★Notice★

This is a report from MAYHEM, who has just returned from Northern California. I just got back from watching the WCT Cold Water Classic in Northern California, where Taj won in spectacular fashion. The main reason I was in Northern California was, of course, the Oneill Cold Water Classic. I made some boards for Kolohe, Brett, Julian and Adam Melling. Taj says his current board, which he built for rowing and European competitions, is working well. Overall, round one was terrible for us. Brett was riding the waves well, but only had one good one. (8.33 points, the best score in that heat) Korohe, Adam Melling and Kieren Perrow (using F1 stubs made for the lower competition) were also surfing well, but were unable to catch the second wave, meaning all three were out of the running for R3. Meanwhile, Taj landed two waves to jump up to round three. His fierce lip strikes and recklessness are what got him to the stage. Round 1 Brett. Here's a photo of his performance when he ran 8.33. He chose the Driver (6'1" 18.88" 2.38") to suit the terrain of the tournament. I preferred something with a looser tail rocker than the Whiplashes, which I've been using most of this season. Honestly, I'm responding well to his power, so check out his 8.33 points in round one. During my stay, I spent my time surfing, shopping, and playing small-scale golf with the Andinos. Round 2 ended up being a smaller, more inconsistent wave, but it got a little better. Kolohe was surfing very smartly in Round 2, aggressively challenging Jeremy Flore. He had some powerful finishes with technical airs and some free-riding fin maneuvers, but the waves were very small in the heat. Jeremy caught two, maybe three, of the best waves of the heat, riding them fast and sharply. Check out the heat review to see him smashing a wall of tiny waves. Round 2, after a terrible start to the morning, saw the Mayhem riders continue their fierce battle. Brett lost, then Julian, Melling, and even Kieran (who was surfing comfortably in Round 1 with the New School surfing). Honestly, I felt like they needed something to drink to get stronger. After round two, there was still one MAYHEM rider left: Taj. As for Julian in round 2, I really thought he just nailed the 7.2 he needed, which was obviously a better surf than his first 7.1 in that heat. Unbelievable. His board was an F1-stub 6'0.5 18.56 2.32", a board based on the one he rode in the final in Portugal a few weeks ago. Round 2 Brett Melling in round 2 on Driver's 5'10 18.50 2.15. He was surfing really good. Things rarely go his way, and watching the board move under his feet was exciting. He just didn't get two good waves in that heat. And from there, it was all down to Taj. He's never been one to go wild with the max, and he doesn't often score two big points in one heat, but he still ripped through the hearts of the goofy guys in the WT to make it to the final. Round 3 was a heat with Jason (who had beaten Farming in round 2). And in round 4, Gabriel (and Adriano). Round 5 is shampoo up. In the quarterfinals, he faced Gabriel again. (The middle peak left was a little too big and far for Gabriel to continue with his amazing frontside air, and he sadly missed the landing on his backside air.) And Taj's semi-final opponent will be Travis Roggie, known as the Giant Killer. (My favorite turn of the tournament was Taj's in this heat.) In the finals he'll be up against everyone's friend...Matt Wilco. Taji did a great job riding two nearly identical WHIPLASHx Taji B 5'10 18.38 2.18 boards just under 24 lc. Here's photographic evidence of Taj's Cold Water Classic glory. After the competition, Julian caught a few waves at the classic break where the competition was held. the waves you see in Steamer Lane's postcards are still there and they're the kind of waves surfers respect.