ExplorerGirls

Most people think of chocolate bunnies and egg hunts on Easter, but for a lot of the world’s best surfers their sites are set on Bells Beach for the annual Rip Curl Pro surfing competition.

It’s a legendary event for any surfer to win a chance at ringing the bell and the winner is held in the highest astute. This year for the Women’s Rip Curl Pro, another spectacular event, it was the first time ever, both men and women, for a Brazilian to ring it loud and clear.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day at Bells Beach for the Women’s Rip Curl Pro.  The sun was shining upon clean, yet sporadic sets still coming from Winki Pop (breaking to the right of the bowl), and the ladies put on a show that kept every spectator firmly in place.  

The iconic event lent its hand to yet another year of record crowds for the women’s event.  For the second year running the men where on hold as the women’s final impressed the huge crowd of men, women and children packing out the shore line.

Silvana Lima busted out the gates in the final like a charging bull scoring a 9.6 on her first ride against Aussie home grown champ Stephanie Gilmore.  

There’s something about the way Lima rides waves that separates her from the rest.  She seems to drive the board down fast and hard and every cut back let’s out a spray like the champagne that later exploded on the winner’s podium.

It was another historical day for the Rip Curl Pro and women’s surfing with the Brazilian’s first big win at an ASP World Title event and Brazil’s first win at the Rip Curl Pro.

Silvana obviously was more than happy with the results with her innagural win at the event and decided to not only leave a mark for the history books, but one on her body she can never forget.

After returning home to Brazil for a big celebration she headed straight over a tattoo parlor and inked an image of her winning trophy onto her torso.  

I’m stoked to have been at Bells Beach this year for ExplorerGirls documenting such an amazing women’s final and an event that means so much to women’s surfing and Silvana Lima.

Check out our photos from the event here and get the details on Silvana’s tattoo below.  Being sponsored by Billabong I guess she decided to leave the word’s Rip Curl out of the ink job!

www.ExplorerGirls.com / Courtney Crow

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 1 May, 2009 : - -  Silvana Lima's name will forever be engraved on the famous Rip Curl Pro Bell trophy and now, thanks to a little tattoo gun handy work, the Rip Curl Pro Bell will forever be engraved on Silvana Lima.

The 24-year-old Brazilian won the Rip Curl Women's Pro presented by Ford New Fiesta in April this year by defeating two-time event champion and reigning two-time ASP World Champion Stephanie Gilmore at Bells Beach.

The title was Silvana’s first win from seven ASP final appearances and marked the first time in the Rip Curl Pro’s 37-year-long history that the Bell has been won and rung by a Brazilian (male or female). "To be the first winner from Brazil to ring the Bell is just amazing,” said Lima after the final presentation. “I am so happy. I hope everyone in Brazil stays up and parties big!”

Silvana was greeted with a hero’s reception when she returned to Brazil after the Rip Curl Pro and the pint-sized champion celebrated accordingly – heading straight into a local tattoo parlor to get the Bell trophy tattooed with “Bells Beach” and the historical date “12/04/2009” on the right-side of her torso, just above her hip.

Although the Rip Curl Pro has a colourful past, Silvana’s recent ink efforts will go down as one of the most memorable moments in the event’s long and rich history.

Congratulations Silvana – the entire Rip Curl family salutes you! See you at Bells again next year!

Images:  Tattoo photos courtesy Rip Curl