Mick Fanning grovels through round two, Snapper Rocks

This morning, competition finally resumed at the Quiksilver Pro, Gold Coast. The waves are tiny, borderline contestable, but there was little choice because right now it’s a case of too many heats, too little time. Today was supposed to be the final day of the waiting period, and were it not for the two-day extension, competitors would be jumping flights out of Coolangatta airport right now with an equal share of dollars and points. Mick Fanning faced Dane Reynolds in the opening heat of round two, and while Dane looked understandably uninspired by the conditions, Mick went about his biz like clockwork and did enough to ensure a place in the third round.

“I’ve been checking the forecast constantly, hoping it’s gonna look good, and unfortunately it just keeps looking like this,” said Dane. “Four feet at seven seconds, there’s just nothing really to it. If it’s gonna run in grovelly surf, you better wait til the end so at least you have to run in it. That’s just what it is.”

Mick was equally as accepting of the unchangeable swell situation: “Y’know, it’s just our job. We just get up and get ready each day. Being first heat that kept me focused through that whole 10 days. As you said, you never know what you’re going to get with Dane, and I saw the conditions this morning and thought it’d be tough. So I sort of didn’t have a game plan, except to just get moving. Luckily I got a few at the start and that was it. Most the time we were sitting out there and it was flat. And for some reason they put Ed Sheeran on, it was weird.”

As viewers, we all want someone to blame. But fact is, this is a very rare occasion when the ocean won’t let down its stubborn play during an event window. There’s a whole lot of talk around the approaching swell. Let’s just hope it delivers in time. Til then, organisers had little choice but to go on hold for three hours til things improve a little. So… keep it locked.