A LONG AND ENTERTAINING DAY AT THE RIP CURL PRO
It took 21 heats from an exhaustive schedule that was one of the longest days in pro surfing history, but in a sensational result Australia’s Gold Coast rookie Bede Durbidge has bumped former six-times world champion Kelly Slater from the Rip Curl Pro at Phillip Island’s Woolamai Beach. It was a day when the higher seeds otherwise generally ruled the roost.
The rookie and the master fought what ending up being a controversial exchange on the afternoon’s high tide lefts, Slater starting a little slow as he settled in, whilst Durbidge opened with a seven and later locked in an 8.5 and 8.73 for rides connecting sharp backhand snaps that threw buckets of spray with every jam into the wave’s lip.
Slater mounted his defense locking in a 7.33 for his fourth wave, and then a highline 9.23 for a seamless roll on his fifth, but after Durbidge’s consistent act, he was still left needing an eight point ride to quell the rookie.
With five minutes remaining, Kelly laid eight backhand hits into a committed attack that he and some of his peers considered worthy of the task at hand, but the judges disagreed delivering him a score of 7.93.
“I thought my last wave was close to, or as good as my 9.23, and I knew I needed an 8.0, but they gave me a 7.93. There was five minutes left so maybe they just wanted me to work. I don’t know! Sometimes it happens,” said a disappointed Kelly after the heat.
“It’s a huge result, especially against my favourite surfer,” smiled Durbidge, who was knocked from the first WCT of the year by Slater, and seems poised for a great season.
“I can’t believe I’ve done it really. I watched his last wave from behind – it was a really good wave and I thought he would have got the score he needed.”
Understandably, Bede Durbidge was stoked with the win that his Aussie peerage applauded. Durbidge possesses steely resolve, seemingly devoid of nerves no matter whom he has to surf against. He is determined to march on.
“I’m feeling pretty good and hopefully I’ll get through a few more heats. I sort of thought about it all before it started and so I’ve been prepared for anything, and surfing this event like it’s just any other competition, and it’s been working, ” concluded Durbidge.
Durbidge surfs the same board from one foot to six foot conditions, but with the drop in swell today, some of the boys brought in reinforcements.
Looking to make all posts a winner, last year’s World Champion Andy Irons and runner-up Joel Parkinson both had new equipment flown in from the Gold Coast overnight to deal with today’s anticipated drop in swell, and both were rewarded for their foresight with strong round three victories.
Irons came down in length to a 6’1”, while Parkinson went wider, but both went way up in their winning margins, the Hawaiian comboing young Pipeline wildcard Jamie O’Brien whilst Parkinson left Victor Ribas hunting 9.48 points.
On his way to vanquishing Ribas, who he marked as a major thorn in his world title efforts last season, Parkinson notched the highest score of the event so far, a sizzling 9.8 for an ultra-clean 3’+ right hander which include one of the most textbook perfect re-entries imaginable.
“It was a good wave. My first turn put me into a good spot for my second turn and got the fins pretty lose, and came down perfectly again…it was like a perfect little wave. It was the best wave I saw all day, so I pretty happy. It let me play – it let me get to work!” said Parkinson after his heat.
Though having declared that this is ‘his year’, Parkinson is flying below the radar at the moment as all eyes are on the ongoing confrontation between Andy Irons and Mick Fanning, who have again drawn each other tomorrow in round four.
“I bet those boys can’t wait to get re-seeded! It’s going to be the heat before mine and I’m going to need to be watching their game as well as mine. I’m just glad the focus is on their exchange – not mine,” laughed Parkinson.
Fanning seemed out of sorts today in his heat against Tom Whitaker. The pair waited quite a while for their first set, but controversy reigned when it arrived.
Whitaker was marked for interference after he and Fanning crossed over from the opposite sides of a perfect peak, deemed by the judges to be right-hander.
Fanning fell after his first manoeuvre as his right then closed out, while Whitaker continued on left completing his lefthander.
Whilst the judges were decisive with their call, procedurally relegating Whitaker’s score to being minus his second best score, the surfers weren’t so sure.
