The weather got quite interesting Tuesday afternoon on Kauai, but it was calm enough on Oahu to get the first round of the Volcom Pipe Pro started and completed early in the day.
Despite getting the green light, this wasn’t exactly what someone would call ideal conditions at Pipeline. It was challenging and choppy with some winds and a few sporadic barrel opportunities scattered throughout the day. A total of 40 surfers hit the water and just three of them emerged with a two-wave total in the double digits, so squeezing every little bit of scoring potential from each ride was of the utmost importance.
The best heat of the day went to South African Matthew McGillivray, who showed off a nice aerial maneuver for an 8.00 ride on his way to a 15.83 heat total. That was the opening heat of round two, so he’ll be heading into the Round of 64 with all the top seeds lurking.
Makaukai Rothman and Noa Mizuno put on the best show in round one, as each survived the second heat of the day. Rothman had a rare barrel and made the most of it for a 7.07 from the judges. That led to a 13.57 total for the heat win, as Mizuno took second with a 12.50 total. The pair from Hawaii were two of the 14 from around the state to survive round one.
That group includes Kauai’s Danny Fuller, who took a tight second place in the final heat of the first round. His 8.73 total was just behind Kalani David (8.83) in first as the pair advanced over Mikey Bruneau and Dante Silva.
Kauai’s Chris Foster did not have the same good fortune in a difficult opening session. His opportunities were minimal, as were everyone’s in his heat. But Foster only found a pair of small scores for a 3.57 total during a foursome won by Ulualoha Napeahi with just a 7.47 total.
This was indicative of how the day went for just about everyone. Only the few who caught the ocean at the perfect moments were able to actually produce anything of substance. All the other competitors had to fight for scraps in waves most would skip on a non-event day.
But so it goes during surf contests. Tuesday’s winning heat scores would be forgettable figures on many other days, though everyone was essentially fighting the same battles.
The swell will be shifting today and into Thursday, when organizers are eyeing the next green light. Conditions are expected to be more optimal with that new swell and we could see a lot of action from Thursday through the weekend.
Kauai’s Fuller, Evan Valiere, Kaimana Jaquias and Bruce Irons will be set to go in round two. Sebastian Zietz and Koa Smith will be awaiting in round three, as will four-time event winner and two-time world champion John John Florence.
Some of Tuesday’s notable winners included Sunny Garcia, Kai Lenny, Jason Shibata and Ian Walsh. Coming up short were Ian Gentil, Tom Dosland, Ryder Guest and Nathan Florence, among others.
The contest will become more international with each passing round, but a large contingent of Hawaii surfers is still poised to make waves at this QS 3,000 event.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
