"He's doing the Bells Hail Mary, I can’t believe it, he’s actually doing the Bells Hail Mary.” Rabbit Bartholomew, is watching, voice straining with excitement and disbelief, as Kelly Slater paddled up from the Bowl with eight minutes to go needing an eight point ride.

“What’s the Hail Mary”? Asked Kai Otton, all smiles, and ears. “It’s the miracle attempt at Rincon.” Responded Rabbit, spitting out some sage. “Has it ever worked?” asked Kai to a man who would probably know better than anyone else. “Nope,” was the ASP head honcho’s response.

30 seconds later, Kelly took off on a small Rincon runner, scooted along, and launched a massive, smooth, functional air, before jamming a searing top turn. Of course, it then reformed, and walled to shore, Kelly zigzagged and zinged and floated and snapped it all the way to shore. Inside the competitor’s area, the place erupted and I looked up to see Rabbit, open mouthed in honest to goodness shock. Of course, Kelly gets the score and the Hail Mary has worked, for the first time. In addition, Kelly has two from two and you’d be a brave, or stupid, man, not to bet against him for his ninth title.

And although even just after his win he stated, “Look, it would be foolish to discount the world title, but at the moment I’m just not even worrying about it, just relaxing and enjoying it and I’ll see what happens.” Well, I wanna believe him, but it’s getting harder and I’ll bet we’ll see him in Tahiti.

And as for his take on that wave? “Well, I needed a score and I saw a few up there. I paddled up and thought Bede would be on my tail, and looked around and saw him sitting on the bowl, so I was like, okay, cool, and then that popped up. I wasn’t even thinking about that air and I didn’t expect to go that high, but I landed in a soft spot, and then it reformed, and that was it.”

Yep, that was that and he became only the fourth surfer to ring the bell for the third time, joining MP, MR and Sunny Garcia.

Earlier, he’d taken out Taj and Andy, both struggling for waves in what were decidedly marginal conditions (or as one Aussie pro put it, “absolutely shithouse”) and sync as Kelly rode his little, wide 5’10 on everything that moved. He never gave a moving target and never gave up and had that look invincibility about him. It was only when Bede Durbidge put him under pressure with his own 8.83 in that final that he looked vulnerable. Of course, that was before the Hail Mary and the world’s greatest surfer just got that little bit greater.