ENERGY: After a couple
decades involving school, work, marriage, a daughter, and a busy life, I was so
pumped to get back to the beautiful island of Barbados for the 2011
Independence Pro. There’s something special about this rock; maybe it’s
the combination of Rastafarian lifestyle, English tradition, rugged East Coast
geography, and posh west coast resorts, not to mention the cultural
diversity. And the surfbreaks are also just as diverse. When it comes to
raw power and consistency, the conversation always starts and ends with the
pumping righthander called Soup Bowl, which is located in the little town of
Bathsheba in St. Joseph’s. The southern and western coasts have some of
the most beautiful swimming-pool-blue water you have ever seen, but that deep
blue water on the East Coast looks like no other. Soup Bowl is blessed with a
huge swell window to the north and all the way to Africa to the
east. Considering it has been about 20 years since I last visited this
island, my curiosity was killing me to see how much the island had changed.
FIRST TIME AT FIGHT CLUB: This contest has been going on at Soup Bowl in one form
or another since the early 1980s. The Barbados Surfing Association has
always been the driving force behind getting this contest done year after year,
and in 2011 my whole reason for attending the event was to spend time with
my nephew, Nathan Behl, who’s been ripping lately. I wanted to see how he would
fare at this great Caribbean righthander, especially since he’s a regularfoot. He has never visited Barbados and it was a great opportunity for me
to hang out with him and see a few old friends. It was soon evident that Nate
Dog had his work cut out for him, since there was a whole crew of money hungry
surfers that came down to go for the 1st-place prize of $4,000. Besides
the international contingent that showed up, the locals were also hell-bent on
claiming their fair share of the prize money available.
SLIDE: The Independence Pro served as the
opening salvo of the 2012 Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series, lending credibility
to the yearlong points race to win a nice bonus at the end of the season. For old
guys like me, the WAPSS is an all-East Coast and Caribbean tour that bridges the
gap between the top amateurs, regional pros, and the ASP WQS contests to get on
the world stage. Out of the top 20 guys that competed in the WAPSS points
race for 2011, only a handful didn’t show for this event. Most obvious was
the absence of Jeremy Johnston, who word had it was spending his $5,000 bonus
from emerging as grand champion of the 2011 WAPSS points race that he won the
weekend before at the Jupiter Pro.
This year’s
Independence Pro was run on Thanksgiving weekend, and at first you might think,
“Why would they do that?” Well, Barbados celebrates its Independence Day
on November 30th, which this calendar year conflicted with our Turkey Day here
in the U.S. Next year, our Thanksgiving falls on November 22nd, and the
Independence Pro will fall on the following weekend, November 30th through December
2nd (put it on your calendar).
Back to why
I was here. Nathan had just finished 12thout of 250 in the
Open Men’s division for the 2011 WAPSS season, and I wanted to do my part to
support him for a good start to the 2012 points race. Nathan realized
he’ll have an uphill battle to win some cash with the likes of fellow visiting
East Coast young guns like Michael Dunphy, Oliver Kurtz, Blake Jones, Tristan
Thompson, and Eros Exarhou. Then there’s the ever-so-consistent crew of crafty
veterans like Ben Bourgeois, Asher Nolan, Kyle Garson, and Jensen Callaway. The
Caribbean has other islands besides Barbados, and it was evident in the talent
that showed up. Representing Puerto Rico was Josie Graves, from Jamaica were
Icah Wilmot and AckeamPhillips,
plus there was a tight crew of kids representing Guadeloupe. Stay tuned, as
I think you will hear more about talent like Timothe Bisso coming out of
Guadeloupe in the years to come.
On Friday,
the BSA held the amateur portion of the contest as well, and as I watched a few
heats it was very obvious that there is a hot crew of rippers coming out of
Barbados too. Daniel Edghill, Che Allan, and Josh Burke are ones to
watch. Josh already finished 10th for 2011 in the WAPSS points race and is
making his mark. These are just a few from Barbados that will emerge over
the next few years. In the Girls division, there are also the two Chelseas from
Barbados. Look out for Chelsea Tuach and Chelsea Roett, as they both rip.
There is
never a more obvious advantage of being a local surfer than having heats with
the native crew at Soup Bowl. Whether it is catching a shifting peak,
picking one off at the point, or sitting on the bowl itself, it’s hard to
compete with local knowledge at this place. Guys like Mark Holder, Alan
Burke, Ken Meyers, Hoggie, Stewart Stout, Jason Stanley, and Zed Layson have
been battling for decades to represent the island when foreigners come to
town. The present generation is also impressive and has to start with guys
like Jordan Heaselgrave, Bruce Mackie, and Stephan Corbin.
THE PAIN: As with
most contests, the early rounds of the Independence Pro saw a few casualties as
a result of poor wave selection, errant slip-ups, and bad heat
strategies. This contest was no exception — it isn’t freesurfing,
and you’ve gotta get the score to advance. The boys going for high-risk
maneuvers on the outside ended up with the high scores, and once the
quarterfinals were in motion, the clean, powerful moves started separating the
men from the boys and the scores backed that up.
THE MAN: It was evident
throughout the comp that Ben Bourgeois and Asher Nolan had the experience, but
could they keep it up against a strong group of young guns and a crew that had
the local knowledge of Soup Bowl? In the end, the experience proved too
much, though, with Ben edging out Asher and the two locals, Bruce Mackie and
Jordan Heaselgrave, who should be very proud that they beat a whole crop of
money hungry surfers from the East Coast and Caribbean. Hats off to them
for representing Barbados, and also big props to the BSA’s Venezia and
Allan families, as well as Mike Bloom from the WAPSS for pulling off a clean,
successful event.
In summary,
I headed home with a feeling of pride that my nephew Nate Dog finished his
first trip to Barbados with a 5th in Men’s Pro and got to experience Soup Bowl. Much
to my delight the East Coast of Barbados had not changed a bit, and I hope it
never does. The big smiles and friendly attitude of the locals are so
welcoming. Having one of the best rights in the Caribbean doesn’t hurt
either. Big thanks to Stewart Stout and the whole Venezia family for
making my return to Barbados such an awesome trip.
YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB: “That place is sick.” –5th-place Men’s Pro finish Nathan
Behl on his first trip to Barbados
FINAL RESULTS OF THE 2011 INDEPENDENCE PRO:
MENS PRO 1. Ben Bourgeois, $4,000
2. Asher Nolan
3. Jordan Heaselgrave
4. Bruce Mackie
5. Nathan Behl, Blake Jones
7. Kyle Garson, Tristan Thompson
WOMENS PRO 1. Maud Le Car
2. Maria Kuzmovich
3. Chelsea Tuach
4. Chelsea Roett
5. Caroline Sarran
GIRLS UNDER 18 1. Chelsea Tuach
2. Chelsea Roett
3. Gylla MacKenzie
4. Giselle Allan
MENS UNDER 21 1. Timothe Bisso
2. Raphael Debierre
3. Eros Exarhou
4. Jordan Heaselgrave
5. Bruce Mackie, Josh Burke
7. Che Allan, Dane Mackie
BOYS UNDER 16 1. Timothe Bisso
2. Che Allan
3. Daniel Edghill
4. Billy McGarry
5. David Dorne, Raphael Debierre
7. Caelum Blandford, Andrew Rose
BOYS UNDER 12 1. Andrew Rose
2. Che Allan
3. Jacob Burke
4. Thomas Debierre
5. Zander Venezia, Van Moll
7. Liam Grant
: ADVERTISMENT :
: ADVERTISMENT :
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