WET N’ WILD WITH ROCKIN’ FIG:

The 2007 surf season has pretty much came to a close with the Billabong Pipe Masters finishing up at the legendary Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Hawaii. The only thing was, it wasn’t your typical Pipe event, because the waves were more in the 2- to 4-foot range — more for slashing than for barrel riding.

The big Aussie, Bede Durbidge, was the man of the hour, finding some good right-handers and slashing them apart with some hard-driving forehand turns for the $30,000 prize. The win also gave Durbidge the No. 1 spot in the Triple Crown standings, where he also won a new truck and some more cash. It was the first win for an Australian at Pipeline since 1998, when Jake Patterson left his mark.

Another Aussie, “the Dingo” Dean Morrison, had his best showing of the year, placing second, while third was crowd favorite and local boy Pancho Sullivan, who actually had the most tube rides of the event. In fourth was Australian ripper Joel Parkinson who had some great heats throughout the surf contest.

Making it to Round 5 were eight-time world champ Kelly Slater, Hawaiian Freddy Boy Pattachia, France’s Jeremy Flores and wild card Hawaiian T.J. Barron. So requalifying right on the bubble were Pattachia, Brad Ward, Hawaiian Bruce Irons, “Ace” Buchan and Brazil’s Neco Padaratz.

Final standings: Mick Fanning is the new world champ, Taj moves up to second, “Slates” is third, “Parko” fourth, Durbidge moves up to fifth, Andy Irons is sixth, Sullivan seventh, Flores the “French man” eighth, “Dingo” ninth and Santa Barbara’s Bobby Martinez rounds out the top 10. Final Triple Crown standings are three Aussies: first Durbidge, second Buchan, and third Fanning.

For the women at Maui’s Honolua Bay, at the Billabong Pro, 19-year-old sensation Steph Gilmore from Oz won the event and the world title. She surfed against her friend and teammate, Jessie Miley Dyer, in the final, who won last year. The two traded wave-for-wave in the smallish conditions, but Gilmore had the slight edge at the end.

Gilmore won four events this last season and was also rookie of the year which looks like the start of a domination in the next few years to come. Equal thirds went to seven-time world champ Layne Beachley and South African Rosanne Hodge, while winning the Triple Crown for the ladies was Hawaiian Megan Abubo.

Meanwhile, the local mountains have been picking up snow after the last couple of storms, and there’s a base of 1 to 3 feet. They’ve been opening more terrain daily with the snow guns on, too. Happy New Year! Fig over and out.

RICK FIGNETTI is a 10-time West Coast champion and a longtime KROQ-FM surfologist. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.