LIHU‘E — Although several of the North Shore’s premiere breaks were seeing surf in the 10-to-12 foot range Thursday morning, the steep northerly angle of the swell was offering only minimal surf at Pipeline, forcing event officials to call the
LIHU‘E — Although several of the North Shore’s premiere breaks were seeing surf in the 10-to-12 foot range Thursday morning, the steep northerly angle of the swell was offering only minimal surf at Pipeline, forcing event officials to call the Billabong Pipe Masters in Memory of Andy Irons off for the day, according to a release from the Association of Surfing Professionals.
The 10th and final stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pipe Masters is also the final stop of the Vans Triple Crown and ratings leader Joel Parkinson will look to clinch his third Hawaiian series title when competition resumes.
“There’s no shortage of swell on the North Shore this morning, but unfortunately it’s not hitting at Pipe so we’ll have to call competition off for today,” Randy Rarick, Vans Triple Crown Executive Director, said. “We’re expecting unfavorable winds and weather over the next few days, but will still return tomorrow morning to assess conditions.”
Wednesday’s Billabong Pipe Masters saw the world’s best surfers battle a mass of Pipeline specialists in tricky conditions to complete Rounds 1 and 2 of competition.
With the narrowing of the 48-man draw down to 24, the qualification campaigns of the world’s best surfers for the 2011 ASP World Tour are being solidified. ASP world ranking campaigners Raoni Monteiro, Josh Kerr, Alejo Muniz and Julian Wilson have cemented their spots on next year’s ASP Dream Tour.
American Gabe Kling remains the target at present with 17,163 ASP World Rankings points. Hawai‘i’s Dusty Payne is the only surfer able to overtake him.
Event organizers will reconvene this morning at 7 a.m. to assess conditions for a possible 8 a.m. start.
