Jordy Smith showing why it’s no accident he’s number six in the world.

Brazil is on the opposite side of the world from Australia, staying awake for the webcast is pretty hard. It also doesn’t help that the Hang Loose Pro has been moved from summer to winter, that means the few female spectators that are on the beach are wearing much more clothing than we’re use to.

Another factor that’s working against us Aussies staying awake for the webcast, is that the commentary is boring. There’s only one commentator in the booth and he never had anything interesting to say and with long pauses in between sets, there’d often be a couple minutes of silence. This event shows that there’s a strong argument for the ASP to have their own commentating team who travels to all the events.

Kelly Slater won his Round Two heat against Brazilian wildcard Bernardo Miranda, but he only just snuck through. And yes, he was riding his self shaped “wizard” board. But in the four to five foot bumpy conditions Slater looked out of sync, he fell a couple of times when he normally wouldn’t and only managed to win 13.04 to 11.16.

HANG LOOSE SANTA CATARINA PRO ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.00 def. Guilherme Ferreira (BRA) 9.17
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.84 def. Gustavo Fernandes (BRA) 8.70
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.04 def. Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 11.16
Heat 4: Neco Padaratz (BRA) 13.40 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 11.90
Heat 5: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.07 def. Ben Bourgeois (USA) 9.17
Heat 6: Nathaniel Curran (USA) 13.50 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 8.67
Heat 7: Damien Hobgood (USA) 15.00 def. Marlon Lipke (DEU) 10.40
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 11.60 def. Phillip MacDonald (AUS) 11.16
Heat 9: Michael Picon (FRA) 14.07 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 8.34
Heat 10: Greg Emslie (ZAF) 13.60 def. Jay Thompson (AUS) 11.17
Heat 11: Dean Morrison (AUS) 11.57 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 8.93
Heat 12: Roy Powers (HAW) 12.43 def. Aritz Aranburu (EUK) 12.20
Heat 13: Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.67 def. Jihad Khodr (BRA) 9.60
Heat 14: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.00 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 10.93
Heat 15: Dustin Barca (HAW) 13.07 def. Drew Courtney (AUS)12.77
Heat 16: Heitor Alves (BRA) 10.57 def. David Weare (ZAF) 5.84

HANG LOOSE SANTA CATARINA PRO ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Michel Bourez (PYF)
Heat 2: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Heitor Alves (BRA)
Heat 3: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Greg Emslie (ZAF)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 6: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Dustin Barca (HAW)
Heat 7: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 9: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Nathaniel Curran (USA)
Heat 10: Dayyan Neve (AUS) vs. Tim Reyes (USA)
Heat 11: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Ben Dunn (AUS)
Heat 12: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)
Heat 13: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Michael Picon (FRA)
Heat 14: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 15: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Roy Powers (HAW)
Heat 16: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Chris Ward (USA)

read more of the story at surfinglife

Kolohe Andino claims the Open Mens crown while Lakey Peterson takes the Womens

We’re not sure who’s happier, Kolohe “Brother” Andino or his dad Dino. In a wave-starved final that went down roughly between 5:00 and 5:35 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, the 15-year-old San Clemente local did what we all suspected he could do: He won the 2009 NSSA Open Mens title (and Explorer Boys AND the Air Show). “My God…I can’t believe…I can’t…” Dino could be heard muttering almost senselessly on the beach as the final seconds ticked away. Truly, it was the penultimate step in his young son’s already illustrious career — a step that both he and Kolohe have worked extremely hard for since Dino was still pushing the grom into waves. Next stop: Big Leagues.

In the Open Womens final preceding the Men, things were a bit more active in the water. But no one could stop the progressive explosion of Santa Barbara’s Lakey Peterson, who punted a frontside air and stuck it to the tune of a nine. And though things remained tight until the end between Peterson, Nage Melamed, Malia Manuel and defending Open Women’s champ Courtney Conlogue, nothing was enough to stop Lakey’s show-stopping nine-o.

RESULTS

Open Mens

1. Kolohe Andino
2. Evan Thompson
3. Alex Smith
4. Conner Coffin

Open Womens

1. Lakey Peterson
2. Courtney Conlogue
3. Malia Manuel
4. Nage Melamed

read the full story and see all the results at surfer mag

check out more photos at transworld

IMBITUBA, Santa Catarina (Saturday, June 27, 2009) – Round 1 of the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro, Event No. 4 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, was completed today in solid four-to-six foot (2 metre) peaks at Praia Vila in Imbituba.

Utilizing the traditional competition format, the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro saw all surfers don the singlet today, with ASP World Title contenders dominating the proceedings amidst some major upsets.

Mick Fanning (AUS), 28, former ASP World Champion (2007) and current ASP World No. 3, continued to terrorize the world’s best surfers this morning, employing his lightning-fast forehand approach to navigate the thumping beach breaks. Although slow to start, the powerful natural-footer picked up momentum throughout the heat, netting the day’s highest heat total of a 16.43 out of a possible 20, including a 9.50 for a blistering assault on a roping righthander.

“I couldn’t find a rhythm towards the start and Aritz (Aranburu) came out with a 5, I came out with a 6, Aritz got a 7 and we went back and forth,” Fanning said. “Towards the end, I was able to find a wave that stood up across the bank and it allowed me to really open up. I got one good turn off the top to start and just tried to stay on rail throughout the rest of the wave.”

Despite being absent from last season’s event with an injury, Fanning remains one of the most dangerous surfers in Brazil, with back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2007. Sitting within striking distance of an ASP World Tour ratings jump, the Australian is focused on capitalizing at the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro.

read more at ASP