Everything coming up anti-depressive.

I woke up this morning to the news that the Corona Open J-Bay did not run whilst I slept and assumed it was because World Surf League Senior Vice President of Tours, Head of Competition Jessi Miley-Dyer is en route and will be arriving shortly.

Whew.

Other things to feel good about:

It appears those pesky “transit visa” issues that kept Australia’s Tyler Wright from traveling to, and competing in, Brazil have been resolved. Wright, currently number 10, is safely in South Africa and fans of professional surfing at its highest level are breathing sighs of relief while also expressing gratitude toward Wright’s travel agent. Any person who has ever left his/her/them country of origin knows how sticky immigration, customs etc. can be and even with nearly a year advance notice those paperworks just sneak right up.

The two-time world champion will have some work to do in order to claw into the conversation. The top five female surfers at the end of the year will join the top five male surfers at Lower Trestles for a one day winner-take-all banger. Wright will have to leapfrog Courtney Conlogue, Gabriela Bryan, Isabella Nichols, Tatiana Weson-Webb and Brisa Hennessy to punch her ticket. A tall order but if anyone is up for the challenge, it is Wright.

Lastly, Kelly Slater will be participating. The eleven-time world champion sat out the last two events in El Salvador and Brazil nursing an injury that necessitated surfing large barrels and causing social media storms. He is healed now, though, in time for a run of swell headed for J-Bay that World Surf League CEO Erik Logan thinks might create “one of the greatest events in history.”

Everything coming up anti-depressive.

Tick Tock.

Things may have changed, lightly, over the past year since Kelly Slater has been on a media tear, winning the illustrious Pro Pipeline, turning 50, releasing his Lost Tapes, etc. but I think if you polled the mainstream and asked “who is the world’s greatest surfer?” the action would be split between the aforementioned and on Laird Hamilton.

Even though stock price for his eponymous Superfood is touching junk level, Hamilton has captivated the general public with his Poseidon-like bone structure and general je ne sais quoi but also progressive theories on shark attacks. The two don’t compete against each other, professionally, of course but Dot from down the street doesn’t know that and swoons at both though probably at Hamilton slightly more.

Who wouldn’t?

Well, students of the game know that Slater just released a new environmentally sound watch with Swiss luxury brand Breitling (read here, here and here).

Hamilton, though, not to be outdone, has just released his own luxury watch but his one even more environmentally sound with British manufacturer Bremont. All proceeds going to the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation as opposed to Slater’s watch band being made from ocean junk.

Per HypeBeast:

Bremont has now tapped American surfer Laird Hamilton for a limited-edition Waterman Apex dive watch. Developed together to draw awareness to ocean and sealife conservation, the new timepiece utilizes the British luxury watch brand’s “Trip-Tick” case measuring a hefty 43mm wide, paired with a uni-directional GMT bezel.

To keep things running smoothly for athletes and divers, the modified caliber 11 1/2” BE-92-AV automatic movement is housed within Bremont’s signature anti-shock mount, and boasts a 42-hour power reserve. As an added touch, the custom rotor is also adorned with patterns of ocean waves and a shark fin, a design that draws inspiration from Bimini Shark Lab.

The piece costs $5,095. Slater’s Superocean swings in at a comparable $4,900.

So are you Team Laird or Team Kelly?

Team Laird features a blue colorway. Team Kelly an orange.