable David Horowitz which pitted one Mickey Dora against Frontline Video Inc. A company owned and operated to this day by surf cinema stalwart and multi-Emmy award winner Ira Opper.

Now, Ira Opper had grown up next to the Clark Gable estate in Encino, idolizing the whole Malibu crew and especially Dora. “He was a hero to me as a kid…” he says. “Back then in the early 1960s it was a 9 – 5 world. Everyone was getting jobs and going to work and here’s this guy surfing Malibu all day long. Malibu was like the Yankee Stadium of surfing. It was the epicenter and Miki owned it.”

Opper and Clark Gable’s step-son Bunker Spreckles would lay on the floor of Bunker’s valley home (he had entire house to himself on the estate) flipping through the then quarterly Surfer magazines and dreaming, eventually finding rides over the hills and into the hottest scene on earth.

“They knew I was Jewish…” he says of those early walks past the famed wall and through the famed pit before a long pause. “It was a tough world to enter and pretty intimidating. Dora shoved me off a wave at First Point when I was a grom. He’d come right up behind you and then just shove you off. He also called me all sorts of names. An ugly, skinny shit and unprintable names too. All the other guys were cool in the water. Dora was just… mean but also so good that if you knew he was in the water you’d just get out and watch.”

In the summer of 1986, 20-odd years later, the first Malibu Legends event was held as a sort of homage to the glory days. Opper, having gone to film school, decided to document both the event and the historical epoch. Tubesteak, the Karate Kid and the other Malibu personalities talk story and laugh about the bygone era in a sweet, simple ode. Opper also licensed a bit of Dora footage and some audio of Dora explaining various nuances of the surfing life.

Legends of Malibu (must watch here), hosted by an effervescent Corky Carroll, was broadcast on ABC and all was going well until Miki Dora filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Court for unspecified and punitive damages.

Miki was wildly, legendarily litigious. He’d sue, sue, sue, sue and when he got tired of suing he’d sue some more. In David Rensin’s classic All For A Few Perfect Waves he is quoted telling his lawyers that these suits were an attempt to squeeze the blood out of a billion-dollar surf industry that he’d “…not seen a red cent out of. It’s not fair. I have to live in a Third World country… The country in which I grew up as a free spirit is now ransacking my name and tearing my reputation to shreds by making films, videocassettes, clothing, books, advertisements, magazine articles, sports equipment, and all sorts of paraphernalia without my knowledge or permission.”

And he wanted Opper’s head.

While it is unknown how large the Miki Dora black market actually was, Opper wasn’t attempting to monetize Dora’s image or story. Dora’s image and story were simply essential components to the story of early 1960s Malibu. How could they not be?

In 1991 the Honorable David Horowitz agreed with Opper that the story of Malibu was newsworthy and that Miki Dora was essential in its retelling as Dora “reached a position of public notoriety because he was one of the best surfers who ever lived.”

A furious Dora immediately appealed the decision and, two years later in 1993, lost again, this time with the presiding judge ruling, “Whether Dora is considered a celebrity or not, whether he is seeking damages for injury to his feelings or for the commercial value of his name and likeness, we conclude that the public interest in the subject matter of the program gives rise to a constitutional protection against liability.”

That was that. A massive victory for The People™. A gift that keeps giving.

“The case defined what we can and can’t do in a public space with a public figure…”Opper says. “…and I wasn’t going to bend over. Dora pushed me off a wave but I wasn’t going let him push me off this. The public’s right to know supersedes a private person’s right to privacy. The public’s right to know is paramount… as long as you tell a true story. That’s what the judge ruled.”

Well thank goodness.

It was the last frivolous lawsuit that Miki Dora ever filed, having been so roundly defeated, and also broadened journalistic freedoms across the board sticking a second knife in his curmudgeonly heart. Storytelling smashes narcissistic ego.

Every time.

And I love my rebels and assholes. My con-men, outlaws, ne’r-do-wells but I don’t care for aggrieved whiners who run to the ‘law’, who attempt to use the same ‘law’ they love to flaunt as a stick to beat others.

True rebels don’t sue. Real assholes don’t whine or at least the best real assholes don’t.

Miki Dora was complicated, all people are to varying degrees, but those who choose to worship his visage should do so with full knowledge of who he was as both a man and a surfer.

They get to thanks to ugly, skinny shit Ira Opper. Eat all the epic surf movies you can handle here.


Riding the same Dan Mann FRK he rode in the tub, in early afternoon sunshine, 70 degree air, 70 degree water as Bruce Brown would say, he was scintillating. The heavy track off the bottom was as raw as Dane Kealoha, the combinations off the top progressive, or powerful, or both. Sometimes just a huge straight lip stab – a surfer's turn as Strider called it. | Photo: WSL

Quiksilver Pro France Day One: “Kelly Slater the star attraction at banquet where all hearts opened and all wine flowed!”

How can a nearly fifty-year old be the best guy in the water in a three-foot beachbreak?

Gabe Medina kind of ruined the opening day of the Quik Pro France; not personally, but by how he made the rest of the field look.

I know it’s sport, and it’s surfing and anything can happen but each appearance now has an air of inevitability about it which makes his peers look lifeless. Gabe rode sixteen waves in heat six. There were multiple airs, club sandwiches, sharp vertical punches, glide-ins, kick-outs and tube-rides.

Enough surfing, in short, for the whole day.

There were some good heats in surf that changed from flabby on the high, rippy and weird on the dropping and finally, as rippable as it gets on the premium part of the tide. Leo Fioravanti was back after the dislocated shoulder at the Box, which feels like yesterday but which is five contests and a surgery ago now. Leo went from last to first, Andino from first to last and Yago Dora stayed happy in the middle. Less than a point separated them at the end. It could have gone any way.

Filipe looked snappy and stylish, which means his back is not right. He hit the sand with ten minutes to go , nursing a slim but significant lead over Duru and Lacomare and held it when the buzzer went.

I had a bad back too, from digging a grave and burying my goat, who passed into goat heaven this morning. Turns out the stories about the indestructibility of goats are urban legend. This one, despite being a rescued feral goat who left goat hoof dings on my surfboards, destroyed gardens and loved to dance on cars, was felled in a single day by… something. A paralysis tick, a toxic substance.

We’ll never know. A faint bleat this morning, a last rallying against the forces of death and then he left us. Cold and stiff and in the ground. Which made us all very sad.

I felt slightly better, as I always do, looking down the heat draw and seeing K.Slater written there. A goat who is indestructible. He surfed his best small wave heat since Trestles 2012, when a twelfth world title seemed pre-ordained.

Riding the same Dan Mann FRK he rode in the tub, in early afternoon sunshine, 70 degree air, 70 degree water as Bruce Brown would say, he was scintillating. The heavy track off the bottom was as raw as Dane Kealoha, the combinations off the top progressive, or powerful, or both. Sometimes just a huge straight lip stab – a surfer’s turn as Strider called it.

Leo was in the booth, Slater had kept the family up practising putting at 2.30 in the morning. I’m sure Kelly won’t feel disrespected if we request that the B urine sample is carefully tested. He looked insane, but we’ve seen Kelly blow up and then fizzle out early this year so no big calls.

How can a nearly fifty-year old be the best guy in the water in a three-foot beachbreak?

Not many other surprises. Owen looked very precise, Jules got through. Italo had a few moments of brilliance. The biggest innovation, tied I think to the Fox broadcast, was the first all-female commentary booth I’ve ever seen in pro surfing. Maybe the first in history. Shannon Hughes, the gal doing the beach pressers, and who had made zero impression on me, and Rosie Hodge. Turned out Shannon did good in the booth, I thought much superior to the beach pressers. Rosie sounded a little like she’d been media coached by Pottz, with her insistence on “points of difference” etc etc but Shannon correctly identified the absurdity when Deivid Silva, needing a 6.01 was awarded a 6.00. “What do you even do, walking away from that?” she asked incredulously.

The energy in the booth was raised considerably as the two-some became a threesome with the addition of Wasilewski. The surf was deteriorating, lot of rails bogged and bad body language from Flores and even Bourez, the best epoxy surfboard rider on Earth, according to Strider was poking noses. Jack Freestone always looked in control of the heat, a D-bah onshore analogue in which he flew above lips. Why not more, Jack, wondered Shannon, voicing a question we’d all been long asking about Freestone. One of the best aerial attacks in the game and barely uses it.

Medina dominant, yes. And a strange back to the future moment in French sunshine where Kelly was once again the star attraction; a banquet at which all hearts opened and all wines flowed.

Quiksilver Pro France Elimination Round (Round 2) Matchups:
HEAT 1: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Marco Mignot (FRA)
HEAT 2: Michel Bourez (FRA) vs. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) vs. Marc Lacomare (FRA)
HEAT 3: Deivid Silva (BRA) vs. Caio Ibelli (BRA) vs. Soli Bailey (AUS)
HEAT 4: Wade Carmichael (AUS) vs. Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Ricardo Christie (NZL)

Quiksilver Pro France Seeding Round (Round 1) Results:
HEAT 1: Griffin Colapinto (USA) 12.50 DEF. Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) 11.90, Soli Bailey (AUS) 8.07
HEAT 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 11.94 DEF. Frederico Morais (PRT) 10.10, Caio Ibelli (BRA) 9.60
HEAT 3: Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 14.40 DEF. Yago Dora (BRA) 14.33, Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.00
HEAT 4: Jorgann Couzinet (FRA) 12.67 DEF. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 12.66, Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.26
HEAT 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 12.63 DEF. Joan Duru (FRA) 10.60, Marc Lacomare (FRA) 9.74
HEAT 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.40 DEF. Michael Rodrigues (BRA) 11.87, Marco Mignot (FRA) 11.04
HEAT 7: Owen Wright (AUS) 15.10 DEF. Willian Cardoso (BRA) 13.34, Ricardo Christie (NZL) 7.94
HEAT 8: Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.44 DEF. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 9.57, Jadson Andre (BRA) 9.47
HEAT 9: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.84 DEF. Jesse Mendes (BRA) 11.67, Conner Coffin (USA) 9.94
HEAT 10: Seth Moniz (HAW) 12.24 DEF. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 10.50, Wade Carmichael (AUS) 10.13
HEAT 11: Peterson Crisanto (BRA) 13.84 DEF. Ryan Callinan (AUS) 11.67, Deivid Silva (BRA) 11.67
HEAT 12: Jack Freestone (AUS) 11.77 DEF. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 9.10, Michel Bourez (FRA) 8.90


BB, the best of France.

Comment Live: Quiksilver Pro, Hossegor, Day one!

Get behind the driver's wheel, you drive the narrative…

Jesus O’ Mighty, that crept up on us. We all knew it was coming, you saw the clips from the last few days, but here we are, again, day one of a contest that will be full of incident, comedy, drama and emotion.

The prevailing narrative is that Gabriel Medina, the current world number one, winner at Teahupoo* and Lemoore, will sweep Europe and win a third world title before Pipe.

You think?

Or will Italo, Filipe, Jordy or Brother, sweep Gabriel’s Crocs from under him?

Waves are three foot, twelve foot if you’re from Yeppoon.

Comment as it happens.

Older readers may provide historic context as it happens.

(Watch here.)

* Historically inaccurate.

Quiksilver Pro France Seeding Round (Round 1) Matchups:
Heat 1: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN), Griffin Colapinto (USA), Soli Bailey (AUS)
Heat 2: Italo Ferreira (BRA), Caio Ibelli (BRA), Frederico Morais (PRT)
Heat 3: Kolohe Andino (USA), Yago Dora (BRA), Leonardo Fioravanti (ITL)
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Sebastian Zietz (HAW), Jorgann Couzinet (FRA)
Heat 5: Filipe Toledo (BRA), Joan Duru (FRA), Marc Lacomare (FRA)
Heat 6: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Michael Rodrigues (BRA), Marco Mignot (FRA)
Heat 7: Owen Wright (AUS), Willian Cardoso (BRA), Ricardo Christie (NZL)
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA), Conner Coffin (USA), Jesse Mendes (BRA)
Heat 10: Seth Moniz (HAW), Wade Carmichael (AUS), Ezekiel Lau (HAW)
Heat 11: Ryan Callinan (AUS), Deivid Silva (BRA), Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Heat 12: Michel Bourez (FRA), Jeremy Flores (FRA), Jack Freestone (AUS)


Nat Young in 1968, "the most influential surfer in the second half of the 20th century," says historian Matt Warshaw.

Longtom vs Nat Young: Can “Surfer-Consciousness” save the world? The case for and against!

It's hectic. Coral reefs getting bleached, societal collapse within a generation, Wozzle selling the message that planetary salvation can be achieved via surf comps in pools and air travel.

How do you like your eco-anxiety? Seriously.

No factor or are you starting to feel a little hot under the collar with the predictions of imminent collapse?

It’s hectic. Coral reefs getting bleached, societal collapse within a generation, Wozzle selling the message that planetary salvation can be achieved via surf comps in pools and air travel. If the Pixies were correct, which they may well be, we’re all gonna get buried by ten million pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey.

I have no solution. My fabulous murfer pal from Byron Bay is fond of saying: eat pussy, not animals. That sounds as good as anything, with science behind it.

It’s hectic. Coral reefs getting bleached, societal collapse within a generation, Wozzle selling the message that planetary salvation can be achieved via surf comps in pools and air travel. If the Pixies were correct, which they may well be, we’re all gonna get buried by ten million pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey.

Whatever your views on Nat Young, he can’t be dismissed as a puppet, part of a global green conspiracy or be indicted for child abuse. His thoughts are his own and he reckons that this thing he calls “surfer-consciousness” can help save the planet, or it’s human inhabitants at least, from environmental catastrophe.

I disagree.

I called Nat at his Angourie home to find out how surfer-consciousness could save the World. Me, parked up in front of Lennox skate park while boyo and his pal had a shred. Nat, 74 and daily surfer, fielded my line of slightly combative questioning with good grace, revealing, I think, flaws in both of our thinking.

A little firewood at the end to throw onto the Miki Dora bonfire.

LT: You’ve consistently said more surfers in the world will make the world a better place. Do you really believe that?

NY: Yes. I do. The essence of it is the older you get the less you need. It’s a matter of what you need to keep yourself sane and surfing. Soon as I came to terms with the fact that I’m older I really don’t feel any animosity or aggression towards people to surf with them. It’s my problem if I get over-excited and get too over the top with people. It’s 2019, not 1964.

LT:Sure, but what about this issue of over-crowding and aggression, isn’t that just a pure function of numbers in the water?

NY: For sure, but I’d rather do it that way and give away a wave. If someone is padding beside me I just say “go!”, they obviously really need it. I’d like it, but I’ve had so many waves in my life, it’s not critical. It feels really good to give away a wave. I prefer to think of surfing as a tribe, which means as a tribe we have to look out for each other. I mean I’d rather have people doing this than being bikies (laughs)…

LT: Well….What about the kiddies, how do they find enough waves to learn on, if spots are all packed out?

NY: I don’t have the answer to that. The problem is we were all lucky enough to have it before everyone else did. That doesn’t mean we should keep the cards close to our chest and go “My wave” or you can just go “Hey man, go!” and I bet if you do that, you’ll get one pretty soon. The alternative is really ugly. So, in the future does this mean maybe one day Lennox will have its own wave pool and Byron will have two or three and Ballina will have one?

LT: I hope not.

NY: It’s the same as skate ramps. We need more good quality skate ramps.

LT: I don’t agree. I think that analogy is flawed. Once the council builds it and the build cost is accounted for that facility is then free for anyone to use, whenever they want, whoever you are. Whereas a wavepool you’ve got a huge running cost with water and electricity which are the two scarcest environmental commodities and then you have to pay. You have to pay, per wave, or per hour, whatever.

NY: I know, one would think that at some stage if it’s our taxpayer dollars actually creating the pool, then possibly it would be more similar to a swimming pool. You have x amount of people in and you pay a nominal charge just to keep the pumps going.

LT: That’s a best case scenario. But anyway, tell me about this thing called surfer-consciousness.

NY: Well my wife doesn’t surf as such, but she’s certainly surfing conscious. What I’m talking about are all the associated people that are not surfers but they understand and think like a surfer and they understand exactly what we’re going through. You don’t need to surf . You understand all the very basics, like this climate change we are going through and I don’t believe there’s ever been a surfer of conviction who’s put plastic in the ocean. What the fuck, we’d never do that. In places like Indonesia and India, they don’t have surfer-consciousness.

LT: OK, but when you say this surfer-consciousness leads to a lighter footprint on the Earth. We’re flying overseas to chase waves, we’ve got twenty boards, we’re driving cars to the beach. Aren’t we some of the worst?

NY: Well, no. I don’t think so. I was just talking about plastics and I know surfboards aren’t biodegradeable, but I don’t think there is any way you can get around it. There’s gotta be some slack. We’re not conscious polluters. We don’t shit in our own nest. We do indirectly pollute.

The worst thing about Kelly’s pool was this guy called Raimana who’s on the jetski and he’s yelling at ya, “Get down Nat, get down!” and I’m just standing there going what the fuck for?, why would I get down? I can’t even see the tube. Usually the tube is ahead of you. So I didn’t get down and just got hit by a brick in the back of the neck. The wave comes from behind. I went back and got ten or fifteen more waves and everytime Raimana said get down, I got down I tell ya.

LT: Don’t we have a very heavy footprint though, we tread heavily on the Earth.

NY: I don’t think as heavily as a lot of other sectors of society. I mean there’s so much compromise involved in living in this day and age. It’s tricky, but at least surfers are conscious of it. They try not to pollute, they do their best. They still have to fly overseas to try and find their perfect wave.

LT: On that note, if the wavepools do take off, guzzling electricity and water, we’ve lost all claim to be any kind of environmental stewards then, surely?

NY: It doesn’t necessarily have to be like that, I think those are details. What about if it could be run on saltwater, using solar power to create the energy that creates the waves. I think all of these details will be worked out down the track. I had a really interesting experience at Kelly Slater’s wavepool in Lemoore. I don’t think it was anything like a real wave, but it sure was a nice thing to do. The worst thing about it was this guy called Raimana who’s on the jetski and he’s yelling at ya, “Get down Nat, get down!” and I’m just standing there going what the fuck for?, why would I get down? I can’t even see the tube. Usually the tube is ahead of you. So I didn’t get down and just got hit by a brick in the back of the neck. The wave comes from behind. I went back and got ten or fifteen more waves and everytime Raimana said get down, I got down I tell ya.

LT: After you’d ridden ten to fifteen waves did you get that full body stoke like you get from a good days surfing in the ocean?

NY: Oh no. No, no. Firstly, it’s icy cold water. I could have stayed out there for another one or two but they just turned everything off and said “That’s it, you guys have had your go.” It’s a really good experience, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. It’s nothing like going to Indonesia and the Mentawais. It’s just different. It’s a pool!

I don’t really watch any of the surfing contests at all. I find it repetitious and boring. I wrote a big letter to the lady who runs the whole act and just told her there were a lot of things they’ve got totally wrong and I gave her my suggestions. I’m sure they just threw it in the bin, but we’ll see what happens.

LT: Did you watch any of the pool comp?

NY: I don’t really watch any of the surfing contests at all. I find it repetitious and boring. I wrote a big letter to the lady who runs the whole act and just told her there were a lot of things they’ve got totally wrong and I gave her my suggestions. I’m sure they just threw it in the bin, but we’ll see what happens.

LT: Relating to the wavepool or generally speaking?

NY: I think they’ve created a bit of a monster that’s really not a very good reflection of where surfing is. Everyone’s got a mild interest in watching a wave being ridden by quality surfers but do we care about who wins the contest thing in the wavepool? I found the Teahupoo comp really good to watch mostly because I’ve been there and it’s a terrifying wave. If you have a fear factor that’s good. It’s good for everybody to be terrified of that. To watch people conquering fear is essentially seeing one of of the elements of surfing. That’s what we do. I think they sell it really short. You watch what a joke it’s going to be at this next Olympics.

LT: It seems bizarre they can’t craft this sport into something that all surfers can take ownership of and love even if they don’t compete themselves; they don’t seem to be able to figure that out.

NY: I don’t think they’ll ever do that because competition is a complete contradiction. What we talking about is self expression in a liquid medium that has these animals that are trying to attack you. There are so many things that make it not a sport. You’re never going to be able to judge one surfer against another. It’s a shitty sport.

LT: You have a chapter about Miki Dora in the new book. Enduring reaction to Miki seems equal parts fascination and repulsion. In a New York Times story he was painted as an out and out racist. What’s your take on that?

NY: Well, he was racist. Especially when he was living in South Africa. He was always a bit like that.

LT: You don’t think it was just him pushing buttons?

NY:I know he wasn’t. And he may have said racist things but he was a long way from white supremacy. He was a master player. To me, he was a really good friend.

LT: You think we shouldn’t judge him by todays standards?

NY: He was a man of his time. I think he was someone that really suffered at the hands of living and growing up in LA, in Brentwood. He hated Hollywood, he really did. And he did everything he could to fuck it up. But he also loved it. Loved the hell out of it.

LT:Do you see a time in the future when environmental considerations become more stringent and surfers might be only allowed to own two boards and take one overseas trip per year?

NY: There’ll be a lot of other things happen before that.

LT: Yeah, hopefully it won’t be in my lifetime.

NY: I do spend a lot of time thinking about my grandchildren and my grandchildren’s grandchildren. They’re being bred into this tribe of surfers, are they still going to be able to be surfers in a hundred years time?

LT: What do you think?

NY: I don’t know. If I think about it enough I can get pretty depressed. Because of the state of the world. But then Tom Blake believed that we (surfers) were the chosen race so if we get pushed to the point where we have to really unite as a surfing tribe then maybe we can have our own space where we can really make some changes for us.

LT: Optimistic.

Buy Nat Young’s new book Church of the Open Sky here.


Ex-ASP Judge to Dirk Ziff: “How long can your WSL survive a constant barrage of criticism from the surfing world that you set out to conquer?

Thank you sir, may I have another etc.

The World Surf League remains under fire. Well-aimed salvos shot daily from all angles at the Santa Monica bunker.

A loyal army of entrenched BeachGrit snipers and artillerymen are among those leading the bombardment of dissatisfaction. Encouraged by Rielly and Smith, with stirrings from well-versed Longtom and his WWII Russian expertise, the Resistance grows stronger to the WSL’s ignore-the-core brand of pro surfing.

Some questions for you Commander Ziff, if I may be so bold.

How long can your WSL survive a constant barrage of criticism from all corners of the surfing world that you set out to conquer?

Are you growing concerned that your huge war chest is becoming noticeably more depleted? As El Supremo will you be waving a white flag soon?

Or do you expect the tide of fortune to turn when your elite guard is called to action on France’s historic shores of battle this week?

Meanwhile, the touring grunts on your Qualifying Series have been engaged in serious fighting on other European fronts. Credit to you Dirk and the WSL where it is due. The QS events this autumn have been a refreshing distraction to listen to and watch while the cannonade of your Championship Tour continues.

Decent swells, drama-filled heats, plenty of new faces and excellent surfing have made QS viewing a more attractive theater of surf war.

So, also, has a relaxed international commentary team. Brit wit Paul Evans and South African anchor Gigs Cilliers have called the shots in a more refrained style, kind of like Test cricket commentators do.

Please take note Dirk.

They let the live action largely do the talking, then add well-phrased observations when analyzing the replays, while all the time keeping us informed with changing sea conditions, useful stats and situations as they develop on the scoreboard. Compared to your more censored and monotonously repetitive over-cooked CT commentary, the presentation of these QS events makes for easier and better tuned-in listening.

This more laid-back style is also bringing out the best of hardened stalwarts like Peter Mel. The liberated Santa Cruz charger has found a good niche on the 10,000 series, sharing his knowledge of equipment while drawing on past experiences from years competing on the QS grind.

Australians Ben Mondy and Chris Binns are both reliable hacks. The two Aussie freelancers have proven themselves adept at roaming outdoors with a mic for background color, even climbing steep stairs and cliffs to get decent interviews.

Meanwhile Dirk, your CT continues to cop a pounding for its bland presentation and wearisome format. We love and appreciate that your webcasts are free of charge, thank you.

But, why persist in trying to entertain us with world title contests that take too long to complete with a surplus of competitors wasting time in meaningless rounds?  Was the format designed by some of the CT surfers with strong positions on the Board who wanted to prolong their careers and chances of winning each comp?

Perhaps you and your WSL decision makers could look more closely at your QS events and see how well they are being presented. Maybe you might surprise us next year (if you haven’t surrendered by then) by doing something really radical, like ditching the entire WCT!

This would save you money while also making the world title race more meaningful and captivating. As a suggestion, all you’d have to do is simply merge the WCT with the QT’s existing 10,000 series.

Think about it Dirk, in the first week of competition we’d see 112 QS surfers competing in four-man heats, until whittled down to a field of 24, like proven Trials events from previous years. The second week, another swell, you bring on the WCT’s top 20, plus your four injury and wild card surfers. So now you have 24 of the world’s best taking on the 24 QS surfers. A dozen four-man heats with first and second progressing leaves us with 24. Four-man heats are more exciting to watch, if you haven’t noticed already. There is double the action and very little goes to waste. These remaining 24 combatants then contest eight three man heats, with first and second still progressing, until 16 surfers remain, same as the current QS format.

Then, man-on-man competition until the winner is proclaimed. That’s two weeks to run an entire comp.

Do that at ten of the best locations and there’s your new world champion from a more interesting field.

Not only would this merged format mean less of your money being spent, it would also revitalize the world title race. Fans would get to see more passionate young surfers taking on the world’s top 20. Emerging young guns we have just witnessed this campaign in Europe, like Brazil’s Sam Pupo, South Africa’s Matthew McGillivray and Adin Masencamp, Aussies Chris Zaffis, Morgan Cibilic, Jacob Willcox, USA’s Jake Marshall and Hawaii’s Josh Moniz, to name a few, all deserve a faster route to earn more money and pit themselves against the elite.

As for the women’s tour, cast them adrift I say, but in a nice way.

Hand that tour over to your wife. Let Natasha, Sophie and their friends take control of the women’s tour and see what they can really do with it. Let the women compete at different locations in waves that suit them better, with equal pay, new sponsors and all.

(Editor’s note: Wayne Murphy is a former ASP judge from Western Australia. He is the co-author of Ian Cairns’ epic 340,000 word, two-volume biography, Kanga: The Trial and Triumphs of Ian Cairns. Wayne now lives in Ireland. “That fierce southern sun with its baking heat would have killed me if I stayed living in West Oz any longer,” he told Tracks magazine in 2014.)