The Deepest Barrel We’ve Seen At Surf Ranch

Would it be sacrilegious to say that most people who ride the Surf Ranch don’t get properly pitted? Beyond Stab’s own experience at the pool, which was admittedly rife with pocket-riding, video evidence proves that this nose-showing epidemic has plagued even the world’s best surfers, from Carissa to Kerr, Kanoa to Steph, and dare I say even the King himself. 

Please watch below for evidence. 

Noses visible on literally every choob!

But it’s not entirely their fault. The wave is perfect, sure, but that also means it keeps the same pace throughout, making it difficult to backdoor a section, which is when surfers are typically able to get ultra-deep (see Julian Wilson’s 9.93 from the Kirra final). That, plus the facts that the wave is only four feet tall, that it maintains a churning foamball throughout the ride, and that you’re literally terrified to fall the entire time, make it difficult to truly disappear. 

…Enter Griffin Colapinto.

The loose-limbed Californian has already made a huge statement on the 2018 Championship Tour, securing a semifinal finish in his opening event and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a world class talent. 

Then, just yesterday, he rode the deepest barrel we’ve ever seen at Surf Ranch. (Sorry Coté.)

And just like that, Griffin has set a new bar for barrel riding in Kelly’s bathtub. No longer can the pros simply duck down, stick their arm in the wall, and pretend that we can’t see them behind Slater’s seamlessly cascading curtain. Just like in the ocean, surfers will now have to fully disappear and perhaps even wrangle the foam ball to earn our attention. 

It’s just amazing it took this long for someone to get a proper conejob in the pool.