INTRO It doesn’t have to be big and scary to enjoy Cloudbreak. This year’s event still fired despite an average forecast. Staying on Namotu Island gave an eye opening experience to what goes on behind the scenes at one of the most popular spots for the on the ASP tour. It’s a surreal environment, breathtakingly beautiful and a place where you quickly fall under the spell of ‘Island Time’. For the Australians on tour and Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Jadson Andre it is a home away from home and pure paradise on earth. Words: Alex Workman unless noted Photos: Peter Joli Wilson
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ABOVE: The Namotu dogs Banjo, Clancy & H really do have the island life. LEFT: Nat Young rocked up early and spent a lot of time rotating the hips at Cloudbreak. Steering the new guard on tour and a throwback to power surfing.
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How is the charmed life of ASP Commissioner Kieren Perrow? The ‘crash test dummy’ of the tour KP gets to sample conditions before, during and after an event. Here he finds himself negotiating a serious cavern while the Women’s Fiji Pro was going down at Restaurants.
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THE COMMENTATORS CUP
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Words - Peter ‘Joli’ Wilson When the forecast for a big Cloudbreak swell
Wassel got dropped out the back on the big
was in the wind last week the jibbing be-
swell two years ago and scored one of the
tween the webcast crew went up a notch with
waves of the day.
Hawaii’s natural footer Ross Williams and American goofy-footer and Pipeline specialist Strider Wasilewski calling each other out.
Ross dropped in, bottom turned, stood on the tail to stall and pulled into an open pit and parked himself in there as the wave
Fast forward to Thursday and the Women’s
reeled off down the reef. Notch up the first
comp is first called on at Cloudbreak in solid 6’
score to Williams
surf but then the decision was made to move it to Restaurants as the swell continued to build. Unfortunately the Restaurants call was made as the tide was dropping and the event was put on hold till early afternoon.
Ross ended up putting himself in another bomb that he didn’t come out of while Strider hunted the line up looking for anything that slightly resembled Ross’s first wave. The ‘hooter’ sounded to end the round of the
Once the call was made for a tow hour
‘commentators cup’ when the contest was
break the island boats raced to Cloudbreak
called back on and all the workers bailed
with all sorts of crew wanting to score some
back to there respective jobs at Restaurants.
waves. Ross Williams was basically dropped
Williams had smashed the heat and had
off the boat just off the take off zone and
bragging rights until the next round, when-
within minutes was paddling into one of
ever and wherever that goes down.
the waves of the day, sort of like when Dave
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Above: Nat breaking glass in the golden afternoon light. Below: Dorian spent months here as a boatman over a five-year period just after he retired from the world tour and knows the Cloudbreak Reef as well as anyone. He is one guy who seems totally comfortable riding the wave backside and is always hunting the barrel.
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LAY DAYS
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Lay days are pretty special in Fiji. Playing poker or getting haircuts are the norm. There’s also table tennis, paddling around the island on any craft you desire or just checking in with the last Instagram feed. This year however it was all about Kai Otton landing a 55kg dogtooth tuna that had the place in rapture.
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Far Left: Julian Wilson channelling Bruce Lee against Mitch Crews. South Australian Dion Atkinson stacks his chips and schools the boys.
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WILD CARD ISEI Fijian Wildcard Isei Tokovou marked his third appearance and this year’s Fiji Pro. A gentle giant, Isei has had the good fortune to call Cloudbreak his local. He may have gone down to Taj Burrow in Round 2 but the smile was ever present back on land.
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DAY ONE MENS It was the young guns in Fiji that really stood up to be counted. Brazil’s Filipe Toledo was one such stand out progressing through the early rounds and taking the scalp of a shell-shocked Jordy Smith.
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Glenn Hall may be small in height but he’s big in heart. Unwrapping a perfect frontside gouge at fun sized Cloudbreak.
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Adrian Buchan is this year’s surfers’ rep and is not afraid to take the higher ground.
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Left: Josh Kerr and super caddy Colin Kerr hitch a ride, shakas drawn. Top: Gabriel Medina with speed to burn eyes off the runway. Bottom: Jordy Smith faltered against a raging Filipe Toledo and added another missed opportunity to his list of events this year.
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Floridian CJ Hobgood had a forgettable Fiji Pro. He fell to Tiago Pires in round two who simply caught more waves and caused more damage on them.
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TAJ’S BLACK DICK Anytime there is a party in Fiji it usually gets messy. Taj Burrow’s 36th birthday was celebrated on Namotu with festivities kicking off with a huge cake, shaped as a big black dick filled with smarties. I don’t know what I was more surprised with, the cake or the speed at which everyone was trying to get the first photo up on Instagram.
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DAY TWO AND THREE
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This is where the dominos begin to fall as some flex their muscles while others stumble. The next generation, being led by Kolohe Andino, Nat Young, Gabriel Medina and John John Florence shook up the draw and sent the veterans packing.
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Who says you can’t do airs at Cloudbreak? Gabriel Medina doesn’t feel the vibes and shows that he can pack a tube and navigate the skies with this alley oop.
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Owen Wright is our great white hope. He may have fell on day three but the real Owen Wright was back. His surfing was smooth, powerful, polished and refined. He had such a steely focus around the event. Often found on his foam roller, stretching, recuperating he preferred water to Fiji Bitter and early nights opposed to late ones.
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“I’VE BEEN BUILDING AND BUILDING AND ALTHOUGH SOME PEOPLE HAVE GONE, ‘YOU’RE NOT GETTING THE RESULTS’, I FEEL THE RESULTS ARE COMING AND THE MOMENTUM IS BUILDING INSIDE.” 037
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Left: John John Florence flies over the top of Gabriel Medina and almost scores interference. Above: Mick Fanning drops his back foot and blasts a Fijian wall.
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Left: Joel Parkinson fell on his sword against Adriana de Souza that led to an afternoon fishing session to clear his head. Centre: Kolohe Andino continued to build in momentum throughout the event. Brother was without entourage and he seemed to do just fine. Right: Nat Young is the best young goofy-footer to come out of America in years.
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Taj Burrow weaves his way through another Cloudbreak barrel.
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THE FINAL
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After paddling Nat Young up the point towards Vanuatu, Gabriel Medina drew first blood and the first psychological win on the final.
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Nat Young ain’t one to go down without a fight and displayed his signature power game
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FOR NAMOTU! These were the words shouted by Gabriel Medina as he slapped high fives and pulled himself atop a jet ski. A fourteen-year-old drought on for the island of Namotu is a big deal. Jubiliant Namotu boat captain, Ulai, said he could die a happy man now that he’d seen someone from Namotu win the Fiji Pro. Today proved that the Instagram gen Y’s of Nat, Kolohe, Jordy, Julian and Owen are starting to take hold of the reins with Gabriel Medina in the driver’s seat.
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VINAKA Tracks would like to give a huge Fijian thank you to Namotu Island resort for having us during the 2014 Fiji Pro.
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