March 2008 Archives

It's hard to believe it's been seven years since Andy and Bruce Irons threw their first kids contest down at Pine Trees, but come Saturday, April 5, 2008, they'll be celebrating the 7th Annual Irons Brother's Pine Trees Classic on the North Shore of Kauai. I guess we're just all getting older. Regardless of our age, keeping in mind all that surfing's given them, when the idea came up to hold their own contest all those years ago they figured spreading the love was only the right thing to do. Bigger and better than ever, Andy and  Bruce can't wait for Saturday. Stay tuned for exclusive photos and coverage of the extravaganza. 

Ian Walsh has been a busy man. When not out looking for waves that can kill him he's occupied his time thinking about his hometown's next generation. Coming to the Valley Isle Saturday, April 5, 2008, Ian Walsh's throwing his ever-classic 5th Annual Menehune Mayhem.
Entry forms can be picked up at Hi-Tech surf shops on Maui and mailed to 720#5 Hana Hwy. Paia, HI 96779.  The event is first come, first serve.

Coming to you live April 7 from Pleasure Point in beautiful Santa Cruz, California, the first stop on the 2008 Red Bull Riders Cup. Look out grumpy old hippies, from April 7-10 the kids are taking over. The deal is this, it's bracketology at its best. Broken up into various regional conferences, the nation's best high school surf teams battle it out it The Game format. The winner from each respective region squares off in a no-holds-barred, steel-cage grudge match at a yet to be determined Southern California beach. Santa Cruz is on deck first. Then comes a visit to Florida and the Eastern Seaboard. The Hermosa Beach stop has been postponed. Stay tuned for updates, photos, video, an whatever else we can serve up. Click here for the whole scoop.

The nominees for the Billabong XXL Awards are in, and Ian's leading the charge for the Red Bull Surf Team. Thanks to charging hard in Tahiti last year, Ian Walsh has been nominated for both the Ride of the Year and Best Tube of the Year. Joining Walshy will be fellow Red Bull rider Carlos Burle, who is also nominated for Ride of the Year and Best Tube of the Year for his performance at Ghost Tree. The winners will be announce come April 11th, and if you can't make it to the award show, tune into BillabongXXL.com for a live webcast of all the action. Stay tuned...

What's not to like about hanging in Torquay? OK, besides the cold ass weather? But even if it has been a bit stormy, who cares, it hasn't been flat. And the talent level in the water? Lets just say you gotta be at the top of your game if you want to roll with these boys. Mick and Andy have been surfing especially precise as of late. Both have just been quietly going about their business, leaving the hype for Kelly Slater and Dane Reynolds to deal with. The waves at both Bells and Winkipop, where the rest of the Rip Curl Pro's Round Three was moved yesterday, suit both of their styles perfectly. Mick's surfing like a rubber band these days, and Andy, well, the world better look out when the surf comes up. There's a bit more swell in the forecast, so that should help is cause. And then after this, after a couple weeks back in Kauai cruising and running his kids' contest, Andy's off to the South Pacific where he can really flex. And speaking of flexing, considering how much time Mick put in at Teahupoo last year, he'll be fun to watch too. But for now the boys have to get through the rest of blustery Bells. Organizers have five days to run two days of competition, stay tuned.

Check out video highlights from Round One of the Rip Curl Pro...

...And while you're at it, take a look at a few of the photos.

For the most part, the Red Bull crew's survived Round Two of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. Held in tricky four-foot conditions, it was by no means an easy day of competition, but it was interesting. Ben Dunn proved he's definitely back from last year's injury and returning to fine form. A methodical, strategic surfer, he took out South African Travis Logie early in the day. And then in a match-up brother that had a somewhat brother-vs-brother feel, Adriano De Souza knocked out fellow Bull rider Tiago Pires. Unfortunately there have to be a could of losers, and besides Tiago who's still adapting to life on the WCT, Royden Bryson and Bruce Irons were knocked out of competition today. For now the swell's on the decline, so it's not looking like they're be running today, but there's a new pulse in the forecast, so stay tuned.

The first, stormy round of the Rip Curl Pro is in the books, and after a wild, victory-at-sea day at Bells, Andy Irons is looking increasingly meaner and hungrier. He breezed through his much hyped heat against Jordy Smith like it was just another stormy day at Pine Trees. While some people struggled with their equipment, Andy’s board looked like it was working well.

For the first time in 15 events Mick Fanning lost his Round One heat. He would get back on the horse later in the day and survive the dregs of the elimination round. But mind you, last year nobody that surfed Round 2 heat won the contest. That's not to say Mick can't crush everybody, he can, it's just that he's got a lot of work ahead of him.

For the most part all the world sees in regards to the North Shore happens between the months of November and December. Other than that, come Christmas, the rock quiets down considerably. But that doesn't mean that the surf stops. Oh no, quite the contrary. Here's the dirty secret: It gets better. The swells shift to a more favorable window, the trades stabilize, all the sand that spent the summer building up on the Banzai reef is gone, and yes, the waves are good and relatively empty. Jamie O'Brien probably wouldn't tell you any of this. He lives right on the beach at Pipe and likes it that way, but when this photo came across the wi-fi lines the other day, we could help but show what fun he's having.

What's worse than having somebody show up at your secret spot? Well, having somebody build a nuclear power plant would be one thing. So, figuring it's better to let the world know where they've been sneaking off to all these years, a dedicated pack of locals from South Africa's Pearly Beach area, a wave-rich zone a couple hours outside of Cape Town, are trying raise awareness about a planned nuclear power plant that would effectively ruin their perfectly perfect hideaway. Every year Red Bull plays host to the Big Wave South Africa event held at Dungeons, and recognizing we're all swimming in the same ocean together, if you aren't backing of idea of nuclear power plants replacing secret spots, email: nuclear1@acerafrica.co.za

Check Out Highlights of the 2007 Red Bull Riders Cup Right Here...

The third annual Red Bull Riders Cup, formally known as Red Bull High School Cup, kicks off its first game at the Hermosa Beach Pier on April 1st.  The National Surf League presents The Red Bull Riders Cup as the premiere high school surfing tournament, bringing together the best young surfers in each region.  

Thirty two schools from eight regions will battle it out in games sanctioned by the National Surf League until a champion is crowned.  The winner of each region will be invited to Southern California this summer for the grand national finals on June 13th-15th for the chance to become the best high school surf team in the country.

As the 2008 ASP season got underway all eyes were on Mick Fanning...and the reigning world champ didn't disappoint. With blistering performance after blistering performance, Mick's looking more in form than ever. And while he finished in the runner-up slot to 8-time world champ Kelly Slater, he demonstrated that over the long haul, he's going to be damn hard to beat. Don't think so? Well, consider this: Last year Mick had the highest winning percentage on tour, and over the past year and a half he's only failed to make the quarterfinals or better once. Plus he's getting married in a couple weeks, and once he gets the big day behind him it's going to be full-steam ahead.

But Mick wasn't the only one with something to prove. Andy Irons is back and better than ever. The three-time world champ his fitter, more focused and more ready to do battle than he has been in some years. His boards are looking good, he's chiseled, lean, mean and ready to be a world title winning machine once again. He fell to Kelly Slater in their quarterfinal duel, but if it's any consolation there weren't too many waves to be had out there and Kelly snagged the best ones.

There were such high hopes for the Quiksilver Pro. And sure, the surfing has most definitely delivered, but since last week the talk of the event has been the pending swell…that still hasn’t shown. By last Friday night it was supposed to be filling in, then come the weekend it was supposed to be too big for Snapper and the contest site was supposed to hit the road and head down to Kirra. But, as is often the case in this computer-model world in which we surf, expectations exceeded reality and for the past few days organizers have been kicking the sand trying to figure out whatever happened to the waves.

This isn’t to say it’s been flat, and if you’ve seen photos or video from the event thus far you’re probably scratching your head, figuring it’s still better than your home break. After all, it’s been a fun-size, contestable three-feet with the occasional plus set. It’s just that wasn’t the roping, below-sea-level tube riding shoot-out some were hoping.

The Roxy Pro, the first event of the 2008 world tour season, is in the books, and, after finishing in the runner-up slot on tour last year, 2004 world champ Sofia Mulanovich has once again asserted her dominance. After a entertaining day of surfing at the famed Snapper Rock sandbank, Peru’s most visible sports star has emerged as the early rating’s leader on the Women’s ASP World Tour.

Showcasing the explosive talent of the women on tour in perfect little three to four-foot peelers, the level of surfing was higher than ever.  15-year-old Hawaiian prodigy Carissa Moore seemed like the surfer to beat throughout the event, but was upended by a Sam Cornish’s lucky break in the first semifinal of the day. In the second semifinal,