This past week a whole crew of East Coast pros journeyed down to the land of KFC (more Kentucky Fried Chicken sold per capita than anywhere else in the world), to compete in the first major professional surfing event on the island of Trinidad. Not knowing what to expect, I linked up with several other surfers from our area, and helped persuade a couple photogs to join us on our journey. I think my quote on ESM's website sums the island of Trinidad up in my eyes, "The trip down to Trinidad & Tobago was pretty mental... the locals there are some of the nicest people in the world. It's pretty rare to have local surfers welcoming dozens of traveling pros to their normally empty lineup. When it comes to local talent, quality surf, good food, and good vibes, Trinidad is one of the most underrated islands in the Caribbean." Check out the rest of ESM's online feature here. There were surfers throughout the whole event that blew me away, I could not believe some of the talent from these islanders that I have never even heard of before. Some of them were even riding borrowed or handed down equipment. It was pretty inspiring to see, and definitely pushed all of us to surf harder. My goal before heading down there was to come back with the ratings lead for the WAPSS (Western Atlantic Pro Surf Series) and by being the only American surfer to make the final I accomplished that. I felt really good during my heats. I was riding one of my Firewire's that was actually shaped for good waves, but it was somehow going insane in the grovelly conditions. The final was a tough one. I was in the water with three Venezuelan surfer's who were able to work together and ensure that they had the best waves for the duration of the final. I did my best to get post some scores, but in the end had to settle for 3rd. Either way I am super stoked on how the event played out, and was really stoked to hang with the crew we had.
Here are a couple shots from the Event, I will post more photos, as well as video as soon as I can....
I actually landed this tail whip air!!, To bad it was about 1 minute before the Final Started......It would have been over if that was during it....