Back in January of 2009 the Central Coast’s own Brett Roldan landed on the Rock thanks to a very generous donation from his gf. Unfortunately for Roldan, he suffered a season-ending foot injury just prior to departure on a Black Joe’s inside dumper. But the trip would not be completely fruitless. With some of the best swells of the season on tap during his tenure, 662 rolled out their camera and let Reddy work his magic behind the lens. Cracking tall cans and working the zoom on the HD setup seemed almost natural for “Spacey”, a name that shook loose and has stuck indefinitely after a big night out with Andre Botha and Anthony Savoji. Below is some of the evidence with Murdock as the subject. Check DreBoy.com for further footy.
2009 Pipeline Pro (Framegrabs)
Chris Wilson on a smoker out the back during this Round 6 heat. He went down to Max Arent and Dave Crowley in this heat.
Maximizing shade time is key for rangas. Brad Hughes locking in to a smaller shapely insider.
A big set putting an end to Joe Clarke’s 2009 Pipeline Pro campaign.
Dubb throwing down the prone skills at Backdoor in route to taking out Andre Botha.
Pipe was showing her all during the afternoon hours of Day 2. Diego Cabrera on an inside smoker.
Cabrera backing up the previous barrel with one of the best maneuvers of the contest in his Round 7 heat.
Andre Botha with the Lore support. Super techy guru shit. Wave selection haunted the South African.
Dubb’s double barrel flying-out-sideways Pipe wave from hell. This one ended Botha’s ’09 campaign.
Kainoa embracing the ’09 LMNOP DK Pro winner Bud Miyamoto. His crouching tiger skills ruined all the competition.
A west bowl goes by unridden during the afternoon of Day 2.
Finalists Winchester, Costes, and Hardy amping in anticipation on the beach pre-heat.
The missing link. Cro magnon Garth McGregor had one of the highest single heat scores of the event in Round 7.
John Showell on an inside dredger. It would not be enough as he lost out to an in form Dave Crowley and a barrel dwelling Kainoa McGee.
Oompa Loompa doompadee doo, I’ve got another puzzle for you. Grodzen stoked on making the final of the LMNOP Pro DK.
Hardy opened up his semi final heat with this super sized Backdoor vert right at the buzzer. That would be all he needed in the wave-starved heat.
Hardy celebrating properly in the shorebreak after the win and showing off his new assortment of sponsors.
Ivan Hernandez on a nice inside bowl during the last heat of Round 7. The Canary Islands representation was strong this year.
Hernandez backing it up with a sweet look back barrel to advance him into the final day of competition.
Max Arent came out smoking in Round 6 with bowls like this. His campaign ended in Round 7 against the Euro contingent.
Nitch Rawlins scrapped through a tough Round 7 heat with McGregor, edging out fellow countryman Joe Clarke and saffa Sasha Specker.
Josh Garner’s noni fruit consumption was not enough to put him past a resurgent Alistair Taylor and a semi-injured Brad Hughes.
Novy looked to follow last year’s clutch Pipe performance as he dominated this Round 7 heat. After another good showing in Round 8, he would later bow out in the quarters.
Pierre Louis Costes in the finals tossing an invert that wouldn’t even enter his final wave tally. We haven’t heard the last from him.
The post-Day 2 convergence on Pipe was a spectacle. PBen Player rotating one during the free surf.
PLC’s fearless invert at Backdoor in the finale put the pressure on Hardy and the other finalists.
Corner pocket bowl looking very enticing for the Australian upstart Joe Clarke.
Germy Wright amped on his ’09 campaign.
Empty Day 2 spitter.
Tamega invert in the semis. Should it have been BPlayer in this frame?
Al Taylor trademark roll. He has me convinced on the leg leash.
Toby Player made a valiant effort from the depths of Round 2 to a narrow loss in the quarters. He literally squeezed out of this solid barrel in Round 7.
Maximus Decimus Meridius going for a next level rollo.
You can never count out Uncle. Kainoa getting slotted on his way to the final day of competition.
Final Day whale breach out the back.
Post-whale reverse air from Winchester in the semis. Winny looked very solid in the quarters and semis on his way to a 4th place finish.
Maximus Decimus pulling into a solid closeout to close out Day 2.
14 Days on the Rock
Saturday February 28th
Well our 14 days on the rock has come to a close with quite a whimper. The lack of updates is directly proportional to the lack of surf here on the North Shore since our last transmission. Not to say there hasn’t been time for the daily double of Pupukea sandbar and inside Sunset sessions. But the incessant Northeast winds have made our options pretty limited in finding quality waves. The routine of late has been pretty simple: going rounds in the kitchen, scrapping windswell peaks, and hunting for trogs. James has picked up some extra shifts so I’ve managed a Haleiwa night, a couple nights at Turtle Bay and some neighboring Sunset hikes with his roommates to kill time.
I’ve posted some framegrabs from the contest in an etcetera here. If you haven’t checked the frames of Murdock filmed by Brett “Spacey” Roldan on the DreBoy site, I’ve pieced them and a few others into another etcetera here. Until our return to the mecca next year, keep checking back as we’ll have more photos and an edit from the contest in the near future as well as our batch of usual news updates and features.
ps Willie has been getting fun waves in Kauai and will be returning home shortly as well.
Wednesday February 25th
Where to start. It’s been an eventful past couple of days with the finale of another memorable Pipeline Pro finish. Ryan Hardy nailed his first victory at the Banzai without even pulling his Backdoor card in the final. His ’09 campaign looks to be a promising one. PLC put on a very impressive 2nd place finish with his high flying repertoire but in the end it was the patience of Hardy that prevailed as he found a couple of the only larger lefts that made their way through as the swell turned more north. The Hardy chants were already strong before the final buzzer sounded and most assuredly lasted well into the night with a fired up Australian contingent getting weird on the beach. This one was well deserved for Hardballs and fittingly it comes on the heels of a major sponsor drop. Somebody’s bummed at corporate headquarters.
Monday the swell was up and the comp resumed with Day 2. We opted for a last session out at Yards as Willie would be departing that afternoon. Rusty Trombone and his crew joined us for a couple hectic sidewinders but it was mostly a fruitless effort with a strong current and washing sets. Not the most memorable ’09 campaign for Willie but a solid effort nonetheless. After his departure we regrouped down at Pipe for the rest of the afternoon. Pipe was on fire and I filmed for the afternoon as the action heated up. Toby Player, Alistair Taylor, Dave Crowley and Diego Cabrera were all standouts during the afternoon hours. David Phillips definitely made the biggest statement with his Day 2 performance. After Round 7 finished up we avoided the post-comp convergence on Pipe and settled for another round at Yards. This time the right call was made and we scored emptiness until dusk. James’ parents departed that night leaving us with a nice collection of leftover food to take care of. This is essential for our daily food consumption.
Tuesday was more of the same. Another good Yards session followed by an afternoon lurking on the beach. We missed Round 8 but it was said that Dave Winchester, Nitch Rawlins, Ryan Hardy and David Phillips dominated. In the quarters things got controversial. Again we were not in attendance but one of the most stacked heats in IBA history went down with Nitch, Player, Stewart and Tamega going at it. In the end it was Rawlins and Tamega narrowly advancing over a fired up BP on some questionable scoring. We arrived for the semis with Winchester putting on an impressive performance despite the increasingly inconsistent surf. PLC, Hardy and Tamega would round out the final heat of the day. From there it was pretty much a clash of competitive strategies with Hardy’s tube riding prevailing over PLC’s aerial attack. Tamega’s scrapping and Winny’s jammers were pretty much nonfactors.
We will have much more media coverage to come in the next couple days including an etcetera from Anna Riedel showcasing some of her photos from the final day. The waves are back up for the next couple days so we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest.
Sunday February 22nd
Friday afternoon we had our first encounter with Willie and made our way over to Off the Wall. Winds were pretty garbage but we made the most of the scattered windswell peaks. James’ parents cruised over to his Sunset pad with Willie and his chick later on and Branch Mill was reunited for a solid meal. Oddly enough, the ever so slightest scent of sulfur was observed at the dinner table. We followed that up with a night cap run to Town where we ventured from Honolulu hot spot bars to Femme Nu and back to Chinatown to finish things off. Although it sounds big, we went home feeling somewhat emptyhanded with Willie not even allowing the Gremlin out of the closet and no lap dances embarked at the ‘Nu.
Saturday we did the tourist bit. I met up with Willie and his chick while James grabbed a Sunset session out front. We cruised the local farmer’s market and coffee house before making the trek to Waimea Falls. In fine Wonka fashion, we blazed some trails, named off a few exotic birds, and worked the Macro zoom on his 1985 1.6 megapixel camera for some stoney flower shots along the trail. I made it back to the beach in time for a chopped out Pipe session while James went to work and Willie visited friends on the West side. Another PLC siting was made, that guy is straight up devoted. A bonfire out front of Sunset put us to sleep at a decent hour later that night.
Sunday we met up with Willie again at OTW mid-morning. These winds are really getting annoying. I filmed for a bit but didn’t capture much magic. Willie, his chick and I decided to go for another excursion while James got a couple standup waves at Sunset. This time we ventured as far west along the point as we could go to seek out some sacred albatross’. Sadly, the trail reminded us more of the AWD dunes of Pismo than any kind of natural bird sanctuary. A mud bog diverted our attention away from the drab path and before we knew it we were getting down and slinging mud at one another. In the words of Josh Ralph we were “Getting Weird.” This phrase has completely dominated the trip. After a troublesome cleanup on the lava rocks we were back on the road and on our way to an evening OTW/Log Cabins session. The swell was up and the winds were down and we got a few nuggets tonight in front of an interesting cast of chronics. An optimistic forecast on the horizon for tomorrow has us done in early tonight.
Friday February 20th
Yesterday we woke up to some shit weather so we watched a movie early and went through another round of James’ intense yoga/knee strengthening routine. He tore his ACL last year and has been doing some crazy rehab ever since. The NE winds and smaller swell didn’t keep us from paddling out at Sunset for a couple hours. The inside lefts and Boneyards rights had some juice to offer. We followed that up with another hectic guacamole round and Foodland run. Willie arrived and got a few at Off the Wall.
Today the weather is glum again and we’re waiting for the morning sickness to die off so we can meet up with Willie and find something to keep us sane. The vocabulary has delved into its usual vulgar depths with the recent lack of surf. Here are a few links to hold you over:
Riptide Hawaiian Expose
Message Board Collection of Event Photos
Jamie O Waldron Vid
IBA Twitter
Wednesday February 18th
Yesterday the first day of Pipeline Pro competition went down with some fun 4-6 foot wedgy but inconsistent peaks. Unfortunately for Murdock and I we were both subject to a combination of poor wave selection and a hungry field of talented internationals descending on the Rock. Murder made it through his first heat with a couple toobs and maneuvers but we both got axed in the 2nd round. The anti-christ/salt block preliminary strategizing against our competition was not unveiled and could have led to crucial victories. Standouts of Day 1 included Ruben Quinones, Damian King, Timmy Hamilton, and Oshi Grady, with Beans and Rusty Friesen displaying some California love in their heats as well. Check this video from the IBA site for Day 1 highlights.
After losing out we headed to inside Sunset and caught a couple sketchy peaks before rolling to James’ girlfriend’s birthday dinner up on the hillside of Pupukea for some killer grinds. We drowned our sorrows in beers and perved on some young bystanders and called it a night.
Today the contest was off so we made a mandatory Haleiwa/Foodland mission for cash and food and chilled down at Sunset which is just footsteps from James’ balcony. Swimming and bronzing and bronzing and swimming. From there we met up with James’ parents who are staying at Ke’iki and had pretty much a guacamole eating contest from Drew’s daily tree trimming assault. Willie shows up tomorrow afternoon so anticipation is high for some media production although the short range forecast looks grim. The contest probably won’t resume until next week. Below are a couple more tidbits from the pre-contest action. We will have full documentation for the remainder of the event so keep checking back.
Monday February 16th
Well got in around 9 last night and was swiftly picked up by Murdock and his stonie tree cutting roommate Drew. A quick stop at Terry McKenna’s so I could drop off the entry fee and James does a frantic rundown of “the list” and…we’re not on it! AKA no Erma trials today so we’re going straight to surfing Pipe. Stoked.
Because of this we sleep in a bit after staying up late getting situated and receiving an inspirational call from Miller. The wind is a little weird early today and the swell is still windswell wrap so we man the deck for a bit and throw out a mandatory lurk before a quick trip to Haleiwa. Binoculars, babe sightings, and wave sightings. God it feels good to be back.
Murdock’s new surfing partners Andre Botha and Anthony “Look like a hippy but don’t smell like one” Savoji cruise by and soon we’re off checking spots. We end up at Rocky’s. Couple fun ones early but the swell is rising fast and we’re dipping more waves than we catch. Get out and check Pipe. Solid crew of boogs on it. Big and wedgie but a bit weird and crowded. Throw down a little video (see grabs below) until it starts raining a bit. Murdock and I exit stage right to tackle some Backyards and its the right call. Lotta paddling but some empty offshore bombs offer up a couple choice toobs. Back at James’ house afterwards and it’s a full on pasta feed and a chill night as it looks like the comp will run tomorrow. Check the heat draw here and check for the live feed on the IBA site manana.
Sunday February 15th
The pre-trials trials have been set for an unfortunate few on the South Shore at Erma’s. Also, a list of the dk contestants has been posted on the IBA site here. Look for the action to heat up Tuesday as a 6-foot swell approaches da banzai and the opening day of the contest starts off with a bang.
Unleash the Hounds
Another lapse in updates has made the F5 key weary. But it’s the the calm before a rather hectic Hawaiian storm, koa wood vases notwithstanding. Check back on Monday for our 14 Days on the Rock blogging marathon. And when we return we’ll be delivering eye candy a plenty with that clutter that’s been making our hard drives sputter for some time now.
p.s. check out our newest collaboration with Lore for a limited edition tee that’s hot off the presses.
Link of the Week: DREBOY.COM’s been our vicarious Hawaiian love affair these past couple weeks. The visual evidence suggests Murderer’s stepped it up a notch or three this year.
Murdock North Shore Update #2
Howz it!!!! A lot of action is going down on the North Shore! A nice NW just finished its pulse the other day sending solid ten footers to standout spots like Pipe and Sunset. I only surfed Pipe once during the swell due to a random surfing contest on the first day and a head aching crowd on the second day of solid waves. I saw some serious busting going down by the usual rippers. Standouts included Player, Hubb, Skipp, and Pierre “kids Nutzah”! I saw a couple of Aussie up and comers hit some disturbing Backdoor ramps as well. Sometimes for me when Pipe is that annoying size, I get more enjoyment out of watching rather than surfing. The only reason I say it’s annoying is because of the crowd that forms when it’s eight feet! If you’re only here for a month and flew half way around the world I’d definitely say that it’s worth it. As much as I want to go out there and get the one, I prefer a scraper session at “bick yards” any day!
The Pipe contest waiting period opens in six days! The word on the street is that they’re going to hold the trials elsewhere because of the high volume of contestants. This would be unfortunate and could possibly make me want to pull out. It’s not that I think I’m too good to do the trials, it’s the fact that it’s almost 250 buckas this year! Pay all that cash to surf six rounds in some shitty ass waves just to get to Pipe Fuck Dat! The last few years they said the trials might be somewhere else and they ended up at Pipe so let’s hope that’s the case! Although the holding period is still far away, the long term forecast isn’t looking too impressive but things can change so fast over here!
Roldy made his way back to Cali a few days ago. He actually made some cash for filming Andre and the rest of the 662 crew for the three weeks he was in Hawaii. It was sick having someone film during every session! Although Roldy has departed, Statom’s arrival is less than a week away! Get ready for some heavy North Shore coverage of the contest and anything else that goes down! I’m working on a couple interviews as well that will be too legit to quit!! Last but not least some pics to keep the froth alive. Fuck almost forgot I went and saw the Fire premiere in town a few weeks ago! Talk about too legit to quit!!!!!! That’s all I can say shit is sooooo sick and sooooo stoney! I’ll throw some pics up of that night!
