On the eve of his incredible 11th World Surfing Title, Kelly Slater took the time to sit down an ink an article for theinertia.com, an independent online surf publication, on the life and memory of his only true rival, Andy Irons, who passed away exactly one year ago.

It's an amazing insight into the lives of champions, the super-men that we put on pedestals, and the candid moments that are so undeniably human.

Andy and Kelly had a very simple or very complicated relationship, depending on how you look at it, but hearing Kelly speak so honestly about their love and hate for each other is quite touching.

Here is an excerpt, read the whole article on the Inertia here.

Kelly:
"I've been asked for many opinions and interviews about Andy Irons and the situations and decisions that lead to his early departure from our world. It's not something I take lightly. I have my own opinions about not only Andy's choices and how he ultimately got to the place he did, but also about the way these things are handled from all sides of the story. But what is right? And whose opinions actually matter other than those of his family and closest friends about who they knew and how they feel inside? What is it that each of us hopes to take away from the Andy Irons story? And what is it that we want to give to the story of his life?"

(Kelly also shares a couple anecdotes about his and Andy's battles, physical ones.)

"I'll share a story, but for the sake of brevity, I'll just say this: We got really drunk on a Tavarua trip. We got into a shouting match. I said something about him thinking he's the man for winning a couple of contests. He screamed and laughed at me, "You're going baaaalllldddd, hahahaha." I told him he'd know how I felt when his father passed away, and he started kicking me in the face. (I had earlier punched him in the face in a crazy 10-man wrestling match in a taxi). Then Shane Dorian tackled him and pulled him off me telling him my father had just died a few weeks ago. Andy started crying hysterically and hugging and apologizing to me for the next half hour before he went to bed and then apologized again the next day. In some weird way I think I just wanted him to know that I was hurting because he had a way of just sorta being tough even though he was one of the most sensitive guys in the world. "

Read the full article.

When Kelly Slater was closing in on his 10th ASP World Championship in 2010, the nice round number that he was chasing demanded his career accomplishments be compared against all other athletes.

Sadly, the eventual celebration was tempered because his 10th title came just days after the sport's biggest tragedy: the untimely death of Hawaiian great Andy Irons, Slater's biggest rival, and the only man who managed to truly challenge Kelly during his 20 year reign.

Irons won three straight titles in 2002-2004, but none bigger than his 2003 showdown that saw him get the better of Slater in the final heat of the season.

Wednesday marked the one year anniversary of Irons' passing. After ASP competitors and fans marked the occasion with an early morning tribute at the Rip Curl Pro in Ocean Beach, San Francisco, Slater got busy clinching another world title... his 11th.

"Winning today, on the anniversary of Andy's death, it's really the best way I can honor his memory," Slater said after being carried up the beach. "It reminds me of all those times we battled together."

[Flashback: Slater and Irons, a rivalry for the ages]

For the record, his was the first time the ASP crown has ever been clinched on the U.S. Mainland. And naturally Slater's latest feat has all his fans busting out their scales again.



As they discovered last year at this time the list of athletes with careers that have lasted 20 years is a short one, albeit filled with legendary names. But try making a list of athletes that have completely dominated their sport for two full decades and it gets very tiny indeed, and there's little arguing that Kelly Slater, the surfer, is right there at the top.

The 39-year-old from Florida remains ageless in a sport where the athletes are built like gymnasts, and 25-year-olds are considered dinosaurs -- at least they were when Slater's career began.

His feat is all the more impressive considering he won his first world title in 1992, when Bill Clinton was still a candidate for office, Magic, Larry, and Jordan were playing together on the Olympic Dream Team, and Jay Leno was enjoying his first season as the Tonight Show Host.

[Surfer Magazine photo gallery of Slater from the Rip Curl Pro]

Slater was the youngest world champion then, and he's the oldest today by a spread of nine years. His 11th world championship gives him seven more than Australian Mark Richards, the man with the second most, who racked up four straight from 1979-1982. His achievement surprisingly got a bit of mainstream attention last year, as even the most cynical sports pundits pondered the argument of Slater being quite possible the best athletes ever.

For his part, even though he's bolstered the argument with yet another championship Slater wants nothing to do with the conversation. He let's his rabid fans do the debating for him while he cherishes the anonymity that comes driving just a few miles inland.

His trip to San Francisco was his first for an ASP competition, and he did his best to make it a family affair with his brother Stephen and longtime girlfriend, swimwear designer Kalani Miller.

When he realized that he might clinch his 11th world title on the anniversary of Andy's death, Slater took some time to finally open up on the matter. Today the surfing world knows more about the personal struggles Irons faced leading up to his tragic departure than they did a year ago. They've made peace with Irons' issues. But on Wednesday we got a glimpse of how long it really took for Slater to cope. In the days leading into the Rip Curl Pro, he put down some thoughts about his roller-coaster relationship with Andy for The Inertia. While there's great stuff in there about the hottest of hot days in their storied rivalry, his summary is what hits home most.

The story of Andy Irons may likely never feel good to us whether you were his friend and you miss him or you have a strong judgment about his shortcomings and it made you angry. No matter what, it doesn't make sense for someone so gifted and in touch on so many levels to die alone in an airport hotel room nowhere close to anything that mattered to him. But remembering someone can sometimes be about the toughest thing you ever had with them and feeling like your life is better for having experienced that with them. And if that can make you laugh or smile, you're honoring their life and their legacy, I believe.

I have questioned whether anything in our relationship and battles had any impact on the course of his life or whether I could have made a difference somehow. Maybe that's just my own form of denial, but one thing is clear, I still can't believe that Andy is gone. Hell, I still can't believe that Todd Chesser is gone and Donnie Solomon and Malik Joyeux and a whole bunch of other good friends are gone. An anniversary is best used for remembering the good things and letting it all sink in more so that the sadness fades away and the good memories remain. And if we learn anything from that, let it be that the positive impact of Andy and all our other friends who are gone bring us closer to the ones and the things that we love right here, right now.

As surfing fans celebrate one of the greatest athletes of all time, on this day they're also remembering the fallen hero who made him better.



Photos of Kelly Slater by Grant Ellis of Surfer Magazine. Fan shirt shot comes courtesy of Kalani Miller.

A fair amount of anticipation has surrounded the kickoff to the Rip Curl Pro Search 2011. Another new venue, a big city, and a surf spot that has it's share of personality.

Ocean Beach is renowned for angry locals, rip currents, sharks, and big winter peaks.

Day 1 would see all of those, except maybe the big winter peaks. Fun sized peaky surf and clean conditions started the day off before the wind shifted sideshore as the swell increased, making for lots and lots of paddling.

The morning started with Joel Parkinson having what he described as a potential heat winning wave taken from him by a local who refused to clear the lineup in Heat One. Local surfers are generally happy to have the world's best ripping apart their local beach. Not in Norcal. Locals up North don't seem to care much for ratings points, heat strategies, or your hipster surf blog. Joel went on to say that at that point he was already having a terrible heat so he wasn't going to complain to the contest director or anything like that.

Hawaiian Dusty Payne encountered a different kind of local in Heat Four. Dusty picked off an inside wave with 6 minutes left. He stonds stark upright, making to effort to surf the wave. He instead looks back over the shoulder and motions to the churning water behind him. Going straight in, despite still being behind in the heat, he is met by beach commentator Shmoo, where he steps in front of the camera, still visibly shaken.

"I've seen plenty of dolphins. That wasn't a dolphin. Biggest fin I've ever seen. Coming right at me."



Eek!

Kelly Slater moved within one heat of clinching his eleventh title by winning his Round One heat today. He will now need to win his Round Three heat to clinch. The champagne is on ice.

Several top seeded aussies fell in the roulette-type conditions at Ocean Beach. Parko, Owen, Mick, Julian, and Kerr all failed to win in Round One. Owen and Joel battled back in Round Two, with the rest yet to surf.

And Dane Reynolds showed up! The Ventura local took a little road trip up North to Frisco for some beers and some duckdives. Dane would finish his first heat one aerial short of victory, and due to deteriorating winds today, he will have to surf the first heat of the day tomorrow. Like most good beer drinkers, Daynolds is typically terrible in early morning heats, so this will be interesting..

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH SAN FRANCISCO ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Adam Melling (AUS) 12.50, Taylor Knox (USA) 10.80, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.50
Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.60, Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.43, Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.00
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.67, John John Florence (HAW) 10.67, Daniel Ross (AUS) 7.00
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.10, Dusty Payne (HAW) 7.87, Tom Whitaker (AUS) N/S
Heat 5: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 14.67, Owen Wright (AUS) 6.10, Dillon Perillo (USA) 4.86
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.03, Kai Otton (AUS) 10.90, Dean Brady (AUS) 9.97
Heat 7: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.10, Julian Wilson (AUS) 11.43, Tiago Pires (PRT) 9.33
Heat 8: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 16.53, Michel Bourez (PYF) 16.23, Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 9.77
Heat 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.50, Miguel Pupo (BRA) 11.10, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.77
Heat 10: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 16.40, Bede Durbidge (AUS) 16.33, Travis Logie (ZAF) 10.37
Heat 11: Chris Davidson (AUS) 16.10, Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.26, Mick Fanning (AUS) 11.10
Heat 12: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 11.10, Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.77, Brett Simpson (USA) 9.30

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH SAN FRANCISCO ROUND 2 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Owen Wright (AUS) 11.16 def. Dean Brady (AUS) 8.07
Heat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 8.60 def. Dillon Perillo (USA) 6.50
Heat 3: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.57 def. Taylor Clark (USA) 8.76
Heat 4: Daniel Ross (AUS) 14.00 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 12.00

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH SAN FRANCISCO REMAINING ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 5: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 6: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Brett Simpson (USA)
Heat 9: Miguel Pupo (BRA) vs. Kai Otton (USA)
Heat 10: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)
Heat 11: Tiago Pires (PRT) vs. John John Florence (HAW)
Heat 12: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Jadson Andre (BRA)

While Kelly Slater will sleep walk his way to a remarkable 11th world title this week in San Francisco, most of the real tour drama is happening in the realm of surfers rated between 20 and 40 on the world rankings, as the race to qualify for next year's tour approaches its final turn.

Miguel Pupo just gave himself a huge shot in the arm by clinching the Prime rated Cold Water Classic, locking in his place on next year's tour by having secured more than 27,000 points.

As stated last week, a glance at the current ratings is extremely deceiving because many results being counted toward a surfer's current status are due to expire before the season ends. In the end, the only points that matter are those that will be there when judgement day arrives, so with that in mind I've compiled a list of what the real ASP world rankings look like based on points that each surfer has secured.

To understand what it will take for each surfer to better his position, I've also added the number of points they'll have to earn to move the needle. Some clearly have higher hurdles to climb than others . Any points they manage to net over that hurdle number are secured. Anything less is useless. So here are the REAL ASP World Rankings heading into the Rip Curl Pro...

18. Miguel Pupo has secured 27255 of his current 29711, and needs> 1200 to move the needle.
19. Jadson Andre has secured all 236440 of his current points, and needs> 1750 to move the needle.
20. Tiago Pires has secured 23400 of his current 24450, and needs> 700 to move the needle.
21. Raoni Montero has secured 22150 of his current 28703, and needs> 500 to move the needle.
22. Kolohe Andino has secured all 21745 of his current points, and needs> 1000 to move the needle.
23. Kai Otton has secured all 21650 of his current points, and needs> 1750 to move the needle.
24. John Florence has secured 20775 of his current 23516, and needs> 650 to move the needle.
25. Freddy Patacchia has secured 20664 of his current 22120, and needs> 1200 to move the needle.
26. Brett Simpson has secured 20300 of his current 21600, and needs> 500 to move the needle.
27. Travis Logie has secured 20275 of his current 21117, and needs> 700 to move the needle.
28. Patrick Gudauskas has secured 20220 of his current 20770, and needs> 1200 to move the needle.
29. CJ Hobgood has secured 20000 of his current 21700, and needs> 650 to move the needle.
30. Willian Cardoso has secured all 19790 of his current points, and needs> 675 to move the needle.
31. Adam Melling has secured 19357 of his current 19607, and needs> 1750 to move the needle.
32. Thiago Camarao has secured all 18810 of his current points, and needs> 1250 to move the needle.
33. Dusty Payne has secured 18775 of his current 22625, and needs> 500 to move the needle.
34. Jesse Mendes has secured all 18342 of his current points, and needs> 1200 to move the needle.
35. Yadin Nicol has secured 18200 of his 20607, and needs only> 380 to move the needle, but is injured. *
36. Chris Davidson has secured 17451 of his 21208, and needs> 500 to move the needle.
37. Matt Wilkinson has secured 16800 of his 20900, and needs> 700 to move the needle.
38. Taylor Knox has secured 16279 of his 24300, and needs> 500 to move the needle.
39. Tanner Gudauskas has secured 15670 of his current 18674, and needs> 410 to move the needle.
40. Kieren Perrow has secured 14650 of his current 20900, and needs> 1200 to move the needle.
41. Dan Ros has secured 14000 of his current 18406, and needs> 500 to move the needle.
42. Cory Lopez has secured 12650 of his current 17282, and needs> than 700 to move the needle.
43. Dane Reynolds has secured 8020 of his current 18770, and needs 500 to move the needle.

Keen observers will note that the ground between Raoni Montero and CJ Hobood is extremely slippery, with Dusty Payne and Chris Davidson posing as significant threats as well. Taylor Knox has some serious work to do, as does Matt Wilkinson, Kieren Perrow and Dan Ross.

More to come...

King Kelly Slater appeared on CBS' Sunday Morning news yesterday to talk about his achievement's, his lack of street cred thanks to Baywatch, and his wave pool vision, The Kelly Slater Wave co.

Most of the clip consists of background info which we are all very familiar with, having grown up with Kelly in our lives since he began collecting titles some two decades ago. The interesting bits of this piece are about his new wave pool project.

The circular pool provides an endless wave, bending around the inner bank of the pool forever, in theory. So far they have only been able to make the concept work in a scale model providing 2 inch perfection. Problems associated with cost and the inevitable whirlpool effect have kept similar designs on paper in recent years, perhaps these guys have got those issues handled? Their earliest projected date is still a couple years off, so maybe if Kelly quits winning world titles for a few seconds he'll find the time to get to work on bringing us 20 minute barrels inside of a shopping mall.

To date, the most successful and potentially viable wave technology belongs to Wave Garden in Spain. They have successfully proved their concept in a half-scale model (which you have probably seen videos of), and are currently renovating the first pool to create a beefed up version that promises to provide head high tubes of staggering length, and plans to install such pools around the world are already in motion.

You'll have to click here, as CBS does not want their videos embedded for some silly reason.