Kaua'i's Kennelly, Ballard 1-2 in Indonesian meet

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Keala Kennelly made a lot of things last week.

Rochelle Ballard, left, and Keala Kennelly competed in a dramatic one-on-one, all-Kaua'i final in the women's division of the OP Pro. Kennelly won the heat while an oncoming storm approached. Bernie Baker photo

But mostly, Kennelly made history.

Kennelly, who is from Hanalei, Kaua'i, won the women's division of the OP Pro off the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, last week. During the week-long event, she and the three other invited female competitors (including another Kaua'i surfer, Rochelle Ballard) rode what are believed to be the most treacherous waves ever for a women's surfing contest.

"In my mind, it was akin to sending women out to compete at big Pipeline," said contest director Bernie Baker, who plays the same role for Hawai'i's Triple Crown of Surfing. "It really was something to see that kind of courage, and that kind of talent, for the women to make it on some of those waves."

Under the contest's unique rules, the competitors traveled by boat to a different island each day. The format was designed to offer various types of waves to display the various skills of the surfers. By the end of the week, competition was held off five different islands for the men, and four for the women.

Waves were not necessarily huge — 6 to 8 feet on the biggest day. However, most of the waves off the Mentawais are exceptionally fast, and break on sharp coral reefs that are covered only by ankle-deep water.

"It's real intimidating," said Ballard, who placed second to Kennelly. "It's the most unbelievable wave I've ever seen, but there's this dry reef on the inside that could probably end up killing you if you don't know what you're doing."

On the biggest day of the contest, the women nearly killed themselves trying at a spot appropriately called "No Can Dos."

After watching the surfers from the men's division ride through countless picture-perfect barrels, the women decided they wanted to take a shot at it.

'We got our butts kicked'

"Safety is tantamount on expeditions like these," Baker said. "I wasn't questioning at any point that the women couldn't do it. But we certainly had our eye on them, praying that no one got hurt."

Kaua'i's Keala Kennelly rode some of the most treacherous waves ever in a women's surfing contest on the way to winning the OP Pro last week off the Mentawai Islands. Kennelly won and fellow Kaua'i surfer Rochelle Ballard finished second. Bernie Baker photo

"We got our butts kicked," Kennelly said. "It was big and fast and we weren't making it."

By the end of the heat, the only clear-cut winner was Mother Nature.

Kennelly refused to back down.

"I felt like we were getting a feel for the wave, so I asked (contest officials) for an extra half-hour," she said. "I was exhausted, but I was on a mission."

In the overtime session, the four competitors — Kennelly, Ballard, and Australians Layne Beachley and Serena Brooke — took turns riding through barreling waves that lasted five to 10 seconds each (for comparative purposes, a three-second barrel ride will usually earn a high score in competition).

"It was the best experience I've ever had on a left-hand barrel," Ballard said. "In that extra half-hour, I think we made history. We showed that women are capable of riding these unbelievable waves."

Kennelly, already considered one of the best female big-wave riders in the world, was the most capable.

As Beachley put it: "Keala was taking off 15 meters deeper than the rest of us and still making it. It was sick. It was obvious that she was the best woman out there."

It didn't come easy. Kennelly walked away from the heat victorious, but also with a sprained hip socket, several scrapes along her body and torn surf trunks.

Weathering the storm

Still, Kennelly rode the momentum all the way to the final, which was held two days later in more manageable waves of 4 to 5 feet.

Prior to the one-on-one, all-Kaua'i final with Ballard, Kennelly said she was boosted by the "crazy energy" of an oncoming storm. While Kennelly was dominating the final, lightning was striking and cloud funnels were forming off shore.

"They were thinking about calling it off, but I thought it was kind of cool," Kennelly said.

Even cooler was the $20,000 winner-take-all paycheck she received. Combined with a $2,500 bonus for her performance in the big waves, Kennelly earned almost as much for the OP Pro as she did all of last year. On the way to a No. 8 ranking on the world tour, Kennelly earned $24,250 in prize money last year.

"I wish all paydays were like that," she said. "And I wish all contests were like that."

NOTES: Australian Mark Occhilupo won the men's division for the second consecutive year, defeating Kaua'i brothers Andy and Bruce Irons in the final. Andy Irons was second, Bruce Irons third, and Shane Dorian of Kailua-Kona was fifth. ... Only 10 surfers were invited to compete: six men and four women. Invitations were based on results of a Surfer Magazine readers' poll. ... Perhaps because of the contest's remote location and unique format, several non-surfing magazines assigned reporters to cover it, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, GQ and Men's Health.