Contest organizers are keeping their eye on the surf in hopes of better conditions to resume competition in. Check back at 11am (HST) for event status update.



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It was tough to spot Santa Cruz teenager Nat Young, 17, in the lineup at Sunset Beach today. Out in the water for round two of the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing, Young's windblown shock of white hair, white surfboard and white contest jersey blended perfectly with the white-caps and spray that ruled the day. It was a tough morning for even the most seasoned Sunset competitors as the eight- to ten-foot surf rapidly declined and competition was halted after only eight heats. But Young was full of smiles, braces gleaming, after a self-confessed clueless performance that saw him advance to round three behind local charger Kekoa Bacalso.

It's not that his surfing doesn't measure up; Young is a former NSSA champion and won the 2008 O'Neill Coldwater Classic back home at Santa Cruz. He just has zero experience at Sunset Beach, which the champions will tell you is a tough venue to master. Add the world's top-ranked surfers and the prestige of the $1,000,000 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, and it's obviously an overwhelming scene for a rookie.

"I'm so stoked, it was pretty tough out there," said Young, after his heat. "I don't know the wave at all. I just kind of caught a bunch of waves and it worked out.

"It's definitely hard to find (the waves), especially not being from here and not surfing out there. I have no idea which waves are good. It was a coin toss and I'm stoked I made it.

"The waves here are definitely bigger and trickier than home."

Young got his start in the event with an O'Neill wildcard and plans to use the opportunity for some uncrowded learning time at a venue that can make and break careers.

"O'Neill gave me a wildcard in this and I'm happy I could get in. I did Haleiwa and I did bad, but it's been fun. Normally I would be here just free surfing, but to be able to do contests and free surf is pretty nice."

The top-scoring surfer today was South African Damien Fahrenfort, whose sure-footed, powerful attack surged out of reach of his seasoned rivals Luke Munro (Australia), Liam McNamara (Hawaii), Kieren Horn (CA).

Others to advance today included Andy Irons (Hawaii); Joel Centeio (Hawaii) - who won his ninth consecutive heat of the 2009 Vans Triple Crown series today; Marco Giorgio (Uruguay); and Jihad Khodr (Brazil).

The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing is the second jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. The winner of this event will receive $20,000. The Vans Triple Crown series title, awarded to the most consistent performer across all three events, carries a $50,000 bonus.

The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing will likely continue at 8am tomorrow with a new swell forecast to fill in. For all of the LIVE action log on to www.triplecrownofsurfing.com. Find out the call for the day, each day, as soon as it's made by Director Randy Rarick by signing up for mobile text alerts at triplecrownofsurfing.com. When competition resumes, all the action will be broadcast live on the web at triplecrownofsurfing.com, as well as on Hawaii television on Oceanic channel 250.

Making the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink possible: Reef, O'Neill, Billabong, Gidget Worldwide, Nixon, Turtle Bay Resort, Hawaiian Airlines, JN Automotive Group, Surfing Magazine, Surfline.com, FUEL TV, The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaiian Springs Water, Road Runner, Climb On! chemical-free skincare, and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). The Series is proud to announce that it is working with local company Tr3ees to embark upon a greener, more sustainable future.

O'NEILL WORLD CUP OF SURFING RESULTS:
O'Neill World Cup of Surfing
ROUND of 96 (1st & 2nd advance, only 8 of the round's 16 heats were surfed.)
H1: Josh Kerr (AUS), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Romain Cloitre (FRA), Ola Eleogram (HAW)
H2: Jihad Khodr (BRA), Torrey Meister (HAW), Gavin Gillette (HAW), Leonardo Neves (BRA)
H3: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW), Nat Young (USA), Blake Wilson (AUS), Rudy Palboom (ZAF)
H4: Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF), Luke Munro (AUS), Liam McNamara (HAW), Kieren Horn (USA)
H5: Marco Giorgi (BRA), Andy Irons (HAW), Marco Polo (BRA), Eric Geiselman (USA)
H6: Chris Davidson (USA), Shane Beschen (HAW), Royden Bryson (ZAF), Brad Ettinger (USA)
H7: Joel Centeio (HAW), Jarrad Howse (AUS), Roy Powers (HAW), Evan Valiere (HAW)
H8: Renato Galvao (BRA), Neco Padaratz (BRA), Nathaniel Curran (USA), Brandon Jackson (ZAF)

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While on the North Shore, be sure to visit Oahu's only surf museum to learn the history of this Hawaiian sport of kings. Their collection of surf memorabilia traces the evolution of surfboards from large crude planks, to sleek more organic foils. They have many ancient boards dating far back in the hawaiian culture. As well as other items like classic 1950s surf-meet posters, 1960s surf-music album covers, old beach-movie posters with Frankie Avalon and Sandra Dee, the early black-and-white photos by legendary surf photographer LeRoy Grannis, and trophies won by surfing's greatest. Curator Steve Gould is working on a new exhibit of surfing in the ancient Hawaiian culture, complete with Hawaiian artifacts. The museum is located at 66-250 Kam Hwy in the North Shore Marketplace. Be Sure to stop by and soak in a little of Hawaii's history!

Labels: North Shore Surf Museum, O'Neill World Cup, Vans Surf

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Sunset Beach bounced to life right on Sunny Garcia's cue today, delivering punchy eight-foot-plus surf for the completion of the first round of the men's O'Neill World Cup of Surfing. With a shot at his seventh Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series title, Garcia, 39, is hoping to replicate his recent performance at Haleiwa, where he blazed out of the opening round gates and took it all the way to the quarter finals. He made solid headway today, posting the highest heat score of the opening round: 15 points out of a possible 20. Garcia's power was on par with that of the new swell, looking comfortable and focused in the expansive lineup that wreaked havoc with many less-seasoned competitors. Garcia caught a total of four rides during the 30-minute heat, with top scores of 9.5 and 5.5, each out of a possible 10. He looked every bit of the surfer he was 15 years ago when he won this event for the first time in 1994, then again in 2000.

Reluctant to say too much too soon, Garcia was fairly tight-lipped on today's success: "It is what it is and I got lucky and got some good waves. I can't really complain at the end of the day.

"It was definitely good, a little lully, but like I said, I got lucky and I got the waves. The other guys surfed just as good, but I got that one 9 in the beginning and it kind of makes all the difference in the world."

Dane Gudauskas (CA) and Cory Lopez (FL) led the US Mainland charge today, both advancing out of the same four-man heat ahead of Luke Campbell (Australia) and Jason Shibata (HI). Dane broke his surfboard during the heat, but still made it through on backup equipment. He will draw younger brother Tanner in the next round, along with Gabe Kling (FL), and Lincoln Taylor (Australia).

"I'm just so stoked to be here," said the younger Gudauskas, 24. "This is my favorite wave in the world, so I'm stoked to get out there, have a good first heat and make it to the next round.

"I was taking wipeouts. I broke my board and got kind of annihilated. My brother was sitting in the channel, coaxing me to go hard and had my spare [board].

"It's a wild day. When there's nothing there's nothing. But when the waves come it's pumping. It's kind of bizarre."

Surprise eliminations today included Tahiti's Alain Riou, who featured in the final at Haleiwa on Monday but effectively lost all hope of reaching the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 2010 Dream Tour with his loss today. He is also now out of the running for the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink title race. After reaching the final at Haleiwa, Riou was looking for at least a semi-final finish here to qualify for the Dream Tour.

Others ousted prematurely were Shaun Gossman (Australia), Hodei Collazi (EUK), Yuri Sodre (Brazil), who was nursing a dislocated toe, and Australian big-wave rider Mark Mathews.
The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing is the second jewel of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink. The winner of this event will receive $20,000. The Vans Triple Crown series title, awarded to the most consistent performer across all three events, carries a $50,000 bonus.

The O'Neill World Cup of Surfing will likely continue at 8am tomorrow with the present swell forecast to fill in. For all of the LIVE action log on to www.triplecrownofsurfing.com. Find out the call for the day, each day, as soon as it's made by Director Randy Rarick by signing up for mobile text alerts at triplecrownofsurfing.com. When competition resumes, all the action will be broadcast live on the web at triplecrownofsurfing.com, as well as on Hawaii television on Oceanic channel 250.

Making the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing presented by Rockstar Energy Drink possible: Reef, O'Neill, Billabong, Gidget Worldwide, Nixon, Turtle Bay Resort, Hawaiian Airlines, JN Automotive Group, Surfing Magazine, Surfline.com, FUEL TV, The Honolulu Advertiser, Hawaiian Springs Water, Road Runner, Climb On! chemical-free skincare, and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP). The Series is proud to announce that it is working with local company Tr3ees to embark upon a greener, more sustainable future.

O'NEILL WORLD CUP OF SURFING RESULTS: O'Neill World Cup of Surfing ROUND of 128 (1st & 2nd advance) H1: Ola Eleogram (HI), Gavin Gillette (HI), Hizunome Bettero (BRA), Brent Dorrington (AUS) H2: Torrey Meister (HI), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Derek Ho (HI), Paulo Mauro (BRA) H3: Rudy Palboom (ZAF), Kieran Horn (CA), Heat Joske (AUS), Christophe Allary (REU) H4: Damien Fahrenfort (ZAF), Blake Wilson (AUS), Brian Toth (PRI), Kevin Sullivan (HI) H5: Marco Giorgi (URY), Brad Ettinger (USA), Hank Gaskell (HI), Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) H6: Shane Beschen (HI), Eric Geiselman (USA), Jack Perry (AUS), Jay Davies (AUS) H7: Joel Centeio (HI), Neco Padaratz (BRA), Izuki Tanaka (JPN), Danny Fuller (HI) H8: Renato Galva(BRA), Evan Valiere (HI), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Kiron Jabour (HI) H9: Mason Ho (HI), Adam Robertson (AUS), Jesse Merle-Jones (HI), Marcio Farney (BRA) H10: T.J. Barron (HI), Myles Padaca (HI), Andre Silva (BRA), Shaun Gossman (AUS) H11: Dane Gudauskas (USA), Cory Lopez (USA), Luke Campbell (AUS), Jason Shibata (HI) H12: Lincoln Taylor (AUS), Dustin Cuizon (HI), Hodei Collazo (EUK), Charlie Brown (BRA) H13: Alejo Muniz (BRA), Ruben Gonzalez (PRT), Makuakai Rothman (HI), Hugo Savalli (REU) H14: Nathan Carroll (HI), Nathan Hedge (AUS), Mark Matthews (AUS), Kai Barger (HAW) H15: Sunny Garcia (HI), Granger Larsen (HI), Kamalei Alexander (HI), Alain Riou (PYF) H16: Solomon Ortiz (HI), Dylan Melamed (HI), Jean Da Silva (BRA), Yuri Sodre (BRA)

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An inconsistent rising swell has put the O'Neill World Cup on Standby until signs of more consistent surf appear. Stand by for status update at 8am (HST).
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At 8am this morning we kicked off the O'Neill World Cup of Surfing. On the beach, spectators got a good mix of some world class surfing as men's heats 1-8 ran, and then switching gears into the women's Gidget Pro. We thought maybe a couple competitors would be moving a little slow today, after stuffing their faces yesterday post Thanksgiving meal. But that wasn't the case, there was major shredding going down in the water. Hawaiian's; Ola Eleogram, Torrey Meister, Joel Centeio, Alana Blanchard, Carissa Moore and Megan Abubo all won their heats today creating a strong Hawaiian presence early in the contest.
It also happens to be Black Friday, so if you haven't already, click on over to itunes, and download the Vans Triple Crown iphone app. It keeps you in the loop with updates, live webcasts, and everything else you can think of thats Triple Crown related, and its only $0.99.

Labels: Gidget Pro, O'Neil World Cup of Surfing, Vans Surf

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O'Neill World Cup is ON for an 8am (HST) start. Surf is 5-8 ft @ Sunset Beach. Competition will start with Men's Round 1.
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Ted's Bakery, located at 59-024 Kamehameha Hwy, occupies the space that is/used to be the Sunset Beach Store, which has been around since the late 50's. They are most famous for their cream pies, most notably, the chocolate haupia cream. Everyday at Ted's you can find tourists and locals lined out the door, ordering food and purchasing baked goods. In addition to their delicious pies and other baked goods, Ted's has an awesome array of sandwiches and plate lunches. If you happen to find yourself at the O'Neil World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, be sure to stop by Ted's for a delicious cream pie, you'll be glad you did.

Labels: O'Neil World Cup of Surfing, Ted's Bakery, Vans Surf

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The waves at Sunset beach are 15-18 ft (30ft+ faces) and closing out today. We will take the day off tomorrow for Thanksgiving and most likely see competition commence Friday. Aloha'
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Tomorrow we continue the race for the Vans Triple Crown, with the start of the O'Neil World Cup of Surfing. This is a 6-Star Mens World Qualifying Series Event, with a prize purse of $135,000. The holding period for this event will stretch from November 24-December 6th. Last years Champ is CJ Hobgood, who is already on a heater so far, placing 2nd days ago at the Reef Hawaiian Pro, we'll see if he can do it again. CJ is the first goofy-footer to win the O'Neil World Cup in 11 years. The O'Neil World Cup is also the last chance for all those looking to qualify for the ASP dream tour (AKA-The Big Show)

Labels: O'Neil World Cup of Surfing, Vans Surf

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What has changed about Sunset Beach, that it’s no longer the focal point of the north shore of Oahu?



In the late 60’s early 1970’s Sunset Beach was the premier location for professional surfing, and still is without a doubt one of the most challenging waves in the world. Located at the top of the north shore, it was the ultimate proving ground for every surfer. In 1965, the Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship was born. It was the first surfing event to be broadcast on a regular basis by ABCs’ Wide World of Sports. This made it every teenagers dream to come to Hawaii and surf the big waves.





When 1975 came around, surfing Pipe and Off The Wall became extremely popular. Around this time surfers in Hawaii began bringing new performance elements to their surfing, pumping in the barrel, laybacks and radical maneuvers. During this time equipment was changing as well, modern technology and new foils were making boards smaller, lighter and more performance driven. These waves were geared toward getting radical, getting barreled, and going fast. Does this mean that Sunset is no longer a challenge? And when was the last time you saw a photo in the magazines of someone free surfing Sunset? Anyone that’s surfed out there will tell you it’s an extremely hard wave to ride. It basically pops out of nowhere, starts pitching hard as you drop into a steep open face, followed by a monster wall of white-wash, then sends you into a wicked inside barrel section. It takes a different style surfer to perform well at Sunset; it’s a whole other ballgame out there.

As the second stop on the quest for the Triple Crown, Sunset Beach is a crucial part of the competition. Everyday busloads of visitors pour out of tour buses for a chance to see this historic site. In my opinion the idea behind the Vans Triple Crown was to showcase the most well rounded surfers in the world. Today, there have been many new waves discovered. But that doesn’t mean we should discount these three waves. Sunset can be a wildcard for many competitors. Some might be comfortable in snappy playful waves, but big wave surfers will perform better. The finalists in the Triple Crown are the ones that excel in all areas of surfing, well-rounded surfers that adapt to different wave styles. It makes perfect sense, the Hawaiian style of surfing was to blend in naturally with the waves. In today’s world it’s all about trying to destroy the wave.



Pipe and OTW are the playing fields today, it’s easy to shoot photos and film. They are high-performance waves that offer more to surfers today, while the Pipeline Masters has become the biggest spectator event of the Triple Crown. As the third event, it’s by far the most exciting to watch. But what if Sunset was as close to shore as Pipe? Maybe then there would be more photographers on the beach then tourists. Sunset Beach is one of the most iconic waves on the north shore with so much history behind it, as if it’s the grandfather of all the other waves along this short strip of world-class waves.

Labels: O'Neil World Cup of Surfing, Sunset Beach, Vans Surf

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The waiting period for the second jewel in the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing - The O'Neill World Cup - starts today. A new swell is on the way and there's a good chance the event will kick off at Sunset Beach tomorrow!
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