Tahiti Worlds - Team USA

[albert]

I guess I should clarify the end results since they were officially announced just last night...

1. Baden Smith
2. Kyle Bryant
3. David Parkes
4. Matt Gallagher
5. Jack Beresford
6. Hamish Christophers
7. Me

Thats all I got for now... I'm sure official results for the whole thing will become available shortly.


Thanks
Albert

[MWROBERTSON]

Is anybody doing an offical write up on the event? We have gotten bits and pieces. I heard there were some exciting and colorful moments.

[Greg Little]

Just to let you know that after the comp we chartered a boat and surfed Teahopoo with 35 of our most AGGRESSIVE kneelo friends it was quite the sight. And not to metion just a tad dangerous. The reason Baden is on that wave ALONE is because he is riding a 7'2" kneeboard. The next day, Jack and I surfed there with Bob Gove and 2 spongers for a few hours, and had a blast. I must tell you even though it was'nt classic Teahopoo that wave takes alot of warming up to. Its hard to describe that wave, but we had alot of fun on day 2 that is.. Greg...

[MWROBERTSON]

Thanks Greg. Any photos? Is a 7'2" the way to go out there?

[Greg Little]

To be honest with you mark I think Baden rode that board so he could out paddle everyone. You know the long boarder who sits way outside and gets everthing. The board itself I feel was WAY to big/long for how small it was. Now I do know Baden will argue that point. He truely believes in these big boards, and I have to agree with him. But not when it is small.
Greg....

[Jack Beresford]

Back online (only 501 new posts - c'mon I thought you guys would have broken 1000).

As you've heard, Tahiti was something of a mixed bag. On the plus side was some good surf, warm water, positive vibes, friendly hosts and awesome displays of Kneeriding. Negatives included the side-shores, rip-offs in the dorms, $18 hamburgers and a lack of coordination that kept everyone guessing what was happening next. Personally, I tend to focus on the positives - and since I was staying at a five-star hotel for half the trip it was easy to just "don't worry be happy." Others weren't as stoked with the whole deal. That's life.

In terms of the contest, I thought it went pretty smoothly - thanks to guys like Kenny who kept it going. There's no such thing as a perfectly run contest but things could have been a lot worse. Like most week-long contests, the surf ranged from pretty good to pretty bad but the venue did us well and on the whole it was much better than the typical slop we surf here in CA. It certainly didn't stop guys from surfing at an extremely high level. In fact the quality of the surfing was as good as any event I've been to. The four guys in the final were absolutely the best surfers in the contest and I really enjoyed watching them throughout the event (I'd have paid to watch). This was my first chance to watch Kyle Bryant surf - he's incredibly smooth and yet radical. Baden is a freekin contest machine! The guy just rips and he's a total crack-up out of the water. Parkes just furthered his reputation as one of the best in the world and Matt Gallagher impressed me so much I bought one of his Flashpoint tri-fins. I guess if you can't beat em...Other standouts included Albert M and James Anderson - who could form their own stand-up comedy team if they wanted. Albert was ripping hard and making huge moves but couldn't seem to find his rythym. Hamish Christophers was another guy that really ripped - especially when the waves were good. Matt Novokov showed flashes of brilliance - it will be fun to see how this guy develops the next few years. I have video of the final that's worth watching if you're serious about contest surfing.

In terms of the US, we had our moments but I suspect no one was satisfied with our results. Darcy ripped every heat but the last final - and she totally blew doors in the expression session. I know she's disappointed but she surfed like a champion! Bob did a lot of damage in the "veterans" and made a lot of people think twice about glassing some handles on their next board. Bob's best moments were at Teahupoo - as they should have been. Ed surfed strong during the bigger days and got some great contest experience. Greg "I'm over it" Little surfed like he wished he was still in Indo (cause he did). He charged some deep barrels at Teahupoo so I guess he's a winner afterall! Dave seemed to enjoy himself regardless of the situation and while the conditions didn't quite suit his style he was always in a good mood. I had a good contest until the last day when I just couldn't keep up with the big boys. Wait till next time!

All in all it was worth the time, money, hassles and effort! Web sites are great but our sport really needs these World Gatherings. A proposal will be coming soon for the next World Titles to be hosted in California - I encourage everyone to start saving to make the trip! I also can't wait to see what happens when some of our very best guys - like Barry, EQ, Billy, Tom, Ler and my brother get a chance to take these guys on on our home turf! Look out Ozzie!

[Jafo]

I just watched some of the video Jack took from the contest and I just wanted to second a couple of points:

1) Darcy -- Wow! I was impressed watching you at Santa Cruz but you were on another level with some of those turns in Tahiti!

2) Everyone ripped in the finals (too bad it wasn't a tad bigger) -- I was really intrigued to see the shape Baden was riding -- kinda reminds me of a teardrop with the rounded nose the long, pointed tail. Just looking at the shape I figured he could really lay into some full-rail turns and change directions in an instant, but to see the speed generated in small conditions was an eye-opener.

[albert]

jafo
if there was one thing I didnt hear enough of during the tahiti trip it was about baden... the teahupoo thing was pretty typical baden. I honestly was not surprised one bit when he told me ' hey albert, can you pass me my 7'2"' to which I simply shook my head....

in all honesty I have never been a big fan of badens surfing, I would never expect him to be really laying full rail turns, he does however personalize everything contest surfing allows you to get away with. He can outpaddle anyone I have seen and he has an uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time.

maybe I am just bitter because he beat me senseless every time I had him in a heat.

Thanks
Albert

[Jack Beresford]

Hey Albert - did you and Parkes get Teahupoo any good? We surfed it small on Tuesday and then the wind (and swell) came up Wed/Th. Hopefully you got a few before leaving. That wave is pretty intimidating.

[W.G. Facenda]

I saw the pic of the guy riding the 7ft 2" kneebaord with gloves and swimfins---I guess he would catch alot of waves-- maybe even out position the girl on the body board in the pic!!

[albert]

we did catch teahupoo pretty fun as you guys were leaving that afternoon. It was nice to get it to ourselves. You are right, that wave is pretty intimidating, I would compare it to a day at Aussie Pipe, but with a slightly mellower drop.

I think the thing about teahupoo is that unless you are surfing it when its massive you have to get your head around the myth that the place carries with it.

The next day we surfed another one of the passes, called small pass, the wind that day was slightly offshore at that pass, good fun.

Thanks
Albert

[DarcyM]

Darcy -- Wow! I was impressed watching you at Santa Cruz but you were on another level with some of those turns in Tahiti!

Thanks, Jason. Chalk it all up to the new FLASHPOINT tri-fin I was riding (** shameless plug for Bruce Hart ***), it really made a huge difference in the kind of turns I was able to make and confidently come out of too.

I got my pics of Teahupoo and I will be posting soon, but I'm pretty disappointed with how they came out using the disposable water camera. No zoom and no depth of field, and sketchy focus. I was sitting as close as I thought was safe and I still worried that I was getting in people's way. But the photos look for the most part like I was miles away. Bah humbug.

More contest pics coming too, as soon as I get them together.

dm

[~]

blah

[DarcyM]

I've finished loading what amounts to the best of the pictures of Tahiti that I got while I was there. About ten pages worth in the Photo Gallery, under the Tahiti Worlds '04 folder. If you haven't seen 'em yet, check it out!