Boost Mobile Pro of Surf presented by Hurley

Incredible places inspire incredible events. Lower Trestles is definitely an incredible place, and incredible is exactly the word to describe the performances put on at this year’s Boost Mobile Pro.
Lower Trestles is an amazing venue for a surfing competition, with one of the most perfect wave set-ups tailor made for progressive, high-performance surfing. The point at Lowers, with is peeling right and wedging left, is as rippable as a wave can get, and the ASP’s top surfers love to come here and show their skills to the packed crowd of knowledgeable spectators lining the cobblestone point. This is a playful wave, with no threat of drowning, and no fear of getting caught inside, just a dream-wave liquid canvas that the top surfers can come at with everything they’ve got in their repertoire to impress the crowd and the judges.
While the list of impressive surfing at this year’s event runs like a checklist of the current top-rated stars, one relatively unknown surfer had such an incredible performance that it was worthy of the event championship; up-and-comer Bede Durbidge of Australia. The 23-year-old surfer from Queensland claimed his first ever WCT win, moving himself into the Top 10 on the current ratings, looking solid to re-qualify for next year’s tour.
His surfing throughout the event was fluid and committed, linking critical lip turns with carving cutbacks and smooth aerials, looking completely in rhythm with the long Lowers walls. But perhaps the most intriguing part of the story is the fact that Bede would not have even been on tour this year if it were not for Richie Lovett having to withdraw from competition this year to have surgery to remove cancer in his leg. The 2003 Boost Mobile Pro Champion’s withdrawal opened up an alternate slot for Bede to move into the Top 45 and gave him a chance to compete on this year’s elite tour. While not a household name yet here in the U.S., Bede Durbidge is looking poised to make himself a threat on the WCT’s top ranks.  
But the road to the Final is a long and winding one, as evidenced by the collection of stellar performances that went down at this event. The highlight of day one was a huge, frontside air reverse by Kelly Slater in heat eight, flying six feet up and out and landing in the flats with a seamless rotation to finish off a two maneuver wave with a score of 7.97 to beat wildcard phenom Dane Reynolds in the closing minute of the heat clinching a draw straight into round three. Dane made a solid statement later that evening at the Surfer Poll Awards winning top honors for Video of the Year for his film First Chapter, which also earned him the Best Performance by a Male award, beating such notable talents as Andy Irons, Jamie O’Brien and Mr. Slater himself.  
    While Dane had some payback for Kelly with that award, it was of little consolation for him the next morning in the first heat of Round Two when he came up against an in-form Mick Fanning, winner of the last WCT event at J-Bay, South Africa.  Mick started with a solid score and held the lead for the duration of the heat, despite some amazing surfing from Reynolds including a light-speed, air reverse and a nearly completed rodeo flip, showing flashes of the potential that is destined to bring him to the top ranks of the WCT in the next couple of years. Fellow wildcard Jamie O’Brien went down as well in Heat Two to WCT veteran and San Diego local Taylor Knox, with local knowledge paying off with Knox selecting the best waves. The final wildcard standing was crowd favorite Rob Machado who faced Timmy Reyes in Heat Three for one of the best heats of the day. Rob surfed with his trademark flowing speed and posted a beautifully surfed 8.5, but Reyes came up with a 9.17 for a series of fast power snaps on a long right and held the lead. Timmy managed to take control of the heat by getting to the outside just ahead of Machado and gaining priority, which allowed him to catch the one good wave that came through in the closing minute of the heat that would have been Rob’s winning score.  
    Round Three highlights came from the lightning-fast surfing displayed by Mick Fanning, who was continuing his winning form from his victory at the last event, along with the effortless flow displayed by Joel Parkinson. The level of surfing on tour nowadays is amazing, with these guys finding their form and raising the level, but the kids were kept in check when an inspired Occy took to the water and completely demolished the Lowers rights with his trademark backhand attack. His long drawn-out bottom turns and squared-up lip detonations put Fred Pattachia in a combination situation, and sent the 40-year-old legend into Round Four.
Chris Ward used his Lowers experience to just edge out Taylor Knox with some impressive aerial surfing. Victor Ribas somehow beat tour sensation Bobby Martinez despite some crisp turns by Bobby, when Ribas locked into a couple of bombs to end the impressive rookie’s Lowers campaign.
Kelly and Andy were both in form, but the standout surfer of the day, if not the event, had to be Taj Burrow. In his heat against Roy Powers, Taj went absolutely haywire, starting with a medium-sized right that he surfed with such speed and precision that it earned him a 9.6, tying the best score of the event so far. He stuck five airs in the one heat, putting on a clinic in performance surfing.  
    The final day was a stacked one, running from Round Four through to the Final. Round Four is where things started to get interesting. Fanning and Parko continued with their impressive form, and Slater edged out a ripping Shaun Cansdell. But Bede Durbidge put everyone on notice when he defeated three-time World Champion Andy Irons, setting the stage for his hero run.  After Dean Morrison beat Fanning in the quarters and Slater defeated Parko, Bede continued his giant-killing run by taking out local favorite Chris Ward, before Taj went extra-large in his quarter and scored the highest score of the event, a 9.8 for three huge turns to defeat Ribas. Then Bede went on to take out Taj in the semis, before coming up against defending event champion, current and seven-time World Champion Kelly Slater in the Final.
In his first ever WCT Final, Bede continued on the same inspired path he had been on all day. He waited confidently for the best waves, surfed them solidly, and let his competitors defeat themselves by taking below average waves and failing to get the high scores. In the last minute of the Final, Kelly needed a high score, a wave came to him, he gave everything he had, but knew it wasn’t enough, and looked outside toward Bede, raising his hands to applaud and congratulate him on his first ever WCT victory. Lower Trestles definitely brought out the best in this young man, as the Australian surfed inspired, and raised his level above and beyond what most had expected from him, officially making this one of the most incredible days of his life.  


To be used in a side bar about SAVE TRESTLES
As everyone hopefully is aware, Lower Trestles is currently threatened by a proposed toll road which would basically destroy the unique surfing experience which we all love about this beautiful place.  Lowers is not only the best high-performance wave around and the location of the only US mainland WCT event every year, but it is also a Nature Preserve as part of the California State Parks.  The San Mateo Creek, which carries downstream the sediment that fills in the cobblestone point to create such a perfect wave, is the last remaining unspoiled watershed in the never-ending sprawl of tract homes that is Southern California.  The empty hills inland, the hike to the beach through the coastal sagebrush, the escape from parking lots, meters, and traffic lights will all be a memory if the toll road is constructed as planned.  The toll road will do nothing to minimize traffic, it will only bring traffic straight to the coast at the expense of one of the most sacred and popular recreational areas in all of SoCal, ruining the opportunity for millions of people to visit and enjoy the special energy of this amazing place.  And don’t forget, San Clemente and Orange County end at Christianitos Road and Cottons.  Trestles is officially San Diego County, this is YOUR backyard, so make a positive effort to protect Trestles by supporting the Surfrider Foundation and the Save Trestles campaign, and log onto savetrestels.org for more info.  Spread the word, and make sure this incredible place inspires more incredible performances for decades to come.