Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Day 3

Ah jeez, this is a tough one.

A single day of howling onshore dog caca can be entertaining, two in a row is just taxing for the viewer and no doubt for the competitors (still better than Portugese close-outs though!).

They all put on a brave face though, sixteen Women surfing in 8 heats and a couple of geriatrics who managed the most entertaining heat of the day.

One lone round of 16 Men's heat held in deteriorating incoming tide conditions which saw the previous event champion Joao Chianca bundled out before he could match up with JJF.

Isabella Nichols (photo: Ed Sloane)

Isabella Nichols is my fav surfer in the Women’s draw after the last ditch heroics at Maggy River last year to save her spot on Tour. Crappy surf at Pipe and Portugal has cruelled Izzy this year and she sits down on the wrong side of the cut line, in very good company I might add - right next to 8x time and current World Champ Steph Gilmore.

First of the day in ultra-junk Bells Bowl and she had to find a way to win it against Supertubos victor Caity Simmers. Four big turns is what she needed, four big turns is what she produced. Simmers couldn't quite hide her disdain at the conditions and the 'over it' body language gave Nichols no great competition.

With the condensed field and mid-year cut grabbing even reasonable performers (three 9ths for Izzy is not a bad year) increased churn will be a feature of the Women’s Tour until ELO tweaks or axes the cut.

I'd say we were one heat away from that happening sooner rather than later with Steph Gilmore also saving her own bacon with a last minute heat win over Lakey Peterson. The current World Champ not having a full year to defend her Title would not be a good look for a sporting organisation obsessed with its image in the mainstream press. Not to mention the diminishment of what Bugs calls 'marketability' and Jessie Miley Dyer terms 'partner relationships'.

No, no, no, you can't axe your current World Champ half way through the season.

Steph Gilmore (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

Gilmore made that possibility less likely with a last ditch mid 5 – a decision that could have gone either way but with judges already in a high-balling mood following a Pickles last minute wave they awarded Steph the lifeline and took it away from a forlorn Peterson. Lakey had the winning wave with minutes to play and bobbled the first bottom turn which created chaos for the rest of the ride. That will not be happy times for Lakey when they review the video of the heat. Especially if she ends up in the Challenger series come May.

Pickles' last wave claim was an exercise in fan appeasement. Knowing how claiming 4's drives keyboard warriors into a rage she held out both hands after the tepid ride and weighed it up. Yes, no, maybe? It was as if judges appreciated the consideration because they highballed the score, which, as we just established, may have saved Steph Gilmore's career.

Surfing in cold, windy junk to save your career. I wonder if any of the athletes stole a look at Cal Robson in the work gear spruiking ladders and thought a life on the tools might not be so bad after all.

No one really got a piece of it. Pickles described it as 'tricky' and having to sit inside the white water sets as disorienting, "you feel like you're tripping”.

Molly Picklum (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

Carissa's 7.33 and 6.73 was the best of it, as far as heat totals go.

Asked about rookie pressure she claimed “it's different, I've never had that before” and “I just want to keep up”.

Carissa's down home wisdom contrasted nicely with Tyler's sport's psychology approach where she had to “sink into my process and build the relationship.”

They meet in Quarter Final 3, which should be the heat of the event, a Grand Final grudge match from last year.

It seemed like a real momentum killer to break the action after the Womens Rd of 16 to run a Heritage heat in onshore slop. What could old guys do out there in garbage that would be entertaining?

A lot actually. Curren looked in classic form on a 6'3” Black Beauty with S wing fins. The swoops, the lip hits and the effortless planing of a flatter rockered board all led to a seamless joining of the dots.

Tom Curren (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

Occy started out of sorts then laid over a deep 6 channel bottom in a late lip hit.

Answering back to a Curren wave a few minutes later provided a timeless exchange as Occ dropped in deep on the bowl, grabbed rail on the bottom turn and thundered back into the bowl for a huge gouge.

That was an 8.0 for a single turn and the heat winning wave.

The old boys (late 50's) looked great on the bigger equipment - a lesson for the Tour roster?

Occy (photo: Ed Sloane)

The comparison was made immediately with Matty McGillvray and Chianca back out there on tinier boards which looked thin and tinny compared to the more stately sleds of Curren/Occhilupo.

Ewing/Medina beckoned, and perhaps haunted by stranding Ewing in the bowl last year, JMD pumped the brakes, inexplicably in terms of the Easter break. Four hours on hold with punters on the beach.

We came back four hours later, and, we're off.

//STEVE SHEARER