Padang Padang: Rip Curl Cup on July 26th 2007

The Rip Curl Cup will kick off tomorrow, July 26th 2007. Recent swell conditions meant organizers had no choice but to ‘strike while the iron’s hot’. Great surfing promised for those attending besok. Padang Padang is sometimes called the ‘cheese grater’ because of its jagged reef, is one of Bali’s premier waves.

Here’s more from Tim Hain of ISC (Indonesia Surfing Championship).

Rip Curl Cup 2007 Padang-Padang Is On! Trial Held In 4-6 Padang-Padang Perfection – Main Event Set To Go On Thursday July 26th

24 July 2007, Kuta-Bali: With the forecast showing another solid swell arriving on Thursday, and the great conditions for the Trial on Tuesday, Rip Curl has announced that they will hold the Main Event of the Rip Curl Cup ahead of the scheduled August 1-30 waiting period.

Padang-Padang is one of the most notoriously fickle and hence most sought-after waves in Indonesia, the Bali counterpart to Pipeline in Hawaii, and only rears up and bares its teeth several times a year, thus requiring a lengthy waiting period in order to stage a competition. Hence the tag line for the Rip Curl Cup, “It’s on when it’s on,” as all competitors and organizing crew are on standby and ready to jump into action the moment the call is made.

The Trial on Tuesday saw solid 4-6 foot surf for the majority of the day. A long period swell with a relatively small tidal change saw consistent conditions throughout the day.

The day got started at 7:30 with three pre-trial heats to parse down the list of 18 mostly international surfers vying for a spot in Round 1. Some of the names will be familiar to most, such as Liam McNamara, Nathan Fletcher, John John Florence, Kahea Hart, Benji Weatherly, David Cantrell, and Koby Abberton to name a few.

Making it through to Round 1 were Jason Frederico, David Cantrell, John John Florence, Kahea Hart, Komang Dhamanjaya, Agus Sumertayasa, Kamalei Alexander, and Liam McNamara.

Round 2 finished up at with the tide starting to fill back in but the waves still pumping. Surviving the intense competition and the wave itself to make it into the main event were Kane Faint, Made Lapur, Jason Frederico, John John Florence, Pepen Hendrik, Wayan Gantiyasa, Wayan “Betet” Merta, Dedi “Gun” Satriadin, Mustofa Jeksen, Liam McNamara, Made Lana, Kadek Murtika, Miki Sudena, and Kamalei Alexander.

The highest wave score of the day went to Liam McNamara, who scored a 9.6 in the second round.

After Round 2 finished up, the Masters (Over 35) crew paddled out for a go to see who would be joining the seeded Masters contestants in the Cup main event. Ketut Pitur’s 10-point wave took him straight into the number one spot, where he finished up and was trailed by (2) Fernando Tarzan, (3) Liam McNamara, (4) Marty, and (5) Mario.

Preparations are underway today at Padang-Padang Beach for the main event, and competitors should be at beach at 7 am on Thursday morning, July 26, for the start of the Rip Curl Cup 2007 Padang-Padang.

Here is the results of the Trial and the Heat Draw