The strangest one is when I’m on a surf trip and I keep checking the waves at home, as the whole time I’m actually at home I spend most of the time checking the swell forecasts for abroad, just doesn’t make sense.

January wasn’t a good month on Ireland, far from it and we spent most of the time surfing small lefts but we did get one day where we did get a small break in the weather and managed to paddle into some solid ones and I vividly remember the surf was 2ft and clean this day at Croyde as even though we scored I still had to check the waves at home like I always do.

Sorry about the quality but it’s been taken from a video clip. We are just getting it edited, so shortly you’ll be able to see how shit January really was!

Instead, if you’ve heard all the hype but still not seen the waves, here is a raw version of what went down!

”Yet even another edit from my trip to the 7 Mile Miracle, featuring Jamie O’s “double down” Costco Foamboard Session.”

Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 17.77pts ; Kai Barger (HAW) 17.10pts ; Billy Kemper (HAW) 7.90pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 5.10pts

HONOLULU, Oahu/Hawaii (Wednesday, February 1, 2012) – Hawaii’s John John Florence created one of professional surfing’s most dramatic moments today to claim his second consecutive Volcom Pipe Pro title, completely flipping the table on former Pipe Pro champion Jamie O’Brien (Hawaii) in the final seconds. O’Brien had held the lead for 34 minutes and 45 seconds of the 35-minute final… and then it evaporated before his eyes.

O’Brien had bolted away at the start of the heat with an apparently insurmountable lead and Florence wasn’t even in the picture. O’Brien’s top two scoring waves were near-perfect: 9.0 and 9.43 with all three of his challengers requiring a combination of high scores to beat him. Maui’s Kai Barger had posed the biggest challenge with a 9.33, but a second wave eluded him. San Clemente’s Nate Yeomans was a distant third with 7.57 points total. Florence’s score line wasn’t much better: 9.93 total.

Then at the five minute mark, two waves in the 8-10 foot range pushed through. Florence got the first: an unbelievable backside tube at Pipe that was deep, critical, and near-impossible. He blasted out with the spray and scored a perfect 10.

Right behind him, O’Brien swung, pulled in deep and blew out in front of Florence’s face for a 9.93 – further extending his lead.

One minute to go… Florence paddled over and congratulated O’Brien. Then a dark line on the horizon caught his eye. One last wave stacked up on the Pipeline reef. Fifteen seconds to go… Florence clawed his way past a frantic O’Brien who could see the writing on the wall of the wave. Florence clawed his way past Jamie, over the ledge, under the lip and into the heat-winning tube ride – a 9.93 – to claim the $20,000 first prize.

Less than eight weeks ago, Florence lost in similar fashion here to 11X world champion Kelly Slater during the Pipe Masters. Today’s victory seemed to realign the trajectory of the 19-year-old, who appears at this moment in time to be destined for one of pro surfing’s greatest careers of all-time.

“I wrote myself off half way through,” said Florence. “Kai and Jamie both had nines. I can’t believe it. Here at Pipe anything can happen.

“With 40 seconds to go I wasn’t even thinking about it. I was like, yeah Jamie, congratulations, I won last year and I’m stoked for you. Then I turned around and there’s a peak. I didn’t even know if he was going. I was going to go left and backdoor the peak, then I ended up having to fade, go right, and barely got under it. It was a wild ride.

“Last year this gave me so much confidence going into the year. This is the first contest of the year and I’ve got confidence again. So much has gone down in the last year, qualifying for the tour, changing my whole way of surfing and trying to get into the contest thing. I’m so happy right now.”

Back on the beach, O’Brien and Florence shook hands and O’Brien shook his head.

“Man, I feel like you just threw me out of the car before we got home,” said O’Brien. “I’m going to come and steal that trophy from you in the middle of the night,” he laughed.

Nine years John John’s senior, O’Brien has long been the man to beat at Pipe, having won at Pipe Masters, Backdoor Shootout, and multiple Volcom Pipe Pros. But Florence is quickly leveling the scores.

“It hurts,” said Jamie, holding onto the runner-up $10,000 check. “You think you’re going to win and you don’t. It’s OK. I got some really good scores and I felt I put on a great performance. To me that means everything. I had a great time. I finally got in a good rhythm my last couple of heats. I enjoyed myself and it was a good day.”

O’Brien appeared to toy with Pipeline today, switching up Backdoor and Pipe with regular foot and goofy foot barrels. But while he might have made it look easier than it was for everyone else, he was quick to admit things aren’t always as they may appear – hence the credo that Pipeline is for warriors.

“It might look easy, but some of the stuff that happens to you underwater while you’re getting pounded is really intense and scary. Getting caught inside out there, drags you and drags you, you’ve got to climb up your leash – it’s a lot of work out there.”

Third place in the final was Barger. Fourth was Yeomans.

Worthy mentions include top Australian finisher Mitch Coleborn, and former Pipe champion Bruce Irons, who showed a fantastic return to form this week and lost out in the semi’s.

From today’s results, the following surfers have won a spot in the first round of next December’s Pipe Masters: O’Brien, Barger, Billy Kemper (Maui), Flynn Novak (Oahu), Fred Patacchia (Oahu), Kalani Chapman, and Bruce Irons. Florence is an automatic starter at the Pipe Masters as he is on the elite ASP World Tour.

Also awarded today was the Todd Chesser Hard Charger Sportsmanship Award – presented to Costa Rica’s Carlos Munoz who posted a perfect 10 score in the early rounds and finished the event in equal ninth place.

Next up for Volcom is their Volcom Fiji Pro, June 3-15 – the fourth of 11 events that comprise the ASP World Tour.

A full two-hour highlight program of this week’s Volcom Pipe Pro will air on Fuel TV this Saturday at 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT. For more information, check your local listings or go to www.fuel.tv .

RESULTS:
FINAL
1st - John John Florence (HAW) 19.93pts, $20,000
2nd - Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 19.40pts, $10,000
3rd - Kai Barger (HAW) 18.20pts, $6,500
4th - Nathan Yeomans (CA, USA) 7.57pts, $5,500

SEMI FINALS
H1: Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 17.77pts ; Kai Barger (HAW) 17.10pts ; Billy Kemper (HAW) 7.90pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 5.10pts
H2: John John Florence (HAW) 13.56pts ; Nathan Yeomans (USA) 12.83pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 12.40pts ; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 7.44pts

QUARTERS
H1: Billy Kemper (HAW) 12.00pts ; Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 11.87pts ; Tim Reyes (USA) 9.10pts ; Gabe Kling (USA) 6.63pts
H2 : Kai Barger (HAW) 14.66pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 14.50pts ; Flynn Novak (HAW) 10.83pts ; Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 3.63
H3 : Nathan Yeomans (USA) 13.27pts ; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 12.50pts ; Carlos Munoz (CRI) 11.50pts ; Kalani Chapman (HAW) 4.77pts
H4: John John Florence (HAW) 16.34pts ; Bruce Irons (HAW) 13.00pts ; Alexander Grey

Congratulations, we hear you’ve had a baby boy! How’s fatherhood?
My son Kaoriki was born on the 9th of January and since then I don’t sleep very much. I talk about him everyday, he became the center of my life, you want give everything you have to your kids. My goals in surfing are much stronger because I will surf for him now.

Overall, how do you feel about your year on tour last year?
I feel good about last year, I was focused the whole year and finished 6th in the world. With such talented surfers on the tour it was amazing for me to do so well. I also really enjoyed the race for the Triple Crown which gave me some good experience.

It’s great to see you crack the top 10, was that your goal for last year?
Yes it was. To make the top 10 was a dream for me, it means so much to me. Now I can tell my son that his Daddy was 6th in the world!

What was your best moment on tour last year?
It was here in Tahiti, the waves were amazing and we finally got to surf the real Teahupoo. We also had a bonus with the tow session, it was huge and mental. I did get a good result in the contest, but I had an awesome time free surfing with the boys too.

You were one of the most consistent guys on tour last year what’s the key to your success?
Staying focused is the main key to my success. I worked a lot with Firewire to get some boards for all different conditions. I knew what I had to do to make heat because I’ve learned a lot on these last 3 years on tour.

What kind of training have you been doing in the off season?
I’ve been surfing a lot and when the surf is flat I do some work sessions out with my neighbours, nothing too tough, but enough to stay fit and ready for the upcoming season.

In 2009 you finished 21st, in 2010 you finished 11th and then last year 6th. You keep getting better every year, what can we expect from next year?
2012 will be different, I want to stay in the the top, but my goal now is to make the top 5. It’s going to be hard with all the rookies on tour, but if I’m consistent again this year, I think I will make it.

Will we see you as a World Title contender in 2012?
I don’t think so, I need to learn more again. The tour is long and hard and I plan to be a world title contender by 2015 because I know that I’m getting better with the time. I’m getting wiser too, I don’t rush things anymore.

What are you thoughts on the recent changes to the tour?
I like it better this way, but it does not change anything for me. If you have a goal to be in the top 5 that means you will make the cut for sure.

What events are you most looking forward to for 2012?
I’m looking forward for Fiji, I’ve never been there. I have watched that wave only in movies or during past event webcasts, it has been a dream to go there. I also need to make better result at trestles too, so I’m looking forward to that event. Teahupoo will be the main one because I’m home and I surf that wave all the time.

Thanks Michel, see you at Snapper.
Take care.