RSS
10.11.10
Features
Day Two of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal
As a surf fan, I am extremely disappointed with the conditions in Portugal. What was hyped as the swell of the century has only given us two rounds of heats at Supertubos, in conditions that look like an average day on the Outer Banks. Oh well, that’s what happens when you buy into the hype [...]
10.2.10
Contest Wire
Fanning Defeats Slater in France
I’m thousands of miles away from the Quiksilver Pro France right now watching the webcast at 3:30am and I haven’t wanted to be back on tour this bad in a long time. The surf for the final day was anywhere from 6-15 feet (depending where you live) and throwing out as wide as it was [...]
10.1.10
Contest Wire
The ocean is the greatest equalizer in pro surfing. By the time Round Three kicked off we’d seen a number of upsets, and that trend continued through the first three heats of the day, as we watched the low seed take the win in back-to-back heats. First up was Dan Ross who posted one of [...]
9.30.10
Contest Wire
At Lowers, surfers were almost guaranteed to find two nice waves to ride in their heats; in France, it has been a challenge to find even one. Not that the surf has been bad, it’s just been challenging. And when the ocean brings these types of conditions, more often than not, it unfortunately comes down [...]
9.18.10
Features
Prior to the final day of the Hurley Pro, Dane Reynolds and Jordy Smith put together some of the most impressive rides in the history of competitive surfing. But during Dane’s semifinal, his girlfriend Courtney said what we were all thinking: “Oh no, he’s gonna have one of those heats again.” And sure enough he [...]
9.17.10
Features
Fantastic Four Shine at the Hurley Pro
Mick Fanning is the 2-time World Champ, he’s also copped the most shit for his surfing since Damien Hardman was a 2-Time World Champ. But if you’ve never seen Mick surf in person you should, because nobody on tour combines speed, power, and precision as well. What he was doing today was beyond what Dusty [...]
9.16.10
Features
I’m going to keep this short and not so sweet. What should have been some great heats and great surfing in excellent conditions at Lowers today left me wondering why I wasn’t surfing Uppers. With the exception of a 7.67 by Dusty Payne and an 8.5 from Taylor Knox, none of the surfing on display [...]
9.14.10
Features
Going The Distance At The Hurley Pro
There are a lot of changes being implemented on Tour right now. But the change that may make the biggest impact on deciding an event champion is the extra round. In my experience, nothing is more taxing physically and emotionally than a simple 30-minute heat, during which I’ve collapsed in the sand after at Bells, [...]
9.12.10
Features
Hurley Pro Day 1: Shea Lopez Reports
There are two types of breaks on tour that separate the phenomenal from the very talented; the large and life-threatening (Teahupoo and Pipeline), and the perfect rippable wall (Snapper and Lowers). When these waves are on, everyone strives to be phenomenal but in reality only a certain group of surfers have that kind of ability. [...]
9.10.10
Features
Shea Lopez Gets Patriotic For The Hurley Pro At Trestles
You’re either going to love me or hate me. For this year’s Hurley Pro at Trestles I am going Red, White, and Blue. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, American surf fans are the least expressive of any nation. You better believe every Brazilian living within a three-hour drive will be at [...]
