PO‘IPU — Solid overhead waves with few lulls put emphasis on wave-riding abilities as the Hawai‘i Surfing Federation contest No. 1 was held in near perfect conditions on Sunday at The Beach House Restaurant at the Prince Kuhio break.
The only variable of the day was whether the sets were going to focus on outside Smokies, the middle PK’s peak, or the inside reformatory. At times, the waves and surfers were performing for up to 20 seconds on one wave, keeping everyone, including the judges, busy throughout the day along the 200-yard stretch of beach.
Skiz Doubt, Ruben Balmores, Max Medeiros and Daniel Keriopa, a visitor from New Zealand, worked the finals of the 4a series where four of Kaua‘i’s riders advance to compete in the Fall 2007 ExCel Pro at Sunset Beach.
Additionally, winners pocket $500 and bragging rights to the division.
Just when an observation to Les Tabuchi noted Doubt had a speed and flexibliltiy advantage over stalwarts Balmores and Medeiros, things changed.
Doubt looked ultra quick and super strong and on his game in the repo round, with a light, loose yet powerful approach. Then out of the blue, the elder stateman of the group, Medeiros, pulled a big frontside floater and connector to the inside that had everyone wondering who might win this thing.
Then it happened. Balmores raced across the left section on a mid size wave and snapped a huge backside blast of a cutback, disappearing in the whitewater only to emerge in control. He then rail-to-railed his way with some deep angles that clinched a first-place finish. Doubt captured second and Medeiros ended in third
Dylan Melamed was leading the field with a comfortable margin in the Open Men’s division after his two connecting waves from outside to inside left him room to spare as he gouged bottom turns and slashed through the inside.
Aaron Swanson got a mid-size wave take off with about 40 seconds left in the heat. He rode it gingerly until the inside section and proceeded to gain speed with two bottom turns before launching himself. The boost cleared the top of the wave as he air-reversed and landed cleanly just ahead of the trough with a solid 180 plant. He swung his board back around to face the judges just before the horn sounded.
Dramatics played an important part to the final as that one solid move scored him points that ranged from an 8.0 to a 9.5 on the three judges’ scoresheets — barely enough to nudge him ahead of Melamed by five-tenths of a point. Nathan Rex, Aaron Hacker, Alex Smith and Noa Mau Espirito followed.
Rex, Swanson and Melamed battled for the top slots of the Junior Open Mens division, finishing first, second and third, respectively.
In the Junior Mens Division, it was the trio of Rex, Swanson and Melamed at it again in a dogfight for the top three places. They finished first, second and third, respectively. Melamed had a clear shot at victory when some eight- to 10-foot faces came barreling in on the outside with a minute left, but he was caught inside unable to position himself for one of the big ones.
A mere 1.5 points separated the top three finishers with Rex’s speed and Swanson’s aerials racking up the points.
Tyler Newton, Chris Foster and Dylan Goodale were missing in the six-man heat. Noa Howatt, Aaron Hacker and Alex Smith followed. The trio could have wreaked havoc in the mix and will add some color and flair to the competition when they, too, are in the water.
A few surfers below 12 years old stiffened the competition in the Boys division with wiry, quick and talented Luke Hitchcock taking down older surfers Nathan Carvalho, Elliott Leon, Kalen Galtes, Kaimana Jaquias and Spencer Kaplanis.
Kaua‘i is stacked with young heavy-hitters with Kaouli Kahauloke, Kaikea Elias, Koa Smith and Kaimana Jacquias exerting pressure on all divisions.
Kahokuloa fell to second place at the close of the Menehune division heat after Smith’s big-wave blast.
Smith’s 85 pounds of pure trim raced through sections, dropping some jaws in amazement as he threaded his way to the inside to score high on all the judges’ scorecards.
Smith spells power and maneuverability and will be a most dangerous foe for years to come.
Tatiana Weston Webb and Liana Pate are both North Shore groms attempting to gain some competitive experience at a young age. The pair are surfing hard against the mini chargers in the menehune division while picking up knowledge and experience.
“Wait for the sets and ride them from the outside through to the judges’ stand,” said coach and father Rick Hurst.
Normally, Leila will go out and surf her best, based on what coach Rainos Hayes gives her, but on Kaua‘i in his absence, it was Coach Dad who passed on the advice prior to the start of the Open Womens final.
Leila listened and won, followed by her neighbor, Erika Steiner, and the power-surfing Alana Blanchard. Savannah Sussman, Courtney Cabrall and Gabi Cope, three South Shore girls, also made it to the finals. Cope won the Surfco Surfer of the Contest award through some consistent waves and lots of action.
Steiner dominated the Girls Longboard competition, followed by Cabral, who exerted a challenging effort in the heat.
Ruben Balmores waltzed home with the trophy in the 35-Plus division, with Charles Smith, Craig Balmores, Tabuchi, Russell Lewis, the Aussie man, and Dwayne Akau, the tent and banner man rounding out the top finishers.
Contest organizer Nelson Tokioka filled all the divisions, resulting in a day, well, filled with action.
The full agenda created excitement at the first contest of the year and a pressure-packed day for the new crew of volunteers, judges and officials.
Nalu Underground Surf Magazine is the overriding sponsor of the contest series, while Quiksilver sponsored this opening contest.
Every HSF contest is also sponsored by the YMCA and ocean safety was provided by Kalani Vierra and his Kaua‘i Ocean Safety team, who manned a tent adjacent to the spotters and judges.
The next contest is at Pine Trees in Hanalei Nov. 18 or Nov. 19, conditions permitting.
