Nat Young is hanging around the comp site wondering what to do.
A lay day has just been called on the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro and after a quick spot in front of the camera with Ronnie Blakey and Peter Mel, he’s fishing for clues as to where would be firing.
Off in the distance, The Box is throwing up two-foot versions of the spitting hissing brute of a wave that sent him to the bottom during his last heat there.
And without hesitation, he’s calling it a more challenging wave than the big dog itself…Teahupoo.
“It’s a harder barrel than Teahupoo for sure. The last time I surfed I hit the bottom really bad. I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a wave that is so difficult,” he tells Tracks.
“The take off is hard and even when you’re in the barrel, it’s actually not that enjoyable. You’re just focusing on making it out because there’s so many steps and chandeliers, you could go down any time. At Teahupoo, once you make the drop and set your line, it’s pretty perfect. But not The Box, it’s much more unpredictable.”
He say’s he was shown the ropes by the man many around the comp site credit to paving the way for goofy footers at The Box, Cory Lopez.
“I surfed with Cory, he’s defiantly one of the best goofy foots I’ve seen out there,” says Nat.
“Just the way he deals with the take off and stand up barrels. I learnt a lot just watching him. It showed me it’s doable; difficult, but doable.”
Coupled with the difficult and dangerous nature of the wave itself, he says, is the thought process behind what the judges are looking for.
“They like the critical air drop to barrel transition other than the easy roll in to stall,’’ he says.
“And then you factor the score they threw at Owen (10) for his barrel against Dusty, it proves that it’s not an impossible task.”
Unlike just about every other competitor, Young has hung around the comp site most days to tune his act and resisted urge to venture further afield and tap into the countless waves firing off up and down the coast.
“I want to do the best I can at this comp but the footage that’s been coming back, especially from those couple sessions at North Point has been incredible,” he says.
“The whole comp has been incredible really. Even the days they’ve called it off, we’ve walked away from waves that were so much better than 90 per cent of the comps we’ve had. It’s been heavy.”
The forecast for the event window looks like delivering a meaty dose of swell by Wednesday, whether it will be too big for The Box and Young’s next heat with a red hot John John Florence remains to be seen.
Florence teamed up with wonder kid Jack Robinson for uncrowded session at The Box yesterday. At one point, Robbo trailed Florence with a borrowed $40,000 RED camera.
“It’s going to be a real hard heat for me,” says Young.
“I feel like everyone wants to beat him. I’m sure he’s going to get good waves, but all I can do is the best I can do.”
Nat wrestles a mutant slab at The Box during the early round of the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro. Photo: WSL/CestariDrug Aware Margaret River Pro Men’s Semifinal Match-ups:
Heat 1: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Nat Young (USA)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Tune in when competition resumes here.
