Mikey February Reminded Everyone He’s A CT Veteran Yesterday
Here’s how the silky Zaffa took out three Pipe Masters in the thruster division at solid Sultans.
The Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy went rogue today as a big jump in swell saw the decision made to switch the traditional order of proceedings and run the thruster division rather than the scheduled twin fins. It was the first time the order has been jumbled in over 12 years. With heaving tubes in the six-foot range strafing the Sultans reef, there was little complaint about the call from competitors, who promptly paddled out and spent the day pulling into big pits, with South Africa’s favourite son Mikey February standing tall at day’s end to claim full points and join Taj Burrow on top of the Surfing Champions Trophy leaderboard.
“I finally won something!” said an elated February after the final. “I don’t surf a thruster often, but there’s nothing wrong with riding a thruster in pumping waves, and this event challenges people in different ways. With this lineup of names I was probably the most nervous about today, so was just taking notes and trying to have fun.”
Last night at the single fin presentation, Taj Burrow told the crowd that yesterday had been the best Father’s Day of his life. Burrow kept that energy going this morning, locking straight into an incredible tube shootout with fellow former-CT competitors Jeremy Flores and Jadson Andre to kickstart the second day.
With shifting peaks and regular cleanup sets breaking the length of the huge playing field, competitors were constantly on the move, hunting waves that would not only let them in, but more importantly let them out. There was no shortage of wild near misses as the ocean flexed on the field, which only served to make the handful of spectacularly threaded tubes in each heat even more enjoyable.
Burrow and Flores, with an 8 and a 7-point ride apiece, moved on at the expense of yesterday’s winner Andre, whose pair of sevens left him just short but no less happy to be in the Maldives, as he paddled back in smiling.
In the second heat, February looked ominous from the start, advancing with a 15-point two-wave total. Carissa Moore weaved her way through countless tubes to claim second, while Maldivian wildcard Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil found one fun barrel but couldn’t secure a backup score to finish in third.
Semi-final one saw Burrow and Moore square off in one of the biggest matchups of icons the Surfing Champions Trophy has ever seen. On top of Moore’s five world titles and Olympic gold medal, and Burrow’s folio of hall of fame video parts, both surfers have won at Pipeline, Bells, J-Bay, Snapper Rocks, Rio and Margaret River, to name a few.
The opening exchange saw Burrow fly through a long running tube and kick out in time to see Moore lock into a drainer of her own. Back-to-back barrels earned an 8.50 and a 6.83 respectively and the tone had been set. At the halfway mark Burrow took off on the wave of the event, locking in from the top of the lineup through 50 metres of hypnotic warping sections before finally getting clamped moments from an exit and the event’s first perfect 10. Moore was left needing an 8.18 that never came, the two legends beaming as they boarded the boat afterwards, thrilled to share a heat.
“That was insane!” said Burrow. “Carissa was getting completely drained, we were sharing tubes, taking turns. It was so sick to share a heat with her, and in pumping waves too. Very special.”
In the second semi-final February opened with a deep tube to silky smooth carve for an 8.33 to put himself in prime position. Flores replied with a stand tall tube for a 7.17, and with February unable to secure a solid second score, the door was left open. In the dying minutes Flores found his chance on a smaller inside wave. A barrel backed up with carves netted the Frenchman a 5.60, just short of the 5.94 he needed. Known for his fiery competitive nature, the Four Seasons version of Flores simply laughed and went back to playing with his kids, before settling in for the final.
Unlike yesterday’s final, today Burrow took full advantage of his seven-minute age advantage, starting his campaign with an 8.67 for a big barrel and a string of trademark frontside turns before February had even entered the water. When he did, February sat on the wider inside peak and went to work. A 6.00 and a 5.93 in quick succession weren’t quite enough for the lead, but applied pressure to Burrow, who sat with only a 3.50 as his backup.
As time ticked away, credit must go to both surfers, who could have taken the easy option and looked to build their totals with safe scores, but instead chose to go big till the end. While Burrow rolled the dice on a couple of Hail Mary set waves that only resulted in minor scores, February came up big with mere minutes on the clock. Needing a 6.17, a throwaway by today’s high standards, February swung for the fences as a solid set approached. Taking off into a deep, deftly ridden tube, February emerged with the spit, eyed off the wickedly critical closeout section and wrenched a fully committed layback carve. The spray from February’s vicious turn was still landing long after the resulting 9.57 was read out, giving the tall South African the win.
“My first overseas surf trip was to the Maldives when I was 14 years old,” said February soon after. “My parents scraped up all the money they could to get me here, and now to be here at the Four Seasons, competing with all these amazing surfers, is pretty special. I’m pinching every time I look around or I’m in the water.”
There is one more round to run in the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy for 2024, and this year it will be the twin fin division that decides our grand finalists. The forecast remains pristine for the remainder of the waiting period so stay tuned for more updates to come from the Maldives.
Thruster Division Results
1. Mikey February (ZAF) 1000pts
2. Taj Burrow (AUS) 900pts
3. Carissa Moore (HAW) equal with Jeremy Flores (FRA) 800pts
5. Jadson Andre (MDV) equal with Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil (MDV) 700pts
2024 Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy Leaderboard
1. Taj Burrow (AUS) 1800pts
1. Mikey February (ZAF) 1800pts
3. Jadson Andre (BRA) 1700pts
4. Carissa Moore (HAW) 1500pts
4. Ahmed “Ammaday” Agil (MDV) 1500pts
4. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 1500pts
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