Touch down in Portugal

24th August 2010

I got to Portugal today ... so will do another post before I surf my heat, that should be on Friday.

Over the last few days I have been getting a few good sessions down at Umhlanga Rocks Main Beach. There have been some really fun banks on the low tide and it seems like the neap tides and the NE winds have been making for some air bowls. It's all about putting the hours in at the moment and perfecting the moves. With 3 days to go before I leave for the Grand Slam in Sintra - the excitement of competing has kicked in.

I have been picking up Umhlanga Rocks local Wez Fischer to train with, and have practice heats against. I have never met such a competitive freak in my life! He is really good to train with and he always keeps you guessing and obviously pushing me too. We normally have three 20 minute, man on man heats, and then just free surf for an hour or two.

I have been to Sintra 3 times before and am lucky enough to always have scored waves - and I even made the finals twice. Last year I had a quarter final draw with Ben Player that ended badly for me. I was leading the heat for 15 minutes and Ben needed a combination score of only 15.5, and with 5 minutes to go, he found a perfect inside bowl and did a motherless back-flip and got rewarded with 10s!! Ben then found another insider and got a 5.6 to advance to the semi finals! Nobody likes losing and to lose in the last 10 seconds really sucks. This year my goal is to win, but I will have to take every heat as they come and surf them like it was a final.

Ben Player

I am sure last year's winner and current world champ, Jeff Hubbard, is pumped to win again. Jeff has not had the best start to his 2010 campaign and got knocked in the quarter finals to end up finishing 9th at Pipe, where he was a big favourite to win. He was also unlucky in his 5th placing in Arica. So this next Grand Slam is make or break for Jeff and for many of the top 5 guys chasing the title. Same goes for the guys on the bottom half trying to make that exclusive top 16 round for next year. (You can download the current rankings on www.ibaworldtour.com)

Jeff Hubbard

Going to Sintra you never really know what you are in for. I mean it could be half a foot and onshore or it could be 6 foot and pumping! So I kind of see Sintra as a lucky packet event but, none the less, I am really excited and can't wait for Europe and the longs days it has to offer.

Sightseeing

Everyone should know that Europe offers the best sightseeing there is!! Most of the sites are VREK OUD (dam old). The town of Sintra has some impressive Castles and Palaces, so I hope to capture them alll on the lay days. Catch up to you all when I arrive in Sintra!

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