I was up there on the North Shore today…it was a madhouse…the waves were beautiful…and I could only stay 15 minutes because the old Japanese ladies I was driving got bored….still…pretty cool to get paid to be there at all…
cd
2005 vans triple crown of surfing : north shore of oahu
RIP CURL CODE STL TRIALS COMPLETED IN EXCELLENT CONDITIONS
ROUND ONE OF RIP CURL PRO PIPELINE MASTERS LOOKING TO BEGIN TOMORROW
Sunset Beach, HAWAII – (Friday, December 9, 2005) – With the completion of the Rip Curl Code STL Trials today in incredible three to four metre (10 to 12 feet) Pipeline barrels, the focus now will shift to the main event – The Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters.
The four surfers to weave their way into and out of some of the deepest tube rides seen on the Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour 2005 season include Hawaiians Dustin Barca, Makua Rothman and Kalani Chapman plus Brazilian Bruno Santos. They will now be seeded into the first round to compete against the best of the best.
Leading the charge today scoring numerous perfect 10 point rides was Kalani Chapman. Notching up three of the top four best overall scores, he was solid and will certainly throw a cat amongst the pigeons when the events continues. Dedicating each heat victory to his good friend Malik Joyeux, who tragically passed away last week after a surfing accident at Pipe, he showed no fear.
“It means the world to me to get through the trials but it will mean more if I win the main event,” said Chapman. “It helps a lot to have the local crowd behind me too and it send tingles down my back every time they cheer. It makes me want to go harder. But I said right from the start that this was for Mailik. He was a dear friend, he changed my life and he’s probably helping me right here today.”
Youngster Rothman was over the moon with his progression to the main event. There was nothing that could wipe the large grin from his face. He was particularly eager to take it to the more established surfers in the main event.
“I’ve watched this contest my whole life and have seen all my heroes like Johnny [Gomes], Dane [Kealoha], Sunny [Garcia]… the best Hawaiian surfers have been such a great inspiration to me and to contest with them is too much,” said Rothman. “I’ve got nothing to lose! The guys [on the tour] are all human and are all beatable. They haven’t won every heat they’ve ever surfed so if I could do what Johnny and Mike [Ho] did in 1997 and come from the trials to the final, it would be a dream come true.”
Organizers are extremely confident that the first round of the main event will be contested tomorrow as the swell forecast looks positive. The shape of the wave and its consistency depends a lot on the swell direction and tomorrow it is hoped that the west swell dominates as it is the most suited direction.
“What we have seen today was a mix of a west and north-west swell,” said forecaster Bernie Baker. “Through tonight the north-west swell is supposed to drop out and let the west take over. The west swell may not have the size of today but it is a better swell direction for the break. Over the next few days another northerly component will mix in so we need to be on our toes regarding the quality of the wave over the weekend. As long as that west swell is still running in the morning we are about 80 per cent certain of running but Sunday we’ll reassess things depending on whether the northerly kicks in.”
Tonight the main stars of the event both present and past will be attending a fund raising dinner at the Audubon Center, Waimea Falls. The night will feature on stage performances from former Foster’s ASP Men’s World Tour champion Tom Curren (USA) and all proceeds from an auction will go to the North Shore Lifeguards Association who patrol the coast and save many lives every year.
