”Vagues bon, tres bon”

SURF: 2-3 foot punchy lefts to 4-5 foot soft rights to HEAVY DREDGING 6 foot A-frame PITS, all in the same day.
EVENTS HELD: Men’s Round 1, Heats 1-12
NATURE’S CALL: This is only the start. Big Bay of Biscay swell on the way.
PREDICTED: Shacks, shacks and more shacks...

“I can’t believe how big it is out there.” --Shea Lopez

“I just spent 25 minutes trying to paddle out.” --Timmy Reyes

Things change in France. Quickly.

This morning it was flat at La Graviere. After a long wait for the fullness to recede, Rod Brooks called the contest on and Damien Hobgood, Mick Lowe and Tim Curran paddled to bouncy 2 foot waves. Three hours later, Kelly Slater, Luke Egan and Jeremy Flores stood on the sharply angled beach by the water’s edge at the foot of 6 foot heaving barrels.

Three hours.

That’s all it took for an increasing swell to combine with light offshores and a radically dropping tide to turn a wave that looked like an average day at Huntington into a good one at Pipe.

In other words, it got pretty fricken’ epic.

A lot of people ripped before Heat 8, but after witnessing what came later, I can’t remember any of it. As the swell began to pulse, Kelly Slater opted against surfing a soft right a hundred yards north of the contest area and instead paddled out to a virtual shorepound that was detonating right in front. Young Jeremy Flores saw what happening and sprinted down to the where Kelly was entering the water. A few minutes later, the Reunion Islander and wildcard got spit out of the first (but certainly not the last) pit of the day and did a celebratory air steps away from a frothing French crowd. Then Kelly, riding the now yellowing 6-1 Simon Anderson that’s won him three contests on this year, clicked into gear by pulling in below sea level grinder and doggy dooring it out. 6-7 or seven barrels later he had won himself the heat. Andy paddled out next and pig dogged a deep, deep left for a 9.87. Not to be outdone, Bruce cruised out in the last heat of the day in waves ideally suited to his tube maestro game, and got a ten. The wave: a no back wedge where he took off late, pulled in no hands, stood tall and then came out – check this - a full two seconds after the spit.

What a show.

And it’s only getting better. Right now, in the dying light, hundreds of people are still on the beach watching the Top 44 freesurfing double overhead, offshore tubes. As I write this, I’m getting seriously distracted because every time I look up I see a white wetsuit streaking through yet another Peugot sized cave.

This is going to be sick.

ROUND 1 RESULTS:
(1st place advances to Round 3; 2nd & 3rd go to Round 2)

Heat # 1: 1st - Damien Hobgood, 2nd - Tim Curran, 3rd - Michael Lowe
Heat # 2: 1st - Cory Lopez, 2nd - Shea Lopez, 3rd - Marcelo Nunes
Heat # 3: 1st - Paulo Moura, 2nd - Nathan Hedge, 3rd - Kirk Flintoff
Heat # 4: 1st - CJ Hobgood, 2nd - Renan Rocha, 3rd - Travis Logie
Heat # 5: 1st - Phil MacDonald, 2nd - Guilherme Herdy, 3rd - Darren O'Rafferty
Heat # 6: 1st - Taj Burrow, 2nd - Dane Reynolds, 3rd - Mark Occhilupo
Heat # 7: 1st - Patrick Bevan, 2nd - Peterson Rosa, 3rd - Trent Munro
Heat # 8: 1st - Kelly Slater, 2nd - Jeremy Flores, 3rd - Luke Egan
Heat # 9: 1st - And Irons, 2nd - Taylor Knox, 3rd - Maz Quinn
Heat #10: 1st - Mikael Picon, 2nd - Mick Fanning, 3rd - Richie Lovett
Heat #11: 1st - Dean Morrison, 2nd - Shane Beschen, 3rd - Sunny Garcia
Heat #12: 1st - Bruce Irons, 2nd - Lee Winkler, 3rd - Tiago Pires
Heat #13: 1st - Luke Stedman, 2nd - Bede Durbidge, 3rd - Fred Patacchia
Heat #14: 1st - Raoni Monteiro, 2nd - Chris Ward, 3rd - Tom Whitaker
Heat #15: 1st - Tim Reyes, 2nd - Jake Paterson, 3rd - Kalani Robb
Heat #16: 1st - Danny Wills, 2nd - Victor Ribas, 3rd - Greg Emslie

UPCOMING ROUND 2 HEATS:
(1st place advances to Round 3; 2nd finishes =33rd)

Heat # 1: Mick Fanning v. Jeremy Flores
Heat # 2: Trent Munro v. Maz Quinn
Heat # 3: Nathan Hedge v. Tiago Pires
Heat # 4: Fredrick Patacchia v. Dane Reynolds
Heat # 5: Tom Whitaker v. Guilherme Herdy
Heat # 6: Jake Paterson v. Renan Rocha
Heat # 7: Luke Egan v. Kirk Flintoff
Heat # 8: Taylor Knox v. Shea Lopez
Heat # 9: Richie Lovett v. Tim Curran
Heat #10: Peterson Rosa v. Shane Beschen
Heat #11: Mark Occhilupo v. Greg Emslie
Heat #12: Darren O'Rafferty v. Victor Ribas
Heat #13: Travis Logie v. Kalani Robb
Heat #14: Marcelo Nunes v. Chris Ward
Heat #15: Michael Lowe v. Bede Durbidge
Heat #16: Sunny Garcia v. Lee Winkler

Quiksilver Pro France 2005 Photo Gallery Photos from the 2005 WCT event # 9 of 12, held in Southern France, September 23 - October 2, 2005		'05 Quiksilver Pro France WCT Event Preview A quick preview of the next stop on the 2005 ASP World Championship Tour: The Quiksilver Pro France, September 23 - October 2		France Starts Manditory Leash Laws The french govornment passes a law requiring anyone surfing in the Frech region of South Landes to wear a leash while surfing...

 

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		THE BEST WAVES! THE BEST SURFERS! THE BEST PHOTOS! AND NOW THE BEST DEAL: SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND GET 1 YEAR OF SURFING MAGAZINE FOR ONLY $12.00! Take advantage of this special offer-act now! GIVE A GIFT
				Email: First Name: Last Name: Address Line 1: Address Line 2: City: State: Zip: Select a payment option: Charge my credit card Bill me later Do you have a promotional coupon code? Enter Code: Please send me special offers and exclusive promotions from Surfing's premiere partners.