Bundle o’ joy

Bede Durbidge just touched down on Gold Coast soil. He’s been in the US for a short stint, where he competed at the 2010 Hurley Pro, held in pumping Trestles. He made the final of the contest, but despite painting a few Lowers nuggets red, fell victim to a combination attack by a fellow named Kelly Slater. Bede and his wife are expecting a child, so he will jet off to France to compete but miss the Portugal contest to see the birth of his little (censored). When Stab caught up with Bede, he was just contemplating a surf at home in Currumbin.

Stab: So Bede – tell us about Trestles. 
Bede Durbidge: Yeah, I was rapt with it. The waves were amazing. That was the best part of it – surfing Trestles with one other guy out. It was so pumping – we definitely scored.

Talk me through the final.
Kelly got that good start. He got those two good scores (7.90 and 8.60), and it put the pressure on me straight away. So I was going for it a fair bit at the start – trying to get at least an eight, and I got that one (8.20). Then he got that 9.53 and he had me. But it was pretty good, that last exchange.

You looked very pleased after that 8.20. 
Yeah, well I took off and did that carving three-o, and just the crowd… I couldn’t really even remember what happened after that ’cause I was just buzzing – it was so loud. Everyone was just cheering. Even before I took off, ’cause Kelly got that barrel, they were already going mad. Then that foam climb – I just threw it up there, I didn’t even think I was going to make it. All the contests should be like that (massive crowd buzz), that’s what it’s all about. It’s so much fun surfing in front of a good crowd in perfect waves.

Imagine the crowd of the US Open with the waves of Trestles. 
That would be unreal, but it couldn’t handle it. I think they get like, five to eight thousand people down to Trestles, but you couldn’t really have any more than that. There’s not really any carparks, and you’ve got to cross a railway track. Many more, and it’d be chaos.

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