Joel Parkinson, D-Bah, Gold Coast

Joel Parkinson, along with numerous other WT surfers, opted not to do the whole Vans Triple Crown in Hawaii this year. Joel’s won the three-pack of events three times, including last year’s, but still didn’t wanna throw his hat in the ring this year. “While I’ll definitely be surfing the Pipe Masters, and I might even surf the Sunset event, I definitely won’t be at Haleiwa which means I probably won’t be any chance of winning the Triple Crown this year,” he said.

The Dream Tour this year, or, more pertinently, the last three months on the Dream Tour, have proven quite taxing on the top 32. Especially with added pressure to do Primes or Six-Stars due to the one-world ranking. “The last few Hawaiian seasons – and the last few months in general – have been pretty intense,” said Joel. “So I just felt it was a good time to take a couple of weeks to pull back a little and keep my surfing fun and fresh.”

So, on Friday, rather than being photographed throwing heat at Backdoor or Rockies, Joel was shot hucking over waist-high Duranbah (pictured above), in his hometown Coolangatta. He and pal Dean ‘Dingo’ Morrison paddled out and threw down about as hard as y’could in the less-than-amazing conditions.

And, despite the absence from the beginning of the Triple Crown, reckon Joel’s gonna be gunning for the Pipe Masters? “I’d love to win at Pipeline,” he said. “Every surfer would. And I reckon I’m giving myself the best chance this year by not doing the whole Triple Crown.”