Mick Fanning, Backdoor polishing, Hawaii

What, a world title on the line and you don’t think Mick Fanning won’t be out at the Pipe/Backdoor split every chance he gets, squall or shine? With a seed in the round of 64 at Haleiwa (we’re currently watching the round of 128), Mick has plenty of time to tune up on the world’s most photographed chunk o’reef before he’ll try and fend off the advances of Kelly Slater come December 8. Mick was right in the mix this morning despite unideal conditions: “There hasn’t been much wind so the waves haven’t had much opportunity to clean up quickly,” says photographer Ryan Miller, who found this angle through the rain. “An unruly ocean at backdoor just now, but a couple sneaky tubes that were good enough to excite the famished. The waves themselves were actually pretty tame. The getting in and out with a ton of current was the trickiest part.”