Survival Lessons
The Quiksilver Pro France reels off nine heats of Round 2
By Sean Doherty

In the shadows of late yesterday afternoon, while your correspondent was diligently locked away preparing his report on a days surfing he thought well completed, three heats of world title consequence were still going down at Les Bourdaines. Mick Fanning and CJ Hobgood both redeemed themselves after losing round one heats earlier in the day. Adriano De Souza, however, got picked off by a rampant Phil MacDonald in the last heat of the day. It means current number three De Souza is now counting a 17th, and that’s gonna hurt him as the season becomes pointier in coming weeks.

Your correspondent learned his lesson on the vagaries of French beachbreaks and stayed today till the bitter end, which, mercifully, was just after lunch. The eight heats of the losers round that ran today didn’t have anything to do with the top end of town, they were all about survival. Most of today’s combatants are struggling on the ratings and need to start winning in order to save their skins.

Best amongst them today were Kai Otton, a guy seemed predisposed to surfing left rip bowls, the sole offering today at Les Bourdaines. With a ferocious rip running through the break, Otto caught anything that moved. His opponent meanwhile, Nathaniel Curran, sat and waited while the rip continually pulled him too deep and out of position. Typically self-deflating, Otto accused himself of “fairy tapping”, despite being one of the few guys to survive the shorebreak munitions range. The lineup, she was not pretty today, and the arsenal of hardware on hand to webcast the event may have had the effect of “crumbing a turd” as one staffer described it.

It was also not a great day for the locals, with favourite sons Jeremy Flores and Miky Picon both bowing out in front of parochial home crowds. The reaction on the beach was like Kelly losing at Trestles, or Joel and Mick at Snapper. Sitting in the competitors area after Jeremy’s heat with Aritz Aranburu, I had evasive action planned should any objects – surfboards, plastic chairs, water bottles – come flying in my general direction, but the occasionally volatile Frenchman shrugged his shoulders in resignation.

While these heats were about survival, there’s also a gnawing doubt as to what landscape the survivors will inhabit next year. Behind the scenes the wheels seem to be turning quickly and a resolution about what the 2010 tour will look like might not be far away. With surfer rep Mick Fanning locked in conversation behind the webcast van with ASP CEO Brodie Carr, you’ve got a fair idea what business is being discussed. The surfers are due to meet in France some time this week to make decisions on the direction they want to head.

The swell forecast for the remainder of the week isn’t great, and there is a near certainty that the contest will reconvene at Les Bourdaines tomorrow morning. There are four heats of round two remaining and then things will get interesting. Most of this interest will centre round the middle of the draw with Joel Parkinson and Kelly Slater drawn against French wildcards Patrick Bevan and Joan Duru respectively. The juicier heat, however, is Mick Fanning up against Julian Wilson.

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 13.34 def. Drew Courtney (AUS) 10.37
Heat 6: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.84 def. David Weare (ZAF) 9.50
Heat 7: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 9.84 vs. Jihad Khodr (BRA) 6.13
Heat 8: Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 14.50 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.23
Heat 9: Kai Otton (AUS) 14.26 def. Nathaniel Curran (USA) 5.17
Heat 10: Mick Campbell (AUS) 12.17 def. Michael Picon (FRA) 11.57
Heat 11: Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.33 def. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 12.33
Heat 12: Greg Emslie (ZAF) 12.33 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.83
Heat 13: Dean Morrison (AUS) 10.50 def. Dayyan Neve (AUS) 10.17

QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE REMAINING ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 14: Heitor Alves (BRA) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 15: Tim Reyes (USA) vs. Roy Powers (USA)
Heat 16: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Chris Ward (USA)

Best Moment:
Taj’s backhand pit, the only one of the morning, chalked him up an 8.5, the day’s highest score.

Upset of the day:
Kelly Slater’s heat almost started without Kelly Slater, the countdown beginning only to be halted. The champ emerged two minutes later, jogging down to paddle out, and the heat was started. A few of his fellow competitors grizzled it was unlikely they would be afforded the same privilege.