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BILLABONG PRO PIPELINE MASTERS: DAY 2
Wildcard City as AI, Meister, John John, Flynn + Gaskell take down WCTers in damn fine Pipeline
"He may have needed the result, but I need the money." Flynn Novak just beat Michel Bourez (crushing the Spartan's Rookie of the Year hopes) in the dying minutes of their R2 heat. He was half-kidding but sorta serious. Pipeline, more than any wave in the world, supports a tight-knit specialized crew of tuberiders -- Flynn being one -- and this contest is their chance to show the world they're as good or better than the ASP Top 45.
Which, if today was any indication, may be not far off the mark. Of the eight heats run, six were won by wildcards -- two of which were unsponsored (Hank Gaskell + Gavin Gilette.) This is contrary to popular misconception that wildcards are only a danger at Pipe when it's gigantic. It wasn't. It was totally human-sized and fun-looking all day and if there wasn't a contest or 40 dudes out after the buzzer sounded, you or me would've had a blast out there.
One of the most local wildcards put on today's best show. Seventeen-year-old John John Florence, who surfed his first Pipe Masters Trials at age 12, completely decimated Heitor Alves, netting the contest's second highest heat score with two nine-plus rides. (Not to mention like six seven-point rides. The kid went berzerko, catching everything that moved.)
"I'm just going crazy out there with only three people out," Florence said. "There are so many fun waves and I was just trying to catch as many as I could while I had the chance. It's good to know the lineup out here when it's smaller because a lot of times they run along the reef faster and those right barrels get really small and can be tough to make it out of."
A couple heats later, '09 Xcel Pro winner Hank Gaskell played the patient game -- and it paid off. "That was the luckiest I've ever been in a heat," Gaskell explained after narrowly taking down Ben Dunn in the dying minutes of their exchange -- much to the crowd's delight. "Being unsponsored has for sure been a motivation this season." Indeed. Gaskell's unstickered Tokoro pintail has some serious real estate available for any big surf companies out there looking for a stylish Maui charger. The crowd loves the guy, anyways.
The most anticipated heat of the day was Andy Irons vs. Drew Courtney. Well, to be fair, more people came to see Andy than Drew, but either way, the smallish-but-keen beach crowd stuck around to see AI surf. And they weren't disappointed. He started off slow, pulling into a few without making 'em out. "Maybe I was too relaxed," he laughed afterward.
But once him and Courtney were the only ones in the water, AI turned a corner. He snuck into a smaller one that ran along the reef perfectly, shacked the whole way, and followed it off with a roundhouse cutback-to-360 for a 9.07. Couple waves later, he got shacked across the whole reef again on a bigger wave for a 9.33, and Courtney was sent straight into combo-land, no passing go, no collecting $200.
"It was strange to put on a jersey, but it felt good to win," a decidedly mellow AI said afterwards. "But if I hadn't won, it wouldn't have really mattered. I'm ready for next year."
And while the swell was still pulsing overhead sets after they called competition off for the day, tomorrow looks to see a bigger WNW swell and great conditions. See below for the forecast, and check back tomorrow for full coverage.
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SURFLINE'S OFFICIAL BILLABONG PIPELINE MASTERS FORECAST, FRIDAY MORNING 12/11/2009
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Old NW swell continues to back down on Friday with surf in the 6-8', occasional 10'+ range on the face at Pipe. A new WNW swell will gradually start to build late Friday but will be strongest on Saturday with 10-12' faces at Pipe, along with some larger sets at times. Those waves ease Sunday. Good to at times excellent wind conditions prevail Friday through Monday, with wind ranging from light E/ESE to light and variable. Our next series of swells will move in Tuesday through Saturday of next week, although deteriorating wind and weather could plague them.
FRIDAY 11th
SWELL/SURF: Old, fading NW swell in the morning with 6-8 occ. 10'+ faces at Pipe/Backdoor. New WNW swell starts to gradually pick up for the late afternoon/evening hours.
WIND/CONDITIONS: Light to moderate E/ESE wind 8-15kts.
SATURDAY 12th
SWELL/SURF: New WNW swell fills in further and will be strongest. Pipe/Backdoor will see 10-12' faces with the largest waves up to 15' on the face. Wind conditions look excellent through most of the day.
WIND/CONDITIONS: Light ESE/SE wind
SUNDAY 13th
SWELL/SURF: WNW swell easing. The morning will see the strongest surf with 6-10 occ. 12' faces, again at both Pipe and Backdoor, but the surf will back down through the afternoon.
WIND/CONDITIONS: Light/variable wind with a possible sea breeze in the afternoon. Stay tuned.
MONDAY 14th
SWELL/SURF: Mainly old WNW
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December 11, 2009
