Brazilians Can't Barrel Ride

De Souza, Pupo, Alves, Medina, Andre and Muniz all successfully posted high scores in the Ripcurl Pro Peniche. Supertubes was pumping and the barrelling waves were only a few meters from the shore line. The crowd practically had their toes touching the water's edge and as each set sucked up and spat the jerseyed competitor out the salty blow swiped out faces with amazement. Each succession of every barrel threw the crowd's arms up with applause. People had travelled from far to watch the final day and see Kelly Slater be beaten by the Brazilian, Adriano de Souza. Such incredible entertainment. Perfect waves with the best in the world showing us how it's done. The strong Brazilian contingency on the tour consists of 6 surfers, most proving to excel in ariel manoeuvres. Coming from a country where waves are weak and competition is high, their aggressive approach and lack of bottom turns is evident. These guys however have proved themselves in the more surfable waves completing turns top to bottom and dominating their heats in the Ripcurl Pro. Coming from Hawaii, John John Florence has Pipe in his backyard, we could see how at home he felt in the similar conditions here in Peniche.
Where you grow up shapes the way you surf.

Quiksilver Pro France

Another year has passed, the circus has come and gone. Looking back, 2011 was a better experience than previous years. Before the fuss started everyone anticipated the arrival of the elite, I the opposite. I knew that along with the incredible display of surfing there was the side I wasn’t too fond of. Late nights fueled by alcohol and the uncomfortable blind eye turned from the consumption of other substances. Last year I don’t think I surfed very much while the crew were around, late nights got the better of me and I even missed seeing Fanning win the final. This year I watched almost every heat and as the competition progressed it became more and more exciting! 5 minutes to go in the final, Aussie Jules gets up and announces he’s grabbing a victory beer as it was clear Julian had smashed it! Gabriel blew everyones’ minds! The ability he has to pull maneuvers in such a pressured moment deserves immense applause. Needless to say I now do enjoy the ASP events as the level of surfing in the competitions has risen and to watch it live on the beach is so intense!
Off to Portugal for the Ripcurl Pro! Yew!