7 Observations from day one at Lowers

Sun and warmth greeted the cobblestone on day one of the Hurley Pro. The competition commenced bright and early to a fine blend of Southern Hemi Swells. The heats of the morning consisted of fun but wonky surf courtesy of the high tide. As the event carried on, the tide thinned out and traditional shoulder-head-plus high walls ensued at So Cal’s fav skatepark. The opening round was completed in its entirety. Tour vet Freddy P announced his retirement after whipping up a perfect ten and the usual suspects found rhythm. Apart from Freddy’s ten the next highest score was Gab’s nine in the same heat as Mr P. Tomorrow’s looking to be yet another day of blue-ribbon surf in Orange County. Now we wait to see what round two has in store.

Words by Damien Farhenfort 

That bottom turn never gets old. Photo: WSL

Kelly: You know who shaped that board.
Secrets are for kids, and the people demand to know. Kelly rocked up and channeled his inner Tom Curren when he rode a board with out any trace of a shaper logo or pen scribble for dims, but boy did it look spicy. Kelly came out tearing and the waves weren’t easy when he surfed. His sled cut through the water like a snake and seemed to release at the right times. Kelly’s come out the last few comps firing but then lost his tempo. Lets hope he can finish what he started this event. Quick conspiracy: He shaped the board and when he wins he will reveal to all that he spanked them on his own shape.

The struggle continues in round one for our dear pal Filipe. Photo: WSL

Filipe’s struggling in those conditions.
Depsite a few individual moves young Fil looked a bit out of sorts. He seems to have a lot of confidence since he took out a board that he had never ridden with the attitude that he won’t lose in Rnd 2. Lowers can be tough on the best of surfers and when the swells a bit bigger than three feet, like J-bay it’s flaws reveal. Here’s to hoping that Filipe pulls through this next round and puts on the show we all expect him to.

Owen Wright manhandling the Lowers right hand on his backhand. Photo: WSL

O Wright and Jules surfed well with what they had.
There were a few wonky and slow heats there but these two did surfed as good as the waves would permit. Jules lost last year to Jordy in a similar heat waves-wise. This time he looked more in control. As long as these two and Mick keep pushing through heats we’ll have a fine little show on our hands.

Mick fanning looked about 10 clicks faster than anyone else.
Best surfer of the day and didn’t get the best waves. I don’t think there was another surfer out there today that could have surfed those waves as well as Mick. He looked to be in the same form he was in at J-bay.

Kolohe was tearing.
How good did Kolohe look? He was holding his turns all the way through and was surfing like a a tour veteran. Great flow between moves and I’m guessing he’s going to go far in this event. It’s only a matter of time before he’s a top ten surfer.

Is there any wave Italo can’t surf?
This man goes mad anywhere he surfs and he seriously might be the new Gabs. His turns are sharp and he knows how to draw em out on his back hand. Plus he’s a legend in the interviews. He’s surfs like he’s been on tour for ten years. Finds the good waves each event and makes things happen for himself. Lets hope he sneaks a few lefts in the heats to come because his air game is real slick.

Dayum Freddy.
That was some incredible surfing;  A 10 and 8.9 is how you finish your career. He’s been one of the few guys on tour that wears his heart on his sleeve and will back it up too. He’s won this event when it was a QS and gotten runner up the previous years. The two waves he surfed were incredible. Freddy turned so hard his spray was still air born from the previous turn when he was going into the next move. The man’s good and what a way to go out. Congrats sir, on always being awesome.

Round one results:

Heat 1: K. Slater 14.63, D. Payne, J. Andre 12.67
Heat 2: A. Buchan 15.00, F. Toledo 13.93, B. Simpson 12.77
Heat 3:J. Wilson 15.60, S. Zietz 10.87, A. Aranburu 8.00
Heat 4: O. Wright 16.00, K. Asing 14.74, T. Hermes 14.00
Heat 5: M. Fanning 17.30, H. Ohhara 14.46, A. Melling 10.67
Heat 6: A. de Souza 14.37, M. Bourez 13.63, I. Crane 12.74
Heat 7: J. Flores 14.27, J. Parkinson 12.96, G. Hall 11.33
Heat 8: K. Andino 15.87, J. Kerr 14.80, M. Wilkinson
Heat 9: I. Ferreira 15.90, J. Florence 12.20, R. Christie 11.66
Heat 10: F. Patacchia Jr. 18.90, G. Medina 17.50, B. Durbidge 16.20
Heat 11: K. Otton 16.10, N. Young 15.50 C. Hobgood 12.70
Heat 12: T. Burrow 16.94, M. Pupo 16.43, W. Dantas 14.73