Mason Ho of Sunset Beach beat a North Shore surfing legend yesterday — his uncle, Derek Ho.

"It was a nice accomplishment for me, but it would have been more sweet to make it through with Uncle Derek," said Mason, 18. "This was just a weird day. I don't know how to explain it."

It was difficult for anybody to explain the opening day of the Op Pro Hawai'i contest.

Waves were very small at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach yesterday, but officials opted to run heats because the holding period is about to expire. The Op Pro Hawai'i — which is the first contest in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing for men — must be completed by Nov. 22.

"We need to get four days of competition in, and we're simply running out of time," Triple Crown executive director Randy Rarick said.

Rarick described yesterday's waves as "the smallest ever for a Triple Crown event." Interestingly, waves were a little bigger about a quarter-mile away at a spot called "Avalanche."

So by the end of the first round, the surfers were paddling away from Ali'i Beach and catching waves at Avalanche. The move was approved by Rarick.

"It's kind of freakish to be a part of something like that," Hawai'i surfer Jason Shibata said. "The waves are three times as big out at Avalanche as it is here (at Ali'i Beach)."

The first two rounds of the contest were completed yesterday, and the Hawai'i surfers were the standouts.

Mason Ho advanced through two heats, including the first-round matchup with his uncle. Derek Ho is a four-time former Triple Crown champion

"We were taking turns catching waves, that's why I was hoping we could both make it through," Mason said.

In each four-man heat, the top two scorers advance.

Daniel Jones of O'ahu's North Shore received scores of 8.33 and 7.5 for his two best waves, and his total of 15.83 was the highest of the day.

"There's some good waves out there (at Avalanche), it's just hard to find," said Jones, 23.

The waves at Avalanche were so far away from the contest's headquarters at Ali'i Beach that Jones said, "you can't hear anything. You can't tell what's going on, so you just try and catch whatever (waves) you can."

By the end of the day, the surfers were content with the event running at Avalanche.

"We surf in conditions way worse than this at some places around the world," Shibata said.

The contest is expected to continue today. For status of the event, call 596-7873 or visit triplecrownofsurfing.com.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.