WET AND WILD WITH ROCKIN’ FIG:Roxy’s music to Bartels

More big action from the North Shore of Hawaii, this time from the women’s championship tour event, the 12th annual Roxy Pro.

The surf was in the 4- to 6-foot plus range at Sunset Beach on the north shore of Oahu. In the finals, Aussie wild card and winner of the trials, Stephanie Gilmore, looked like she was a lock for the win as she shredded up the 30-minute final. But with a minute left, Hawaiian Melanie Bartels caught a set, slashed a turn in the pocket, got a cover up and popped out. Bartels needed an upper-six score and received a 7.33 to turn the final into a victory and her first World Championship Tour win. Plus, she picked up a check for $10,000. It was a close one, though — 14.16 to 13.50.

Veteran Hawaiian Rochelle Ballard placed third, and last year’s world champ Chelsea Georgeson rounded out the top four. Losing in the semis were six-time world champ and current points leader Layne Beachley and Hawaiian Megan Abubo, and Peru’s Sofia Mulanovich and Aussie Melanie Redman-Carr. Next up is the Billabong Pro Maui, the final contest for the season. In the men’s O’Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach Park in Oahu, the event survived some stormy overhead surf, dark clouds and rain squalls, too. They just completed round four Looking good thus far winning heats were Aussies Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Dean Morrison, and air-buster Josh Kerr. South African Jordy Smith, the International Surfing Assn. world games winner in Huntington Beach has been knocking out some big namers.

Californians Alex Gray and Patrick Gudauskas looked impressive with wins in their heats. Eight-time world champ Kelly Slater showed up five minutes late for his heat and still won. Andy Irons placed second in his heat and moved on, holdng the Triple Crown points lead. Some big upsets included eliminations of Aussie Taj Burrow, Hawaiian ripper Bruce Irons, big-wave standout Makua Rothman, the Big Island’s Myles Padaca and Roy “the big boy” Powers, as well as East Coasters Damien Hobgood, Corey Lopez and the West Coast’s Chris Ward.

Get the big-wave surfboards guns out, because a huge swell is scheduled to hit the West Coast this weekend. There was a powerful storm in the western Pacific, generating some big swells. We’re talking possibly double overhead at the standout, big-wave spots along the coast with definitely overhead surf at most. Be careful, don’t bust your favorite stick in half! See ya, Fig, over and out.