Bilabong Pipe Masters is running

[oldmansurfer]

the trials are running today http://www.worldsurfleague.com

[oldmansurfer]

Pipe is on again

[waikikikichan]

It's so hard to get house chores done when contests are on.

[LostAtSea]

It's looking like I need a FB account to watch. Is that right???

[oldmansurfer]

I am not sure you can probably watch it from the WSL site but I have both a facebook and a WSL account so not sure. I generally watch it from the WSL site because I like how they present it better.

[waikikikichan]

Kelly performs an unbelievable feat of athleticism and gets a 3.07 from the judges.
As bad a call as the 4.17 he got at the 2015 Hurley Pro at Trestles.

[surferbee]

It's looking like I need a FB account to watch. Is that right???

No, you don't need to sign in. When the sign-in window pops up, scroll down until you see the small text that says "skip" or "not now" or something like that, and click on it. That will get you to the feed without having to sign in.

You can also watch all of the edited heat summaries on WSL's Youtube channel.

[surferbee]

Kelly performs an unbelievable feat of athleticism and gets a 3.07 from the judges.
As bad a call as the 4.17 he got at the 2015 Hurley Pro at Trestles.

I just watched that - that's crazy! How'd he even make that!?! I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it, but you can watch it here around the ~3:20 mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXYDTgW-EOg&t=318s

Amazing.

[oldmansurfer]

It's true that Kelly Slater did an amazing athletic feat but as far as the judges are concerned he fell down which limited his points from the barrel.

[BaNZ]

I wonder which is harder. Riding a perfect barrel compared to falling off and recovering while in a barrel?

I can't surf a barrel, I have no answer to that.

[oldmansurfer]

Whatever is harder Kelly Slater can do both I am pretty sure it is more difficult to recover from falling as lots of surfers fall but don't recover.

[oldmansurfer]

By the way it's back on again and going to finish up today. Finals Day!

[surferbee]

Falling off inside a barrel and then somehow having both the awareness and the ability to get back on your board and make it out of the barrel is just so unreal. Imagine if you saw that scene in a Hollywood movie. Wouldn't you just roll your eyes and shake your head and say that the special effects crew had gone overboard? It's just so unfathomably superhuman to me.

[BaNZ]

We need to get new judges or the scoring systems needs a complete overhaul. Even the commentators were so shocked at the sick performance. Sure it is amazing seeing surfers doing airs and riding deep in the barrels but it is too repetitive. I rather see something interesting like this.

[oldmansurfer]

I think if you look at a large selection of surfers you will find individuals who developed skills that seem unfathomably superhuman. But different skills just odd things that they have figured out to do surfing.

[surferbee]

I think if you look at a large selection of surfers you will find individuals who developed skills that seem unfathomably superhuman. But different skills just odd things that they have figured out to do surfing.

Really?!? How many people in the world do you think can fall off their board in the barrel at Pipe AND make it back on their board in the barrel and still make it through the barrel standing up?

If you asked me that same question yesterday, I'd have said, "None." I think if you looked at the largest possible selection of surfers, it would be surprising to find more than one.

[oldmansurfer]

I would think Kelly Slater immediately because he has done it before. What about someone who does an air and becomes disconnected from their board but still lands it? the answer is John John Florence. Anyway there are lots of little things that certain surfers have figured out that seem impossible.

[oldmansurfer]

The falling off your board and getting back on it isn't such a great feat but to do it in a tube is what makes it so special. I am certain there are lots of guys who have fallen off their boards and gotten back on. Me for one , more than once just not in a tube.

[surferbee]

Ok, LOL. It takes a LOT to impress you. The Inertia called it "the magic trick of magic tricks". SurferToday called it "the Houdini tube ride - a nearly impossible move in one of the most challenging waves on the planet." Surfer Mag called it "supernatural". News sites who rarely report on surfing are not just reporting on it, they're calling it "miraculous". Of course, you're more than welcome to yawn about it, but I like to be amazed by magic when I see it. To each, his own I guess. But yes, in the tube at Pipe is exactly what makes this so special.

[oldmansurfer]

Media.....they are all about hype. I think it's amazing just not as much as you or the media make it out to be. If you watched the contest you would see Gabriel Medina falling down and bodysurfing, that is the first step if you aren't lucky enough to fall on your board. Then if the board is next to you you grab and get back on and stand up. I am pretty sure Medina has fallen and gotten back on his board.