Newsletter join now Keep in touch with all the latest surf news, green scene and partner info by joining the Drift weekly update. SIGN UP NOW
What are we made of? Drift Magazine is made from ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free) FSC Certified pulp and low VOC vegetable inks. Studio power by Ecotricity and delivery made using Biopower V100 waste oil.
27/11/2007:// Kauai's Roy Powers survived the largest day of surf ever contested at Haleiwa in the 25-year history of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing to win the Reef Hawaiian Pro.
Powers posted one of the most conclusive wins in history to defeat Australian pair Bede Durbidge and Joel Parkinson, and Haleiwa local Sean Moody in waves of 12- to 20-feet to move to 12th on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series - a result that guarantees him a spot on the 2008 World Championship Tour.
But the Kauai surfer's victory was far more than a simple win.
Having already surfed through three gruelling 25-minute heats earlier in the contest to get to the final, Powers was looking to conserve power by nailing the door shut early. He met his goal with two of the most thrilling tube-rides of the contest and the highest heat score of the event.
By the 20 minute mark of the 35 minute final, Powers had posted two near-perfect scores of 9.17 and 9.67 that eclipsed his rivals. With five minutes remaining, all three of the trailing surfers were enduring a rinse cycle on the inside courtesy of a series of crushing waves. With three-and-a-half minutes remaining, all three were standing exhausted on dry sand in time to see Roy's last ride.
The final scoreline showed 18.84 points out of 20 to Powers, 13.74 for Durbidge, 12.0 to Parkinson, and 6.37 for Sean Moody.
It wasn't just about riding big waves either. The lineup was a brutal test of endurance, lung capacity, will-power and mind-power.
Raging rip-currents hundreds of yards wide encircled the contest zone. Competitors had to battle to simply stay in position for a ride; a problem compounded by rogue set waves that bulldozed the break and swept surfers assunder.
Take-offs were often elevator drops, and waves didn't necessarily cooperate after that, randomly doubling up to offer a dredging tube-ride or a wipeout that presented like a head-on collision.
To do it all, under pressure, made the win all the more sweet for Powers.
"I wanted another opportunity to get on the WCT," said Powers. "I was a little cocky before. Now I think I've grown up a bit and I realise it's not that easy and it won't be a walk in the park.
"Now I want to win the Triple Crown - to me that's priceless.
"I wanted to keep the momentum going and keep the pressure on everybody else. I was so worried that someone else was going to get two nines, too. I mean, it happens. So I stayed out there and paddled around them every time and I wasn't going to give them any chance.
"To get a barrel out at Hale'iwa and make it? C'mon! And to get two of them? And win the event? It's serious out there, so to get two nines... I'm so stoked."
Durbidge and Parkinson were the first to put scores on the board shortly after the starting horn and looked to be setting up a fall for the locals. With early scores of 6.67 and 5.33 to Parkinson, and a 7.67 for Durbidge, things were looking up for the Aussies. But it wasn't long before the bottom dropped out on them, just like the waves they stroked into. The Australians should have known it wasn't going to be easy, with Powers and Moody earlier taking down world champion-elect Mick Fanning (Aus) and former world champ Andy Irons (Haw).
"I virtually surfed the whole contest today, so I'm pretty tired," said Parkinson, 26, from the Queensland Gold Coast. "It's good to be in contention for the Triple Crown though."
Parkinson was a semi-finalist here last year, and won the Sunset Beach event to be a Vans Triple Crown contender in 2006. With the battle for the world title now beyond him, a Triple Crown victory would round the year out on a high.
For Durbidge, 24, it was an excellent start to his Triple Crown campaign. A powerful regular-foot surfer, also from the Gold Coast of Australia, he will be a strong starter at Sunset Beach, too.
Moody entered the Hawaiian Pro as a wildcard, being one of REEF's feature sponsored riders. It was an opportunity he put to good use.
"The conditions were about as challenging as they get in Hawaii today," said Moody. "
Competition now moves to Sunset Beach for the men's O'Neill World Cup of Surfing - another 6-star WQS, and the women's Roxy Pro - an elite ASP World Championship Tour event. The official holding period at Sunset begins Sunday, November 25, and runs through December 6, 2007.
The 2008 Beachley Classic got underway this morning, completing Rounds 1 and 2 as well as the opening two heats of Round 3 at nearby Freshwater Beach in clean two-to-three foot (1 metre) waves
Layne Beachley (AUS), 36, has officially announced her retirement from full-time competition, effective at the end of the year
Former Exeter University student Josh Lewin first heat at the Ocean and Earth Pro in the Canary Islands has been delayed because the 2ft surf was deemed uncontestable
Skype us
.jpg)
.jpg)
Surf art 
Surf environment