Reef Hawaiian Pro Day 2

Conditions: 4-5 foot rights and lefts. Not what you’d expect
Heats Held: Mens Round 2 and heats 1-5 of Round 3
Nature’s Call: Flat lining with the occasional sign of life late in the day.
Predictions: A preview of next years WCT events

The Triple Crown just got cultured. Germans. Spaniards. Frenchies. And a couple Maui boys. It was a surfing Renaissance today at Haleiwa. With the waves being very un-Hawaiian––soft and inconsistent––it was the Europeans of all people who decided to step into the drivers seat. German surfer (yes German, via Portugal) Marlon Lipke put on an amazing and very surprising display of surfing by posting a 9.23 and an 8.5 and completely flooring everyone in attendance at his skills. Continuing to carry the EU was Jeremy Flores in his first action in Hawaii. Flores drew a tough one to open up with in Hawaii coming up against Triple Crown powerhouses Makua Rothman and Sunny Garcia. Jeremy was able to pick off a few waves underneath the pack and destroy them, surfing lightining quick and very smooth. Then in the final heat of the day, Basque surfer Gony Zubizareta decided it was time we remember his name. After a slow start in the final moments of the heat he posted an 8.83 and a 9.77, the highest heat total of the day and knocked out Shea Lopez and Dustin Cuizon. Weakening the dollar against the Euro that much more.

It wasn’t all baguettes, German engineering and Tapas however. There were some Hawaiian pulses And none more felt than the Maui contingent of Granger Larsen and Dusty Payne. These two aren’t just out to make a name for themselves, they’re out to win this damn thing. Granger kicked off the day as an alternate and was able to slip into the first heat of the day against Sunny Garcia. The 17-year-old Maui boy then found himself with a 9 and a win over Sunny. Not a bad way to start your Triple Crown career.

Later in the day Granger found himself in the drivers seat again. This time against Brazilian star Pedro Henrique, Michel Bourez and Joel Centeio. A stack of tour veterans and Granger took them all out. Granger now finds himself in the thick of it, in the round of 64 where he’ll face the likes of Bobby Martinez and Sunny Garcia. “I can’t believe this. I’m not sure who I’m up against yet, but I know it’s going to be someone nuts.” You can say that again. Welcome to the big leagues, eh.

And finally, in the heat of the day, it was Granger’s buddy and fellow Maui kid Dusty Payne who shined. It was heat 15 in the round of 128. Nothing special, middle of the contest heat on paper. But once it started you knew it was different. Australian Adam Melling, who surfs more like Fanning than you would ever think possible locked into a battle against Dusty Payne, who surfs like a free surfing Bruce Irons, that would have the crowd on their feet for the first time all day. It was a sign from the future and we’re in good hands. Dusty would end up in second and Melling with the win, but may God have mercy on whomever they come up against next.

And now things get interesting. Jordy, Dane, Andy, Mick. It’s the trailer for next year’s ‘CT and there’s going to be fireworks the next day we run. Can you imagine?

[Stay tuned to www.SURFINGMagazine.com for daily updates from the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, and tune in to www.TripleCrownofSurfing.com for all the live webcasts]

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Shea Lopez

 

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