Kelly Slater et al in the US Open Round of 16

My wife and I went down to watch the men’s round of 16 at the Hurley US Open yesterday.  (Unfortunately we weren’t able to stay for the women’s semis and finals, which was a bummer.)  But the waves were still going berserk and the jet skis (PWCs) were still towing competitors out to the line up.  Not common in Huntington, there were even some serious barrels ridden this round.  Crazy.  Kelly Slater rode a particularly huge wave, got covered up and emerged victorious with a 10.  Couple broken boards, couple upsets (Rob Machado did not win his heat)…it was a stacked and exciting Round of 16.

5 Comments

  1. Timothy on 26 July 2009 at 9:08 am

    Amazing! That swell had impeccable timing!

    • Jeff on 26 July 2009 at 10:02 am

      No kidding. They couldn’t have planned it any better if they tried.

  2. Mrs. Jeff on 26 July 2009 at 1:02 pm

    I am not one to get out into the sun, so trekking out to the beach to watch this wasn’t at the top of my list yesterday morning, but I don’t regret a single second of it. Those waves were crazy and the surfers (all of them) were making the most of it!
    Shout out to my boy Machado who’s always #1 in my heart. His commentary on the live webfeed is priceless.

  3. shallow shawn on 26 July 2009 at 7:01 pm

    Hey, thanks for the photos. All of them fantastic shots.

    Those guys are crazy, Slater’s barrel was unreal and to think this happened at a local beach break.

    • Jeff on 27 July 2009 at 7:02 am

      Totally. It was great to see all these top dudes surfing the same spot I ride 2-3 times a week. I definitely learned a lot about what can be done on these waves. I have a long way to go. A long way.

Leave a Comment