Watch: Kelly Slater’s Raw Session At Padang On An Un-Rockered Craft
“He could make a door look good.” He just did.
A couple days ago, we discussed how surfers at a certain Sydney rock emporium appeared not to have enough rocker to negotiate the invisble transition from wall to trough.
Today, we find 11x World Champion Kelly Slater laughing in their faces by riding a table-flat surfboard at above-average Padang Padang.
Flat boards are designed for flat waves with minimal slope (math reminder: zero slope = flat/horizontal. No slope = completely vertical). Padang, while not an especially top-to-bottom tube, is nonetheless hollow and therefore requires a board with reasonable rocker to match its curve.
That is unless you’re Slates.
Admittedly, I watched this clip with bated breath, waiting for the moment when Kelly would catch a rail or nose in transition. It didn’t happen. Slater negotiated wave after wave (mostly scraps, typical Florida guy) with poise and precision, linking turns and tubes with total nonchalance.
“He could make a door look good.” He just did.
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