World Tour Surfing Events take place at premier locations all around the globe.  World famous Trestles has been one of the the Association of Surfing Professional's event locations for many years.  From high performance surfing emerge technique, style, and tactical strategy. The Association Of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Surfing Event at Trestles 2009 gave the North American mainland a taste.

In 2009, there are ten Professional World Tour events.  World Tour event locations are picked based on their historical reputations for producing some of nature's highest quality surfing waves.  The World Tour destinations include Tahiti, Hawaii, Spain, Australia, France, South Africa, Brazil, and California.  Trestles, a world class break, has been part of the ASP World Tour of Surfing for years.  This year Hurley, the major event sponsor, increased the prize purse to $105,000.00 for the event winner.

Trestles is wedged between Orange County and San Diego County, California.   The city of San Clemente is to the north and the city of Oceanside is to the south.    Trestles is known for its cobble stone-like rock reef, kelp beds, marine life, river mouth, long walk, long waves, progressive surfing, and a long history of hosting professional surfing events.

Dane Reynolds Trestles 2009

Competitions are set to run over a duration of time that will maximize the opportunity to receive swell.  The 2009 World Tour Event @ Trestles had a 7-day window (September 13th-19th).  Surf events typically require 4 days  to complete a competition.  Surfline.com forecasted sunny skies, warm water, and a decent swell with a range of clean to bumpy conditions.  The contest kicked into gear on the 1st day of the waiting period.  Overall the waves ranged from 3 to 5 foot with a few glimpses at Classic Trestles.

The sport of Surfing has noticeably progressed.  More Focus and Value have been assigned to smooth transitions, flow, style, and identifiable "Critical Point Maneuvers".  The use of "Instant Replay" has been helping to determine interference calls and wave scores.  Webcasts are adding yet another perspective to the events and has introduced fan interactivity.   The most obvious proof becomes apparent when Professional surfers relentlessly challenge the known limits of surfing maneuvers.

45 of the world's top surfers plus 3 wildcard entries paddled out at Trestles.  The Roll Call included Usual Suspects like Kelly Slater (2005, 2007, and 2008 Trestles Winner), Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, and Bede Durbidge.   “I’ve been surfing Trestles since I was 12 and I love it here,” Slater said. “This was the spot I really wanted to surf when I was a kid and I won my first professional contest here."  Two other tricky contenders for this location are Dane Reynolds and Adriano De Souza..  Reynolds is out of Ventura and has earned wildcard entries into the Lower Trestles event in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.  In 2008, Reynolds made his debut as a member of elite ASP Top 45 World Tour Competitors. Adriano De Souza is another returning ASP World Tour competitor.  Adriano, originally from Brazil, has been living in southern California over the recent years.  It's not hard to spot the familiarity that Adriano shows on the waves at Trestles.

 

Dane Reynolds' Spray - Trestles 2009

The Trestles 2009 contest was action packed.  Right off the bat, Dane Reynolds beat Phill MacDonald and  Adriano De Souza in Round 1 of the contest, putting fellow competitors on edge and gaining access into round 3 (skipping round 2).  Raising the bar Dane Reynolds, Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Kai Barger, and CJ Hobgood all started their aerial attacks in the first round.  By Monday September 14th, Round 3 was in swing.  The dust had cleared and the competitor list had shortened.  Josh Kerr served Adrian Buchan a combination of aerials and carves in Heat 3.  In Heat 4 of Round 3, it was Adriano De Souza who defeated  Nic Muscroft to advance.  Round 3 concluded on Tuesday the 15th followed by 3 lay days due to small surf.  The Contest Director and Surfline.com collaborated and set their sights on Saturday to run the remaining portion of the event.

 

Trestles Crowd - 2009 Finals

Sure enough, Saturday produced some decent yet inconsistent waves.  4 players were left going into the Semi-Finals.  In the Semi-Finals, Dane Reynolds and Bede Durbidge battled it out. Dane Reynolds won his semi-final heat.   This was the first time Dane Reynolds has made it to the final heat in any World Tour event.  In the next heat, Mick Fanning kept busy and consistent. His challenger, Kelly Slater, seemed to be in a funk. Slater was determined to pull off some sort of 360 maneuver but failed 3 times. The nose of Kelly Slater's surfboard also broke when it slammed into his arm during the heat.  Fanning proceeded to win his semi-final heat.

About 10 minutes before the final heat of the contest Stephen Bell, the Quiksilver International Team Manager, came down to the shoreline from the Competition tents. Stephen told Trade Federation that Dane Reynolds was cramping up after a full day of competition. The Hurley webcast reported that Dane Reynolds was hooked up to an IV due to dehydration. Mr. Bell felt that the fatigue could have been avoided and that Dane needs to intensify his level of training. Offsetting this drama was the reputation Dane has as a progressive surfing icon. By this point Dane Reynolds, known for his futuristic tricks, had already posted the top two single-wave scores of the event (9.70 and 9.67).

More Photos: Trestles 2009

- Kelly Slater Vertical

- Rob Machado Air

- Kai Otton Floater

- Adrian Buchan Spray

Mick Fanning Fins Free - Round 3 Trestles 2009

Mick Fanning Hands In The Air @ Trestles 2009

The horn sounded and the Final heat of the event started. Mick Fanning came out of the gates charging. Fanning racked up 3 waves before you knew it. Dane Reynolds caught his first wave about 15 minutes into the Heat. From there the exchange began. Reynolds' next couple of waves produced a few more flashy moves including a rotating air maneuver. Taking advantage of his momentum, Mick Fanning continued his relentless attack. Fanning, known for his fast and smooth style, notched up his performance by integrating a couple of aerial maneuvers for the judges. When the horn sounded to mark the end of the event, it was Mick Fanning with his hands in the air. Mick Fanning Won the 2009 World Tour Event at Trestles and claimed the richest prize purse in surfing history, US $105,000.00!

Professional Surfers compete at world-class breaks like Trestles.  Today's rippers continue to raise the bar with extreme performances.  The Association of Surfing Professionals and Mick Fanning proved that point once again at The World Tour Event at Trestles 2009.

Kekoa's Smack - Trestles 2009