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Ace Buchan on his Win

Tracks caught up with Ace Buchan after the dust had settled on his epic win over Kelly Slater in the Billabong Pro at Chopes.

It ain’t chopes but there’s no doubt Ace’s stint in Indo before the event helped get his tube-eye in. Photo: Bosko

Tracks caught up with Ace Buchan after the dust had settled on his epic win over Kelly Slater at the Billabong Pro at Chopes a few weeks ago. There hasn’t been a more popular winner of an event since Phar Lap took the Melbourne Cup, Ben Mondy chatted with the 30-year-old from Avoca.

Tracks: Was there a time in the event where thought that this was your event? That it was all going to click?

Well I’ve dreamt of winning this one for ages and there are some events where you feel little decisions go your way. I’m not a huge believer in luck, I believe you make your own, but with this one I just felt I was in with a shot by the final day. You know I was frustrated with the results I had been getting in those type of waves, like Tahiti, Fiji and Pipe, because when I first came on tour I had some good results at those venues. So I was really hungry for this and not for anyone else, just for myself, because I felt I had been disappointing in those waves.

How do you approach surfing against Kelly Slater in a final?

To be fair by the time I got to Kelly I had found my rhythm. I had actually struggled early, but there are those moments when I had my back to the wall and had to fight and win ugly. So I could feel my momentum was coming, so once I knew once had my eye in I knew I could be dangerous.

But what about Kelly’s famous mind games and his finals record?

By the time the final came around I knew I had found that fine line between sitting too deep and not making it or not getting deep enough. You had to be on the foamball to get the scores.

So I had a natural rhythm, but I kinda had a feeling it was going to be Kelly from the quarters and I consciously made a decision not to focus on him at all. I had my routine that was working and that helped to take my mind off the other guy.

Look it’s a great opportunity to surf against him any heat, but in a final it’s even a bigger opportunity and that’s the way I looked at it. I think that’s helped me in the two finals, (Ace’s other victory was over Kelly in France in 2008) I recognized it as an opportunity but haven’t been too caught up with Kelly himself. I have just worked out what I personally needed to do to get the job done.

Where do you stay and what was the vibe when you won?

I stay with a local family Big Pass, so ten minutes north of Chopes. The first year I stayed with Shaun Cansdell and Bede, and over the years more guys have stayed. Yadin and Wilko now stay there. This family have watched us grew up and it’s like having a Tahitian mum and dad. The dad also drives boat and this year he saying on the final day, “You have the mana this year, it’s your year.”

And before the first heat he said good luck, but then I lost that one and so after that he started saying in French, “break a leg.” And every time I was in a tube he was like yelling, “Don’t come out, don’t come out” and he reckoned that as what worked for me. He was actually more stoked more than me after the final.

How were the celebrations?

Yeah we had a few beers there at the house. Alain Riou lives just around the corner, so Mick and Julian who stay there came over, and the all the local surf club and friends of the family came over. They sat around playing ukuleles, so it’s just cool, you are not rushing off to do to a disco, or a bar, you are enjoying it with your mates and the local people, which for me makes the experience even richer. It was the perfect end to a pretty perfect day.

Look for a full Ace Buchan profile in the next issue of Tracks, out soon

 

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