It was hardly pretty, but the Reef Hawaiian Pro did manage to produce some solid surfing on Wednesday as the waves finally became contestable. While Taj Burrow stole the headlines with his win, the battle for 2012 qualification was the major subplot to this week's story, and there was indeed some movement.

Nat Young cracked the Top 50 of the "real rankings" with his appearance in the Final, while Adam Melling salvaged his shot at requalifying with a strong second place finish, which netted him a gain of 3450 points, enough to take him from 33 to 26.

The other nice gainers included John Florence, Tanner Gudauskas, Kolohe Andino and Jesse Mendez, all of whom are enjoying net gains of more than 1000 points. Here's a look at the real qualifying picture, based on points that each surfer has secured through the next cutoff (the only points that matter at this point).

[Above: John Florence earned crucial points by making the semifinals in the Reef Hawaiian Pro. Photo: ASP/Cestari.]

18. Miguel Pupo has secured 30055. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
19. Brett Simpson has secured 25650. He needs 1750 plus to move the needle.
20. Kolohe Andino has secured 25245. He needs 2080 plus to move the needle.
21. Tiago Pires has secured 24450. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
22. Jadson Andre has secured 23640. He needs 1750 plus to move the needle.
23. John Florence has secured 23405. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
24. Raoni Montero has secured 23400. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
25. Patrick Gudauskas has secured 23020. He needs 1750 plus to move the needle.
26. Adam Melling has secured 22925. He needs 1750 plus to move the needle.
27. Taylor Knox has secured 22429. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
28. Matt Wilkinson has secured 22100. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
29. Kai Otton has secured 21650. He needs 1750 plus to move the needle.
30. Freddy Patacchia has secured 21164. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
31. Travis Logie has secured 20275. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
32. CJ Hobgood has secured 20000. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
33. Willian Cardoso has secured 19790. He needs 675 plus to move the needle.
34. Dusty Payne has secured 19475. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
35. Jesse Mendes has secured 19342. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
36. Kieren Perrow has secured 19300. He needs 1750 plus to move the needle.
37. Thiago Camarao has secured 18810. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
38. Chris Davidson has secured 18701. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
39. Yadin Nicol has secured 18200. He needs 380 plus to move the needle.
40. Tanner Gudauskas has secured 17660. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
41. Jay Quinn has secured 15875. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
42. Dan Ross has secured 15700. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
43. Richard Christie has secured 15585. He needs 1200 plus to move the needle.
44. Tom Whitaker has secured 14500. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
45. Junior Faria has secured 14210. He needs 400 plus to move the needle.
46. Dion Atkinson has secured 13465. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
47. Bettero Hizunome has secured 13355. He needs 675 plus to move the needle.
48. Cory Lopez has secured 12650. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
49. Nate Yeomans has secured 12370. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
50. Nat Young has secured 11770. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.

With Kelly Slater having sealed the deal up top, the only thing that really matters from this point forward is who is on the chopping block.

Yes, it's that time of year again and the drama is thick for those riding the bubble. Unfortunately, going by the ASP's current ratings is totally deceiving since most surfers in contention are hanging onto results due to expire before year's end.

With that in mind I've busted out the calculator to figure out what the "real" ASP ratings are heading into the home stretch of Hawaii.

Below is what that picture looks like for those rated between 18-43. In addition, I've noted the amount of points each surfer needs to better in order to move the needle.

Naturally, those with a lower threshold will have an easier time climbing. But as we've learned...nothing comes easy in Hawaii, and anything can happen.

As you can see Kolohe Andino looks to have secured a spot on next year's tour, while Dane Reynolds is examining color schemes and fabrics for his new clothing line about now. Taylor Knox, CJ Hobgood and Dusty Payne are on a slippery slope, though all three can move the needle with just a decent result. Payne needs one badly though, as he's currently on the outside looking in. Updated November 12th, 2011 to verify real 41-50.

18. Miguel Pupo has secured 30055. He needs a 1200 plus to move the needle.
19. Brett Simpson has secured 25000. He needs a 1750 plus to move the needle.
20. Kolohe Andino has secured 24805. He needs a 1200 plus to move the needle.
21. Tiago Pires has secured 24450. He needs a 700 plus to move the needle.
22. Jadson Andre has secured 23640. He needs a 1750 plus to move the needle.
23. Raoni Montero has secured 23400. He needs a 700 plus to move the needle.
24. Patrick Gudauskas has secured 23020. He needs a 1750 plus to move the needle.
25. Taylor Knox has secured 22279. He needs a 500 plus to move the needle.
26. Matt Wilkinson has secured 22100. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
27. Kai Otton has secured 21650. He needs a 1750 plus to move the needle.
28. Freddy Patacchia has secured 21164. He needs a 1200 plus to move the needle.
29. John Florence has secured 20775. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.
30. Travis Logie has secured 20275. He needs a 700 plus to move the needle.
31. CJ Hobgood has secured 20000. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.
32. Willian Cardoso has secured 19790. He needs a 675 plus to move the needle.
33. Adam Melling has secured 19357. He needs a 1750 plus to move the needle.
34. Thiago Camarao has secured 18810. He needs a 1200 plus to move the needle.
35. Dusty Payne has secured 18775. He needs a 500 plus to move the needle.
36. Chris Davidson has secured 18701. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.
37. Kieren Perrow has secured 18650. He needs a 1750 plus to move the needle.
38. Jesse Mendes has secured 18342. He needs a 1200 plus to move the needle.
39. Yadin Nicol has secured 18200. He needs a 380 plus to move the needle.
40. Jay Quinn has secured 15875. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.
41. Tanner Gudauskas has secured 15670. He needs a 410 plus to move the needle.
42. Richard Christie has secured 15585. He needs a 1200 plus to move the needle.
43. Dan Ross has secured 15250. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.
44. Tom Whitaker has secured 14500. He needs 700 plus to move the needle.
45. Junior Faria has secured 12210. He needs 400 plus to move the needle.
46. Dion Atkinson has secured 13465. He needs 650 plus to move the needle.
47. Bettero Hizunome has secured 13355. He needs 675 plus to move the needle.
48. Cory Lopez has secured 12650. He needs a 700 plus to move the needle.
49. Nate Yeomans has secured 12370. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.
50. Mitch Crews has secured 11330. He needs a 650 plus to move the needle.

* Dane Reynolds has secured 8020. He's sitting around 60, and needs a 500 plus to move the needle.

Above: California's Kolohe Andino will likely be joining the elite world tour in 2012 after his latest 6-Star win in Australia.

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.

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...

The world of big-wave hunting used to be limited to the search for the world's tallest peaks...not anymore.

These days surfers living on the lunatic fringe are scouring the globe for more threatening beasts that -- while not as tall as Maui's Jaws or California's Cortes Bank -- pack more punch per square foot in a pound-for-pound comparison.

These shorter, stockier, thicker waves mutate into more harrowing vortexes because of the way approaching swells abruptly slam into the uneven reefs below the surface. Surfers refer to these beautifully ugly things as "slabs" because of the way huge chunks of water bend, heave, and implode in unrecognizable patterns.

"They might not be the tallest waves in the world," says Surfing Magazine editor Taylor Paul, "but they're the most dangerous because of the threat of getting slammed into the bottom."


Australian charger Mark Mathews (above) and his cohorts Ryan Hipwood, Richie Vas and Laurie Towner are the world's leading slab hunters, and according to Paul, "they're among the craziest surfers alive, and talented too, which is a scary combination. Photographer Tim Bonython stays busy just trying to keep up with them. After a mind-boggling day in Tasmania earlier this year, the boys were walking tall having conquered the ferocious Shipstern's Bluff with a handful of historic rides. But last week they met a new foe over in Western Australia, and it's safe to say this one got the better of them. This following is what happened as they tried to take on a wave known only as: The Right.

The Right heaves and folds over itself a half-mile from shore, and while Mathews and crew had experimented with it once before, they'd never seen it like this. As Mathews described it, "It was way more evil than I'd ever surfed it before." The high drama they've been capturing is being added into his new film, Fighting Fear.

According to Bonython, one of the surf world's most respected surf photographers, The Right has quickly risen in stature after this session. He told Australia's Coastal Watch, "This really is one of the world's great waves."

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