World’s best surfers arrive for Rip Curl Pro

THE world’s best surfers descended on Bells Beach in force as the Rip Curl Pro opened its competition window this week.

Surf was non-existent at the WSL Championship Tour event’s official launch, featuring a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, but organisers say the forecast is improving every day and the swell is predicted to hit from Thursday onwards.

Reigning Bells winners Stephanie Gilmore and Italo Ferreira were among the stars to make an appearance on Tuesday, alongside four-time winner Kelly Slater, three-time winner Carissa Moore, Owen Wright, Nikki van Dijk and Caroline Marks (who won the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in Queensland last week).

Ferreria, who also had a first-up win last week, said he was coming into this year’s Rip Cur Pro with “a little bit more pressure”.

“I’m the first one on the rank, but it’s good for me, I think – I need to change this pressure into energy and put it into the heats and every single wave and try to ring the bell again,” he said.

Van Dijk said she had been training intensely over the off-season with her new coach, Richard “Dog” Marsh, and was keen to get into the water at Bells.

“I’ve had an interesting background here. I’ve grown up at Phillip Island and have been really close to this place, which my results haven’t shown. I’ve had three really close years… every year I kind of make the quarters but I’m really looking forward to doing my very best out here and hopefully doing a lot better than that.”

Of his wins, Slater said his 2006 victory over Joel Parkinson was his favourite.

“It was big and perfect that whole week. That was a year we didn’t have to fight for conditions; it was just good and the tides were low throughout the day.”

Local surfing fans will have something to cheer for, with Torquay’s Harry Mann winning the Trials event and claiming one of the two men’s wildcard entries into the Rip Curl Pro.

This has been a childhood dream of mine since I was a kid on the beach watching Kelly Slater ring the bell,” Mann said.

“I got second back in 2014 and never thought I was going to get in after that, so it’s such a relief to get it done and make the main round.”

Western Australia’s Jacob Wilcox secured the second men’s wildcard, while Queenslander Kobie Enright won the women’s wildcard.