"It's pretty grindy out there," admitted Josh Kerr, alluding to the tricky conditions on Day Two of the Hawaiian Pro. Truer words may have never been spoken by Mr. Kerr, but the wily veteran still looked downright cat-like on his way to victory in Round Two. Blustery ENE winds overnight dropped a significant case of morning sickness on the early heats, then mostly head-high, windswept conditions ruled the rest of the day.
The battle for Championship Tour qualification is heating up in Hawaii, where tough conditions are adding to the tension.
With the small conditions, your first inclination might be to say, "Advantage young guns!" but it's a funny thing, experience. Surfers like Kerr, Adriano de Souza, Dion Atkinson and Alejo Muniz, all of whom have proven Dream Tour chops, reveal that tactics and patience can often trump the ability to throw a fin-waft here or flair an air there.
When pressed about his retirement plans if he made a late qualification charge during the Triple Crown, the Aussie added reflectively, "Surfing in a rash guard has lost its authenticity. I've had a great career, but I've always said that having fun surfing is more important than winning a heat."
Griffin Colapinto - WSL / Keoki Saguibo
For his part, Muniz, who powered his way to victory late in the day, was equally philosophical, if not as poetic. "You're always thinking about qualification," said Muniz, "After my injury and all I've been through, if it happens I'll be very happy, but if it doesn't I'll be training more for next year. Hopefully, I'll have a good result here so I'll have more confidence at Sunset."
With the direction of the swell suboptimal for Haleiwa, but still a good angle for the Backdoor/Off-the-Wall area up the highway a few miles, wounded warriors from the morning's free surf trickled into Ali'I Beach Park throughout the day, some barring scars from the morning session.
Hawaii's Seth Moniz suffered a Round Two defeat on Wednesday, but the second-generation pro will be right back at it at Sunset. - WSL / Tony Heff
Young Californian Parker Coffin arrived with butterfly tape plastered next to his right eye and a layer of crusty blood dried on his cheek after bouncing off the bottom at OTW. Later, QS No. 9 Zeke Lau showed up with his ankle wrapped in duct tape to protect a laceration on his heel from the very same section of reef.
Don't get lulled to sleep by the prevailing conditions from the first two days of the Hawaiian Pro, even on 4-foot days, the North Shore still inflicts punishment.
The situation is already getting tense at Haleiwa and we've just started Round Three.
Sometimes that pain is physical, other times psychological. The old cliché about every heat matters at the Triple Crown has never held more credence for the 2018 Championship Tour hopefuls. And that emotional toll was extracted on six more of the top 25 ranked surfers on the QS ratings on Day Two, including No. 11 Michael February, No. 20 Alex Ribeiro and No. 22 Mikey Wright.
With their qualification dreams now fading fast, those six surfers can only hope for better results at the final QS Tour stop at Sunset Beach - a wave well known for busting boards and breaking hearts.
Hard Fought at Haleiwa: "It's Pretty Grindy Out There"
Brad Drew
"It's pretty grindy out there," admitted Josh Kerr, alluding to the tricky conditions on Day Two of the Hawaiian Pro. Truer words may have never been spoken by Mr. Kerr, but the wily veteran still looked downright cat-like on his way to victory in Round Two. Blustery ENE winds overnight dropped a significant case of morning sickness on the early heats, then mostly head-high, windswept conditions ruled the rest of the day.
With the small conditions, your first inclination might be to say, "Advantage young guns!" but it's a funny thing, experience. Surfers like Kerr, Adriano de Souza, Dion Atkinson and Alejo Muniz, all of whom have proven Dream Tour chops, reveal that tactics and patience can often trump the ability to throw a fin-waft here or flair an air there.
When pressed about his retirement plans if he made a late qualification charge during the Triple Crown, the Aussie added reflectively, "Surfing in a rash guard has lost its authenticity. I've had a great career, but I've always said that having fun surfing is more important than winning a heat."
For his part, Muniz, who powered his way to victory late in the day, was equally philosophical, if not as poetic. "You're always thinking about qualification," said Muniz, "After my injury and all I've been through, if it happens I'll be very happy, but if it doesn't I'll be training more for next year. Hopefully, I'll have a good result here so I'll have more confidence at Sunset."
With the direction of the swell suboptimal for Haleiwa, but still a good angle for the Backdoor/Off-the-Wall area up the highway a few miles, wounded warriors from the morning's free surf trickled into Ali'I Beach Park throughout the day, some barring scars from the morning session.
Young Californian Parker Coffin arrived with butterfly tape plastered next to his right eye and a layer of crusty blood dried on his cheek after bouncing off the bottom at OTW. Later, QS No. 9 Zeke Lau showed up with his ankle wrapped in duct tape to protect a laceration on his heel from the very same section of reef.
Don't get lulled to sleep by the prevailing conditions from the first two days of the Hawaiian Pro, even on 4-foot days, the North Shore still inflicts punishment.
Sometimes that pain is physical, other times psychological. The old cliché about every heat matters at the Triple Crown has never held more credence for the 2018 Championship Tour hopefuls. And that emotional toll was extracted on six more of the top 25 ranked surfers on the QS ratings on Day Two, including No. 11 Michael February, No. 20 Alex Ribeiro and No. 22 Mikey Wright.
With their qualification dreams now fading fast, those six surfers can only hope for better results at the final QS Tour stop at Sunset Beach - a wave well known for busting boards and breaking hearts.
Adriano de Souza
Featuring Yago Dora, Filipe Toledo, Caio Ibelli, Ian Gouveia, Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Gabriel Medina, Julian Wilson, Adriano de
Featuring Gabriel Medina, Owen Wright, Matthew McGillivray, Jeremy Flores, Nathan Hedge, Jadson Andre, Kanoa Igarashi, Caio Ibelli, John
The 2015 World Champion is one of only two athletes still on Tour who competed in the historic 2006 Search event at the famous point.
After three tough days of competition under the California sun, Johanne Defay and Filipe Toledo have finally got their wins in Lemoore.
Adriano de Souza was chasing his first World Title in 2015 - but to get it he had to do something no Brazilian had ever done before: Win at
Hawaiian Pro
Drop in on the Hawaiian surfing event series, the most intense on the planet.
Colapinto becomes the first Californian ever to win the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.
The North Shore local breaks down Haleiwa, home to the first stop of the Vans Triple Crown.
A look back to 2017 as Qualifying Series stars react to making the cut for the Championship Tour.
Some interesting qualification subplots emerged after the first jewel in the Triple Crown ran at Haleiwa.