Seven heats run over the last two days in 2-3 foot Trestles that was cruelled by a south wind, part of a coastal eddy consequent to a trapped Kelvin Wave against the Southern Californian coastline. A particularly ironic blow considering the El Niño-generated Kelvin Wave has also kept Southern California pumping for months as tropical and distant South Pacific sources combine. 

Slow, weak, and inconsistent Trestles is now the Last Chance Saloon for surfers to survive the strange little post-season cut and possibly their pro surfing careers. 

Oscar (WSL/Nolan)

The biggest story is the maiden heat win of Yamba surfer Oscar Berry who slid past Joel Vaughan in the cleanest surf of the day with solid surfing and a pair of well surfed sixes. 

Is there a CT surfer there? I believe so and the way Berry has conducted himself through a devastating year of first round losses makes me even more sure of that assessment.

Rather than cower, Berry has been out and about, enjoying the journey as is the modern therapy speak. That sort of bulletproof mindset tends to end up in success, as we’ve seen with Callum Robson who dragged himself out of the basement and now sits fairly comfortably in 18th spot, three above Filipe Toledo. 

It’s a mindset borrowed from combat sports, where you can get your head beaten in while wearing underpants in a cage in front of millions of people and still show up for work on Monday with your head held high calling for the next fight. Berry said he was “stoked to get the monkey off his back”, and showed every sign of staying committed to the cause, describing the year as a learning experience where you “learn so much about yourself.” 

Joel (WSL/Nolan)

If I could offer a word of advice to Team Berry – who remains vanishingly unlikely to make the post season – go make a movie. Use that time to show the world how you surf, reclaim the right to shred and offer it to the world before the return at Pipeline. Happy days for the Clarence even if Berry did knock his mate Joel Vaughan who now gets to sit on the couch for a couple of months, although the same advice applies. You have to give back to the people what the WSL stripped away from you. And, on your own dime please boys: my tax bill is high enough and I prefer roads, schools, and hospitals to pro surfer junkets. 

Back in the day, pre-COVID, Trestles was just another event, mostly celebrated for its high voltage ripping and memorable performances. Kelly and Mick and Taj and Dane and Steph all made statements out there. 

It’s understandable why an outside flim flam man like Erik Logan would want to engineer a world title Super Bowl style finish there. Capture the American market, so long elusive for pro surfing, or at the least California with it’s 39 million people and fourth largest economy in the world, with a nominal GDP of 4 trillion. Surely, a hefty slice of that pie could be handed over to pro surfing? We understand the logic even if we vehemently disagree or are repelled by it. 

Steph (WSL/Sharon)

That first iteration of Finals Day, to be fair, was a massive success as the sport recovered from the COVID hiatus of 2020. Gabe going massive to hold off a sizzling Filipe Toledo, Carissa coming from behind to hold off Tatiana Weston-Webb. Kelly and Mick a magic combination in the booth. 

Again, you could understand why they would want to repeat the dose. Unfortunately the magic could not be repeated. 

More fallow years followed, with increasingly diminishing returns as fans rebelled against the location, the format, the overwhelming cheesiness of the presentation. Despite winning it fair and square, questions of legitimacy dogged the winners and continue to in the minds of a significant proportion of the fan base, eroding the credibility of the league’s one uncontested mission statement which is to produce a credible World Champion. It became detested and it’s lingering aftertaste of bitterness which still clouds the event. It’s a reminder of a dark period in the sport and thus blowback from fans still exists, despite the wave itself being the most rippable on tour. 

Alyssa (WSL/Sharon)

Three heats of women’s surfing conducted before winds forced a halt. Every heat carried implications for the post-season: winner stays on, loser to the couch to watch the show on TV. Sitting just below the cut, Steph had everything to play for and threw down another insipid performance. It wasn’t woeful with a couple of decent rides but she fell on waves that could have won the heat, laced a couple of mediocre lefts and in the end came up just short to Brisa Hennessey who she had never before lost to. 

That’s almost certainly the end of Steph’s CT career, with this bizarre testimonial lap where she hasn’t won a single heat outside of her huge win at Snapper. She will return at Pipe but with the other girls so far ahead it would be a miracle for her to requalify. Another year-long wildcard would be a massive stretch even for the WSL, who are usually quite content to make up the rules as they go along to keep stars in the game. Like Kelly at Pipe and Chopes, there’s probable cause for Steph to remain competitive at Snapper (or Bells) for years to come, no doubt encouraged by Rip Curl who would want their highest paid surfer to remain visible. 

Vahine (WSL/Sharon)

Tya Żebrowski jagged the only excellent ride of the event so far to knock out Alyssa Spencer and send her back to the Changa. Vahine Fierro put Anat Lelior’s season on the knife edge after knocking her out. Both Vahine and Tya are deep down in the back end of the rankings and would need a massive result at Trestles to book a trip to Portugal. All three will likely need to do something special at Pipe to requalify for next year. 

Our Sal was limbered up and ready to surf for her career when the comp was put on hold while we suffered through an expression session, then a couple of aborted on hold calls before reality prevailed and the day was called off.

//STEVE SHEARER

2026 Lexus Trestles Pro Men’s Round 1 Results:
HEAT 1: Luke Thompson (RSA) 10.16 DEF. Matthew McGillivray (RSA) 9.34
HEAT 2: Eli Hanneman (HAW) 9.73 DEF. Hayden Rodgers (USA) 9.67
HEAT 3: Oscar Berry (AUS) 12.73 DEF. Joel Vaughan (AUS) 11.26
HEAT 4: Mateus Herdy (BRA) 11.40 DEF. Taj Lindblad (USA) 11.27

2026 Lexus Trestles Pro Women’s Round 1 Results (Heats 1 – 3):
HEAT 1: Brisa Hennessy (CRC) 10.90 DEF. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 10.10
HEAT 2: Tya Zebrowski (FRA) 13.33 DEF. Alyssa Spencer (USA) 12.23
HEAT 3: Vahine Fierro (FRA) 12.16 DEF. Anat Lelior (ISR) 11.50