 |
Jay Quinn | Billy Stairmand | Richard Christie |
heyyyy guys and girls. tis the season to be jolly. want to wish everyone a very merry christmas and a happy new year. we the suitcase surfers have had an amazing year. we appreciate all the support from everyone. and we wish everyone and amazing 2012. lets make this year a big one. see you all soon. love you all. yeeewww
gotny hornets. waaattt time is it???? but nek minnit here is a cute but ferocious story.
billy the kid.
So as the season winds down to the final leg in Hawaii we can look back with some satisfaction over a year of solid results. Billy and Rick are in Hawaii right now waiting on a start in the first event at Hale’iwa on Oahu’s North Shore. I sit and wait for something different all together. My first child.
I am hoping to make the trip to Sunset solely for that event before returning home again to be with my new family.
Here is a story from last week in Kangaroo Island taken from stuff.co.nz
New Zealand surfer Jay Quinn has finished second in the latest stop of the secondary world surfing tour. Quinn lost the final of the Kangaroo Island Pro in South Australia to American Kolohe Andino.
Andino dominated from the start and registered four waves all worth more than seven points with his best two giving him his total of 15.33. Quinn finished with a two-wave total of 13.64.
But it was a lucrative event for Quinn, earning him $US12,300 and an invaluable 2640 ranking points from the six-star event, a result that keeps him firmly inside the world’s top 50.
There was a strong Kiwi flavour to the final day of action in the contest’s debut on the world tour surfed in small and tricky conditions. Quinn snuck past Mahia’s Richard Christie in a low scoring semifinal, winning 11.83 to 8.50.
Earlier in his quarterfinal Quinn had eliminated Raglan’s Billy Stairmand 13.90 to 12.43.
Christie had looked impressive in his quarterfinal domination of Australian Perth Standick, winning 13.17 to 9.80.
Quinn, Christie and Stairmand all have guaranteed starts in the $250,000 World Cup event to be surfed at Hawaii’s famous Sunset Beach from November 25.
Christie and Stairmand are set to contest the Hawaiian Pro event which starts at Haleiwa on Saturday.
So another day passes us by on Kangaroo Island. And it is yet another lay day. The swell has just been sliding past us with too much Westerly direction in it to wrap into Vivonne Bay. We took the 20 minute drive early this morning dodging and weaving the Kangaroos, Wallabies and Birds that hug the road side every morning and night to get the call and then whipped the shoey and went back to a hot cup of Fantastic noodles.
With the first lay day the boys took to some golfing in the main town here on Kangaroo Island. Some interesting differences on the course were quite noted. Loose black tarmac covered the greens which stopped the ball almost immediately after striking it. Both sides of the fairway was long grass into thick bush. Not the best combination for a group of hackers. After about six holes the boys succumbed to the heat and rushed through the last few to get home and into the shade!
From the reports I understand we should be back under way on the last day of the period, Wednesday. Tomorrow looks flat as a pancake again! The boys are all in the round of 16 looking to move into the quarter finals with a successful round.
Check the action out at http://www.prosurfinglive.com/live/2011/ki/live.php
Santa Cruz, California. Mainly known for its big waves, cold water, seals, whales and big sharks.
Well, today we seem to have experienced something that is a regular happening too. Car crashes. As Tom and Billy went on ahead, Richard and I decided a quick detour to Starbucks would be in order. Little did we know, this would save our car from a certain writing off.
Coffee’s in hand we headed up to join Bill and Tommy Whits at Scott Creek some 13 miles from Santa Cruz for a leisurely warm up surf. Nothing exciting. Or so we thought…
As we rolled up we saw carnage everywhere. Bits of plastic littered the road. Light covers, mirrors, small panels and glass everywhere! In the middle of the two seemingly involved vehicles were a couple of very recognisable humans. We pulled up and walked over to a bewildered looking Tom and Billy. And they began to recount what just went down.
Some guy had pulled over on the highway to check the surf, as everyone does at this spot. But, when he has pulled out he has been clipped by a car coming from the same direction and both cars have gone into a series of 360 degree spins. The 4Runner, which was pulling out, has ended up on the other side of the road and the car that hit it has then straightened out and bee lined into Tom’s Jeep before coming to a halt just where we would have parked our car. After a good 4 hour ordeal, the boys received a new car and on we went home.
Thank you Starbucks! You saved us a whole drama we didn’t want to deal with!!
Richard got 2nd in his first up heat at the Lane the previous day. Now we are waiting on the decision to see if we will surf today. The forecast isn’t looking promising for the next few days.
You can check it all out at http://www.oneill.com/cwc/LiveClassic.html
Billy is in heat 19 Round 96 and JQ is heat 22 Round 96. Richard moves into heat 1 of Round of 48 after his second place yesterday.
Inthe last week I have surfed my way into 3rd place at the Billabong Azores Island Pro. Being a Prime event it has put me in 49th in the world. As has been the usual at Prime events this year, the kiwi boys ended up having to go at each other before the business end of the event. Rick and myself finding each other at round 3 man on man meaning one of us was going to exit the event way too premature. In the end it was me progressing through and finishing up in the semi finals for a third place.
Now we set our sights for the next Prime in Santa Cruz. Keep your eyes peeled for the action as things are getting interesting!
Here we are back in the Azores. Although, we are minus Billy after he tweaked his knee in Pantin. Last year we came to this event, surfed once and then proceeded to wait for a whole week for waves that simply did not arrive. Already on the first morning we have been greeted with 2-3ft short wedges. Richard even managed to slip into a tube! Unheard of!
Ashley and I took short trip deep into Spain to recharge the battery and get deep into some culture. Having never seen any famous paintings before we checked out a huge private collection there. Spotting the odd Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet amongst many more.
All refreshed and ready to get back to business in the Azores. You can watch this live at:
my euro trip has come to an end for me. i am heding home today after i injured myself in pantin doing a patenant. tweaked me knee really bad. herd it click wich is not good. so the last weak i have just been hobbling around lisbon like a little hobbit that i am. but i have had one of the best euro trips ever. england, france, zarautz, spain, portugal. heading home for some rehab and family time. then i will be back for santa cruz. excited to be going home and seeing the sick joints and getting my joints fixed. here are a few photos from euro. hope you enjoy. oh and go the suitcase surfers in azores. dad and big bro will be competing next week. keep tuned.
thanks heaps
billy the kid
Check out some photos from a storm that poured in over the mountains here in Zarautz. It has given us some entertainment as the surf is not coming to the party with two lay days already forced due to literally dead flat conditions! Enjoy…
