Patacchia getting winning experience
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fred Patacchia Jr. may be getting too good for the Macy's E-Series surfing contests.
Patacchia made it two-for-two yesterday by winning the second event of the 2004-05 Macy's E-Series at Turtle Bay. He also won the first event of the series last month at Kewalo Basin.
"I feel really confident in my surfing right now," said Patacchia, 22. "This is my best year so far and I just want to keep it going."
Yesterday's contest was completed in 2- to 4-foot waves. Patacchia grew up surfing on O'ahu's North Shore, so he was somewhat familiar with the tricky conditions.
"We used to have amateur contests out here when I was younger," he said. "But it was still inconsistent out there today, so it was kind of hard."
The E-Series was created in 2002 to help Hawai'i's top young surfers gain contest experience. Patacchia has clearly moved to the head of the class this year.
He is ranked No. 11 on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Qualifying Series. As long as he remains in the top 16 through the end of the year, he will qualify for the 2005 World Championship Tour, where he can compete against elite surfers such as world champion Andy Irons.
"The conditions today were exactly like what we see around the world," Patacchia said. "So this is good practice for me because I still have some big contests coming up that I have to do really well in."
Many of the other contestants in yesterday's event were Patacchia's friends.
"This is basically for bragging rights," he said. "We were just hanging out, talking trash to each other all day."
Joel Centeio of Makakilo placed second, followed by Nathan Carroll of Sunset Beach, and Hank Gaskell of Maui.
Patacchia's first wave of the final heat resulted in a score of 9.0 to give him a lead he would not relinquish.
"I got that one good wave, did a couple of turns and felt good," he said. "Then there weren't any good waves the rest of the heat. I guess I got a little lucky."
Patacchia said he will enter an important World Qualifying Series contest in Brazil next week, and will thus miss the Xcel Pro at Sunset Beach.
"The event in Brazil has more (qualifying) points, so I need to be there," he said. "My goal is to qualify for the (World Championship Tour), so I'm doing what I need to do."
Edwards returns to top form on longboard
Honolulu's Keegan Edwards won a contest for the first time in two years, placing first in the longboard division of the Macy's E-Series event at Turtle Bay.
Edwards tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee a year ago, and has only recently returned to contest surfing.
"It's been a long time," he said. "I started surfing contests again this year, but all these other guys were handing it to me. It was a humbling experience."
Edwards returned the favor yesterday, and showed that his knee is healed. In the four-man final, he received a near-perfect score of 9.75 for completing a series of precise maneuvers on a long wave.
"I take more pride in these (North Shore) contests because the waves have more power," said Edwards, 22.
Ned Snow placed second, followed by Kekoa Uemura and Kapono Nahina.
Andy Irons places third in Spain event
Two-time defending world champion Andy Irons of Kaua'i tied for third in the Billabong Pro Mundaka yesterday, and remained the No. 1-ranked surfer in the world.
The final day of the week-long contest was completed in 4- to 5-foot waves at Mundaka, Spain.
Australia's Luke Egan won the event, defeating fellow Australian Phil MacDonald in the final. MacDonald beat Irons in the semifinals.
With two contests remaining, Irons has 7,824 points. Australian Joel Parkinson — the only surfer with a shot at catching Irons — is a distant second with 6,396.
Irons can clinch the world title at the next event, which is scheduled for Nov. 1 to 10 at Brazil.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
