In the world of the internet surf fan there has been disquiet this week.

Ten days ago we were all backing the ASP on giving the women their own slot in Fiji, but now it transpires they got the swell of the event and in most people eyes (male surfing population) blew it.

What it meant was the men have been left with the scraps, which is, as I’m sure you’ll appreciate kind of ironic. The chart for the next week is very average, a few head high pulses and pretty windy, but having said that it didn’t stop some of the guys going pretty mental today.

Round 1

After all the moaning is said and done, the waves at Cloudbreak were still good by anywhere else’s standard. A little windy yeah, but still head to just over head and hollow, reeling down the shallow reef pass.

So who capitilised on this and ripped? Hawaii’s Fred Patacchia dispatched world champ Mick Fanning to round two with some solid forehand barrel riding. The goofy footer had a real advantage in the tight low tide barrels.

But the two heats of the day involved regular footers. Kelly Slater as always showed he had a sixth sense for the barrel and incredibly spent a heat getting pitted. But it was South Africa’s Jordy Smith who nailed the highest score of the day with a crazy 9.20.

The other nine heats had their moments, but not many, and for anyone who pulled a coffee fuelled all nighter, it was a little bit of a let down.

There is a bump in the surf forecast for tomorrow, and a little less wind, so chances are it will be another all night vigil for surf fans here in Europe.

With little in the way of major surf on the horizon though, it’s going to be a tactical event and you can watch it all here – www.aspworldtour.com