Distributor of Ideas
Staff

The Inertia

For the first part of the day, the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach was a showstopper. The Bowl held up with its long, steep walls, while Rincon pumped in the background. By Round 2, however, the tide filled in and things got fat and messy, putting the contest on hold. The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, in its 53rd year, is one of surfing’s most prestigious events.

After a reasonably slow first heat, things got underway. By Heat 6, Kelly Slater, Kolohe Andino, and 16-year-old Jacob Willcox were battling it out in picture-perfect Bells. “I made a few mistakes and I was a little nervous to be honest because I haven’t surfed in three days,” said Kelly Slater in a press release. “I surfed a few days ago and my board felt really nice but it didn’t feel very good out there today. I was going out there in the dark a little bit because I haven’t surfed Bells Beach for a year. I was a bit unprepared and because of that I had some nerves in that Heat.”

Willcox was relegated to Round 2, where he eventually lost to Josh Kerr in the closet heat of the day.”I think my daughter could have beat me out there,” Kerr said in a post-heat interview, referring to the sloppy, high tide Round 2 conditions. “It must’ve been hard for the judges, but I’m just happy it went my way.”

After his back injury at Bells last year, Owen Wright returned to competition. In Round 1, Wright whipped out a series of backhand turns early against Adriano de Souza and Matt Wilkinson. Wright went on to win the heat, his first Round 1 victory since returning to the contest format.

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 1 Results:

Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.77, Nat Young (USA) 14.10, Tiago Pires (PRT) 9.90
Heat 2: Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 9.33, Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.03, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 6.47
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.60, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 8.33, Brett Simpson 5.40
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.16, Fred Patacchia (HAW) 11.83, Glenn Hall (IRL) 8.87
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 11.87, Adam Melling (AUS) 11.77, Cahill Bell-Warren (AUS) 10.56
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 10.77, Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.57, Jacob Wilcox (AUS) 5.00
Heat 7: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 12.10, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.17, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 8.80
Heat 8: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60, Dion Atkinson (AUS) 13.97, Filipe Toledo (BRA) 13.37
Heat 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 10.17, Travis Logie (ZAF) 8.30, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.84
Heat 10: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.10, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.33, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 5.50
Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.83, Mitch Crews (AUS) 11.77, John John Florence (HAW) 9.26
Heat 12: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.70, Kai Otton (AUS) 8.73, Jadson Andre (BRA) 5.27

Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 2 Results:

Heat 1: Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.97 def. Jacob Willcox (AUS) 7.93
Heat 2: Nat Young (USA) 10.34 def. Cahill Bell-Warren (AUS) 8.27

Upcoming Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Round 2 Match-ups:
Heat 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Glenn Hall (IRL)
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 5: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Raoni Monteiro (BRA)
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 7: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Dion Atkinson (AUS)
Heat 8: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 10: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Mitch Crews (AUS)
Heat 11: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 12: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)

 
Newsletter

Only the best. We promise.

Contribute

Join our community of contributors.

Apply