As you all know, Jordy Smith won this tournament, and Adriano Di Souza, who came in second, is the new world number one.
Two days before the final day, the Mayhem riders had a very tough day.
First up was Kolohe vs. Taj. This was the first and last time Kolohe would face Taj, as Taj blocked his path to the next match.
It would have been a shame if the two had gone head-to-head in the early heats. At least one of them would have advanced. Kolohe was riding a 6'0 18.63 2.25 F1Stub/Driver hybrid board with the new FCS2 plug fins.
Next up, er, the loser, is Brad Simpson. He started well with a high score of 8 points, but couldn't get out of the tube, while his opponent Mick did. He couldn't get the second point. Brad lost, and will stay for the next prime event in Brazil. Second chances are like a lottery.
Next up was Travas, who was also eliminated. He was up against the little monster Gabriel Medina. Travas put up a good fight, landing one of the best tube rides of the day, a mid-9 point, but it took two to beat Gabriel. Travas was riding a 5'9" 18.13" 2.13 Driver R pin. He was using the new Origin fins and looked great.
And then Taj made a huge mistake. In Round 4 (3-man heat), Taj held onto 9 points. He took off on a big, wall-like wave and finally made an appearance in the deep end. He thought he'd get another 9 points! But then a problem occurred. The problem was that rookie surfer Nat Young was on the same wave. The wave was so deep and big, they were far apart, but Taj was given an interface. Andriano De Souza snuck a tube off the peak and earned himself two high scores. Taj advanced to Round 5, where he had a chance to bounce back, but his opponent was Kelly. Kelly also lost in Round 4, placing third. Bad news for Taj. Kelly pulled away from Taj, and Taj lost. This was Taj's first disappointment of the season.
Julian Wilson, we all expected him to do well in this event.
He's been blowing everyone away with his free surfing all week.
He was landing like a 540 backflip and stuff like that.
Julian was challenged to a seesaw battle by a sea bass (Sebastian) and it only took a minute for Julian to catch a small tube, but Sebastian caught a better tube on the same set and made a good move. Julian was riding his usual Mickey Mouse (the one his mom painted), which he shaped for a Snapper.
After all the carnage (the amazing Mayhem riders persevering), I felt deflated. The camera was pointed at Mick.
Mick was waxing his 5'10 SubDriver, a short, thick hybrid board.
I had shaped him for the competition. We went down to the beach for round five. My weekend probably won't be a letdown, because Mick won that heat. He also beat Seabass (Sebastian) in the quarterfinals, but he ended up losing to Jody in the semifinals. Jody seemed to inspire Mick, bringing him into the air dual... something Mick will never be able to beat Jody... Ultimately, I'm happy whenever Mick is on a LOST board. I'm honored to watch a true rail surfing master surf on a board I shaped.
I think that board is working really well for him, so we built it right.
Thanks Mick for saving my weekend!
