In unusual fashion Kelly Slater won his unprecedented 11th ASP World Championship in good 3- to 6-foot surf at the Rip Curl Pro Search at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Nov. 2.

Initially needing to advance out of round 3 to win the title, ASP officials miscalculated the final tally of points. Instead the Floridian had to come back the next morning and either win round 4 or 5 to officially seal the deal. Wasting no time, Slater did so in round 4, beating eventual Rip Curl Pro champion, Brazilian upstart, 17-year-old Gabriel Medina.

At nearly 40 years of age, Slater shows no signs of slowing down, appearing at the top of his game throughout 2011. His performance in the later rounds of the Billabong Pipe Masters, were Slateresque, and his semifinal loss to Australian Joel Parkinson should not have been missed.

Newly crowned Pipe Master Kieren Perrow was the biggest charger in pumping conditions, pulling off ridiculous late drops and big barrels at Pipe and Backdoor.

Perrow was the runner-up at the Pipe Masters a year ago. From the second round on there was no denying his commitment for the much coveted Gerry Lopez trophy.

Among the surfers to watch in 2012 on the men’s side of things, you have to wonder what Ventura’s Dane Reynolds will do after an injury-plagued 2011 campaign? And can Conner Coffin continue to climb the ladder in the ASP Junior Men World Ranking and make eventual strides toward qualifying.

On the women’s side of things, locals Sage Erickson and Lakey Peterson both qualified for the 2012 ASP Women’s World Tour. Can one of them snatch a world title and bring back to the 805?