RealSurf Surfers' Forum

BA wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 21, 2017 8:21 pm

Portugal is on and looking horrible. Solid closeouts on a dead low tide with cross-shore winds. Halfway through first heat and noone has made a wave.

It could get really good later.
Surfline prediction is for head high waves building to double overhead plus in the afternoon. Hopefully, wind and tide will improve.
Actually, it's getting pretty big now.

How's the water movement? Holy shit.

Why are they surfing now?

What a joke, would hate my career to be on the line in conditions like this.

Without looking at it too closely, I’d say this swell might be their only hope for decent waves. I agree, that first heat was a joke but they need to get through the draw and it’s starting to look better already. I can see very high scores in an hour or two.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pros on big closeouts
It’s like stepped up Bondi

J!J!F!

In big closeouts!

That is a very impressive stat. JJF's average heat score for 2017 is 16.73 (i.e. 16 point something, I think they said .73)

Yep. I’d rather watch this than a perfect point break. If they’re the best surfers in the world then they should shine in massive close outs.

yep, my thoughts exactly....closeout after closeout.

Now the pros know what us mortals often deal with except we wouldn't even bother to go out (but I would if I was paid or my sponsor told me to).

Couldn't disagree more Jimmy.

There's nothing more soul-sappingly boring than watching pro surfers hobbled by scrapping around in close-outs.

It's like watching Sachin Tendulkar trying to bat with a broomstick and a blindfold. It's just dumb luck if he connects with one.

I got two heats in before declaring an innings.

If want to watch elite sport, and especially if that saps hours of time like pro surfing does, I want to see elite performances. I want to see the best of the best actually surfing.
Any club surfer could go out there and scrap around in close-outs for a pair of 4's.

This idea of relatability makes no sense to me. You can go down to any beach in Aus or in the world and watch people scrapping around in close-outs.

It's not sport, it's not art, it's just punishing viewing.

Couldn't agree more Steve. Two heats was my limit. It was boring.

I just watched the highlight reel (the only footage I've seen), and I've gotta say, it was only about 2 minutes, but it was fantastic watching pro surfers deal with very testing conditions... brilliant!

I guess it would be like seeing tennis or cricket being played on a neighbourhood scratch up pitch. Watching how pros handle weird ball deviations caused by the uneven ground.

I'm all for it. Gotta admit it's the complete antithesis of a wave pool.

The wave hunting in a lot of moving water was good to watch. Fanno said he couldn't remember being more tired after a heat. It would have been great if the conditions changed more over the day, as expected, but they didn't really. Watching did become too one-note after a few heats.

The drone angle was essential for making it watchable.

Yup, I wouldn't want to watch it live, the compilations are ok though.

jimmy wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:51 pm

Yep. I’d rather watch this than a perfect point break. If they’re the best surfers in the world then they should shine in massive close outs.

Agreed.

Can't we have both?

I dig it because it's much more relatable. Much of the surfing world surfs in shitty conditions most the time. And big closeouts with the odd makeable section or runner is much more critical than reeling point surf. Any old numpty can surf a pointbreak.