Perfect At Pipe: Parko Steals The Show During Day Two Of The Billabong Pipe Masters
For Day One the swell was pumping and everybody that surfed had no choice
but to push themselves, but for Day Two the swell on the decline, the show
was more based around ability and technique. You could make the
argument that nobody in the world combines ability and technique better
than Joel Parkinson, and if you were looking for something to support
this argument all you had to do was watch his Round 3 heat against
Dusty Payne. But we'll talk more about the Parko/Payne heat in a few minutes. There was heaps of other intriguing stuff on the day, and the following are a few notable highlights. Story of the Day: Up until he actually picked up his jersey, walked down the beach and paddled out the Lord only knew if Kelly Slater was going to show up for the Pipe Masters. He's been down in the Caroline Islands chasing swell the past few days, and rumor had it he was going to stay down there for the next round of swell. Obviously the rumor was wrong. Kelly did show...just in time to watch Joel Parkinson rack up a perfect 20-point heat score
Worst Wipeout: Umm, not too many poundings to speak of today. Both John John and Dean Morrison broke boards, but with the swell on the decline and Pipe/Backdoor lingering in the 3- to 4-foot range, the boys had it a bit easier today. Down the beach at Off The Wall people were taking the usual beatings--and worthy of note would be Gavin Gillette's Malloy-esque escapade on a kickboard--but all in all, it wasn't nearly as spine tingling of a day as yesterday was.
Most Inspiring Surfer: Besides Jamie O's supreme comfort at Pipe, with his back up against the wall and time ticking off the clock Andy Irons, surfing in the last heat of the day, demonstrated exactly why he's so hard to beat in Hawaii. A mid-sized Backdoor came his way, he nabbed it, tallied a near-perfect 9.8 for the effort, and next thing you know Dean Morrison was out and Andy was in.
Best Performance: What else can you say about what Joel Parkinson did out at Backdoor today. You can't get much better than two perfect 10s. With the winner of the Triple Crown title essentially being decided in his Round 3 heat against Dusty Payne, Parko was, well, perfect. "I couldn't have done anything," told Dusty, about 30 minutes after their duel. "It's hard to get 11s." By the looks of things Parko will claim the Triple Crown title, but more than that, he's now more of a contender to win Pipe than he's ever been before.
Best Thing Heard All Day: "Now I'm fucking depressed, I'm going to go down to Rocky Point and drop in on everybody. Maybe that will make me feel better." Mark Healey sarcastically venting after losing in less than life-threatening conditions.
Worst Call: You could make the argument that actually holding the event today was the worst call. As a disheartened Mick Fanning said after losing his heat: "It's like the D-Bah Masters out there or something." Mark Healey felt the same: "This isn't Pipe. Shouldn't the Pipe Masters be held at proper Pipe?" All that being said, there's bad weather on the way and the swell forecast isn't looking all that promising, which put organizers in a tough spot.
Most Inspiring Surfer: Besides Jamie O's supreme comfort at Pipe, with his back up against the wall and time ticking off the clock Andy Irons, surfing in the last heat of the day, demonstrated exactly why he's so hard to beat in Hawaii. A mid-sized Backdoor came his way, he nabbed it, tallied a near-perfect 9.8 for the effort, and next thing you know Dean Morrison was out and Andy was in.Best Performance: What else can you say about what Joel Parkinson did out at Backdoor today. You can't get much better than two perfect 10s. With the winner of the Triple Crown title essentially being decided in his Round 3 heat against Dusty Payne, Parko was, well, perfect. "I couldn't have done anything," told Dusty, about 30 minutes after their duel. "It's hard to get 11s." By the looks of things Parko will claim the Triple Crown title, but more than that, he's now more of a contender to win Pipe than he's ever been before.
Best Thing Heard All Day: "Now I'm fucking depressed, I'm going to go down to Rocky Point and drop in on everybody. Maybe that will make me feel better." Mark Healey sarcastically venting after losing in less than life-threatening conditions.
Worst Call: You could make the argument that actually holding the event today was the worst call. As a disheartened Mick Fanning said after losing his heat: "It's like the D-Bah Masters out there or something." Mark Healey felt the same: "This isn't Pipe. Shouldn't the Pipe Masters be held at proper Pipe?" All that being said, there's bad weather on the way and the swell forecast isn't looking all that promising, which put organizers in a tough spot.
Hello.......