Bali and the Bluff
The first and most obvious thing to draw your attention to this week, is the WSL tour stop at Keramas on the beautiful island of Bali. Although only the third event of the year, fireworks have already been lit on the Gold Coast and Bells Beach in Australia, with the usual suspects already establishing themselves at the top of the pecking order, solidifying the thought that they are a cut above the rest of the pack on the Championship tour. On the mens side there is no surprise to see the three musketeers of the Brazilian Storm in Medina, Toledo and Ferreira inside the top of 5 of the rankings already. This maybe an ominous sign that the World Title may be heading back to Brazil again, with the three dominating at many events still yet to be surfed in 2019 and Ferreira being the defending champion at the Keramas event. However the most obvious candidate for Brazilian kryptonite is Hawaii’s John Florence, who is man handling waves since his return from injury in 2018, and currently sitting on top of the ratings heading into Keramas. In spite of this, the high performance waves at Keramas, offer up perfect tubes and skate park like sections that all World Tour surfers can play with in their sleep. Expect to see the usual contenders like Jordy Smith, Julian Wilson, the GOAT (Kelly Slater) and our very own Surf Ears ambassador Conner Coffin, give the top dogs a run for their money. On the Women’s side their is a changing of the guard at the top of the rankings with seventeen year old Caroline Marks beating out the main stays of Stephanie Gilmore, Carissa Moore, and Tyler Wright. Lets see if her lethal backhand can continue to destroy walls at Keramas, and fend of the usual suspects and World Tour hopefuls of Courtney Conlogue and Lakey Peterson, who have been so close to their Maiden World Title in recent years.
