VAL gets prized hunk of Snapper Rocks. | Photo: Commercial Real Estate

Self-confessed VAL buys hottest piece of beachfront real estate in surfing!

Derek Rielly

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Passionate newcomer to surfing plans landmark apartment building at Snapper Rocks!

Four months back, a low-rise block of ghetto apartments with point-blank views of the Supa Bank was put on the market with a price tag north of twelve-million Australian dollars.

The six owners at 1  Petrie St, Coolangatta, were rumoured to include the four-time world champ Mark Richards, who owned the top floor apartment, and a prominent boat owner currently at sail in the Mentawais, each of whom would net a couple of mill each.

VAL gets prized hunk of Snapper Rocks.

(See sales spiel here.)

Now, it can be revealed, a “passionate newcomer to surfing” has bought the block and has plans to erect a $A70-mill “landmark apartment building” on the site.

From The Gold Coast Bulletin:

The site, sitting above Rainbow Bay at Coolangatta, puts developer Paul Gedoun a stroll away from four surfing beaches.

He plans a “high-spec” 12-floor tower with 16 apartments and which will be crowned by a $10 million-plus two-level penthouse.

Buyers of the few two-bedroom apartments will pay at least $1.1 million and those wanting a whole floor will be spending between $6 million and $7 million.

The Brisbane-based Mr Gedoun, a 42-year-old father of two who “discovered” surfing at Rainbow Bay four years ago, will keep one of the whole-floor apartments for his family.

He yesterday said that before his deal went unconditional this week he already had been besieged by would-be buyers, some using “unorthodox” methods to try to contact him.

Mr Gedoun said the property was a gem, sitting on a peninsula to which there was one way in and one way out.

“There are four world-class surfing beaches a walk away – Rainbow Bay, Greenmount, Snapper Rocks and Duranbah,” he said.

“It’s a landmark site and I want to deliver a landmark project that does the site justice.

“I love everything about it and can’t believe I’ve been lucky enough to buy it.”

Kelly Slater's been coming to Pipe for the last forty-plus years. He's got two houses on the beach. He knows when three skis are working together to bring a surfer in, it ain't gonna be pretty.

San Clemente Super Grom hospitalised after two-wave hold-down during Kelly Slater’s Triple Crown acceptance speech!

Derek Rielly

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Kelly Slater, "We have a rescue going on, sorry ... I'm a little distracted."

You mighta noticed, two days ago, how distant Kelly Slater was on the podium when he picked up his Triple Crown trophy.

Disappointment at missing the Olympics? An eighth Pipe Masters?

Eventually,

“We have a rescue going on, sorry … I’m a little distracted,” Slater told a befuddled Joe Turpel.

As best-in-the-game lifeguards Terry Ahue and Brian Keaulana, who’d been shooting a commercial with Carissa Moore, flew up onto the beach on their skis, Kelly barked: “Watch out…Everyone watch out!”

“Give these guys a ton of room and we’ll continue on, Kelly,” said Joe.

Kelly wasn’t into it. He knows three skis dragging a surfer from the water at Pipe is serious.

Turns out a thirteen-year-old shredder from San Clemente, Hayden Rodgers, who won the Open Boys, Explorer Menehune and Junior Airshow divs at HB this year, had fallen outta the lip, hit his head on the reef and been held under for two waves.

“We had just started heading back and saw that the contest was over, the competition buoys were in. Terry and I are always scanning the shoreline,” Keaulana told the WSL. “I don’t know how many times after Pipe we’ve had the same scenario happen and it was just that same feeling yesterday … driving along, scanning the shoreline and the lineup.”

Rodgers was put on a spinal board, still breathing, his face bloodied, and taken by ambulance to the Queens Medical Center in downtown Honolulu were he’s expected to make a full recovery.

Breaking: Rage explodes at World Surf League by Maui locals over “danger factor” of Jaws Big Wave Championships!

Chas Smith

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Bad parking etc.

And I am still coming to terms with the wonderful, the fantastic, the otherworldly end to our 2019 professional surfing season. Jaws delivering such a show then Pipeline, defying all odds, serving up the best final’s day since those ancient Peruvians, high on cocaine, first pushed their “little horses” into the waves (buy here).

Everyone, every single man, woman and child across the entire globe celebrating the week. Not one person, outside the extended Medina family, mad.

No?

Apparently.

For rage, pure angry rage, is coursing through the usually good-natured island of Maui and directed at the World Surf League over the aforementioned Big Wave Championships but don’t take my word for it, please. Let us turn to the well-respected San Francisco Chronicle for all the juicy details.

A World Surf League competition has drawn complaints of trespassing, blocked roads and parking overflow from Maui residents.

Residents near Peahi on the island’s north shore issued the complaints about the 2019 Jaws Big Wave Championships event Dec. 12, The Maui News reported Thursday.

Residents of the main access road to the event for both drivers and spectators said traffic was backed up due to minimal parking options, construction and spectator street crossings, while some roads were blocked.

On the piece goes, growling locals sneering at our WSL. Santa Monica’s response?

The World Surf League said it has prior knowledge of the start date and event details, but cannot predict attendance at the free event.

“While we control all access to the event venue because it is on private property, we were not able to control the County of Maui-owned land where all the spectators gathered,” spokesperson Lauren Rolland said.

Resident Kolette Gunnison believes the surfing league should be responsible for ensuring road safety.

“Everybody knows that there’s traffic and the worst part about it is the pedestrians in the street, bad parking, cars are sticking out,” Gunnison said. “It’s just the danger factor of it all.”

Hmmmmm.

I’m going to side with the WSL here. Grouchy neighbors are lame.

No?

Lovely Caio Ibelli can't win for losing, it seems. WSL

Gabriel Medina cleared of breaking Rule 171.11 : “Interference on Caio Ibelli intentional but not unsportsmanlike,” says WSL.

Derek Rielly

By

"The maneuver was deemed as gamesmanship and did not pose a safety risk to either competitor.”

Much buzz yesterday at the Banzai Pipeline when world title contender Gabriel Medina dropped in on Caio Ibelli’s possible heat-winning wave during their round four contest.

Medina, and step-daddy Charlie, correctly calculated that Ibelli would not have enough points to win even if Gabe was served a priority interference.

As Longtom wrote in yesterday’s contest analysis, 

Gabe has split the surfing universe again.

In case you missed, final thirty seconds of his heat against Caio, Gabe has one score and change. Caio has not a single make. Charlie does the math and starts screaming on the beach: “Burn him! Burn him!”

Very medieval, which I love.

I don’t speak Portuguese, so when Gabe takes off on Caio on the final wave its utterly inconceivable, just a total WTF moment. A completely intentional priority interference, this time to win.

Perfect symmetry now attained with the Portugal debacle.

The villain, the heel, the bad guy excites me, gets me through long hours of pro surfing tedium. From that POV, Medina’s drop-in is the best thing that happens all day.

It directly contravenes Rule 171.11, or so it appears, which includes as possible sanction being suspended from the entire Tour!

Nothing from the WSL, though.

Medina pushes through.

Did it or didn’t it contravene Rule 171.11?

Would Gabriel lose his Olympic spot for Brazil over the matter?

Questions it seemed no one was in a hurry to answer.

Until a few minutes ago.

After a little pushing, the WSL’s Pat O’Connell released the following statement.

“The Tours/Competition Office and WSL Disciplinary Director reviewed the situation regarding WSL Rule 171.11 in relation to Gabriel Medina’s Round 4 heat during competition yesterday, and determined that while Medina’s interference was “intentional” (as he stated on the broadcast), it was not deemed “unsportsmanlike” or “of a serious nature” by the reviewing committee. The maneuver was deemed as gamesmanship and did not pose a safety risk to either competitor.”

I agree with Patty.

It was a hilarious and exciting moment that left me purring like a cat.

Case closed, yes?

89 and Turpel (pictured) getting back on the ski and resetting.
89 and Turpel (pictured) getting back on the ski and resetting.

Listen: “Is our World Surf League the most flat-footed sport governing body in the history of mankind?”

Chas Smith

By

Starting with when the ancient Greeks wrestled naked in the sand?

When the sun set yesterday on, inarguably, the greatest day in professional surfing’s history, I began to ponder the 2019 season as a whole and how truly fabulous it was. There were explosive performances, titillating scandals, scintillating rivalries, anger, joy, beauty, pain, wild wild almost too much wild fun…

…and a dull, monosyllabic hum emanating from the Wall of Positive Noise.

A fantastic season covered beautifully by Longtom, Jen See, Nick Carroll, Sean Doherty… even sometimes Li’l Mikey Cinnamon but fumbled at every turn by the sporting organizational and storytelling body that runs the entire show.

And how could the World Surf League fail to capitalize so spectacularly, so comprehensively on something so prima facie brilliant?

That damned Wall of Positive Noise put on absolute display yesterday, as it had been all year, when a simmering rivalry played out onscreen between world champ hopeful Gabriel Medina and his tormentor Caio Ibelli.

Gabriel burns Caio purposefully, payback for an interference in the last contest, that cost Gabriel his locking up the World Title, and admits it onstage during his post-heat interview while jaws from California to Calcutta remained on the floor.

A brilliant tactical move. A clear violation of WSL Rule 171.11. An arguable violation of WSL Rule 171.11, at the very least.

There was enough in that moment to power an entire two seasons of a Netflix series and yet, and yet, the WSL insisted on leaving it all to rot unpicked.

Silent.

Crazy.

Crazy that the surf fan world was buzzing across multiple platforms, from BeachGrit‘s first mention to Stab‘s clumsy attempt at getting in on the action to Kelly Slater dropping into Caio’s Instagram to comments, tweets, Facebook posts, phone calls, texts racing between friends spread across the globe.

But not one mention from Ronnie, Joe, 89 or Barton etc.

The mouthpieces of Vichy surfing.

I am certain there is much back-slapping and congratulating in Santa Monica today for a job well done but there should only be shame.

Shame and embarrassment at what might have been. A season worth the non-surfing sport fan’s interest. Shame for being the most flat-footed sport-governing body in the history of mankind.

Either unable or unwilling to perceive the utterly compelling narratives playing out in real time in a universe entirely in its own control.

Either unable or unwilling to dance.

See you next year when we tear this motherfucker down.

And listen to more unhinged ranting here!

Photo: Jack English
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