So even though winds were gusting and waves were breaking at "only" 3 to 5 feet at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach, the competition was still intense during the opening rounds of the Vans Hawaiian Pro.

The first and second rounds of the men's contest were completed yesterday. It is the first of three events in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series staged on O'ahu's North Shore.

"For Hawai'i standards, this is a pretty poor day," said North Shore pro surfer Pancho Sullivan. "But for most other places in the world, this is a pretty decent day."

Perhaps as a result, many Hawai'i surfers struggled while the international competitors advanced.

The Australian contingent was particularly impressive, accounting for seven of the 16 second-round heat winners. What's more, Australians Steve Clements and Beau Emerton recorded the two best scores of the day.

"Most contests around the world have conditions worse than this," said Triple Crown executive director Randy Rarick. "So I think what you're seeing is the international guys doing well because a lot of them are used to surfing in stuff like this."

Five Hawai'i surfers were among the 16 advancing to the third round: Sullivan, Joel Centeio, Jesse Merle-Jones, Fred Patacchia Jr., and Brian Pacheco.

Thirteen others from Hawai'i were eliminated, including former Triple Crown champion Kaipo Jaquias.

"It's pretty ugly," Sullivan said. "But as professionals, you have to be able to deal with what ever kind of conditions Mother Nature dishes out."

Sullivan won the Xcel Pro (not one of the Triple Crown events) at Sunset Beach two weeks ago. Since that victory, the waves on the North Shore have been on vacation.

"It's been a pretty bad three weeks, so I think we just ought to be happy with what we got," he said. "As bad as the waves look, there's still a bit of juice to ride."

Sullivan proved it by winning his first- and second-round heats yesterday.

Rarick said he normally would not run a Triple Crown contest under conditions such as yesterday, but with a limited time frame, he said he had no choice. The contest has to complete two more days of competition by Sunday.

"The only other option was to cancel the whole thing, and we've never done that in the (21-year) history of the Triple Crown," Rarick said. "Conditions are less than ideal, but it's still contestable. Plus, these guys can make surf like this look good."

They are apparently going to have to continue doing it.

Rarick said he does not expect conditions to improve much at Ali'i Beach, but he still plans to complete the men's Vans Hawaiian Pro and women's Roxy Pro by Sunday.

The top-ranked surfers in the men's event had byes yesterday, including world champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i and current No. 1-ranked Kelly Slater of Florida. They are expected to compete today, conditions permitting.

The women's Roxy Pro did not run heats yesterday, but could finish by today if conditions allow.

For status of the contests, call 596-7873.