- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 450,846
- Reaction score
- 44
At the start of this video, a distraught Ivan Florence frets about missing a late-season Pipeline swell. Nathan consoles him and convinces him not to jump ship, for this is the Slab Tour. No point second-guessing. The only way to go is forward. So of course, Ivan finds a South American version of a first-reef Pipeline bomb.
This is Nathan and Ivan’s second crack at the cold, rocky Chelian left they call “The Thing,” a peak they said had never been paddled before. It was strictly a tow and bodyboard joint. Until the brothers crashed the party.
Part 1 was the appetizer. This is the feast. Ivan’s gem starts at 7:43 and is fully deserving of the slow motion that ensues. It’s a rule-edge drop over urchin-encrusted rocks into a clean, cold cavern. But we barely get a breakdown from him after the fact. Just a claim. Eyebrows raised in the post-session debrief. That's it. Mr. Cool lives up to his nickname.
Adding to the intrigue: Ivan did it while riding his 5’11” Pyzel Radius, a squashtail with front traction, a board built for airs at Rocky Point, not knifing hollow waves. His quiver is vastly different from his brother’s 6-foot-plus Tanks.
“Not my style,” Nathan said. “But this guy’s got the style to do it.”
More board drama: the slab snapped one of Nathan’s step-ups, meaning the nose, and the GoPro attached to it, and takes a tour of the inside rocks before getting snatched by a jet ski driver. Which brings up an important point. If Ivan is going to be a part of the 2025 Slab Tour, it’s time to get him fitted with a camera. Even if it’s on a Radius.
Continue reading...
This is Nathan and Ivan’s second crack at the cold, rocky Chelian left they call “The Thing,” a peak they said had never been paddled before. It was strictly a tow and bodyboard joint. Until the brothers crashed the party.
Part 1 was the appetizer. This is the feast. Ivan’s gem starts at 7:43 and is fully deserving of the slow motion that ensues. It’s a rule-edge drop over urchin-encrusted rocks into a clean, cold cavern. But we barely get a breakdown from him after the fact. Just a claim. Eyebrows raised in the post-session debrief. That's it. Mr. Cool lives up to his nickname.
Adding to the intrigue: Ivan did it while riding his 5’11” Pyzel Radius, a squashtail with front traction, a board built for airs at Rocky Point, not knifing hollow waves. His quiver is vastly different from his brother’s 6-foot-plus Tanks.
“Not my style,” Nathan said. “But this guy’s got the style to do it.”
More board drama: the slab snapped one of Nathan’s step-ups, meaning the nose, and the GoPro attached to it, and takes a tour of the inside rocks before getting snatched by a jet ski driver. Which brings up an important point. If Ivan is going to be a part of the 2025 Slab Tour, it’s time to get him fitted with a camera. Even if it’s on a Radius.
Continue reading...
