Posted on: Saturday, November 13, 2004

Bad conditions wipe out Hawaiian Pro

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

There was the excitement of the opening bell and then the disappointment of a half-day postponement yesterday in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing.

The first round of the Vans Hawaiian Pro started yesterday morning at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach, but was called off at midday when conditions deteriorated.

"It's not Triple Crown material, that's for sure," said Australia's Zane Harrison, who advanced through the first round. "It was way better this morning, so it's good that they called it off when they did."

Wave-faces were in the 6- to 8-foot range in the morning, but onshore winds made the waves sloppy by midday. Ten heats of the first round were completed.

As Maui surfer Tom Dosland put it: "It wasn't the best conditions, but it was surfable. You just do what you can to make it out of your heat."

Dosland was one of 10 Hawai'i surfers advancing to the second round. The others were Gavin Gillette, Nathan Carroll, Mikala Jones, Myles Padaca, Mikey Bruneau, Dustin Cuizon, T.J. Barron, Mike Dodd and Ian Walsh.

The top-rated surfers, including three-time world champ Andy Irons of Kaua'i, have byes through the early rounds.

For the lower-ranked surfers, the Triple Crown offers a chance at stardom — dozens of photographers lined the beach yesterday.

"You do something here, you get known," Dosland said. "You get (promotional) contracts; money."

Harrison is a perfect example. In 1999, he won one of the Triple Crown events. He said he is still reaping the benefits of that victory.

"I was out a year and a half with a fractured pelvis, but my main sponsor, Rip Curl, stuck by me the whole way basically because of that one result," he said. "It's Hawai'i, so you get all kinds of respect and recognition if you win a contest here."

The Vans Hawaiian Pro — the first of three men's contests in the Triple Crown — will resume this weekend if conditions improve. For daily status of the contest, call 596-7873.

The women's Roxy Pro did not even get to start yesterday at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach because of the deteriorating conditions. That event could also start this weekend if conditions improve.

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