What Happens On The Lay Days In Fiji

Lay day after lay day in Fiji is bad for everyone except those who are there. We want drama, blood, eliminations, high performance and high pressure, but what we get is a moment of hope followed by disappointment every morning. The World Tour and its party, whom Stab refuses to feel sorry for regardless of how much groundhog day talk there is, gets to go fishing, scuba diving, drinking, exploring, and whatever else they wanna do. But there is some surfing being done, too. Just remember, though: A few action photos from Cloudbreak, contestable conditions do not maketh. So, here’s what’s been been happening in the Cloudbreak lineup since the Fiji Pro was put on hold…

Mr Flores, in no rush (despite the speedy hair do).

Gabs grips and rips. Yowee!

Michel Bourez flexes a too-rarely-used above-lip panache.

Filipe’s probably already flipped before this frame.

Everybody jumping (Jordy Smith, included).

Italo started from not a whole lot, now he gets free Audis.

Another goofy Brazilian Cloudbreak finner… this time, Miggie!

John John. USA trunks, sleepy eyes, and a slice of paradise.

Better than black coffee.

Swoop of the condor.

Fiji trips involve a whole lot of sitting on boats.

While Cape Fear surfers did this waiting to whip into Ours, Michel did this… here.

Kelly flexes a quad Banana, with mood lighting.

Have you ever seen a more majestic creature?

You better believe Mr Florence is a handy fisherman (hardly surprising).

Postcard, etc. Yes, Fiji is as just as good as you’ve heard.

Miss Hodge, one of the few people who benefits from a layday (surf time!).

John John doesn’t miss many sessions, late or early.

Switch is the new frontier of performance surf. Filipe, function over style in this instance (rare!).

G-Unit (Gabriel) does this all day long. And will likely do so into the finals.

Michel rarely leaves the flex zone.

Even if he hadn’t made it into round three, Mick would’ve stayed to hang with Taj.