Breaking (Literally): The Quik Pro Webcast!

Last night on the Gold Coast, under the cover of night and the deafening roar of falling rain, an as of yet unidentified purp did his best to bring the Quiksilver Pro—or, at the very least the event’s live webcast—to its knees. 

Chatting with sources close to Stab at the Snapper site this AM, apparently, a very handy vandal popped a manhole cover, slid in and identified the WSL broadcast team’s precious Achilles heel, the fiber optic cable that runs from Snapper, up the headland and down to DBah, which powers the live webcast. While there’s much speculation as to just how he pulled it, many seem to think the vandal simply hooked his car up to the cord and sped off, snapping what is reportedly a military grade cable, and taking out a parking sign on the main strip at D-Bah. 

There’s a healthy population here in Queensland (and New South Wales) who aren’t exactly over the moon each year the Quiky Pro rolls into town, bringing with it the perennial season-opening circus, a day of trials, and this year the addition of Red Bull Airborne. Anyone who has paddled near Greenmount during the Snapper event, or watched the WSL’s ski drivers shepherd angry locals out of the contest zone at D-Bah, is aware not everyone is psyched to have their beloved local taken over by a bunch of blow-in pros, full stop.

While the identity of the responsible party remains unknown, there’s an earnest investigation underway, the act of protest costing a significant amount of coin, and more than that in lost time and manpower.