couple shots from quirky’s latest trip to tahiti… all shots by Dan Boehne infinitysurf.com    

OAM australia is blowing up with the latest signing of aerial freak Dru Adler!  

come out and shred! OAM will be there in full force!

some snap shots of our hero Rob Jones!

“rod is still hot” - Linda OAM

rod can still get down and Linda from OAM was there to witness the rock!

rod belting out one of his famous songs… i think Chris “slash” Hodgeman has those same jeans! nice

check Canary Islands OAM rider Hector Menendez!

I guess you could call it an opportunity lost.

Not just for me, but for a few of us in the top 10 who were trying to chase down Kelly’s big lead going into The Search in Indonesia.

With Kelly having a third round exit, a few of us got excited about making some headway on that points gap. But then most of us, including myself, go and bail out in the very next round!

With the exception of Taj who reached the quarters, those of us who went into the event ranked from two to eight weren’t really able to make a dent.

I was spewing but you have to get over it quickly and move on.

Which means getting the focus right for the next event at Trestles in California.

Fortunately, that’s not hard for me because I have a soft spot for the Boost Pro. I broke through for my first WCT win there two years ago when I was able to beat Kelly in the final.

I’ve always enjoyed Trestles as a wave and California as a place, so I’m confident of being in the right zone for the event.

I’ll tune up ahead of leaving with a few training sessions with “Elko” (Gary ‘Kong” Elkerton) and get some time in with my shaper Wayne McKewen on my quiver. I’m away for six weeks on this next stint so it’s important to get things right before I go.

Reflecting on The Search, once again it was an insane event. We had really good waves at different times. So much so that the event was wound up within five days which is a rare occurrence on the tour. Bali was such a great choice of location and I hope Rip Curl come up with somewhere just as good next year.

Occasionally, the event was a bit frustrating when it got super tidal. You could have one heat with guys getting nines and the next heat with guys getting fives and still getting through.

The conditions could shift that rapidly, so it was often really hard to know what kind of waves you were in for in your heat, or where to sit.

But your competitor is in the same boat so it kind of added an extra element and edge to each heat.

Some amazing surfing went down during the event. I was caddying for Timmy Reyes in that heat he had with Kelly. I’ve never seen surfing like that…it was freakish. Freddie P was also on fire the whole time we were there and Bruce Irons’ barrel riding on the final day showed he was a worthy champion.

As per usual, Bali also delivered out of the water. It’s one of my favourite places in the world. I took my wife Tarryn and we had an awesome time. We fit pretty easily into the Bali lifestyle!

In terms of the Tour, my strategy from here is to just keep chipping away without giving up. I am due a win and I know it’s there soon.

cheers- Bede

yeahhh quirk! you’re famous dude

Yumeya Billabong Pro Tahara
Men’s 6 Star WQS Event #23
Akabane Beach Tahara Japan
27 July - 3 August 2008

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

Dustin Cuizon Wins ASP WQS 6-Star Yumeya Billabong Pro Tahara

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 3 August, 2008 : - - Dustin Cuizon (HAW) has defeated Pedro Henrique (BRA) to claim the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series (WQS) 6-Star Yumeya Billabong Pro Tahara in one-to-two foot (0.5 metre) waves at Akabane Long Beach today.

Cuizon had a banner day, first eliminating current ratings leader on the ASP WQS Nathaniel Curran (USA) in Dustin Cuizon (HAW) and current ASP WQS No.1 Nathaniel Curran (USA) in their Quarterfinal bout with an impressive 15.00 out of a possible 20 heat total. “I feel so honored to win to Nathaniel,” Cuizon said. “He is one of the best surfers in California and lots of people say he is closest to win this event. I was only lucky.”

“The waves are pretty small today,” Cuizon continued. “So I moved alot and looked for the wave to score big and I found it! This is my 3rd time in Japan and the people are so nice and the food is so good. I love Japan. I try my best to keep the momentum and hope to win the event.”

Curran was unable to repeat his performance at last week’s ASP WQS 6-Star Honda U.S. Open, but receives 1650 points and looks very solid to qualify for the elite ASP World Tour in 2009. Greg Emlie (ZAF), former ASP World Tour campaigner, fell to Cuizon in the Semifinals, but will take his equal 3rd place finish and put it towards his requalification campaign for the Dream Tour.

Pedro Henrique finsided runner up to Dustin Cuizon : photo S. Yamamoto/ASP Japan

“The waves were very small and we had to have extra care with wave ion. I am very happy to get good waves and make the quarter finals,” Emslie said. “Dustin was so strong in the semi final. He is so strong in small waves and deserves to win. I could only catch only 1 wave and there was nothing I can do.”

Cuizon opened the final with a solid backhand wave to post an excellent 8.83 out of a possible 10 and put the pressure on Henrique. The Brazilian fought back with a 5.50, but when Cuizon locked in a second score of a 7.33 the Final was sealed and the young Hawaiian was crowned the 2008 Yumeya Billabong Pro Champion.

YUMEYA BIILABONG PRO TAHARA” FINAL RESULTS

1. Dustin Cuizon (HAW)
2. Pedro Henrique (BRA)
3. Greg Emslie (ZAF)
3. Jadson Andre (BRA)
5. Nathaniel Curran (USA)
5. Andre Silva (BRA)
5. Shaun Gossmann (AUS)
5. Marlon Lipke (DEU)

rippin El Salvador a new one….