Amateurs conquer poor surf
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Yvette Bertelmann caught just one wave to win the women's surfing division of the Surf Into Summer event.
Bernie Baker |
Waves were small —1 to 2 feet — and inconsistent, but the state's best amateur surfers still managed to make it look good when they could.
"A lot of these kids will go on to become professional surfers, and you can see all the talent out there," said Mitch McEwen, marketing director of the Local Motion surf shops.
Approximately 350 surfers participated in the three-day contest, making it one of the largest amateur surfing contests in the state. It is also considered the kick-off event for the summer surf season along south shores.
"This is my first time at this contest," said Alex Smith, a 13-year-old home school student from Kilauea, Kaua'i. "I heard a lot about this contest from my friends so I wanted to try it."
And?
"It's one of the best contests I've ever done in my life," he said.
Smith was one of the standouts, winning the boys shortboard surfing division (for ages 12 to 14). He posted a near-perfect score of 9.17 and backed that up with a 7.0 for a two-wave total of 16.17.
"I just got lucky and picked out the good sets," he said.
Because of the inconsistent conditions, every heat offered something different. During some heats, the ocean went flat; during others, there were more than enough waves to go around.
The junior men's division (ages 15 to 17) normally features the most radical maneuvers because many of the best surfers in that division are on the verge of turning professional. But yesterday, the junior men never got to showcase their skills because the waves never cooperated during their heat.
Robert Wurlitzer ended up winning the heat with wave scores of 6.33 and 1.0 for a total of 7.33.
Only 15 minutes after the junior men left the water in frustration, the waves started rolling in for the masters division (ages 25 to 34).
"That's how contests work," said Wai'anae's Hoptong Smith, who won the masters division for the third consecutive year. "The waves were small, but the ones that came in were fun."
Smith, 28, proved that the "older" surfers could also pull off some impressive moves. His two best waves were scored 8.83 and 7.0.
"I'm still hoping to do some (professional) contests," he said. "And this contest is always a good test. There's lots of competition, lots of good surfers, so you get to see how you stand."
But yesterday, it mostly came down to luck of the wave draw. As Smith put it: "If you found one good wave, you pretty much had a good chance to win."
Yvette Bertelmann did just that. She won the women's surfing division despite catching just one wave — which resulted in a score of 7.0.
"I was going inside, outside, in the middle; I was just trying to find a wave where ever," she said. "I'm just happy I got it because I never won here (at Ala Moana) before."
Thirteen champions were crowned yesterday. Among the other standouts were: Ezekiel Lau (menehune surfing), Lani Hunter (girls surfing), Jonah Romero (boys bodyboarding), Kepa Kruse (men bodyboarding), Amy Lawson (women longboard surfing), Venton Siliado (25-younger longboard surfing), and Scot Wilson (25-older longboard surfing).
Many of the same competitors will return to Ala Moana this weekend for the Hawai'i Amateur Surfing Association State Championships.
Final results
Shortboard surfing
Menehune: 1, Ezekiel Lau. 2, John John Florence. 3, John Quizon. 4, Kaimana Jaquias. 5, Ha'a Aikau. 6, Matthew Costa. Boys: 1, Alex Smith. 2, Kekoa Cazimero. 3, Clay Marzo. 4, Derek Wong. 5, Tonino Benson. 6, Taylor Cook. Junior men: 1, Robert Wurlitzer. 2, Jensen Hassett. 3, Reis Harney. 4, Torrey Meister. 5, Zachary Fonoimoana. 6, Dusty Payne. Men: 1, Jared Clapper. 2, Kolea Fukumitsu. 3, Alika Loughren. 4, Gregg Nakamura. 5, Ira Masaki. 6, Clinton Catian. Masters: 1, Hoptong Smith. 2, Richard Jaquias. 3, Rodney Medeiros. 4, Matt Kenny. 5, Richard Tom. 6, Toka Kudo. Senior men: 1, Makani McDonald. 2, Stephen Lawrence. 3, Aaron Napoleon. 4, Keith Kajioka. 5, Kal Faurot. 6, Marocio Morales. Girls: 1, Lani Hunter. 2, Leilani Gryde. 3, Marissa Eveland. 4, Coco Ho. 5, Michelle Watkins. 6, Alana Blanchard. Women: 1, Yvette Bertelmann. 2, Mio Uemura. 3, Keiko Ishii. 4, Kelli Frye. 5, Rachel Thomas. 6, Jenny Kono.
Bodyboarding
17-younger: 1, Jonah Romero. 2, Reis Yonehiro. 3, MacKenzie Yoshida. 4, Colin Black. 5, Jensen Young-Sik. 18-older: 1, Kepa Kruse. 2, Paul Benco. 3, Jed Kutaka. 4, Leo Gomes. 5, Jason Oh. 6, Joseph Hosea.
Longboard surfing
Women: 1, Amy Lawson. 2, Joy Magelssen. 3, Kristen Magelssen. 4, Tara Coleman-Rillmas. 5, Koral McCarthy. 6, Megan Godinez. 25-younger: 1, Venton Siliado. 2, Ben Kealoha Jr. 3, Keoki Saguibo. 4, Kaleo Cajigal. 5, Jordan Hart. 6, Ned Snow. 26-older: 1, Scot Wilson. 2, Toru Yamaguchi. 3, Herb Pruse. 4, Edwin Nakazato. 5, Gavin Young. 6, Wil Yamamoto.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
