The Volcom Pipe Pro is, without a doubt, one of the finest events in surfing. Sure, it’s a QS 3000, but whatever. Waves don’t care about points, and neither do competitors, especially when it comes to Pipeline. Of all the QS events, the Volcom Pipe Pro is the one where the best of the best make sure to show their faces. And good Lord, did it ever prove exactly why on day three. It was 6-8 foot Pipeline, somewhere between perfect and, as the WSL called it, “completely friggin’ terrifying”–just the way a Pipe event should be.
The event only has three winners: Jamie O’Brien, John John Florence, and Kelly Slater. JJF, VPP title holder four times over, is looking like an early favorite. JOB and Slater are out. Balaram Stack, a Pipe surfer par excellence, pulled out all the stops in his third round heat against the John John Florence, but it wasn’t enough.
“It can be hard to relax out there in a heat, but at the same time, you’re surfing perfect Pipe with no one out,” said Florence. “It’s definitely more relaxing out there than on a normal day where there’s 100 guys and you’re trying to catch a wave, trying not burn someone and trying not to get hurt.”
It was the next heat, though, that had the beach on their feet. Bruce Irons, Kelly Slater, Seth Moniz, and Imai DeVault paddled out and made magic happen. Somewhat surprisingly, it was Moniz that took the heat win. Irons took second place while Slater had what he called his worst wipeout of the year.
“My first wave was just a really crazy left, the kind you look for, but it just breathed me off the board,” Slater explained. “Then my last wave I didn’t make was probably the worst wipeout I’ve had all year. I was pretty worried I was going to hit the bottom. I wasn’t happy I lost, but I was happy I didn’t get hurt.”
