CHRIS WARD FINISHES RUNNER UP AT 2013 PIPE PRO

He’s done it again. Another stellar performance, another Pipe final and another runner-up finish. What a road to that final though. Chris surfed everything from 8-12 foot perfect Pipeline on day two, taking huge drops and pushing his bottom turn to pocket snaps into the barrel as hard as anyone ever at Pipe. Then on the final day he pumped and weaved his way through tight and tricky Backdoor tubes. Switching between his traditional round pin step-up and a 5’9 quad shortboard he borrowed from Shane Beschen he was the only surfer to beat eventual winner John John Florence in their round of 32 heat. This isn’t the first time Chris has done well at Pipe on a board he borrowed from Shane Beschen. In 2007 he re-qualified and made the semi-finals on another borrowed quad from Shane and in 2008 he made the final against Kelly Slater on Shane’s board again. Like Michael Ho says, “He’s got a knack for Pipeline”. See photo and videos below.

Photo: surfline.com/klein

Photo: surfline.com/klein