You know how the judges have to put numbers on speed (without any exact way of seeing how fast a surfer is going), power (without any real measurement of how strong a surfer is), flow (what?), and variety (ok, that one they can judge)? Well, in the semi-final against Jordy Smith at the Corona Bali Protected Italo Ferreira took the sarcasm inside the brackets above and told me where to shove it. Because even though putting hard numbers on things like speed, power, and flow is objectively impossible, Ferreira showed exactly what those things all look like when they’re linked together just right. Still, though, the whole notion of a “perfect 10” doesn’t work. “Perfect” is absolute. There is no “more perfect” (unless you like podcasts).
“What else do you want to do on that wave?” the commentators asked. “You could not have done any more!” I beg to differ. You COULD have done more. On the next wave, Jordy Smith COULD have done two of those rotations. Remember when Filipe did two at J-Bay? Sure, there are giant differences, but the fact remains that a perfect 10 should not even exist in surfing. But semantics aside… holy shit, watch Ferreira’s perfect wave!
