Steve Fitzpatrick

Recent Projects: Rip Curl Pro Search 2010 "Somewhere in Puerto Rico"

The Rip Curl Pro Search is the one mobile event on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour (WCT). A "Somewhere in..." title keeps the exact location under wraps until a couple months before the start of the two week waiting period. The 2010 edition happened "Somewhere in Puerto Rico", and among a long list of historic moments related to the event was the fact that it was the first time a WCT event had been contested in the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico specifically. Add to that the fact that it was the first time in history that the ASP Women's and Men's champions had been crowned in the same event, that Kelly Slater clinched his record 10th ASP World Title during the event, and that legendary surfer, Andy Irons, passed away in Dallas en route home to Hawai'i after withdrawing from the event due to illness, and you have a dizzying emotional roller coaster on which everyone related to the event rode for nearly two weeks.

The early morning overview of the entire scene from a secluded location on the cliff in Isabela, Puerto Rico gives a good indication of the scope of an ASP World Championship Tour event. Client: Surf Caribe
   
With a longer lens and closer inspection, the entire contest venue could be better appreciated from this angle on the cliff, and as José Tavarez executed a textbook floater over the inside section at Middles, the second wave of a set approached for the competitor in yellow. Client: Surf Caribe
   
When all was said and done the local surfer with the most experience at Middles, Dylan Graves, came away with the win in the Trials and the opportunity to go up against the world's top surfers at his home break. Yet another historic feature to one of the ASP's most exciting events ever. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
With the Trials in the books the main event began, and the World No. 2 surfer at the moment, South African, Jordy Smith, was pushing the limits on everyone. Client: Surf Caribe
   
Not to be outdone by the international field of surfers, Dylan Graves used an intimate local knowledge of the wave to surf better than many of the world's top talent. Client: Surf Caribe
   
Showing what local knowledge can mean at your home break, Dylan rode deep in the tube and floated endlessly on the lip at Middles. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
There's a reason that Kelly Slater has now won 10 World Championships, and besides being the consumate competitor a large part of his success stems from simply being one step ahead of not only the competition, but also himself. In a moment of having his surfboard so critically positioned within the lip of a wave, most surfers would be concentrating on the moment, but his one visible eye in this image reveals that he's already looking where he's going next and keying on the trough of the wave. Client: Surf Caribe
   
With her 4th consecutive ASP Women's World Championship already in the bag, Australian Stephanie Gilmore cuts loose on the last wave of her quarterfinal heat. Client: Surf Caribe
   
With yet another ASP championship under her belt, Stephanie Gilmore was carried up the beach on the shoulders of her friends while waving the Australian flag and gesturing her #1 status. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
Later that afternoon, and with the men's competition postponed for the day, the Quiksilver crew, including former world champion, Martin Potter, took to the surf along the Lost Coast of Puerto Rico. While the waves were far from epic, surfers like Potter have an easy time making them look good. Client: Surf Caribe
   
If anyone can make mediocre waves look good, certainly history's greatest wave rider can. Kelly on the Lost Coast. Client: Surf Caribe
   
When the unexpected death of Andy Irons on November 2nd brought the Rip Curl Pro Search to a screeching hault, the second of three lay days was called and a memorial paddle for the legendary surfer was coordinated at the event site in Isabela. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
The traditional circle of surfers was formed and a moment of silence was acknowledged in honor of the deceased Andy Irons. Client: Surf Caribe
   
When the Pro Search event resumed on the 5th of November, Kelly Slater had a head-to-head heat with local Trials winner, Dylan Graves. Before that heat Martin Potter and Kelly Slater discussed some of the finer points of surfing. Client: Surf Caribe
   
On the final day of the event, and in the first Quarterfinal heat, Australian Taj Burrow pulled into one of the deepest barrels of the event scoring a perfect 10. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
Wth his 10th ASP World Championship within reach in the following Quarterfinal heat, Kelly was wished well by his mother, Judy, with a warm embrace. Client: Surf Caribe
   
Before winning his Quarterfinal heat against American Dane Reynolds, Taj Burrow ducked into another impressive tube. Client: Surf Caribe
   
In his own Quarterfinal heat Slater started things off with a double section barrel of his own, earning a 9.70, tightening the screws on Brazilian Adriano de Souza, and bringing his record 10th World Championship that much closer. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
Upon exiting the water from his Quarterfinal heat, Kelly Slater had clinched his 10th ASP crown, was mobbed on the beach, and carried away on the shoulders of his handlers right into the history books. Client: Surf Caribe
   
Moving on to the Semifinals of the event, Kelly Slater was completely in the zone, making the waves at Middles look like his playground, which indeed, they were. Client: Surf Caribe
   
Upon winnig his Quarterfinal heat, Kelly was dedicating his win to his friend and competitor, the late Andy Irons, by marking his board with "AI" and being interviewed in front of the Hawaiian flag. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
In the final heat of the event, Kelly Slater dominated Australian Bede Durbidge with the maneuver that has become his signature move and has separated him from the masses for decades. Client: Surf Caribe
   
Who would have imagined that history's greatest wave rider would clinch his record 10th ASP World Title on the small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico? Had it been scripted in Hollywood it couldn't have been nearly as good. Client: Surf Caribe
   
With his history-making performance behind him, Kelly Slater hung around for the subsequent swell on Puerto Rico and enjoyed some of the best waves he's ever caught in the Caribbean before leaving the follwing day for media mayhem in New York City. Client: Surf Caribe
     
  
A little piece of surfing history. The boardshorts in which Kelly Slater won his record setting 10th World Championship. Client: Surf Caribe