“This is what the Dream Tour should be like all the time” - Bruce Irons, 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search Champion, following the event in Bali.

Truer words could not have been spoken from Bruce following his win in Bali. For as long as I can remember there have been those who dismiss the WCT as unfriendly to progression, limiting, and a tour that is suited more for the best competitors and not necessarily the best surfers in the world. While at times those points of view may hold water, much of the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search (especially the opening round) captured why it is the Dream Tour is called by that name.

With that quote, however, Bruce also gave us some insight into the thought process behind his decision to leave full-time tour life behind and freesurf the best waves of the world. Slogging through mushy beach-breaks, sitting on competitors, inducing interference, and everything else that takes away from the spectacle of watching the some of the world’s best surfers in action on amazing waves all go to remove some of the luster off of the Dream Tour. When these types of things come into play, of course going the freesurfing route while picking and choosing the top events to participate in will be a more desirable route for a lot of surfers.

So how can this be fixed so that the Dream Tour can be truly be just that, a Dream Tour? I’m not exactly sure. Cut down the number of competitors so events can be completed in 1-2 days of the best swell during the waiting period? Longer heats? Eliminating locations like Brazil that just don’t seem to produce world-class waves on a consistent basis? There are a whole host of suggestions that have been thrown out throughout the years. I’m curious though, with the way the tour is currently set-up, what some of the ideas and thoughts our 5ones peeps have as ways to improve on something that’s already great, but could be even better.

While you’re sitting on that thought, check out this bit of love below and see just what Bruce Irons meant with his post-victory statement…

A golden opportunity lost by the Usual Suspects not named Kelly Slater at the Rip Curl Pro Search turned into a golden opportunity seized by Bruce Irons. How will Bruce finish out his last year on tour with that monkey off of his back? Does anyone still really have a shot at stopping Kelly on his march to number 9? How will the very highly-touted rookies Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds complete their first full year on tour?

The 2008 Boost Mobile Pro Trestles is the beginning of the descent down the mountain that is the Dream Tour. While many believe Kelly’s 9th is inevitable, there are still a lot of interesting story-lines to follow. And aside from all of that…. a hell of a lot of amazing surfing to be seen from some of the best surfers in the world! Here is how the Top 10 is sitting at the moment.

CURRENT ASP WORLD TOUR TOP 10 AFTER STOP NO. 6
1 - Kelly Slater (USA) 5620 points
2 - Joel Parkinson (AUS) 4548 points
3 - Bede Durbidge (AUS) 4382 points
4 - Taj Burrow (AUS) 4370 points
5 - Mick Fanning (AUS) 4353 points
6 - Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3950 points
7 - Andy Irons (HAW) 3938 points
8 - C.J. Hobgood (USA) 3870 points
9 - Bobby Martinez (USA) 3628 points
10 - Bruce Irons (HAW) 3392 points

In what was a spectacular event that was as full of surprises as it was epic surfing, Bruce Irons took down his Hawaiian counterpart Fred Patacchia to win the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search ‘Somewhere in Indonesia.’ The victory is the first for Irons on the WCT, and undoubtedly extra rewarding for the surfer many consider to be the ‘best freesurfer on the planet,’ as he plans to step away from full-time participation on the Dream Tour next year. “One of my goals when I joined the Tour was to win an event and I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen since I’ll be stepping away after this season,” Irons said. “But the waves pumped this event! This is what the Dream Tour should be like all the time. I’m definitely stepping away from the ASP Tour at the end of this year, but I’m not retiring. I’m still planning on competing at Pipeline and Teahupoo and at venues that I can get into.”

Aside from Bruce heading home with a huge win under his belt, the Rip Curl Pro Search saw all of the top seeds fail to take advantage of Kelly Slater’s Rd. 3 upset loss to Tiago Pires. Andy Irons, Bede Durbidge, Mick Fanning, and Joel Parkinson all let golden opportunities to make up ground in the world title race slip through their hands, all suffering losses in the 4th round. The only other surfer on tour with even an outside chance of catching Slater, Taj Burrow, did make it through the gauntlet that was Rd. 4. However his run would end in the quarterfinals as an absolutely firing Chris Ward sent the Aussie title hopeful packing, and essentially ending any hope Taj had of winning it all this year.

All other title contenders aside, Irons winning is the story of the event. There has been so much made about his stepping away following the year that it was refreshing to see him put out a performance that everyone knew he was capable of. You even got the sense that his fellow competitors were pumped on Bruce winning one before he steps aside. “It feels great to come back after a slow start to the year,” Patacchia said. “The waves were so good for this event and I’m bummed I didn’t win, but to have Bruce there and since he’s stepping away, it feels good that we kept the title within Hawaii.”

Congratulations Bruce Irons, the 2008 Rip Curl Pro Search ‘Somewhere in Indonesia’ Champion!

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH FINAL RESULTS
1 – Bruce Irons (HAW) 17.66
2 – Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.16

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH SEMIFINAL RESULTS
SF 1: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 10.16 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 8.50
SF 2: Bruce Irons (HAW) 13.70 def. Chris Ward (USA) 13.50

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
QF 1: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 16.50 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 14.17
QF 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) 12.00 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 11.34
QF 3: Bruce Irons (HAW) 19.40 def. Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.67
QF 4: Chris Ward (USA) 16.34 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.90

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH ROUND 4 RESULTS
Heat 1: Kai Otton (AUS) 11.67 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.67
Heat 2: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 19.50 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.40
Heat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 10.00 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 6.30
Heat 4: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.77 def. Dayyan Neve (AUS) 5.06
Heat 5: Bruce Irons (HAW) 10.84 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 10.83
Heat 6: Ben Dunn (AUS) 15.97 def. Mikael Picon (FRA) 12.37
Heat 7: Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.43 def. Dean Morrison (AUS) 11.83
Heat 8: Chris Ward (USA) 18.17 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 11.33

Current ASP World Tour Top 10 as we head into the Rip Curl Pro Somewhere in Indo.

1. Kelly Slater (USA) 5210 points
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3948 points
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3782 points
4. Mick Fanning (AUS) 3753 points
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 3638 points
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3540 points
7. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 3460 points
8. Andy Irons (HAW) 3338 points
9. Bobby Martinez (USA) 3028 points
10. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 2884 points

While we are only about half-way through the 2008 ASP World Tour, we are already becoming witnesses to one of the all-time great performances throughout the course of the surfing year. Eight-time world champion Kelly Slater defeated last year’s champ Mick Fanning in the final of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay earlier today for his fourth victory at the prestigious South African break.

Slater has now won 4 out of the first 5 events in 2008, and with the victory at J-Bay he has all but essentially sealed his record 9th world title. A gracious Slater had this to say following his 38th tour victory - “I didn’t realize I was going to be overwhelmed by it, but I haven’t been in this position before, at this point of the year, with this many wins, there are great things going on in my life so I’m just trying to soak it up and be appreciative.”

The morning started off with classic Jeffreys Bay conditions keeping the 4-6 ft swell in almost perfect shape. However, after just a few heats in the morning, the wind turned onshore for the quarters, semis, and final. Both Slater and Fanning had issues adjusting to the bump and crumble that was being offered up. “It was really challenging,” Slater said. “You really have to change your frame of mind because we were looking at waves the other day where we were getting 30-45 second rides and doing six to eight maneuvers and now we’re looking at waves where if you get three moves it’s a good score. It’s really hard to change your perception on how you are going to surf a wave. I didn’t really catch on until the very end of that heat when I realized I could get a three move wave and probably seal it.” Fanning appeared uncharacteristically sloppy, even falling on waves that held opportunities for high scores. While the Billabong broadcast team wondered aloud if it was equipment issues, an obviously Fanning quickly put that all to rest. “I surfed like an idiot,” Fanning said. “I had the opportunity to win the whole thing and I fell and I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened, I just had a shocker. I was feeling great, I just couldn’t stay on my board.”

With the rest of the Top 44 now with deflated hopes for a world championship, it will be intriguing to see how the year plays out. Aside from Fanning’s bid to repeat, Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson, and Andy Irons all came into the year with very high aspirations to come out on top. They are all very aware of the difficult, if not impossible, task that now lies in front of them. “Kelly wins another final, enough said, unbelievable.” Burrow said. “The door is really closing as far as I can see it. He’s got a ridiculous amount of keepers now so… how many events left? Not enough!”

It sure does appear that way. Congratulations Kelly Slater, winner of the 2008 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay!

There are few breaks in the world that contain the prestige and history of South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay. Its a wave unlike any other that has been known to bring out the best in many of the greatest surfers to ever step foot on a board. Tomson, Curren, Occy, Slater, and so many other surf legends have seen J-Bay be the site of some of their most impressive and inspired performances. And now with the arrival of the 2008 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay upon us this week, we have another opportunity to witness a few of the worlds best on one of its greatest waves.

The holding period for the Billabong Pro J-Bay, the fifth of 11 events on the 2008 ASP World Tour, is set to open on July 10. While for us it means a chance to see the top 44 and others do work at Jeffreys Bay , for everyone taking part in the tour it only means one thing - possibly the last hope to putting an end to Kelly Slater cruising through to his 9th world championship.

Current world No. 2, Joel Parkinson knows this better than anyone, and is even hoping for the Aussie legend Mark Occhilupo to help stop the damage that Slater has been inflicting. “When it comes down to perfect 6 foot J-Bay, you know Occy has still got it. He is in the trials, so hopefully he gets into the main event and helps the rest of us by taking Kelly out early,” said Parko. Parkinson himself is extremely well suited for the long burly right, and Slater knows that he will be one of his biggest obstacles standing in front of his 4th win at J-Bay, as well as his fourth victory on the ‘08 tour. “JBay has been one of my best events,” Slater said. “I’ve had three wins out there, but it’s obviously a good event for Taj, a good event for Parko, a good event for Andy and it suits Bede really well.”

The stop at Jeffreys Bay has solidified itself years ago as one of the truly special events of each year. The chance to see another round of memorable performances is something that shouldn’t be passed up. Even those who aren’t huge WCT followers can appreciate the magic of seeing these guys carve up the endless walls that J-Bay is known and loved for.

You can give it a peep for yourself as the 2008 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will be webcast live on aspworldtour.com as well as billabongpro.com

Top 10 ASP World Tour Rankings After 4 Events:

1. Kelly Slater (USA) 4010 points
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3072 points
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3050 points
4. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 2808 points
5. Taj Burrow (AUS) 2762 points
6. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 2728 points
7. Mick Fanning (AUS) 2721 points
8. Andy Irons (HAW) 2606 points
9. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 2474 points
10. Bobby Martinez (USA) 2428 points

1. Kelly Slater (USA) 2810 points
2. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 2340 points
3. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 2318 points
4. Andy Irons (HAW) 2196 points
5. Mick Fanning (AUS) 1989 points
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 1932 points
7. Taj Burrow (AUS) 1886 points
8. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 1874 points
9. Kai Otton (AUS) 1800 points
10. Dane Reynolds (USA) 1742 points

It was the wildcards, Manoa Drollet and Bruno Santos, that stole the show today at the Billabong Pro Tahiti. Ultimately it was Bruno Santos who won the event after defeating Teahupoo local Monoa Drollet in a very undramatic final. Big congratulations goes out to the Brazilian, Bruno Santos, as he was an absolute giant slayer defeating Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, CJ Hobgood, and others on his way to winning one of the biggest events on the ASP World Tour.

It was a long-slow day at Teahupoo as one of the most notorious waves in the world failed to deliver any kind of a consistent swell. The heats throughout the day were very slow as the 2-3 ft swell was on the decrease which made for long waits between sets. Unfortunately, that left many of the surfers unable to find any kind of decent waves in their heats, often times seeing competitors catch one or less decent wave in a 30 minute period.

It’s unfortunate that a contest of this caliber at a break this heavy has to be decided in small waves like this. It would’ve been interesting to see what would have happened had mother nature cooperated. We can’t take anything away from Bruno Santos though as he rightfully deserves the victory he earned today. Here’s to hoping Fiji’s pumping!

teahupoowctasp world tourbillabong

For the first time in 2 years, reigning world champion and current world no.3 Mick Fanning will finish a WCT event with the dreaded T-33 next to his name. Fanning was upset by Brazilian wildcard surfer Bruno Santos 10.00 to 9.17 in round 2 of a Billabong Pro that is really starting to liven up. “Things could be better,” Fanning said. “Every wave was a battle for fours and fives out there. They weren’t opening up and then I was either too wide or too deep – I couldn’t find the happy medium, but it happens. The waves were good, I wasn’t good.”

Fanning won’t be the only big name making a sooner than expected exit from Teahupoo. Jamie O’Brien had the unexpected misfortune of meeting Kelly Slater in rd. 2 following Slater’s round 1 loss to ‘Chopes-specialist Manoa Drollet. Kelly came out firing in their heat and O’Brien quickly found himself in an a combination hole that would lead him to sharing the same fate as Fanning following an 18.70 to 13.90 loss.

Kelly has now moved into rd. 3 where he will face the man responsible for putting him up against O’Brien in the first place, Manoa Drollet. “It’s excellent to beat Kelly,” Drollet said. “I feel bad, he was a bit pissed, but it’s a contest. I was lucky to get the best two waves of the heat, Kelly got one in the end and he almost came back. In this competition, the guy who gets the good waves is going to win the heat, and that was me today.” Drollet kept Slater out of position for most of their rd. 1 heat, forcing Kelly to take off deeper than he wanted do which resulted in the 8x world-champ getting pitched a time or two. Their rd. 3 match-up will surely see both surfers coming out ready for battle.

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