Mick Fanning’s mechanical precision slices his way to a third career win at Bells Beach. Photo: Kirstin/ASP
When the decision was handed down from ASP commissioner Kieren Perrow to move the final heats of the Rip Curl Pro, Bells Beach to Winkipop, the game changed dramatically. The Bells bowl, with its lumbering rhythm, has been a happy hunting ground for Fanning in the past. He won his first ever world tour event here as a 19 year old wildcard back in 2001 and has rung the bell another time since. He loves the wave, loves the stadium atmosphere, and loves performing for his sponsor Rip Curl at their marquee event, also the one which helped birth professional surfing all those years ago. Bells is Australian surfing to the core and Mick — an Australian and a surfer also, to his corrugated, protein-driven core — is a rousing choice for victory here.
Winkipop is a vastly different wave, however, and the down the line nature of it combined with the vastly increased opportunities for hi-fi flair would have seemed to favour the three other contenders come the semi-final stage.
With the comp moving to Winki, Julian Wilson, Taj Burrow and John John Florence would all have backed themselves; in fact, Taj had been begging for the contest to be moved there all day. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat when the call was handed down. “It offers so much more opportunity to catch waves, and I like to catch more waves rather than just sit there,” he said. Bells had resembled a lake at times on the final day, and, along with Taj, the entire surfing world was demanding the finale be moved to fit the occasion.
Taj eliminated the (finally) in-form John John Florence with a blistering frontside attack — one that combines the electricity of his whippety youth with the starch of his paunch thirties — to deliver the most devastating brand of fast power surfing. He was helped by superior wave selection, though John John, who beat Slater twice on his way to a third place finish, still managed to add a couple of clips from their clash to the post-contest highlight reel. Slater for his part was uncharacteristically out of sorts on the final day, putting in a genuine shocker against John John in the quarters. He appeared on the webcast shortly after sounding shaken and revealing that he’s been struggling for confidence this year, something he puts down to the niggling injuries which have prevented him from free surfing a lot of this year (meaning his only hit outs are in heats).
Julian Wilson was at his explosive best, leaving Joel Parkinson answerless in their quarterfinal. It was the most clinical demolition the 2012 World Champion and point-break specialist will have suffered in a long time. But Julian’s run ended there. The Fann-bot was greasing up his gears and getting ready to machine on at Winki. Against Wilson, he sliced and carved the Winki canvas like an Afrikaans butcher, throwing in a few signature laybacks and a fins-free re-entry that is so controlled and centered it runs the risk of boredom. But it’s flawless competitive surfing and combined with his hawk eye’d wave selection he was near unbeatable. He averaged over 16 points per heat for the entire event. It would have won almost every heat and yet at the halfway point of the semi Julian had powered his way to a commanding lead. It was inspiring surfing by the sunny coaster: flared, raw though with flawless technique. But Fanning answered with 9.43 when it mattered, laying down the fastest combination of critical turns that might ever have been seen in a surfing contest. There was controversy. The beach announcers had a shocker and read the wrong score out for Julian at a crucial point in the semi. It caused a tactical change by the young Australian, which he would later claim had a strong influence on the outcome. He was enraged in the water, gesticulating at the contest administrators, splashing water, and his fury continued on land as he stormed the beach announcers office. Dripping wet and in full view of the million viewers online he could be heard freaking at the announcers: “Are you even watching the surfing?!” It was a return to the whacky old days of the ASP, but the Zosea camera man, to his credit, captured it all, giving surf fans an intimate view of a big wrong call.
Fanning continued his run in the final, throwing down eights with ease. The strategic difference between the surfers was obvious; Fanning eyed the lineup like a hawk, Taj scratched into whatever was going. But Taj made crucial errors in the heat. He fell on his opening wave and later, in what proved to be the pivotal mistake, he gifted Fanning back priority in a crucial exchange in the final minutes. Taj had his chances, dropping a 9.63 for an explosive run of turns that put him in a commanding position with several minutes to go. But Fanning wouldn’t be denied. He sat stoney faced in the lineup and simply waited, and when the wave came, he destroyed it with steely determination. You’d hate to see this guy on the end of a machine gun turret. It’s frightening stuff and the kind of form that has swept all before on his way to three world titles. With a quarterfinal exit at home on the Gold Coast and a shock third round exit at Margaret River, he’s still got a long way to go yet. As the tour leaves the sunburnt country, it couldn’t be more wide open.
