Caption: Dusty Payne (HAW) put on a clinic today at the REEF Hawaiian Pro, posting two nine-point rides for the heat win and a place in Round 4.
Image: ASP / Ed Sloane
HALEIWA, Oahu/Hawaii (Friday, November 14, 2014): After three consecutive days of incredible waves and world-class action, the REEF Hawaiian Pro is being called the greatest ASP Qualifying Series Prime-rated event ever witnessed for the quality of waves and level of surfing. Looking at today alone, of the 142 waves that were counted in final score lines, 113 – or 80 per cent – scored in the good-to-excellent range. Of the 18 heats surfed today, 13 of them included total scores in the excellent range (heat totals of 16.20 points out of 20, or higher).
ASP Head Judge Richie Porta, who has worked on the World Tour for 19 years, said: “This has been an amazing event of surfing and the 4-man priority system has only enhanced the spectator experience. On top of incredible surf, we’ve basically eliminated hassling amongst competitors that previously would have seen them pushing each other out of position in the hunt for scores. Now we’re seeing surfers relaxed in the lineup, in perfect position for the waves when they come, and riding the best waves on offer. It’s a win-win.”
Maui’s Dusty Payne (HAW) came out on top of Round 3 today with the highest heat score: 18.70 out of a possible 20. Excellent waves continued to pump in the double- to triple-overhead range, and Payne never faltered. Currently No. 97 on ASP’s Qualifying Series (QS) ratings, a continuation of today’s form could catapult the 26-year-old into unexpected qualification contention.
Payne can thank some highly charged fellow competitors for his performance that he was forced to step up with. Raoni Monteiro (BRA); Sunny Garcia (HAW) and Kolohe Andino (USA) never relaxed the pressure on Payne. Carrying incredible scores of their own, they pushed Payne higher. Monteiro advanced in second with 17 points, while Garcia and Andino were eliminated despite impressive scores of 16.3 and 14.1 respectively.
“I’m really not even thinking about (qualifying),” Payne said after his heat. “I’d love to just do good and have a shot at trying to win the Triple Crown. That’s all I really care about. It’s Hawaii’s version of the world title. I think if the waves keep coming I can have a run at it. I’m just stoked to be here healthy and surfing again. It’s been a while and I feel 100%.”
Two heats after Payne came former Vans Triple Crown champion Bede Durbidge (AUS), delivering another epic heat score of 18.46 and ending the run of Hawaii’s Ezekiel Lau and Tanner Gudauskas (USA).
In recent years, Durbidge has arrived in Hawaii with the burden of requalification. This winter, he is comfortably positioned at No. 14 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) ratings and is freed up to enjoy surfing the power of Hawaii. Another Vans Triple Crown series title is always on his mind, and with a proven track record at all three events, it’s certainly a possibility.
“It’s always a goal coming to Hawaii,” said Durbidge. “Winning the Triple Crown and having a taste of it before, It’s the best feeling ever. It’s still in the early days; this is my first heat. But I’m feeling good, healthy and strong, so I just want to keep this form going.”
Two more solid Australian results followed after Durbidge with a win for Julian Wilson and an advancement for Mick Fanning. As an ASP QS Prime-rated event, the REEF Hawaiian Pro does not count towards Fanning’s world title campaign, but is an excellent opportunity to get reacquainted with the powerful surf of the North Shore and fine tune equipment.
“The waves here in Haleiwa are some of the best in the world. Sitting out there waiting for a bomb and knowing it’s yours is a pretty awesome feeling,” said Fanning. “Haleiwa, I think is probably the most high-performance wave in the world and it just allows you to do huge turns.”
On his upcoming world title defense: “It’s another big year and it’s always great for the fans of the sport it’s great for them when it comes down to the last event. Even being in it I’m stoked it’s coming down to the wire when everyone has to test their nerves. It’s going to be fun, I hope we get good waves and we can just surf”.
It wasn’t the best day for Brazilian contenders, with the majority of them eliminated from the competition: Jesse Mendes; Jadson Andre; Alejo Muniz; Miguel Pupo; Jean De Silva; and Caio Ibelli all fell. Only Tomas Hermes, Raoni Monteiro and Filipe Toledo remain in contention as we head into the final day.
Only one day of competition remains for the REEF Hawaiian Pro – the first stop on the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. Event organizers will reconvene at 7:45 a.m. local time (HST) on Saturday, November 15 to assess conditions for a possible 8 a.m. start.
The Reef Hawaiian Pro is webcast LIVE via aspworldtour.com and vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com and televised LIVE on Oceanic Surf Channel 250 & 1250HD across the state of Hawaii.
REEF Hawiian Pro Round 2 Results (Round of 96 – 1st & 2nd advance, 3rd=65th; 4th=81st):
Heat 13: Wade Carmichael (AUS) 16.16; Caio Ibelli (BRA) 13.10; Beyrick De Vries (ZAF) 12.97; Kylen Yamakawa (HAW) 8.77
Heat 14: Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 13.93; Jean Da Silva (BRA) 10.63; Willian Cardoso (BRA) 6.06; Nathan Florence (HAW) 5.93
Heat 15: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 17.50; Alex Smith (HAW) 14.00; Dillon Perillo (USA) 13.97; Marc Lacomare (FRA) 13.30
Heat 16: Garrett Parkes (AUS) 17.07; Jose Ferreira (PRT) 13.94; Kalani David (HAW) 11.53; Kaito Ohashi (JPN) 8.57
REEF Hawiian Pro Round 3 Results (Round of 64 – 1st & 2nd advance, 3rd=33rd; 4th=49th):
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.00; Joel Centeio (HAW) 15.57; Michael Dunphy (USA) 10.97; Maxime Huscenot (FRA) 6.10
Heat 2: Joan Duru (FRA) 14.37; Nic Von Rupp (PRT) 12.70; Aritz Aranburu (ESP) 8.67; Kai Otton (AUS) 6.73
Heat 3: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.44; Tomas Hermes (BRA) 15.37; Stu Kennedy (AUS) 15.30; Dion Atkinson (AUS) 15.16
Heat 4: Dusty Payne (HAW) 18.70; Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 17.00; Sunny Garcia (HAW) 16.30; Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.10
Heat 5: Ramzi Boukhiam (MAR) 17.24; Brett Simpson (USA) 14.27; Nathan Hedge (AUS) 13.80; Nat Young (USA) 13.57
Heat 6: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18.46; Mitch Crews (AUS) 16.66; Ezekiel Lau (HAW) 16.37; Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 16.07
Heat 7: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.77; Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 17.27; Bill Stairmand (NZL) 16.03; Davey Cathels (AUS) 15.60
Heat 8: Damien Hobgood (USA) 18.04; Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.50; Luke Davis (USA) 13.07; Jesse Mendes (BRA) 13.06
Heat 9: Vasco Ribeiro (PRT) 16.60; Keanu Asing (HAW) 16.10; Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 9.84; Mason Ho (HAW) 8.20
Heat 10: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 17.20; Torrey Meister (HAW) 15.90; Jack Freestone (AUS) 14.90; Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.50
Heat 11: Owen Wright (AUS) 18.63; Travis Logie (ZAF) 17.30; Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 16.70; Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 11.77
Heat 12: Frederico Morais (PRT) 17.07pts ; Conner Coffin (USA) 17.03pts ; Alejo Muniz (BRA) 16.36pts ; Miguel Pupo (BRA) 15.46pts
Heat 13: Wade Carmicheal (AUS) 15.20pts ; Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.00pts ; Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.87pts ; Jean Da Silva (BRA) 5.53pts
Heat 14: Tiago Pires (PRT) 18.57pts ; Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.27pts ; Tanner Hendrickson (HAW) 14.94pts ; Caio Ibelli (BRA) 10.24pts
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