David Lee Scales and I are almost at the 50 podcast
mark. 48 to be precise and 48 podcasts is a lot. Oh not
for me, I just sit there with David Lee and jabber into a
microphone but a lot for you. That is 48 podcasts, roughly 80
hours, of me jabbering into a glennmicrohall, David Lee jabbering
too and sometimes Derek
Rielly. We generally swerve from this topic to that
but surfing is what drives our passions.
It’s what informs our lives.
I’ve written almost every time that it is our best episode but
number 48 might well truly be for today I learned that Drew Kampion,
legendary surf journalist, founder of a radical tone, respected,
venerated loved by all is not dead. Furthermore he specifically
hates me and what I do.
How epic is that?
How truly epic?
For me it is, marking a heretofore never even dreamed
achievement and not only never dreamed because I thought he was
dead.
I won’t spoil my reaction here, you must listen, but we also
discuss narcissism and the very real possibility that Meryl Streep
is a serial killer.
Again, this may possibly honestly be The
Grit!‘s high-water mark. Don’t believe? Tell me why.
Unlike Kelly
Slater I crave negative feedback.
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Despite the magnitude of the performance Kelly
graciously conceded that when it came to Olympic qualification John
John Florence, despite not having surfed for “months and months”
was still ahead of him on the ratings and by implication more
deserving of the Olympic spot. I think we can declare Kelly
provisionally qualified after that heat. WSL
Rip Curl Pro, Portugal, Day Two: “Kelly
Slater, vintage, dramatic; day a minor classic of beachbreak
surfing!”
Best day of the waiting period, on paper at least, so
European head honcho Jessie Miley-Dyer had no choice but to wring
the sponge dry on what turned out to be a minor classic of
professional beachbreak surfing.
My favourite battler, Soli Bailey, whom I predicted to shine in
France finally made it out of round three in my highlight heat of
the day. There were very many.
The most impressive numbers, seeing as BG is the website of
record, were granted to Peterson Crisanto, currently languishing at
28 on the Jeep leaderboard. Seventy-eight percent of the global
fanbase expected Jeremy Flores to back up his French win and send
the beleaguered Brazilian back for an early vino.
Overcoming the weight of a heavy combination the 5’6” rookie
caught a five-foot wave between the 20th and 21st minute and
launched a high, corked, tail-high full-rotation reverse onto the
bolts. The total distance from maximum height of air to landing was
estimated by Peter Mel to be ten foot. Two judges, an Australian
and a Brazilian, awarded the single manoeuvre wave a ten.
The score, after averaging, came in at a 9.67. A back up 6.67
was enough to take the heat.
All the proper big dogs had bite to the bark. Gabe looked very
relaxed, after a quiet start before getting his heat started with
an air as stylish as a prawn cocktail. A classic straight air with
a subtle, tail-high tweak thrown in. Maybe slightly undercooked by
judges for a seven. You could forgive judges a recency bias given
Kelly Slater was still in the water after going ballistic in the
previous heat against, shit, I’ve forgotten, Kelly was that
dominant, ah yeah Seabass.
What’s the spiciest chilli?
I’ve got some really nice Honduran chillis which are mellow and
some Thai Birds Eyes which make your eyes water just looking at
them. Kelly was spicier than the whole bush. Just the intent to go
vertical at maximum speed on the opening left was astounding. The
dramatic recovery on the following right was vintage Kelly and drew
a subtle rebuke from Ryan Callinan in the booth when they declared
Kelly made the “easy things look really hard.”
As if responding to, not just Ryan but all his critics, Kelly
took aim at a bulbous, threatening close-out section that came at
him like a mushroom cloud. He rode out so clean for a 7.83, and
that, in the opening ten minutes of a forty-minute heat and without
any priority, was the heat.
Despite the magnitude of the performance Kelly graciously
conceded that when it came to Olympic qualification John John
Florence, despite not having surfed for “months and months” was
still ahead of him on the ratings and by implication more deserving
of the Olympic spot.
I think we can declare Kelly provisionally qualified after that
heat.
I’m not for a second saying Filipe Toledo’s back injury is a
fake. But if it were, even if some miniscule proportion of it was
being somehow sub-consciously manufactured as a way of alleviating
this dreadful pressure we know causes Toledo so much suffering , it
would up there as one of the greatest rope-a-dope’s in the history
of sport.
Pip opened with a feet forwards, very stylish tube-ride to lip
glide floater, threw in a backside roter, rode eleven waves and
looked loosey-goosey against Ribeiro.
Hosed down expectations in the presser before declaring, “I’m
staying focussed because God has something special in store for
me.”
Wade Carmichael avenged his controversial loss in France with a
complicated, gnarly heat against Yago Dora. He swung the axe on a
frothy, ugly left punching a fins-free floater that was like
throwing a bag of cement off a building, according to a commenter
in the live thread*. That turned the heat with a few minutes to go.
Dora snapped a board. Carmichael went further in front after lacing
a small right with arsenic flavoured turns. Dora threw soft,
graceful airs and judges, in my eyes, rightfully paid the power
fundamentals of the hairy man.
No-one can deny the fruitfulness of the Australian loin but only
one of the Fathers, Jack Freestone, was able to penetrate the draw
past the round of 32. Three Australians left in the Round of 16,
not a single contender amongst them.
Has the Antipodean zeitgeist shifted back to mid-length
twin-fins, acoustic guitars and escaping the system?
Or is this just some temporary blip that history will one day
record as an aberration?
Wayne Murphy? Ian Cairns? There are wise heads out there with a
broader scope than mine.
What is going on?
No-one will accuse Kolohe Andino of a lack of nationalist feels.
He professed to love surfing and love his country after getting the
provisional (there feels something vaguely mafioso about it) nod
for Olympic quals. He trundles on, under the radar. Title hopes
still alive. Michael Rodrigues, beak brilliantly bare, also under
the radar and with a lot to play for his next opponent.
Tell me if I am reading this wrong, but despite the closeouts
this comp has become riveting viewing. If they could go on hold
through the nadir of the tidal cycle we could see a very, very
entertaining ending.
I think Gabe will falter close to the end and it will go to
Pipe. That’s my prediction and Ziff’s dream.
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Men’s Round 4
Matchups:
HEAT 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Griffin Colapinto (USA)
HEAT 2: Kolohe Andino (USA) vs. Michael Rodrigues (BRA)
HEAT 3: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Wade Carmichael (AUS)
HEAT 4: Kanoa Igarashi (JPN) vs. Kelly Slater (USA)
HEAT 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Caio Ibelli (BRA)
HEAT 6: Peterson Crisanto (BRA) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA)
HEAT 7: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Conner Coffin (USA)
HEAT 8: Jack Freestone (AUS) vs. Soli Bailey (AUS)
"We have finally created a true surfing paradise
that will bring enjoyment to newcomers, as well as lifelong
surfers."
If you’ve been following the wavepool arms race, this
rise of the Sea Machines, you’ll know there’s two
full-sized versions of Wavegarden’s new Cove tech being built
concurrently.
“It is incredible to see sets of 5, 10 and even 15 waves
breaking and maintaining their quality,” said Wavegarden’s Founder
and CEO Josema Odriozola, from the new Bristol surfing lake.
“We have been able to create an immense variety of waves. For
instance, there is kind of a point break with long and easy Malibu
style waves. And we have a range of high performance waves, some
with easy tubes and others that are very challenging. This is a new
phase of man-made waves whereby we have finally created a true
surfing paradise that will bring enjoyment to newcomers, as well as
lifelong surfers”.
The Wavegarden Cove technology provides up to 1,000 waves of
varying sizes and shapes an hour – around a wave every 10 seconds.
Heights start at 50cm and peak at 1.8m.
The 200m surfing lake is at its heart, but The Wave is not just
about surfing. It’s about sharing incredible experiences with
anyone who wants to enjoy them, in a naturally healthy space. It’s
about improving health and wellbeing, helping people feel like the
best version of themselves and having a shedload of fun in the
process! As well as the surfing lake, there will be wonderful food
and drink, a surf shop, beautiful gardens, meadowland and woodland,
peaceful hideaways and family-friendly camping.
Surfing is a rapidly growing sport and will be part of the Tokyo
2020 Olympics. The accessibility of surfing has been held back by
geographical limitations: weather, swell conditions and tides. The
Wave will be able to overcome all these issues to bring perfect
surfing conditions for beginners, intermediates and advanced
surfers. Its expert coaching team will be able to help everyone
learn and improve. Furthermore, they will all be specially trained
in teaching ‘adaptive surfing’ for those with a wide rangeof
physical disabilities.
The Wave is located in a beautiful rural site on the edge of
Bristol, close to the M5. It will be open year-round and a one-hour
surf will cost £40-45 for an adult and £30-35 for a child,
depending on the time of year and day of the week. A 1.5 hour surf
session with coaching costs £55-60 for an adult and £45-50 for a
child. All prices include everything you need, including a wetsuit,
wetsuit boots and surfboards. There are dedicated areas of the lake
for beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers.
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Surf Rage: San Clemente cop pulls gun on
young skater, threatens to “shoot him in the fucking face” for
playing music too loud!
You might think that police officers in the
United States of America would be a little more circumspect in
light of recent police brutality business, see incidents in Dallas,
New York City, Cleveland, Everywhere, but negative publicity and/or
jail sentence (Dallas) don’t seem to be a strong deterrent.
Police gonna police, as they say, and when you toss loud music,
skateboards, sixteen-year-olds who for sure surf Lowers and a burly
off-duty cop who probably SUPs and/or rides a mid-length things can
go sideways very quickly.
But you can’t take my word for it. I’m an untrustworthy
narrator, blinded by bias, alcohol and Christian Dior’s Sauvage.
No, we must go to the Earthly Surf Paradise United Kingdom’s
Daily
Mail for details.
A sheriff’s investigator was placed on leave after allegedly
pulling a gun on a teenager who was watching a band play with
friends at a skate park.
Cellphone footage shows the off-duty Orange County deputy
approach the group in San Clemente, California, on Saturday night,
and order them to stop playing music.
The band did as instructed but the confrontation quickly
escalated and the officer, who has not been identified, appeared to
pull out a gun and aim it at a 16-year-old boy carrying a
skateboard.
One of the teens at the park, Koa McClung, told CBS Los
Angeles that the deputy had aggressively grabbed one of the boys,
and when a friend help up his board to intervene, the cop
threatened to shoot him.
‘The guy pulled a gun and said “I’l l shoot you in the
f*****g face if you don’t stop”‘, said McClung. ‘The kid dropped
the skate board and it just went downhill from there.’
“Downhill from there” included the officer stalking around like
a “boy-eating” Great White, wagging his gun around, dropping young
skaters/Lowers surfers to their knees and you may think it is
presumptuous to assume they surfed Lowers but one is named Koa and
another is named Sage.
How does the horror end? Thankfully not with a bang but not with
a whimper either. The kids are alright.
Watch here!
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Pip Toledo, wounded, cruises into round three. Maybe
you'll see a little of that light-footed magic later tonight. |
Photo: WSL
What’s your favourite moment in Portuguese
history?
Mine, and only because it’s the least remarked, is the
Guerra Colonial Portuguesa, that lovely thirteen-year
scrap (from 1961 to 1974) with its African colonies, Angola,
Guinea-Bassau and Mozambique along with a little side-action on the
Indian island of Goa.
In today’s battles, in waves Surfline again calls
“five-to-seven-feet”, although with a wind more favourable than
yesterday, we’re treated to a few sparklers amid the tour’s
detritus.
Examine.
MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal Men’s Elimination Round 2
Matchups:
HEAT 1: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Ricardo Christie (NZL) vs. Miguel
Blanco (PRT)
HEAT 2: Seth Moniz (HAW) vs. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) vs. Crosby
Colapinto (USA)
HEAT 3: Ryan Callinan (AUS) vs. Jesse Mendes (BRA) vs. Frederico
Morais (PRT)
HEAT 4: Michel Bourez (FRA) vs. Ezekiel Lau (HAW) vs. Soli Bailey
(AUS)
Once that’s cleared away we can get down to the biz of mowing
through round three and then…then…to the sharp end of the
contest.
