There were a lot of excellent waves on Day Five down at Bells Beach. A week out, the forecast didn’t look so promising – Day Four was supposed to be the best with mediocre conditions thereafter, but instead Friday morning down at Bells dawned glassy and pumping. Things got started with a bang in Heat One of the men’s Round of 16, with Owen Wright and Nat Young trading backhand attacks. Each of them nailed an excellent wave in that heat, (eight points or above), but Wright took the win, earning some much-needed points to help him escape the mid-season cut. Ewing was the next to go excellent with an 8.00, followed by Filipe with an 8.43. John John, of course, had two excellent scores, a 9.07 and an 8.70. The nine was, without a doubt, the best wave of the day.
Youngster Imaikalani deVault has been on a tear himself, he took down the GOAT in the round of 32 with an 8.17, and today scored another excellent ride, an 8.00, with a sneaky cover up and a few massive maneuvers. However, it wouldn’t be enough this time, because Jack Robinson picked out one of the best waves of the day, tearing it to pieces and scoring an 8.47. Tyler Wright won her heat, sending her on a quick jump up the leaderboard, and the two excellent waves she scored, a 9.00 and an 8.17, proved without a doubt that she’s earned it.
We should be finding out soon if Finals Day will be running today or not, stay tuned.