Kelly Slater Wins 11th World Surfing Title Not

Kelly Slater has not won his 11th World Surfing Title, yet. In an unsurprising turn of the tide, Kelly Slater needs to win one more heat at the Rip Curl Pro Search at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, to claim his 11th world surfing title.

In the words of Homer Simpson, "Doh!"

Apparently a calculation error was made by the Association of Surfing Professionals. This is what happens when surfers are left to do the math.

Ironically, Kelly Slater himself is the one who discovered the mistake last night.


From Kelly Slater's Twitter Feed:

Can you read this comment from Mark? The calculator at @aspworldtour must be broken. I'm not the world champ yet!

I'm not joking. I have not won the world title yet. I still have to win another heat! Give those shirts and hats back!

Hang on to that KS10 gear if you have some...just in case. Haha.

“@_Cod: @kellyslater sweet, my KS10 shirt is still in style then.” Yes it is, buddy.

@onphyr If I get 9th here, 13th or less at pipe and @RealOwenWright wins both and we drop 2 results we're dead tied both carrying a 13th.


@aspworldtour isn't gonna be happy with me or this but realized last night and confirmed just now with them. Only honest thing to do.

In all seriousness, there may be an honest mistake or computer glitch and we're getting to the bottom of it now.

@aspworldtour thank you. We all make errors. Maybe I made one going public but on the bright side it will create bigger interest.

We11, at least Ke11y Slater has a sense of humor.

Kelly Slater Wins 11th World Surfing Title

Wrap up of Ke11y Slater's 11th World Title.

Don't yourself ask, "Will Ke11y Slater win 12 world titles?"

Ask yourself, "How many world titles will Kelly Slater win?"

It's like my friend texted me yesterday, "Kelly Slayer again? Geez he's some kind of alien. Not human."

Pretty much.

Kelly Slater on Chelsea Lately

Last night, while Facebooking I read, "Kelly (Slater)will be on the Chelsea Lately show on E! tonight, check local listings."

"Yippeee!" I say. "This should be interesting."

I thought about getting up and tivo-ing the show. But then my brain moved onto something else, like Scrabble or oh nevermind, and I forgot all about it.

Thank goodness for YouTube! It's a pretty funny clip, whether you like surfing or not.

"So who is this hostess?" asks Hubby, as we're watching the posted video. "Is she new?"

"Chelsea Lately," I say. "You know, I read a few of her books."

As we're watching the interview my Mom says, "Did she really say that?!"

"Yeah, she's really crude," I say. "I love her!"

Oh and Chelsea, I may not be a journalistic expert, but I'm pretty sure I would never, ever, call a guy "tiny," to his face, let alone on TV. And then in the next sentence compare him to Greek Surfing God Laird Hamilton. Yeah, probably not a good idea.

"I like this show, it's funny," says Hubby. "Let's watch more."

And now we're having our own private Chelsea Lately Marathon on hulu.com.

Kelly Slater 11th World Surfing Title

It's Sunday evening.  I'm sitting here with the kittens in my lap, watching Kelly Slater surfing in the third round of the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks in the Land Down Under.  

He's already gotten two nice tube rides, and switched out his board for a fresh one.  The 10x World Champ looks crisp and loose. I know it's early but he looks like he could be on his way to an 11th World Surfing Title.

To watch it The Quik Pro at Snapper Rocks in Australia live now, click the link.

Update 10:30 PM Sunday March 6, 2011.



True, Slater's heat score, 14.93 out of 20, is not the best. But Slater knows better than anyone, there's nothing worse than peaking early, and it's only the third round. As long as his momentum keeps building, and he continues to have "fun," he could take the 2011 Quik Pro.

Kelly Slater Backside Tube Ride

The Master, Kelly Slater, of surfing on his barrel craft. My camera did not do a great job on this video. But I can tell you it was really exciting to see him come out of this fairly deep, grinding tube.

If you listen carefully you can hear cheers erupt on the beach as Slater exits the barrel. I have some more videos I'll be posting over the next few weeks.....Stay tuned.

Searching for Kelly Slater Part 2

Backside air.


Kelly Slater probably won't be at the beach, but it's such a nice day, who cares if he's there or not," I say.

"Let's go!" says Gio.

"Do you guys want to come?" I ask Hubby and Vinny.

"No," says Vinny.

"Not really," says Hubby.

"There are rocks to climb there," I say in an enticing voice. "It's really nice outside......"

"Okay," says Hubby, giving in to my begging.

The beach was full of cars when we arrived.

"Is anyone surfing? " I ask.

"Yeah, there are five or six guys out," answers Hubby.

We walked down the stairs, and up the beach to the breaking wave. There were seven local surfers out, but definitely not Kelly Slater. Oh well.

Then I noticed someone scampering down the hillside trail looking fit, bald and sponsored.



"Hey that looks like Slater coming down the hill," I say.

"Where?" asks Hubby.

"Over there," I say, pointing. "It is HIM!"

"Gio, there's Kelly Slater, do you still want to take a picture with him?" I ask.

"Yeah!" says Gio.

"Let's go," I say.

And we did!





After a quick picture with Gio, Slater paddles out for an evening glass off session somewhere in the Monterey Bay. I've seen Slater surf in person plenty of times, but never in my home town.



The flash always goes off at the wrong time.

I didn't have my board so I couldn't really paddle out for a session with Slater. But I left my board at home on purpose. I wanted to watch the master on his craft, in hopes that some of his freakish surfing ability would rub off on me.......And I was pretty surfed out from my earlier surf session, anyways........ :)



Slater slaying the barrel.

Searching For Kelly Slater

Photo by Hans.

It seems everyone, except me, has seen Kelly Slater, who is in town this week for the 2011 AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament.

"Wendy, guess who my friend saw at whole foods?" asks Gio's teacher.

It's pretty obvious who the answer is going to be.

"Uh, Kelly Slater?" I guess, playing along.

"Yes!" says Gio's Teacher. "She said he eats very well."

Barely 1 Hour Later

"Guess who I just saw?" asks a friend.

Sigh.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm, Kelly Slater?" I say, taking a deep breath.

"Yes!" says my friend. "I carried my daughters' surfboards onto the golf course, and he signed them! Are you jealous?"

"No," I say, but I couldn't help feeling a little bit defeated. "Wait you carried two surfboards onto the golf course?" I ask.

"Yes, I live on the 18th hole," says my friend.

Okay, now I'm jealous.

I did try to see him. Twice. I had tickets to attend the the AT&T Pro Am for two days.

Wednesday, I missed him because I had to surf before going to the tourney, since I didn't surf the day before. I couldn't miss two days in a row of surfing, not even for Kelly Slater.

"Where are you?" asks my friend.

"I just got out of the water, I sill have to take a shower," I say, lamely.

It was nearly 11 a.m. and I take loooooooooooooooong showers.

"Wait, are you already there?" I ask.

"Yes and so is Kelly Slater," says my Photographer Friend.

"Okay, take pictures, please," I plead.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
And she did because she is AWESOME, and so were her pictures of his forearms, I mean Kelly Slater!

Eventually, I met another friend and we got to the course close to 1 p.m. I think.

"Do you see Kelly?" asks my BFF.

"No," I say. "But I think I see Kevin Costner."

"Oh great," she says.

I felt terrible for dragging here to a golf course for nothing, and even worse, Kevin Costner, so I bought her a churro.

"I can't believe we didn't see Slater," says my BFF. "Oh well, at least I got a churro out of it."

I didn't really want to find Slater for me. I wanted to take another picture of him and Gio together. I had even devised a complicated plan for another friend to drop off Gio and her kids to have their pictures taken with the 10x World Surfing Champ.

It. Was. Going. To. Be. So. Cool. :p

When I saw Gio after school he was pumped to go to the golf course to see Kelly Slater.

"Yay!" says Gio. "We're going to the golf course!"

He likes the churros, too.

"No," I say. "We're not going."

"Why?" asks Gio disappointed.

"Kelly Slater isn't there," I say. "We missed him, again."

"Awwwwwwe," whines Gio.

I thought I'd see Slater for sure Thursday, but I got severely mixed up on the Monterey Peninsula Country Club golf course walking around in circles looking for him.

"Have you seen Kelly Slater?" I ask EVERYONE.

"No," they all say.

Before I knew it, it was time to pick up Gio from school. I was in shock I failed two days in a row.

"There is something seriously wrong with me," I think to myself. "Maybe I'm cursed? I must have used up all of my 'Seeing Kelly Slater Credits,' or something?"

I have seen him a lot. The interview alone, must have used up 80 percent of my credits!

Everyone else has seen Slater, except for me. However, I still had some hope left in me. I may have run out of tickets to the golf tournament, but Kelly Slater is a surfer first, golfer second. I hadn't given up on seeing him at the beach..............

........................to be continued Sunday February 13th, 2011.




Photo by Hans.

Kelly Slater Wins 10th World Surfing Title

I remember the first time I saw Kelly Slater surf in person. He was pulling into barrels, and pulling off airs at Trestles in 1990. Slater was blowing and inspiring minds on the beach.

Twenty years later, he's still doing the same thing, at 38 years young. Some people say he isn't the best surfer in the world, but when I think about it, who else comes close to this freak of nature?

He's surfing better than ever, and have you seen his body lately? Hotty boom ba lotty. The dude is fit and flexible. A winning combination, apparently.

Congratulations to the champ on his 10th World Surfing Title. And even in all his greatness he's pretty humble and still has time to high five little kids, and say hello to a dog.

Updated: Saturday November 6, 10:45 a.m.

Kelly Slater on winning his 10th World Title:

"I just want to send my condolences to Andy's (Irons) family. If it wasn't for him (spurring me on competitively) I wouldn't be here, right now. I want to dedicate this win to Andy."

Trestles Hurley Pro 2010

How does Kelly Slater pull off this maneuver and keep the headband on at the same time?! Well, Internet, according to the surf contest commentators, he held on by his toe nails, which thankfully he didn't trim the night before.

Even I can't make that stuff up. I believe we can all agree, surfers are very creative.

The finals will be decided tomorrow. My money is on Dane Reynolds and Jordy Smith. They were ripping Trestles, which was in an ALL TIME state of perfection! Unless, they peaked early, and Slater hasn't, yet?

Kelly Slater

Tonto and Kelly Slater

Tonto knows a giant yellow aura when he sees one. By the way, dogs love people with yellow auras cause they're so fun!

Kelly Slater AT&T 2010 Pro/Am Pebble Beach

We didn't find 9 time world surfing champ Kelly Slater, at the 2010 AT&T Pro/Am in Pebble Beach, yesterday.  Mainly, because I went surfing and we arrived after he finished golfing.   

But on the bright side, we did find this amazing tide pool, went on a few bus rides, and ate a churro!  All in all, a successful day, especially since Mama surfed.

After all, it wasn't a hard choice, deciding between surfing and watching a surfer play golf.

Kelly Slater is Surfing the Wharf!

Thanks to one of my friends I learned Kelly Slater did not make the cut at the 2009 AT&T Pro/Am. Meaning he wouldn't be golfing Sunday. So I thought, maybe he'd be surfing somewhere in town instead.

The wind looked crazy at my house Sunday morning. I figured it wasn't any good any where. We had to be at church at 10 AM and I didn't even bother bringing a camera.

But as we were driving by the beach, I discovered the ocean was clean and surfers were surfing.

"Wah!"

I sent out a few text messages:

"what's up? any slater sightings?

And

"any signs of kelly slater?"

Unfortunately, no one responded back and we had to go into the church, we were already a few minutes late.

At about 10:30, as I was sitting in the church pew, I covertly checked my text messages. I had a new one!!!!!

It read, "He's surfing the wharf as we speak."

Now, I'm in church wishing I wasn't and I mouth to Stefan, "Kelly Slater is surfing the wharf."

He mouths back, "Go."

Thankfully, we had been late and were sitting in the last pew. I easily slipped out unnoticed. Unnoticed by all, except my kids.

"Where's Mommy going?" they ask in unison.

"She'll be back," assures Stefan.

Once outside the church, I immediately tried to connect to my friend via the seaweed wireless network. No answer, so I left a message.

"Is Kelly Slater really surfing the wharf, because the waves looked small when I was driving by the beach?" I ask. "What's he riding, a longboard?"

Even I wasn't excited about watching Kelly Slater ride a longboard.

"Oh well," I thought to myself, "maybe he's riding a twin fin or some other alternative surfboard. Anything would be better than a longboard."

I sent my friend another text message, "really?" and started driving to the wharf.

When I was only a few blocks from the wharf, I finally got a hold of my friend.

"Kelly Slater is not surfing the wharf." she tells me. "I was just kidding. Why would Kelly Slater surf the wharf?"

Right, why would Kelly Slater surf the wharf? The wharf is a beginners surf spot that only breaks when the buoys are 25 feet. The buoys were not 25 feet. Even when the buoys are 25 feet, the waves are still barely shoulder high.

Plus, the water there is always disgustingly dirty in a, "uh oh something just crawled up my sinus cavity and took up permanent residence next door to my brain," kind of way.


I had two goals for the AT&T Pro this year. One was to interview Kelly Slater for the blog. Mission Accomplished!

The other was to see Kelly Slater free surf. FAIL!

Church of Kelly Slater vs Church of Justin Timberlake at the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Justin on the mike.


God on the Green.

One of my friends wants to go see Justin Timberlake and Greg Kinnear, today, at the AT&T.

"I want to come with you tomorrow," she says. "I really do have a crush on Justin Timberlake and a HUGE crush on Greg Kinnear. I'm not kidding. I'm coming with you."

Three problems with going to the AT&T, again. One, if I keep going to the AT&T when will I ever write my blog interview with Kelly Slater? Solution people will have to wait, I suppose.

"Honey, when are you going to post the Kelly Slater interview?" asks Stefan daily since I did the interview.

Two, my friend will want to follow Justin and Greg, while I will be searching inside and out for GOD, aka Kelly Slater. Good thing I believe GOD is in all things. Solution: we will be attending different churches. She, Church of Timberlake/Kinnear. Me, Church of Slater. Yep, only one GOD for me.

Three I don't have tickets for today. Solution update my Facebook status to:

Wendy is wondering if anyone has passes to the AT&T Friday they don't need, please, many thanks.:-)

Finding Kelly Slater on the Pebble Beach Golf Course at the 2009 AT&T Pro Am

Scene of the Crime.

When I woke up yesterday I was feeling uninspired. My Aunt had just arrived for her monthly visit, my throat was a bit scratchy and I thought, "I would love to stay in bed all day."

But there were swim lessons to go to, so I made a little breakie for Gio and I, took a shower, and off we went. It's amazing what a little fresh air can do for someone. Once I was out and about, I felt better, well even.

After swim lessons I phoned the pro shop at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

"Did Kelly Slater tee off from there today?" I ask my now standard question.

"No, I didn't see him, but let me double check for you," she says. "I stand corrected he teed off at 9:40."

"Yipppeeee!" I say to myself and, "thank you," to the kind lady at the pro shop for the double check.

My Mom offered to baby sit, again, thank you!, so I dropped Gio off and set sail for the golf course. Amazingly, I did not get lost going to the golf course or leaving it. The GPS angels were with me. Phew!

Words cannot express how comforting it is to know where I'm going. Now if only I can find who I'm looking for, Mr. Kelly Slater, pro surfer extraordinaire.

As I was walking the course, starting at the 18th hole going backwards, doubts of ever finding Kelly Slater, began to creep into my head. Especially after talking to a few spectators.

"No, I haven't seen him," says a guy I saw yesterday. "But everyone is at the fundraiser on hole 1 so he's probably there."

I just passed hole 1 and no one was there. Do I go back or stay the course? By my calculations, if he teed off at 9:40, he should be on hole 14 or 15.

I kept going, sticking to my original plan.

"Have you seen Kelly Slater?" my new mantra spoken to anyone and everyone I passed. I was desperate.

"Yeah, he's on hole six with Michael Bolton," says a young woman with a large camera.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

Nervously, she says, "I think so." "He's wearing the same thing he wore yesterday. White hat, white shirt."

Hmmm. Was he really here, yesterday, wearing white? Isn't Kelly Slater more Eddie Vedder than Michael Bolton? Not good enough. I continue walking the golf course backwards. If he's here, eventually I will run into him. That is, if I see him.

Every time I came across a new group of golfers, I asked their spectators, "Is Kelly Slater in this group?"

They all had the same answer, "No."

I was beginning to believe this was another bust. But I figured I would eventually run into Michael Bolton and snap off a few photos of him for the blog.

Then suddenly I spotted him. Yes, it really was him. Kelly Slater, Nine Time Surfing World Championship Tour Winner. And he was right in front of me.

In fact, I had walked right over his golf ball. Oh my gosh, did I step on and move his golf ball? Had I just committed some sort of golfing crime? Intention is 9/10s of the law, isn't it? Was I going to be banned from the AT&T forever, for moving a golf ball unknowingly?????????????????

Searching for Kelly Slater at the ATT Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro Am

A few days ago I sent a friend request to the official Kelly Slater My Space. I wasn't sure it was really him, but I sent a friend request, anyways.

Monday, as I was leaving for the golf course, the official Kelly Slater My Space
confirmed me as a friend. I went to his MySpace and he was online!

"Hmmmm?" I thought to myself. "If he's online he probably isn't on the golf course." Nah, it's probably not him," I reassuringly tell myself. How do you spell d-e-n-i-a-l?

Defying the writing on the wall, and the flashing online notification sign, I started on my quest to find Kelly Slater, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. My purpose: interview him for the blog. Yes, I will do almost anything for this blog. My dedication to this blog is at parental level. She is like a baby to me, except someone forgot to cut the cord, I think.

Let me look. Yes, we are still attached.

My search for Kelly Slater started and ended with me getting lost in Pebble Beach. This isn't hard to do since every tree looks the same to me. There was, also, some cursing. However, cursing in a forest doesn't count if there's no one there to witness it. I believe I learned that in philosophy class.

The AT&T was a bit of a ghost town on the first day of practice rounds.

I walked for hours on my quest to find to the elusive Kelly Slater. I phoned all the pro shops to see if he teed off from any of them.

All three pro shops had the same disappointing answer, "No."

I drove through and stepped in lots of mud.

I gazed at a few stars, including George Lopez, who was busy on the driving range, signing autographs, cracking jokes and giving interviews. I didn't know he was such multitasker.



I spotted Brandi Chastain, former Women's World Cup Soccer Champ, as I was about to give up my search for Kelly Slater. Chastain kept her shirt on, but who knows what will happen if she makes a hole in one at Pebble?

Then there was the porn star. Well, she looked famous and her name sounded like Mindy Moans or Larry Large, so we surmised she could have been a porn star. But she probably wasn't. Boredom drives people to make up wild and crazy stories for sheer entertainment purposes.

I saw several mansions and added "mansion" to my to do list. I forgot I live next door to Life Styles of the Rich and Famous. Jefferson theme song playing in my head.




Who lives here? A commune?







I spotted several golfers, all of whom looked like Kelly Slater from afar.

"Kelly is that you?"





I took lots of scenic pictures and was awestruck by Pebble Beach's natural raw beauty, despite man's attempt to harness, tame and own her.









I saw all of that and more, but I never saw Kelly Slater, not that I know of, anyways. Yes, as I said before I'm dedicated to the blog, but maybe not enough to go back to the AT&T for more schlepping. And next time with a child in tow.

Pipeline and Kelly Slater Save the Day!

I didn't get to surf yesterday. Gio's school officially let out for winter break on Wednesday. When I checked to see if the Pipeline Masters was a go, I saw the words, "Pipe Masters is On!"

"Yippee, yay," I said as I did back flips and somersaults in my mind.

"Mommy, are you okay?" asks Gio.

Sorry, Mommy can be a little scary when she is excited about surfing.

My friend had texted me earlier that morning saying there were waves so I was a little bummed to be missing out on some fun surf.

"It was fun, but not epic," she said trying to make me feel better.

And I felt worse knowing the weekend forecast was bleak with winds expected out of the northwest in the 10-20 knot range. Although, as I'm writing this Friday evening, there is a plan for an early dawn patrol session today.

"I'll check the waves at 7," my friend says.

"I might beat you there," I say knowing full well I'm not leaving the warmth of my house to find stormy seas. No, I'm gonna wait for the surf report, even though I have a brand new, never been peed in, 5-4 Oneill Mod wetsuit. This helps when the water temps are 50 and the air is in the 40s.

"Yeah, right," she says sarcastically knowing me too well.

So in replacement of actually surfing, Gio and I sat in front of the computer screen, watching two or three of Kelly Slater's winning heats. Reading books in between sets and rides, and microblogging the contest on Twitter.

wendysurf: Slater gets a massive Pipe barrel, and then a sick pit at backdoor. Deeep! Crazy!!! about 3 hours ago from web

wendysurf: Slater magic, 19 points in less than 3 minutes. That's why he's the 9 time world champ. He's no slouch. Timmy had priority on both waves. about 3 hours ago from web

It's amazing with the advent of live webcasts, to be able to watch a surfing contest as it's happening. Live! In the old days, I used to read about contest's results two months after the fact. Yes, live is a wee bit better, and all the more exciting to blog about.

Slater went on to win his 6th Pipe Masters yesterday. I love watching my favorite surfer, surfing the most exciting wave on the planet. And it definitely makes up for a day of no surf for me.