The second day of the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa absolutely pumped yesterday. It was, according to the WSL, “some of the largest conditions in the history of this event.” The Hawaiian Pro, a QS 10,000 event, includes John John Florence and Kelly Slater today. The forecast is calling for similar conditions to yesterday, if slightly smaller.
As the first stop of the Vans Triple Crown, the Haleiwa contest is the firing gun for one of the most prestigious trophies in surfing. This year’s no joke, either–veteran Nathan Hedge said that “he has been coming to Hawaii for 20 years and has only surfed conditions like this twice at Haleiwa.”
One of the standouts of the day was Torrey Meister, always a man to watch out for on the North Shore. After bagging a 9.50, he ended up as one of the five Hawaiians left in contention.
“I’m really happy they waited for this swell,” said Meister. “It’s kind of like playing cat and mouse with the huge sets and the current and the waves, and trying to get those medium waves that are really deep and have the right direction.” Although isn’t on the CT, it’s now within reach. “That would be the best thing ever that could happen, but it’s really far out so I’m just going to surf it heat by heat,” said Meister.
Tanner Gudauskas was another standout yesterday, and as always with the Gudauskas brothers, his excitement was palpable. “I was really excited to surf in these conditions,” said Gudauskas. “It’s fun being given the opportunity to be challenged, not just by the lineups or the conditions, it’s also the size of the waves. For us on the QS, I think we relish having days like this because it’s always pretty small.”
Watch the event live on WorldSurfleague.com.
