Hawai'i's golden boy gets a chance

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

After five years in surfing's "school of hard knocks," Fred Patacchia Jr. is now on target to graduate to the next level.

Fred Patacchia Jr. needs to perform well in the upcoming Vans Triple Crown of Surfing to gain entry into the World Championship Tour. Advertiser library photo

This year, he is finally in position to qualify for the WCT.

"It's exciting," said Patacchia, who was born and raised on O'ahu's North Shore. "I'm just trying to stay focused, not get too ahead of myself. I know I still have work to do."

His final two tests will come during the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. The Triple Crown is a series of three contests on O'ahu's North Shore — the Vans Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach (tomorrow through Nov. 24), the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach (Nov. 26-Dec. 7) and the Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Masters at the Banzai Pipeline (Dec. 8-20).

The Vans Hawaiian Pro and O'Neill World Cup are the final two events of the 2004 WQS. If Patacchia fares well in either contest, he will secure a spot on the 2005 WCT.

"I've always wanted to make it in my home surf," he said. "I figure if I can't make it in my home surf, then maybe I didn't train hard enough, or maybe I'm not ready for it."

He has always had the talent. He won several amateur national titles, and was only 17 when he turned professional. Quiksilver, a giant company in the surf industry, signed Patacchia to a lucrative sponsorship deal.

"He was the golden boy," said Glen Moncata, the Hawai'i director of sales and marketing for Quiksilver. "I think the pressure was on him from the start."

Patacchia

"There are a lot of good surfers who never make it to the (WCT)," Moncata said. "I think Fred just needed to get used to all the traveling and surfing in the different places. You have to remember, he was still only a 17-year-old kid when he started this thing."

Patacchia said he turned it around this year by building patience and confidence.

"I've been working on wave selection; I've been working on staying focused in my heats," he said. "No matter what the situation is, I tell myself 'you're not out of this.' It's the kind of confidence you have to put in yourself in order to do well."

He proved his worth on Sunday, winning the Xcel Pro at Sunset Beach.

"I'm hoping it's going to propel me into being real confident for the Triple Crown," he said.

Quiksilver is hoping for the same. Moncata said Quiksilver will probably launch a marketing campaign built around Patacchia if he qualifies for the WCT.

"He's the full package," Moncata said. "He's got the looks, he speaks well, he's got the charisma. And of course, he's a pretty talented surfer, too."

Roy Powers of Kaua'i also has a shot at qualifying for the WCT if he fares well during the Triple Crown. Patacchia and Powers are two of 32 surfers from Hawai'i in the field of 132 for the Vans Hawaiian Pro. Triple Crown executive director Randy Rarick said he received an overflow of entries this year, pushing some lower-ranked Hawai'i surfers out of the competition.

"We have more international guys than ever," Rarick said. "And the way the rules are, you have to take the top 75 guys, no matter where they're from. Unfortunately for some of the local guys, that means they have to go on the alternate list."

Kaua'i's Andy Irons, who clinched his third consecutive world championship on Monday, is expected to enter all three Triple Crown events.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.