Bells is an iconic wave. A lot of surf fans — newer ones, generally — like to howl at the moon about the fact that Bells is on the tour. It is a decidedly slopey wave, but that wave has both a whole pile of history and a whole lot of oomph behind it. Sure, it’s not Teahupo’o, but it’s freaking Bells. And when it’s good, it’s a place tailor made for power surfing. But when it’s not… well, it’s not. Such is the nature of surfing, right? The WSL’s Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach recently fired the starter’s gun, and they just can’t seem to catch a break from the wave gods. Bells was not maxing. Bells was not the Bells we know it can be. It wasn’t bad, per se, but it also wasn’t that good.
Luckily, the surfers on Tour are the best surfers on Earth, so they can make average waves look good. Surfers like Jack Robinson, Kelly Slater, and wildcard Xavier Huxtable, all of whom are in the heat you see above.
It was likely another frustrating heat for Slater, who was sent a little closer to the chopping block by the young Huxtable. Robinson, wearing the yellow jersey, was dominating. Jack’s been the one to beat over the last year, and it doesn’t appear that he’s planning on putting a damper on that momentum. Slater was only able to secure 9.60 points, while Huxtable managed 11.50 and Robinson won with 12.56. Slater is now relegated to the elimination round, where he’ll come up against Connor O’Leary and Carlos Munoz.
Keep an eye on the Bells event at Worldsurfleague.com
