After my previous Medina entry he managed to crash out at the earliest possible exit point. How fickle the world of surfing is!
John John Florence is where our money’s at for the underdog winner – at the moment Fanning and Parkinson are thrashing it out, and we reckon it’ll come to a Parky Florence final.
In other news, watching the stream of the event we came across the helicopter set-up used to film.. check it out
Strange helicopter surf camera arrangement!
There’s a reason the surf industry is absolutely pumping. Why we all dream of it.
Hoping one day it’ll be easy for us to do this…
Kelly Slater making a mess of reasonable behaviour. Pitted.
Catch his original post here.
If you’ve been following the Trestles event you’ll need no further explanation as to how Medina came through to the final stages and won the thing. For those of you that haven’t managed to catch up you can see 5 days worth of highlight reels on the Nike Lowers Pro website.
To summarise; he got air.
Not just on the sheen of the almost overhead waves on the second and third days, but even on the single foot slush towards the end of the final. He found kickers in every wave – slops or hollow. I suppose it proves that we (and the judges) continue to be fanatical of the gravity barrier. Well performed moves score high, it’s true, but nailing any kind of aerial with a sure-footed landing is getting the red-hot points. It’s fair to note that Medina wasn’t the only one up and away, John John Florence and Dane Reynolds were among the show stoppers on the final day.
You can’t take away from Medina though, he’s got some serious technical ability. He can carve so ridiculously tight, whipping the board hip-crunchingly fast, but he also manages to draw on fluidity the likes of which Jeremy Flores would have to think twice about. I for one haven’t been able to see any differentiation in skill between his front and backside riding.
Here’s a showreel of his journey through the competition:
Some of the interesting things from the competition not shown in the event, MVP and “that drop in”:
MVP – check out the MVP section of the Lower Pro site. Users were able to get on Facebook and vote for who they wanted to receive the MVP vote. That surfer would then enter the water with a yellow jersey on his back – as you’ll see from the show reel Medina was not only stealing the show with his surf, but doing so in yellow (THREE days out of five!).
[...]you the viewer will have the chance to choose the MVP, which will reward the surfer who pushes the boundaries of the sport by completing the most radical maneuver. To qualify for an MVP nomination, any single turn, air, or barrel must be performed on a critical part of the wave and display exceptional skill and flawless style.
“That drop in” – Glenn Hall was up against Medina in the final. He only managed to put together a 10.87 against Medina’s 15.67, but one single moment caused frustration for him. Readying for a nicely peeling A-frame he found himself impeded by Medina, see the screenshot below. Who do you think is deeper here? (Medina in yellow heading left, Hall in the pink heading right).
What’s interesting here is that, although it didn’t seem up to scratch for Medina’s aerial acrobatics (one of the few waves he didn’t use as a launch pad) it may well have suited Hall’s preferred style and pulled in some big points. We know from his success in China at the start of the year (where he pulled in the highest ranked ASP event for any Irish surfer to date) that he finds his big points in this kind of wave – concentrating on higher areas and drawing clean lines. Who knows, it may have made very little difference.
Hall’s not entirely chuffed by it!
You can see the video for the final day, and all other days, here.
Check out the surfing events section to see highlights of previous event and what big ‘uns we’ve got coming up next.
Approach with caution – a video shared by SURFER on youtube showing that even the Nigerian swell can get hungry.
We’re always in the mood for a bit of Justice as well.
Teahupoo goes Code Red. Heavy waves and heavier slow-mos. Get on board.
The dream?
Do you ever find yourself drawing waves?
It’s a habit I don’t seem to be able to shake recently. Whenever I have a pen and I’m sitting idle – waiting, not waiting, thinking, not thinking… the pen starts to move across the page…
What began as fairly shoddy scrawlings and smudgings eventually took a turn for the more legible. Recently I was at my folks house. My Mam painted some “blackboard paint” on a wall in what is now the guest-room and left “Visitors Comments” across the top of it. The area of the blackboard is around 3.5ft x 5ft, so the picture doesn’t quite do the size of it justice, but I found using white on black (as with chalk on board) far easier than black on white (as with my previous chicken-scratch).
It’s still not quite right, but it’s getting there:
Criticism welcome!
Having visited a press day recently I stumbled upon an absolute gem.
Among the boots and coats of Burton, shirts and t’s of Volcom and the re-wired retro versions of Vans “Classics” there were endless colours and textures of the next season.
Above – see some of the old-school designs making a come-back for designers at Vans.
Above – the Reef corner of the building. Beach ready.
At the corner of the building was the Reef section. Let me begin by saying – I’ve never been massive on shoes. Don’t get me wrong – I like a nice pair – for style or comfort, but it’s never been a main concern of mine. I’ve never lusted after a pair of anything for my feet. The Spiniker from Reef, mind you – got me thinking.
They fit like a dream and they boast style and performance. Before I start sounding too much like I’m being paid to write this, let me clarify. You can see just how cool they look, they’re made with leather and they’ve got a funky insole that means you should be fine to go ahead without socks. See the blue bit?
Designed for jumping from the water into your kicks – the Reef team put on a fairly convincing show that these boots will last through the salt and the sand. Proper wear and tear.
This was the Canoe press day on the 18th-19th April at the Vinyl Factory in Soho.
After an elongated surf trip to Woolacombe we’re back with anecdotes galore.
Here’s a few images to whet your appetite…
Look out for tips and tricks and some product reviews over the coming days
