This wasn’t just any old day at Alii Beach Park in Haleiwa.
This was a day with thick and pumping 10- to 12-foot bombs with 15-foot sets — big and unruly enough for decorated Hawaii surf veteran Pancho Sullivan to concede he was nervous when the start of the Reef Hawaiian Pro contest was called on Wednesday morning.
Sullivan, 41, who is twice as old as many of the 128 competitors, won his heat to advance into the second round, but he did it just in time.
Sullivan was way behind before pulling off several power turns for a 9.27 wave, and then, with three seconds left, added a 6.03 to just sneak through.
"Somehow, a lump popped up. It wasn’t a great wave, kind of small, and I was fortunate to get it," he said. "I’m excited to make it through and hope to slowly build confidence. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way (at the beginning of the heat) and you’ve got to adapt. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous this morning. When it gets big, this is a wave I fear more than just about any other wave on the North Shore."
The Reef Hawaiian Pro is the first leg of the Vans Triple Crown, with a holding period that runs through Nov. 23. The outlook is good for the contest to continue Thursday, and a new swell is expected for the weekend. Unfavorable wind conditions are forecast for Friday.
Sunny Garcia, 44, is another big-name Hawaii surfer who made it through to the second round, and just barely. During a slow heat, he scored a 3.33 and a 1.90 and still placed second behind Brazil’s Krystian Kymerson. Garcia is a six-time Triple Crown winner.
Hawaii’s Ezekiel Lau had the highest scoring heat of the day, putting together two 9-point-plus rides for an 18.53. On one of them, he tucked into a deep tube.
"The drops were critical on both waves," Lau said. "I was able to hit each section with some big explosions. I was happy to find the waves that let me perform. (On the tube ride), there was no other route to go, but to pull into the barrel."
All of Wednesday’s first- and second-place finishers have their eye on going farther when the contest continues and, ultimately, hope to pile up enough points in the three contests to take the exalted title of Triple Crown champion.
"We want to keep it in Hawaii, bring it home for the boys," said Lau, who a year ago won the Vans World Cup of Surfing, the second leg of the Triple Crown.
One Hawaii surfer — Olamana Eleogram — had a true bittersweet day. He scored the only 10-point ride, getting deep into a massive, hollow tube.
Eleogram, however, did not advance because he was called for interference on a priority wave and lost all 6.23 points of his second-highest scoring wave.
"It sucks (not to advance), but at least I got a 10," he said, smiling.
Contest organizers delayed the start of the Reef Hawaiian Pro for nearly two hours, waiting for the surf and wind conditions to clean up.
Sixty-four seeded surfers join the fray in the next two days of competition. Seeds 33 through 64 go up against the 32 who advanced Wednesday, and then, those who get through from there take on seeds No. 1 through 32 on the third day of the event.
Hawaii’s Joel Centeio, Ian Walsh, Dusty Payne, Billy Kemper, Ian Gentil, Jamie O’Brien, Joshua Moniz and Koa Smith also advanced to the second round. Four of the 16 first-round heats remain to be surfed.
Second-ranked world tour surfer Mick Fanning of Australia, one of three men still in contention for the ASP world title, will make his first appearance in the third round, as will Hawaii’s John John Florence, who is No. 4 in the world rankings. Florence does not have a shot at the world title, but is considered one of the favorites to take his third Triple Crown.
World No. 3 Kelly Slater, who is recuperating from two broken toes, and No. 1 Gabe Medina of Brazil, will not compete in Hawaii until the final event, the Billabong Pipe Masters in December. That event will decide the world title.
Kauai’s Danny Fuller, who last week won the HIC Pro, a qualifier for the Vans Triple Crown, failed to advance.
