The Boys Get Busy.

Hi from Snapper Rocks,

Dane Reynolds blowing the tail out at Rainbow Bay. Photo by joliphotos.com

A lay day was called for the Quiksilver Pro and the Roxy Pro here on the Gold Coast today so it’s given me a chance to sit down at the computer and catch up with a bit of photo editing.

The first heats of the year are out of the way in both the Men’s and Women’s WCT with a few surprise results recorded. Parko finished a nail biting 0.03 points behind Matty Wilkinson in their first round heat yesterday while Kelly Slater, riding a tiny five fin board, struggled to get going early before finally getting the board to do what he wanted and nailing the win.

Jody Smith threw his big frame around for a convincing heat win while Gabriel Medina won his heat on a twisted ankle before rushing off to hospital for tests and x-rays.

We’ve got a cyclone (Sandra?) brewing off the mid north coast of Queensland which could send swell our way later this week. Hopefully this time around it will be waves and not the cyclonic weather that have smashed our sand banks, especially at Snapper, and giving us weeks of onshore winds and flooding rains.

I’ve loaded images into this Gallery from the last few days action and lifestyle and will continue to add images as the action unfolds. Tomorrow’s call is at 6.30 am and there is even a chance the heats could run at Kirra after three days at Rainbow Bay and Greenmount.

Gabriel Medina Looks Forward to Bells

 

Wonder Kid has a contest he’d rather forget:

Last year at just 18 years of age Brazilian Gabriel Medina split open a huge hole in the ASP world tour. As a teenage giant killer, Medina went from young grommet to full-fledged world title contender in the blink of an eye with two World Tour wins from four contests.

At 15 years old Medina is the youngest surfer to win a WQS event and amazingly had only begun competing in pro surfing events at 14. Last years ASP mid-year rotation made it possible for him to jump straight from the WQS and into the 2011 ASP Top 34.

2012 should be shaping up as a big year for him but an =25^th place at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast is not what was expected by him or his fans. What went wrong? Snapper Rocks can be a tricky place to surf at times especially in less than ideal conditions. Medina couldn’t find any rhythm in either of his heats and paid a heavy price being knocked out in Round Two by fellow rookie, Aussie Yadin Nichol. But there is one thing for certain about the year ahead, Medina wont be down for long. The Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach is just around the corner.