Letters from Hawaii

John John on his 10point ride

The contest is finished and most of the surfers have made their way home to their loved ones and friends in one piece – which is a miracle in itself – as there were some nasty wipe-outs during this event. I thank the Lord that there weren’t many people that were seriously injured and apart from a few dislocated shoulders and some stitches, most of the surfers walked away unscathed.

 I had the opportunity to share some words of encouragement with the guys and pray for a few of them as well. The highlight was seeing some of these guys requalify for next year. It was a tense time as this is the final event for 2012 and for some of these guys not making the cut can possibly mean the end of their surfing careers. I was stoked to see Kieren Perrow and CJ Hobgood cement there spots back on tour for next year, they are great surfers and awesome human beings of character and generosity.

It is also great to see Kai Otton make the cut as a wild card for 2012. 

I am excited to see what some of the fresh faces on tour will bring next year. So we welcome Kolohe Andino and Yadin Nicol as they make their debut on the world tour. Our prayers are with Freddy P, Chris Davo and Dan Ross who unfortunately didn’t make the cut; we hope to see these guys back on tour soon though. Please pray for Jeremy Flores, Pat Gudauskas and Alejo Muniz who are all recovering from injuries. Pray that they will have rapid healing and be able to train and get ready for the New Year.

I look forward to now having a short break from events and spending sometime with my wife and family over Christmas. I also look forward to what God has instore for the Tour and Chaplaincy for 2012. I will be continuing in my role next year and look forward to sharing this with you every step of the way.

Thankyou for your support along the way and I pray God blesses you and keeps you safe over the Christmas break.

Much love and Merry Christmas.
Abe and Lize

Abe and Lize at the Christmas Parade Haliewa

The Kieren Perrow Fairytale – A story that is too good!

Kieren Perrow Big Takeoff at Pipe 2011

For those that don’t know the back story on the winner of this event, Kieren Perrow, here is a little insight into his win here in Pipe. Kieren, a Byron Bay local and surfers for the ASP has always been a standout at the infamous break on the North Shore of Oahu. Last year Kieren made it to the final against the Reunion Island young up and comer Jeremy Flores. Kieren was inform in 2010 to take out the Pipe Masters, however a bad wave selection and a switch of priority gave Jeremy the wave which sealed the victory for Flores. 

However, 2011 came around and Kieren now looking at a harder challenge of trying to requalify to make the tour for 2012. Kieren needed to make the quarter finals to secure his spot for next year. This is not an easy task when he drew Pipe veteran, Shane Dorian and Pipe winner for 2009, Taj Burrow for his round 4 heat. However, within the last 5 minutes of the heat, Kieren needing a high score found a wave, one which was so big that most human beings would be paddle for their lives to get away from it; however Kieren stroked into it and rode it like a true Pipemaster. He secured the heat win and his spot on tour for 2012. 

Now, Kieren goes on to make the final against fellow Aussie, and 3 times Triple Crown winner, Joel Parkinson. Although Kieren is probably one of the best big wave surfers on tour, he is also a much grounded family man and travels most of the year with his family to all of the events. Not only does he have good solid values and sense of courtesy and respect that most surfers in general lack, he also works hard behind the scenes to help better the sport of surfing and sits on the board of the ASP to represent the surfers to the professional surfing event organisers – not an easy task. With all of this in mind, Kieren has never won an ASP World Tour Event. He has been on and off tour a few times and has had to work hard to secure his spot amongst the world’s best surfers. But ask any Tour surfer and they will tell you that Kieren is one of the biggest chargers on tour and is a great competitor. 

 So Kieren has a huge task at hand, he does not want a second at Pipe again. His wife is nervous and everyone in the competitor’s area is nervous for him. Kelly Slater gives Kieren some last words of encouragement, he says, ‘no more bridesmaid, you win this.’ For Perrow, a 3^rd or a 5^th would be better than a 2^nd after his Pipe final loss a year ago. So Joel and KP paddle out. The heat starts and Kieren starts the heat with two good scores leaving Joel on the back foot chasing a score. Joel strokes into a couple of bombs that look too good, however, he just can’t find an exit and as the time ticks down it looks as though Kieren has sealed the deal. Joel needs a 9, he finds a wave at backdoor that could be the score, the wave stretches out and unfortunately Parko can’t get through it. The horn sounds to signal the end of the heat and Kieren Perrow wins to 2011 Billabong Pipeline Masters. A well deserved win!

What do the Surfers think of Teahupoo?

Why Chaplaincy??

Chaplaincy in Christian Surfers from Christian Surfers on Vimeo.

Adriano De Souza Wins Billabong Rio Pro

Adriano De Souza took out the Billabong Rio Pro in tricky conditions for the final of the 3rd event of the World Tour 2011.

The young Brazillian Adriano, defeated Aussie surfer Taj Burrow in front of a massive home crowd. It was a tearful final for current world number 1, De Souza who surfed his way to victory with 15.63 points over Taj's 12.17 points.

Check out the final here.