Wednesday, December 9, 1998
Dorian
shreds Sunset
The Hawaii surfer captures
By Greg Ambrose
the Rip Curl to put himself in line
to win the Triple Crown
Special to the Star-BulletinWeary of the arduous World Championship Tour, several months ago Shane Dorian planned to flee home to the Big Island, acquaint himself with his sister's new baby, skip the first two Triple Crown of Surfing events and focus on ending the season with a good showing in the Pipe Masters.
Luckily, Dorian changed his plans.
He leads the pack in the race for the Vans G-Shock Triple Crown of Surfing title after winning the Rip Curl World Cup at Sunset Beach yesterday. A good showing at the Mountain Dew Pipe Masters could earn Dorian his first Triple Crown championship, and remove Sunny Garcia from his customary position as Hawaii's top rated surfer on the elite World Championship Tour.
Due to hellish winds that raked Sunset Beach for days, and spiteful surf gods who kept the waves away, the Rip Curl World final was delayed until the first day of the waiting period of the Pipe Masters.
But yesterday arrived with light zephyrs, smooth conditions and a rising swell.
Dorian was on fire throughout the day, earning nearly perfect 9s in each of his four heats as he plugged deep into the barrel of the waves at Sunset Point.
But because the 5- to 6-foot waves were inconsistent, many a competitor who dazzled the judges with a glamorous first wave and solid second wave was eliminated by failing to catch that crucial good third wave.
Five-time world champion Kelly Slater was also setting the waves ablaze, earning a perfect 10 in a semifinal heat with an exceptional tube ride, punctuated by multiple lip bashes nearly to the beach."I was really in synch all day," Slater said. "It was really nice out there, no wind, beautiful conditions, everywhere I turned there was a wave."
Late in the day, a few 8-foot sets came booming in, the sun began to shine and the water was dead glassy.
Dorian was in fourth place behind Slater, Michael "Munga" Barry of Australia and Cristiano Spirro of Brazil with more than half of the 45-minute internationally balanced final heat already expired.
To Dorian's dismay, Slater ducked into a contest-winning tube. "It was a barrel longer and deeper than the one in my semifinal," Slater said. "But I fell coming out, and it turned my momentum."
Emboldened, Dorian pulled into a slick barrel of his own, and emerged to finish the ride with an exclamation point of a lip slam. "I needed a 9.25, and I got a 9.5," he said. "That put me in the lead, and then I sat on Munga for the rest of the heat.
"I was just concentrating on having a good time out there. Not stressing yourself out is the best way to win. Having a great time is what surfing is all about."
Although Dorian was ecstatic with his first Triple Crown of Surfing victory, Slater made his triumph especially satisfying. "It really is a special thrill to beat Kelly in a heat.
"This is the second time in my life," Dorian said. "I had him man-on-man at Huntington. I had lost every time until that heat, and it really gave me a lot of confidence to beat him fair and square. He's the guy I really look up to, he's on a whole other level.
"It was a beautiful session out there," Dorian added. "The swell was building, my friends were in the channel screaming for me, the sun came out. It was exactly the way I would want to win."
And now he has one more chance for the dream ending to the season. "If I could have it my way, the Pipe Masters would go off in perfect 8- to 10-foot rights and lefts. I won't be happy unless I'm scared to death in my heat at Pipe."
