Watch: Episode 3 Of Vans Stab High Presented By Monster Energy

Episode 1 can be found here.

Episode 2 can be found here.

Episode 3 can be found here.

Episode 4 can be found here.

With episode 3 marking the inflection point of our four-part series, the 11 surfers + 4 Vans Ladybirds need to start thinking about what scores they have locked down vs. what they need to land if they hope to be crowned champion come trip’s end.

After a mechanical run of surf at the famed Macaronis, the crew decides to head back to HT’s, the wave they astutely decided to leave in episode 1. With a more appropriate-sized swell, the regular foots begin to salivate over right wedges on the inside ‘Surgeons Table’, queing up Bruce Irons’ Campaign section for inspiration to lock down their keeper right. 

With our ambidextrous format, the winning surfer will be the one with the highest Right + Left total. Although HT’s was on, some surfers (ehem, goofyfoots) felt their window to surf a quality left was coming to a close. The luxury of having two boats makes splitting up to cover ground a real option, and that’s exactly what we did—sent a group of goofies to Lance’s Left in hopes of bettering their frontside scores.

Fun fact: the day the crew split up was the day Matt Meola and Ian Crane landed their two highest scores at almost the exact same time. The tyranny of choice can be a burden, sure, but when you have the Mentawais as your backdrop, making the right call becomes a hell of a lot easier.

And where are the Vans Ladybirds during all of this? While the boys were exploring down south, the girls had Kandui essentially to themselves. The equivalent of a full course, all you can eat buffet, there was no shortage of right or left wedges for our Vans Ladybirds to soar, with Caity Simmers nabbing her best right and Erin Brooks continuing to impress all who cross her path.

As time ticks down and the lead changes, everyone gets reminded that this boat trip is indeed a contest and where a very real $12,000 is up for grabs. Who takes over the top spot heading into episode 4? Well, we can’t spoil all the fun…