Date of Birth: April 30, 1983
Best Known For: Choosing surfing over hockey
Local Spot: Chesterman Beach
My Crew: Ollie Atkey, Noah Cohen, Skinner, Allister Fernie, JJ
Board of Choice: 5'11'' x 18'' x 2'' roundtail from AKA Surfboards
Dream Wave: The Canadian Box when it's firing with an air section at the end
| My Top Five: | 1.) Explore the coast in search of waves 2.) Watch Stanley Cup playoff hockey and drink beer 3.) Check the waves with my dog 4.) Hang out with Lisa 5.) Get barreled |
Flying way north for the winter in Tofino. Video: Marty Kukler
The CWC Canada champ finds one between the rocks during this last swell. Video: www.jeremykoreski.com
Hurley riders are making a habit of electrifying their hometown crowd this year.First it was HB's own Brett Simpson at the Hurley US Open. This past weekend, it was Peter Devries at the first-ever O'Neill Coldwater Classic at Chesterman's Beach on Vancouver Island, Canada.
Before thousands of screaming Canucks, Devries powered through the challenging, onshore conditions. He jumped out to a good lead ahead of fellow finalist Jay "Bottle" Thompson, then found the dagger: a big, fins-free blast out the back, a solid roundhouse and a spray-chucking layback to seal the deal. The 9.0 earned him $20,000 and -- more importantly -- the honor of being the first Canadian in history to win a pro surfing event. "Yeah, it's still all a little surreal," said Devries after joining the town for a celebration in the streets. "I mean, I guess the whole beach was screaming every time I took off. Probably good I couldn't hear it because of the wind, because I really felt no nerves out there. I felt like I was freesurfing."
Devries surfed from the trials all the way through to the final, his legend growing with each advancement. By the time the final day came around, literally the entire town was down on the beach cheering for Pete. Even Canada's biggest television network, CBC, was on hand to document the biggest national treasure since Strange Brew. "You couldn't even get a cup of coffee today — the whole town was shut down so they could watch the contest," said Devries. "It was really special for this place. Everyone was buzzing."
Canada's first pro surfing contest was definitely a success. According to Devries, the waves were "average or below average" for this time of year, but there was no shortage of surf (or wind or rain), and the visiting pros enjoyed the change of scenery. "People don't realize how big this is for Canadian surfing," said Devries. "There's a whole new generation of kids now who've seen this and will be inspired by it."
What Pete should say is, inspired by him. Congratulations to Pete and to the people of Tofino for officially putting Canadian surfing on the map.
Fall is my favorite time of year at home. The summer surfers have taken their soft tops back to the city, and we get our beaches and waves back to ourselves. The Pacific ocean has started to wake up from it's summer slumber, and the water temperature is still nice and warm at 51 degrees. Now we just have to sit back and wait for a big red blob to march across the Pacific and run straight into us.
October is going to be a big month for surfing in Canada. The ever first ASP, WQS event is rolling into town, along with all the top guys on the WQS. It's going to be interesting to say the least, and it's something a lot of people in Canada are looking forward to. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for waves so we can see these guys go to town up here. The event won't be complete without wind, rain, hail, sun and maybe even a little snow so get ready. It's going to be a crazy week!
Pete
