Bino Lopes survived a scary encounter with a Huntington Pier piling during his Round of 96 heat at the Vans US Open of Surfing - Men's QS Tuesday. The Brazilian, currently ranked No. 36 on the QS rankings, walked away with a broken nose, a snapped board and some lacerations after smashing into one of the pier's mussel-covered, cement support poles. Trailing in third with 10 minutes remaining in Round Two, Heat 11, Lopes was chasing a good score when he took off on a zippy, head-high left close to the south side of the pier. He hit the lip just yards from the pier then disappeared as the whitewater exploded off the pilings. He emerged on the north side in front of a stunned Adam Melling, who was leading the heat. Bino was bleeding heavily from his nose when he was taken into the WSL's medical tent. After an examination from the medical team, he'll take a precautionary trip to the hospital, but should recover without any significant issues.
