Sunset. Big, unruly. It’s the kind of place that’s pretty obviously trying to kill you, or at least, shove a hell of a lot of water up your nose. Looks super fun!
To begin with, I should tell you that I hate writing listicles with every ounce of my hate.
But, for you, the people, I will make an exception. Also, if the men have power rankings, surely the women must have them, too.
Equality, it’s what’s for dinner. Pass the salt.
Sunset. Big, unruly. It’s the kind of place that’s pretty obviously trying to kill you, or at least, shove a hell of a lot of water up your nose. Looks super fun!
I have stared long and hard at the heat draw. I don’t think it made me smarter. Really, next time, I should just pluck names out of a hat. Here it is, my super not-at-all scientific women’s power rankings ahead of Sunset.
To the rankings!
18. India Robinson
Someone has to be last, and this time around, that spot belongs to
India. Lingering concussion symptoms put her out of Pipeline, but
she’s back in the draw for Sunset. India made a run up the
Challenger Series rankings at the Roxy Pro France where she
finished second to Brisa, and surfed well in the Challenger Series
event at Haleiwa. Nowhere to go but up!
17. Luana Silva
Luana grew up surfing the North Shore and is BFF with Bettylou
Sakura Johnson. It’s extremely likely I’m ranking her far too low
here, since she almost certainly has spent time in the lineup at
Sunset. Luana’s one of the new girls, and I’ll just go ahead and
say, straight up, I don’t know as much as about her as I should.
Surprise me, Luana!
16. Molly Picklum
Another one of the new girls, Molly had a drama path to the CT. She
tied Luana on the Challenger Series, and lost it on the count-back.
Off Tour. Then, back on again after Caity Simmers declined her
spot. Molly looked stylish at Haleiwa, and has some solid results
in the junior rankings. She may well deserve a higher ranking than
I’ve given her here, but she’s short on experience. Gotta start
somewhere.
15. Brisa Hennessey
During the Covid competition break, Brisa made a gorgeous edit
surfing the waves around Tavarua — including a nice barrel out at
Cloudbreak. Her contest heats seem hit and miss to me. Sometimes,
she’s brilliant, other times, it’s just not happening. She made it
through to quarters at Pipeline. Can she push through the size at
Sunset?
14. Moana Jones Wong
Surfing’s new It Girl, Moana won Pipeline in style. She’s spent the
past five years surfing five and six hour days out there. There’s a
trade-off, of course. Six-hour days at Pipe aren’t going to help at
Sunset, where Moana will be on her backhand. Yes, she put up a
couple nice waves for the Vans Triple Crown, but her turns aren’t
on the same level as the CT women. Outside of Pipeline, Moana’s
contest results are few and far between. Barrels? Sure. Backside
turns, I’m not convinced.
13. Sally Fitzgibbons
It feels a bit strange to put a CT veteran and top-five finisher
from last year this far down the rankings. Do I know what I’m doing
over here? Probably not. I don’t think of Sal as a girl for the
bigger stuff. Am I wrong? Entirely possible.
12. Isabella Nichols
If she hadn’t made it on Tour, Isabella would have headed to
university to study engineering. But she qualified and here we are.
One of Isabella’s first Backdoor barrels at Pipeline was so smooth
and stylish. I had her firmly slotted as a beach-break surfer after
the first few events of 2021, but I’m pretty convinced she has more
to offer. Let’s see what happens at Sunset.
11. Bronte McCaulay
Fresh off the plane, Bronte is a last-minute substitute for
Caroline Marks, who is taking time off from the CT for health
reasons. Bronte is legit good in solid surf with a strong backhand.
If she weren’t fresh off the plane, I’d slide her higher in the
rankings.
10. Gabriela Bryan
One of the many Hawaiians in the draw for Sunset, Gabriela has
spent plenty of time surfing the North Shore. She knows what she’s
in for at Sunset and her powerful style is well-suited to the wave.
She’s been steadily posting up clips this winter. Looks good, so
far. I’d rank her higher if she had more CT experience. I may be
making an embarrassing mistake here.
9. Johanne Defay
Johanne said over on the Instagram that she has a minor knee injury
from getting lipped at Backdoor. It might have been worse, except
she trains like a demon. Let that be a lesson to you, kids.
Training is good. Johanne is not afraid of size, but always seems
to go better in lefts. Sunset? Rights. I know that much, at
least.
8. Courtney Conlogue
With her go-for-broke style, Courtney will either win or get
nothing. She’s won Bells Beach in sizable conditions, and she can
wrangle heavy sections. Of the top women on the CT, she’s the most
willing to huck and pray. That may well serve her well if Sunset
turns unruly. Inconsistency puts her out of the top of the
rankings, but if she wins, I would not be entirely surprised.
7. Malia Manuel
Her smooth, graceful style may not be especially well-suited to
Sunset, but she’s experienced and not afraid of size. Malia
finished second to Courtney at Bells. If I’m honest, this ranking
is as much from my heart as it is from my head. I just love her
surfing.
6. Tati West
One of the strongest backside surfers on Tour, Tati came within a
heat of snatching the world title straight out Carissa’s grasp last
year. Sunset is no party for goofyfooters, so I’m probably ranking
her too highly here. And actually, I’m starting to lose my mind.
Listicles, not my thing.
5. Lakey Peterson
After a year off from the CT due to a back injury, Lakey returned
to a semifinal finish at Pipeline. Her semi heat with Carissa was
nothing special, but she nailed a couple Backdoor waves early on.
Lakey has one turn, really. She’s fast and dynamic, but sometimes
tries too hard to force it. Lakey might be the scrappiest heat
surfer on Tour, always looking for that one last score. I
appreciate her never say die approach.
4. Bettylou Sakura Johnson
A Hawaii girl, Bettylou learned to surf at Haleiwa. She’s got
plenty of power and she’s comfortable in size. Her inexperience
with heat surfing showed when Isabella beat her at Pipe, but I
don’t think she’ll make that mistake again. At 16, she’s one of the
sport’s future stars, and that future may come more quickly than we
expect. She beat Carissa in the Challenger Series event at Haleiwa.
The conditions were shit in the final, but Bettylou deserves to
celebrate that one. Sunset? Sure, why the hell not.
3. Tyler Wright
The last time the women surfed a CT at Sunset Beach, it was 2010. I
think I have that right. Tyler was a wildcard for that event. Also,
she won it. I’ll be honest: I don’t love that layback Tyler does on
just about every wave. But the judges do. Her Backdoor eight was
legit. While Tyler says she’s scared of big Hawaii, she can surf
it. I almost flipped her ranking with Lakey. Life is chaos.
2. Steph Gilmore
It might just be force of habit to put Steph this high in the
rankings. But she’s a seven-time world champion, and she won Sunset
Beach twice early in her career. Going right is Steph’s whole
thing, and if the conditions clean up, she’ll bring her beautiful
rail surfing to the party. Few do it better than Steph at her best.
Steph’s heat surfing these days is either brilliant or disastrous.
The brilliant days, there’s no one I’d rather watch. Here’s hoping
it’s the good Steph, not her evil falling twin who paddles out at
Sunset.
1. Carissa Moore
In 2009 surfing as a wildcard, Carissa won the CT at Sunset Beach.
She’s also the only woman ever to compete in the men’s Triple
Crown, and Carissa spends her winters surfing the North Shore. The
waves suit her to perfection. On a purely technical level, no one
matches Carissa — and she just keeps getting better. If Carissa has
a weakness, it’s a tendency to overthink things. She defeated
herself at Pipe and she almost certainly knows it. No shame there,
even the very best stumble sometimes, and Carissa will be
determined to put all that behind her.