MOST CRITICAL TIME ON TOUR

“Seeing who can hold his nerve the longest”

Was feeling fit and primed at the Quik Pro France. © Joli

Hey Everybody,

Bede checking in from Mundaka. It’s been a hectic few weeks since the tour resumed and we’re right in the thick of the action now in Spain. Trestles and the first of the European events in France came right on the top of each other after the long six-week break post J-Bay.

And with Mundaka on right now, and The Search, just around the corner, now
is arguably the most critical time of the tour. That’s definitely the case for Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson. And it has been for me too.

I went into Trestles determined to make my own move after being dissatisfied with some of my early season performances. So to come away with a semi-final appearance out of the Hurley Pro and then a second to Mick in France last week was a good feeling that told me I had used my time off since J-Bay wisely.

What did I do? Basically, I just knuckled down. I did a bit of reflecting on how the first few events had panned out for me and I realised I needed to work
harder if I wanted to stay in the top 5. I’d become a bit slack around training and I wasn’t putting in the same effort as last year, which was why the results weren’t coming.

So the first thing I did was commit to a daily training regime – and to hit it hard. I was spending three days a week solely concentrating on fitness work. I did that with Gary “Kong” Elkerton. Elko is such a mean taskmaster. He always gets me to peak condition. But I also made sure I pushed myself harder more often than I had been. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, physically and mentally. But I also started doing skills training two days/week with my
shaper Wayne McKewen.

The work I did with Gary and Wayne was also very specific to this up and coming leg of events. Plus I was armed with some pretty good boards which just added to my confidence. Trestles went well from the outset. It’s always been a good venue for me (I won my first WT contest there). It’s like a perfect little wave park and I was really looking forward to getting my year back on track there. I felt I was surfing good and then I ran into Dane Reynolds in the semis. Dane was on fire.  He was riding a smaller board and just doing some massive airs, almost at will. With a few huge carves thrown in as well, it was an impressive showing.

Mundaka mezu ohartu. © Joli

I felt we had a good heat. I was able to get a couple of airs myself but the difference proved to be one really high score of 9.67 Dane pulled off which included two really nice airs. Equal 3rd place showed me I was on track though, and I immediately felt good for France.

It was ironic to come up against Dane again, only in the fourth round this time.
I knew it was going to be another tough heat and this time I wanted to get off to a flyer to put Dane under some pressure. I was able to get that quick start and with the waves slowing up as our heat wore on, I was able to hold my lead and get one back on Dane.

I felt I surfed really well the whole contest except the final. It got a bit choppier and I didn’t adapt to the conditions as well as Mick. I was trying to push my turns too much and caught the odd rail which cost me. Mick was surfing so precise and fast and the better man won on the day.

But Trestles and France did help me climb back up to #4. I’m back where I want to be in the ratings. I want to finish the year off strongly and remain in the top five. Realistically, the world title is a long shot for me this year. But if I can remain in the top five after finishing second last year, I can set myself for a shot at the title next year.

The real battle for the world title is between Mick and Joel now. It’s going to be a fascinating contest too. Parko had such a great start to the year but now Mick has turned his season around and is coming home like a steam train. I’m excited to see how things now unfold. Both are really good mates of course but they’re also both super competitive. Their friendship is big enough to survive the competitive tension but seeing who can hold his nerve the longest is
going to be epic.

- Bede

INTERESTING TIMES

There was a lot of sand on the rocks so it was barrelling more then normally it does there. I felt like I was surfing a point-break back on the Gold Coast. © Joli

Hey everybody,

It’s interesting times in pro surfing right now so I thought I would clock in.

J-Bay turned it on at the last contest. It was absolutely pumping. The key swell only lasted three days but it was epic. I felt right at home in my round two heat against Greg Emslie who is always so dangerous at J-Bay. Greg and I both got some good barrels and it was a close heat. But luckily for me I was able to pip him at the end.

My next heat on the final day was in totally different conditions. The swell dropped off and the wind was up early. I was against Damo Hobgood who is always a formidable competitor. He got the better of me but it was a super close heat. I needed a 6.9 on my last wave but came up just short with a 6.5.

Damo went on to finish second to Parko and he is having a great year. Parko was definitely the form surfer of the event. His style suits J-Bay perfectly and he was pretty much untouchable from the opening heat.

To be honest, I’m surprised he hasn’t won J-Bay more times with the way he surfs out there. He’s unbelievable. After J-Bay, I was keen to refresh the head. So I spent two weeks at home before heading to Bali where I’m currently having a break ahead of the European contests.

It was so good to be at home after being away for a month. I caught up with Elko a few times and got stuck back into my training. I also got some new boards off my shaper, Wayne McKewen, which I’m fine-tuning here in Bali. Bali has got to be the best place in the world to come for a holiday — it’s got everything!

Outside of J-Bay and the world title race, the big talk has been about the possibility of a new tour next year. Many of us aren’t yet aware of the final detail but I have a feeling that whatever develops will ultimately be good for surfing.

Frankly, there is a need for some things to change. I only really know what has come out in the media and I’m sure a lot of that is just speculation. Nothing official has emerged from the ASP yet. I’m guessing that is because both parties are still trying to work things out. I hope that happens because that is the ideal scenario. If the organisers of the new tour can work in with ASP, I believe we will get the best outcome for pro surfing.

One last note … it has been reported recently that my sponsor Mada had dropped me. That’s not right. Unfortunately, Mada has been gobbled up by the worldwide economic recession. It was a real bummer seeing that happen to a good company but I met some good people and made some life-long friends via my association with them. Maybe if we get a new tour I’ll have the opportunity to surf for a new major sponsor.

- Bede

SOUTH AMERICA

Hey everybody, dialling in from South America. I’ve been here in Brazil for a few days now. It’s a real mission for we Australians to get here flight-wise and I wanted to be as adjusted as possible ahead of defending my title here.

To a large degree, this year’s Hang Loose Pro is almost a completely different event to the one I won here last season. This year’s event is much earlier in the season, and it’s the middle of winter here now so the water is colder than when we’ve been here in the past.

The upside is the locals say this time of the year is a much better swell window, so that’s got me excited. So has the chance to get back into the water with a competition vest on. It’s been a decent break since the last Dream Tour event in Tahiti and a few of us have been eager to get going again.

The view is that the world title race is still wide open. Parko got the jump on us early with the two wins on the Gold Coast and at Bells but now there’s a few back-to-back comps and everybody senses the chance to get on a roll and make up some ground. Me included.

Tahiti was a frustrating event for me this year. The swell was small and there were long waiting periods as well. It seemed like the event never really got going. I also copped Andy Irons in my opening heat. Billabong had given him a wildcard and as weird as this sounds, I was actually pleased to see Andy back in the water in competitive mode. He’s such a great surfer. I love watching him and the circuit won’t be the same until we see him back next year in full mode chasing the title.

The only trouble was his cameo appearance in Tahiti came at my expense! It was a bit strange striking him in my first heat but that’s life. My mood was eased a little by stepping off the plane back into Australia into one of the biggest swells to hit the East Coast in years.

It was a bit messy at times but on one memorable day I got towed into some beauties off Currumbin Alley. It was a good 10′ — and that’s pretty rare for the Goldy. We paid a bit of a price for it, though. The beaches on the Gold Coast now are wrecked. It’s the worst erosion I’ve seen since moving to the Coast. There are still no decent banks, Snapper is a huge hole, D’bah has no banks either and pretty much the whole east coast is wiped out in terms of good banks to surf.

So, getting on a plane with the Mt Woodgee boys for our long-planned boat trip to the Mentawais was nice and timely! We had a super fun trip, although we were kind of in between swells. The biggest surf we got was only about 4-6′. The guys who rolled in before us apparently scored perfect waves.  That included Mick, Jordy and the Red Bull crew. Then about five days after we got home, we heard the biggest swell of the year had come through up there.
I hate hearing that!

We still made the most of our trip though. We surfed pretty much every break up there and got some good photos and footage. We also dropped my shaper Wayne McKewen off on this ramshackle floating pontoon where he was paying $20 a night and planning to stay there for the next month. He’s a hard man.  It wasn’t for me but “Wickers” just smiled and pointed to the flawless left 200m away and the perfect right on the other side. We’re now worried he won’t be coming back! Check out his floating house right here

- Bede

SCOTLAND, BRRRRR

The Thurso hot tub. © mysurfworld.com

After the week in Durban I was psyched to be back in Scotland! After winning the event last year I was really keen to try and back up that win with a good result. Driving down the main street for the first time brought back a lot of good memories I have of the place that’s for sure.

I was staying with Jack Perry for the week and we were both keen on surfing a lot to get used to wearing all the rubber! I never wear wetsuit boots, gloves or a hood in Victoria so getting used to all the equipment I believe is the key to surfing well in Scotland.

The waves were pretty fun all week and allowed us to surf a lot, and also allowed the event to go off in some pretty good waves. I ended up with a 9th place finish for the event.

I ended up being knocked out in a really close heat by Blake Thornton who surfed great all event and surfed a really smart heat. We both had a 7 and a 6-something, so it was a pretty good heat for both of us.

I was stoked with my result. It’s always tough to go back-to-back victories and I felt a bit of pressure after last year, but a 9th was great and I had a great time in Scotland! It’s an awesome event and I have met some great people from the area. So I can’t wait to go there again! I think with a good waiting period you could have an awesome WCT event there.

Now I’m back in Portland which is awesome! I haven’t been back here for a long time so I’m loving the time at home. It looks like this arvo could be some slab barrels on the high tide at a secret left and then off to boxing late this afternoon.

All’s good!

- Adam

SILVER BUDGIE

Chewing the fat with Kai. © Joli

I’m writing this blog in the plane on the way up to Tahiti and right now I’m getting twitchy in my seat. We’ve heard the waves for the trials at Teahupoo have been fun and I’m frothing at the chance to match wits and nerve against that amazing reef break.

The plane is full of other pros heading up there and there’s a real buzz within this silver budgie, that’s for sure. For me, I’m pumped as I didn’t do as well as I wanted at Bells in the last event. I’m ranked 9th after the Australian leg of the Dream Tour and my mission is to improve on that from now, starting with the Billabong Pro in Tahiti.

Bells at Easter was a bit of a frustrating time for me. The contest was the first to run under the new ASP format of sudden death heats from Day 1 but with the top 16 seeded into the second round.

Unfortunately for me, I had a close heat but went down to Adam Robertson in my opening heat. The waves were really fun for it – about four foot – and we were going score for score the whole heat.

With about 10 minutes to go, I held the lead and priority and ‘Robbo’ needed an 8.1. A smaller set wave came in and I let it go, thinking he wouldn’t get it. But he did, lit the wave up and nailed an 8.4. That left me needing a 7.9 – but no more sets came through. I felt it was one of those heats were it could have gone either way.

Robbo went on to have such an amazing result, finishing second. I knew ahead of the heat that it would be a tough one. Robbo had won the trials and being a local, he has Bells dialled in. Those guys are always dangerous because they have put the time in at that break and know where to sit in the line-up to get the best waves.

There’s been plenty of swell in Queensland. © Joli

The upcoming event at Teahupoo is a classic example of a contest where local knowledge and time in the water make the wildcards and trials winner huge threats to all the top guys.

It was pretty frustrating going out in my first heat at Bells. And, of course, there was no extra round buffer there. I think most surfers weren’t really into the new format, so we might see a lot of the other contest using the old format again.

Of course, in Tahiti it will be a case of trying to catch up to the tearaway ratings leader. This time last year it was Kelly Slater. This year it’s ‘Parko’.

Joel’s early dominance doesn’t surprise me. He’s definitely on a roll and I think his training has a big part to do with that. I know he is putting so much into every part of his preparation. That’s translating to peak performances at the right time – in this case, the first two contests.

Joel has always had so much natural talent. We all regard him as a freak but with all this extra training he is doing it’s showing up big time in his results and he is setting a mean pace!

In terms of Kelly, I think he has just been a bit unlucky in both contests. He struck hot rising Aussie surfers in Julian Wilson and Owen Wright. Both were on fire and definitely grabbed the opportunity to surf against Kelly with both hands.

Kelly was in perfect form last year and sometimes things just don’t go your way. But he will be pretty fired up to do well in Tahiti and he has probably the best record out of anyone there – so expect a strong campaign to turn his year around.

In terms of myself, since Bells I have been training and surfing Queensland. We’ve had some awesome swells this year with some of the best waves in a long time. It’s difficult to prepare for Tahiti because we just don’t get waves

like that in Queensland and most decent barrelling waves are rights.

But I did slip in a couple of quick trips to my old stomping grounds of North Straddie where you can find some nice left hand barrels. My recent trip to Lakey Peak was also good for some practice for backhand barrel riding. We got some really fun barrels and in the few days I was there I was able to fine tune my ‘pigdog’.

Talk soon,

Bede

“I’LL TAKE THAT!”

A great season on The Rock and plenty of fun ones to sink your teeth into on the small days at Rocky Rights as well. © Joli

If somebody had said to me on January 1 this year that I would finish the year having jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 plus pick up a CT contest win along the way, I’d have gone: “I’ll take that!”

That’s how 2008 has ended for me and I’m stoked with how the year has gone. Would I have wanted to have finished No. 1? Of course! But Kelly just had such an amazing year and was nearly unbeatable. That might have demoralised others on the tour but it didn’t me. Quite the opposite actually.

I learnt heaps from this year, both from watching how Kelly went about
remorselessly hunting down that phenomenal 9th world title, and from my own experiences. I will take that all into next year.

Kelly is an amazing athlete that pro surfing is so fortunate to have. I’ve seen articles comparing him to Roger Federer and Tiger Woods. He’s definitely in their company in terms of what he has achieved and that has helped the credibility of surfing so much — but in 2009 I won’t be out there to lie down for him. I know he wants 10 world titles. My plan is to be in the way. I know it’s a massive task but I’m up for it.

When I reflect on this last year, there are some good memories. Winning in Brazil was obviously the highlight but I actually felt I probably did my best surfing at Trestles at the Boost Mobile Pro. Trestles is just such a high performance wave when it’s on plus I had an amazing board I could do no wrong on.

My best heat was probably against Owen Wright at The Search in Indo. The waves were pumping and we had a really close high scoring heat that went down to my last wave before I shook him off.

I think another key this year has been that I kept my training up all year and didn’t slacken off like I have done in the past. That made for more consistency in my performances. I also changed my backhand tube-riding technique and that worked so much better on some of the barrelling lefts on tour.

I made a few mistakes this year that cost me. I’m not losing any sleep over that because you learn from your errors. A good example was not following Kelly over to Rincon in the Bells final when I held the lead and priority. That ain’t ever going to happen again!

I’m also stepping my training up even more for 2009 and I will also make an additional trip to Tahiti just to put a bit of extra time in there.

All three events copped amazing waves. © Joli

People ask me that now I am No. 2, do I feel like I’ve now permanently shed the underdog status thing. Not entirely, I believe. I still don’t get the media attention like the other guys but there has been a huge difference this past year.

It was good to close off the year with Hawaii having one of its best seasons in a long time. There were so many good days plus we got really good waves for the Triple Crown too. The last day of the event at Haleiwa was pretty insane. Other than the semi-final heat, Parko and I were in when no waves came through at
all (it was really bizarre, it just stopped for 20 minutes), the surf was awesome that final day.

One guy who caught my eye this winter was Dusty Payne. He is such a talented surfer, and he can do it all whether the waves are big or small. He has a massive future in surfing. I felt Adrian Buchan made big gains on the tour this year and is a guy who we should be watching for. Ace had such a good second half of the season and finished 6th overall.

I’m spending the Xmas/New Year break relaxing and spending time with family and friends up at Stradbroke Island, enjoying myself before I get back into a heavy training routine. Have a great Christmas everybody.  Hope you all get some waves and I will talk to you in ‘09!

Bede.

HALEIWA, SUNSET, PIPE

Parko has spent a bit of the break up on North Stradbroke island as well. © Shield

It was really cool to arrive home to Stradbroke Island in Australia and find my family and friends had organised a party for me after winning in Brazil. It was a great buzz and drove home the good feeling around securing my third WCT contest win and moving to No. 2 in the ratings behind Kelly ahead of Hawaii. I’m a believer in celebrating your victories but you can never stop moving. So my mind has also been fully focussed on the Pipe Masters and the Vans Triple Crown where I am defending both titles.

It’s given me a real focus for Hawaii. Basically, Parko and/or Taj need to win at Pipe to overtake me in finishing second on the WCT for 2008. I’ll be stoked if I can hold the position as it will complete a solid season where I will have moved from No. 5 to 2 – providing real confidence for a shot at the world title in 2009.

We’re all dropping equal ninths in terms of our best results counting, so it’s going to be hard for people to make up points with just one event remaining. But it’s a bonus to also have the Triple Crown to aim for as well as Pipe.

There have been plenty of fun times this year outside the contests as well; at South Stradbroke with Bottle and Clint Kimmins a couple of months back. © Shield

I was stoked to take out last year’s Triple Crown. The respect the Hawaiians alone hold for the Crown makes you proud to have won it. I guess it’s because the three events are often held in such diverse conditions at different North Shore breaks and it’s a real challenge to prove consistent across all of them.

The opening event is at Haleiwa, which I reckon is an awesome wave. It gets huge (and a bit scary) there but it’s still a real high performance wave even when it’s big. The contest at Sunset is different. When Sunset is on, it’s a full ocean wave with its own unique feeling to it. Longer boards are required and conquering Sunset is a feat in itself.

Then you finish off with the Wimbledon of surfing, the Pipe Masters. It’s the premier event in the premier wave. To have your name on that trophy is just so awesome. But I’m greedy … I want to see it there twice!

The Pipe Masters also has the best trophy in surfing. You get a handcrafted special board made by Gerry Lopez. I’ve had it on display in the Mt Woodgee shop window in Coolangatta for the past 10 months and it certainly draws attention.

Sunset, there’s simply nowhere else like it. © Cory Scott

For obvious reasons, Hawaii is also the ultimate proving ground for your equipment. I’m taking over 10 boards. With the five I left over there from last year, I’ll have 15 in my quiver all up. The lengths range from 6′2 to 7′6 and the reality is you could surf your shortest board and longest one on the same day – the swell can rise that quickly, often within hours.

My boards went insane there last year so having the best of last year’s batch and a few new ones as well has me amped. It really helps that my shaper from Mt Woodgee Wayne Mckewen has spent so many seasons in Hawaii himself. Wayne is so onto what is needed there and knows exactly what I need to surf well in those kinds of waves. I’ve tried a few Hawaiian shapers’ boards in the past but Wayne’s just felt better – and that gives me plenty of confidence.

My wife Tarryn and I will be staying in a nice little studio at Sunset with a nice family we know who have two young boys who surf. We stayed there last year and I am really looking forward to getting back, seeing them and surfing some big hollow waves.

Aloha everybody,

Bede

THE CURE FOR JET LAG

Back home now for a week in Currumbin. © Shield

Now that’s what I call a great week! I mentioned in my last blog that it was a real slog to get from Australia to Brazil in terms of jet lag and impact on the body clock. But winning is the perfect antidote.

I’m so stoked to have taken out the Hang Loose Pro. It’s my third career win on the WCT, pushed me to Number 2 on the rankings behind Kelly with just one event to go, and is my best ever result in Brazil — which is a country I love surfing in because of the passion the fans have there. So, all in all, I’m stoked I made the effort to get to Brazil!

The win has amped me for the last ‘CT contest of the year where I am defending my title at the Pipe Masters. Doing well there and also defending my Hawaiian Triple Crown title are my remaining priorities for this year — along with sealing the Number 2 spot.

I’m pretty sure I can hold onto 2nd as long as Taj or Parko don’t reach the Pipe Masters final and I don’t dud out too early in the contest. I’d be stoked if I can finish ‘08 at Number 2 behind Kelly.

I know everybody wants to be Number 1 but the reality is it was gone for this year some time ago thanks to Kelly’s stellar performances this year. Second is next best and it’s definitely my goal from here because it’s a perfect launch pad for next year’s Dream Tour and having a crack at the world title.

You can expect to see Jeremy in plenty more finals in the future.

Brazil was pretty much a dream final for me. I felt like I was building momentum the whole event and I peaked at the right time. I got a perfect start in the final against Jeremy Flores with an 8-pointer which I backed up straight after with a 9 before Jeremy had even caught anything.

The rest of the final I just concentrated on staying busy, pushing my turns and hoping Jeremy didn’t come back at me. That was a real risk as Jeremy was definitely one of the form surfers of the event and was posting nines most heats.

Luckily for me, he struggled to get into a rhythm in the final and I was able to take it out. Jeremy’s appearance in the final, his first on the tour, shows he’s a guy with a future. It’s only his second year on tour and he has made top 10 now two years in a row. France should be proud of him – he’s an amazing surfer who will make many more finals.

My toughest heat was in the semis against Freddie P. We both struggled for decent waves and in the last couple of minutes he only needed a 7.5 to beat me, so I had to just follow him around and not give him an inch. I knew he could get the score easy but luckily for me a wave didn’t show up.

I took some new boards to Brazil which my shaper from Mt Woodgee Wayne McKewen did for me. I rode one particular 6′2″ in the Straddie Teams Assault before I left and it went awesome. It quickly became the new favourite and I used it all the way through the event.

My previous best in a Brazilian event was equal 9th so it was awesome to go all the way this time — especially in front of the amazing crowds they have there.
I reckon the Brazilian surf fans are the most passionate in the word. They idolise their own surfers and really get in behind them. They’re treated like demi-gods. But they also love the visiting surfers.

Some boards, some training, and then it’s on to Hawaii. Speaking of boards, you can order direct off the guys at Mt Woodgee through their site, www.mtwoodgee.com.au © Shield

I think the locals were a bit bummed that Kelly, Mick, Andy and Joel weren’t there. They idolise those guys but they still seemed pretty stoked to watch all of us other guys there.

Next year everyone will be in Brazil because it will be the fourth event on tour. They’ve changed the dates because winter in Brazil supposedly has lighter winds and bigger swells, improving the prospect of better waves. The event deserves to have the best possible field.

I got treated awesome there: definitely the best crowds on the tour!
I’m off home now to the Gold Coast for eight days before heading to Hawaii.
I’ll hang with my wife Tarryn, my family and friends, get my boards sorted through Wayne and do some training for Hawaii with Elko (Gary ‘Kong’ Elkerton).
It’s not tough getting motivated after a week like the last one!
Talk to you from the Islands.

Bede

THE NEW FORMAT

Praia Imbituba, not a bad place to be. © Bella/SC

Hey everybody, it’s pretty bizarre sitting here in Brazil and seeing how many seeds have passed up the current stop on the WCT. It must be a record for the number of wildcards who have gained entry into the main event – last count, I think it was about 16!

I’m not complaining. I’m sure certain guys have got good reasons for not being here but it never crossed my mind not to come. You only get so many chances to
win a ‘CT contest and you won’t see me passing any of them up.

It was great to get my own campaign away with a win in my first round today. It was my third 1st round win of the year, and it’s always good to get that extra day off, under this format. But more so for me than ever because of the jet lag I have. It’s such a long flight from Australia and it’s the total opposite time – 12 hours difference.  That can wreak havoc with your body clock, but I’ll be right after one or more sleeps.

This event won’t be any easier for the absence of so many seeds. There are so many good competitors among the Brazilians that we will have to be on our game. It’s looking like we’re going to get some fun waves for the event again this year. Last year, the Brazilian event delivered some really good waves.

Brazilians like Heitor will be looking to put on a show for their countrymen. ©Joli

It’s timely I should mention the event format as that is a hot topic among ‘CT surfers and administrators right now. The ASP has just held a pretty historic board meeting where they’ve attempted to address some long-standing concerns about the current tour format. The result will be some changes to the 2009 Dream Tour.

The main change is all of the events are going to be given the chance to run with a format that can complete the comp within three days. Under the current 48-man format that’s pretty much impossible as you need four days.

The problem with a lot of events is that while a 12-day waiting spell sounds good in theory, it’s actually rare to get two consistent swells into that time period. Most of the breaks are good for three good quality days maximum. Too
often that means we have one day of the event in less than average conditions which is not what we or the spectators want.

It ends up putting a bit of a dampener on things, especially if that poor day of surf coincides with the finals. So events are being given the option to run with a new 32-man format which means comps can be finished within three days, allowing the organisers to pick the eyes out of the whole waiting period.

How does it work?
Round 1 will have 32 surfers instead of 48.  They’ll be man-on-manheats among the guys ranked 17th to 27th on the CT plus six wildcards and the top 15 guys on the World Qualifying Series (WQS). The top 16 ranked surfers will be seeded into round 2. I like that because it’s a true reward or bonus for the guys that have competed well over the whole year.

The new format has already been adopted for all of the Billabong events on the 2009 tour – the Pipe Masters, J-Bay, Teahupoo and Mundaka. But events will retain the ability to choose the 48-man format. Quiksilver has already decided on this for the opening event on the Gold Coast. Their thinking is that Snapper at the time of the year generally does produce four good days within the 12 and that the whole event can be run in good waves. Rip Curl are yet to let us know what they plan for Bells and The Search.

I’m a fan of the new 32-man format. One of the reasons is that it does away with  three-man heats which means a lot less hassling for waves.  You can just concentrate on surfing good and catching the best waves without having to worry about someone paddling around you or blocking you. Sure, you lose the double life under this format but I’m not worried about that. The vibe on tour is that everyone is pretty stoked with the changes being made for next year.

Pre-Brazil, I had two insane weeks at home on North Stradbroke Island. We had the Straddie Assault teams contest there where we scored some good waves and our club won the pairs event.

Looking forward to the Triple Crown. ©Joli

I also got in some hell training sessions with Elko (World Masters Champ Gary ‘Kong’ Elkerton) to get my fitness level back up after six weeks away from home and ahead of the Hawaiian season.

In my next blog, I’ll look ahead to the awesome challenge I have of defending the Triple Crown and the Pipe Masters titles. I’m frothing for it!

Bede

FROM NEW YORK TO SOPELANA

Hey everybody, I’m in “hold” mode here with the rest of the crew in Spain waiting for the Billabong Pro to get into the water. I’m frothing at the chance for some classic 6-8′ Mundaka at some stage of the event, but chances are we won’t get through this event using Mundaka only.

There’s barely been a ripple at the high-tide affected Mundaka.
© Joli

What’s gone on here in recent years with the harbour dredging is pretty well documented and there are lots of views about it all. The reality is the break is now too tidal to work all day and anything more than a three-day swell cycle is rare for here at this time of the year.

That means getting a good part of the event done elsewhere, still in pretty good waves, and then hopefully engineering the end to finish the finals in classic Mundaka: A big challenge, as we’ve seen in the last three years. In the past, the back-up wave was Bakio and it just wasn’t up to it, causing frustration at times.

This time, Billabong has moved the back-up beach to Sopelana which is further away though a better quality wave. Round One was held there overnight but hopefully the second round (where I am the first heat up) will be back at Mundaka. I know a little bit about Sopelana as it has hosted ASP events before. My coach Kong (Gary Elkerton) won an event there and has tuned me about the break.

The ASP was going to drop the losers’ round in this event but the pros were worried that would cause too much hassling in the first round. So we came to a compromise that if we ran the first round at Sopelana before the swell comes for Mundaka then the losers’ round would be retained.

Personally, I think Mundaka is a bit too fickle to run an entire WCT there. It’s so tidal and needs a solid swell to work. It’s a contest director’s nightmare but when it works it’s one of the best waves in the world. Hence the dilemma on whether to retain it as a stop on the Dream Tour or not. Rumours are they are looking elsewhere in Europe.

New York, New York. © Warby

The past month has been pretty active for me. My wife Tarryn and I called into New York before the Trestles WCT event. We’d never been there before and I gotta admit it was pretty cool to do the full-on tourist thing and just get lost in that monstrous city.

Back in San Clemente, it was full contest mode with sponsor and trade show appearances and the event itself. I felt really good at Trestles. I had the most amazing board and enjoyed taking on Kelly in the semis. The waves didn’t really pulse during our heat but they were still fun.

I always love surfing against Kelly. It brings the best out of me plus I get to surf against my hero. There’s never been a heat I haven’t learned from. This one was so close with only 0.5 the difference in the end. I fell on my best wave on the last section, trying to doing a little air. Maybe if I’d made it the heat might have been mine … but you can’t make any mistakes against Kelly.

Surfing Trestles is always enjoyable for me. It’s like a high performance skate park for surfers. It’s a wave that’s been good to me over the years and I feel really comfortable there. This year the waves pumped for the whole comp too. Personally, I think the best surfing all year on the tour went down there.

“The Spartan” Michel Bourez on fire during the Round Three clash in France. © Joli

France was a bit more frustrating. A few of us top seeds went down early and I got put to the sword by “The Spartan” in round 3! The Spartan is Michel Bourez. We call him that because he’s ripped and buffed like a Spartan fighter. The guy is so fit and that was the hardest heat I’ve surfed this year.

Michael came out of the blocks firing with a 9.8 but when I countered with an 8, I thought, ‘Sweet, I’m in the heat, I just need another good one before he gets another one’. Next thing – bang! – he’s nailed a 9.7 and I’m combo-ed. I will never give up and I waited and waited for a good wave that never came. It was pretty hard to beat a 19.5 heat score in those conditions. He smashed me. Michel beat Parko the heat before and Kelly at the same event last year so he’s definitely on the rise. He surfs with lots of power and big turns, and I think he will be around awhile.

Congrats Ace!

The French event was frustrating for me. The banks were a little weird and we didn’t get much swell, but it was so awesome to see one of my good mates Ace Buchan win the event and take down Kelly in the final. It showed Kelly is beatable, and it was a pretty wild night for the Aussies celebrating Ace’s first win.

This event will be about Kelly wrapping up his ninth World Title and pretty much the perfect year. I think there will probably be a few people skipping Brazil. As for me, I am just amping for some quality Mundaka.

Bring on those sick waves,

Bede