Julian Wilson survives scare to stay alive at Pipe Masters

Inside the final three minutes. Julian Wilson’s coming last in his opening heat of the Pipe Masters. A disaster is on its way.

Australia’s Julian Wilson fights to stay in a barrel during the opening day of action at the Billabong Pipe Masters in Hawaii yesterday. Picture: WSL

Inside the final three minutes. Heart-in-mouth stuff. Julian Wilson’s coming last in his opening heat of the Pipe Masters. A disaster is ticking down with the clock. But then a mediocre set casually wanders on through. Wilson tries his luck. He makes something out of nothing. Does what he has to do — survive for another day in his world title shootout against Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Filipe Toledo.

“Definitely closer,” Wilson says of his proximity to a maiden world crown. “I still need a really big result to get it but I feel like the three of us who are in contention, we all feel like we need a really big result to clinch it. I feel like we’re all in the same boat.

“It’s good to get the ball rolling. It feels really good to get through a heat like that. It doesn’t get much more challenging out at Pipe than that.

“Opportunities were few and far between. I only just found a couple. One-and-a-half waves, really. The messiness of the ocean was there today. The heats you have to grind through to win, they mean a lot. To dig deep and get a win, that feels good.”

Pipe is a giant moving playing field on days like these. Rips run into currents that connect to another rip that can push you halfway to Sunset Beach if you don’t have your wits about you.

Only for Joel Parkinson’s heat has the wind shifted enough to make Pipe’s barrels flare as wide as the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Parkinson has been the 11th of 12 heats run in the first round, so the first 5½ hours have been contested in soap suds. Wilson has needed to scrounge around. Needing to reach the final to potentially become world champion, pending Medina’s results, he’s previously been guilty of wanting to win every heat by going big. Needing a five, he’s been tempted to go all out for a 10. Which can leave him with a four.

Yesterday he’s required a measly 3.9 points out of 10 to avoid relegation to the sudden death of round two. He’s knuckled down with three business-like turns at Backdoor to get a 5.57. Job done.

Wilson has a small army of family with him at Pipe as he slogs through the inconvenience of a season-long shoulder injury that may require surgery before too long.

“The support is unreal,” he says. “I feel like I’m doing it for Australia, in a way. The support from back home has been incredible and between everyone, I’ll try to power on through the event. The shoulder’s all right. It’s no excuse for anything. It feels good enough.

“The swell isn’t too big today but when it gets bigger, I might be thinking about the shoulder a little bit more. It’s all good.”

Australia’s Matt Wilkinson has done Wilson a favour by beating Toledo and sending the Brazilian into an elimination heat in round two, which will probably be held today. It’s been a bludger of a heat: Wilkinson has crawled through with a two-wave total of 6.03. Medina has coasted into round three alongside Wilson, soothing his nerves by catching as many waves as possible, keeping himself busy.

“A couple of ups and downs,” says Medina, who is guaranteed the world crown if he reaches the Pipe final. “I’m stoked to be in the position to have the advantage over my competitors. I’m focused on myself. I know I need to be in the final. I’m looking forward to the final. Whatever will be will be. Hopefully I can put on a show.”

Parkinson has produced the heat of the day to knock over Adrian Buchan and Kolohe Andino. The 2012 world and Pipe champion will fall into retirement when the hooter sounds for his last heat. A tinge of grey on his beard suggests it may be time to go.

“It’s a pretty hardcore day at Pipe,” Parkinson says. “It’s not real Pipe, it’s more of a beach break than anything. I had my retirement party last night and listening to my wife and daughters speak, it was really emotional. It was hard but it was a great night and a really fitting end to everything. I was paying for it this morning. Glad I had a late heat.

“The love I’ve been receiving has been overwhelming. I thank everyone for it. People kept saying to me last night, ‘We’re going to miss you! We’re going to miss you!’. And I kept telling them, ‘I’m not dying! I love surfing and I’ll always be around’.”