Wow. Did that just happen? That was some of the best surfing we’ve seen all year. As Cloudbreak transformed from a lully 4-6 foot in the morning to 6-10 foot widow makers this afternoon the world’s best surfers took it on and provided some of the best highlight reels from one day in competitive surfing history. Here are some must see moments.
Parko’s Perfect 10
Joel’s perfect 10 in round four against Mick Fanning and Owen Wright set the stage for an incredible day. A round, orbing blue cylinder, Parko faded a perfectly timed bottom turn before grabbing the rail under a guillotine lip to set up for one of the rides of the event. Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds, Strider Wasilewski and Todd Kline were left slacked jawed in the peanut gallery with Strider commenting, “I would have swallowed my GoPro if I got that wave!”
Jeremy Flores Turns On Fire
Jeremy has transformed into Mr Good Vibes in 2015. It’s a complete turn around from where he was this time last year and the new found positivity is showing in his surfing. Today he proved that he’s a hands down Top 10 surfer and deadly in pumping conditions. He told Tracks, “This is a dreamy scenario for me. I love surfing waves like that. I love having heats in waves like that and winning is even better.”
Owen’s Wright’s First Perfect 10
Before Owen paddled out for his heat he was intently watching Jeremy’s 9.93 and was floored it wasn’t a 10-point ride. He quipped, “What are the judges doing? They could have given four 10-point rides by now and made this the best event ever!” Fortunately for Owen, they held back, saw him fade into this keg, drop a layback slash in for good measure before setting up for a double barrel to make leave no doubt in their minds it was worthy of double figures.
Owen Wright’s Second 10-Pointer
Not content to sit on an 8.90 and 10-pointer Owen scrambled into this beast with only a fraction of a second to get to his feet. He pulled under half of the Pacific Ocean to hoots from every single boat in the channel, standing tall before he was rinsed head to toe with spit, exiting with hands raised high in the year. He’s only the seventh surfer in history to nail a perfect 20-point heat total. He told Tracks, “That was easily the best heat of my life. I was just surfing the ocean. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Adam Melling aka The Demolition Man
You could forgive Adam Melling for giving up after realising he was combo’d with the insurmountable task of matching Owen’s perfect heat. Instead the diminutive, stocky built, natural footer from Lennox Head charged harder than he’d ever had. “You don’t get many opportunities to get gems like that,” he said of his 9.80 after the loss. He worked for it too. Taking more batterings than any other surfer combined at this event. They sure breed em’ tough in Lennox Head.
Stay tuned for our recap of the Fiji Pro
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