IT’S SUNNY BUT CLOUDY.

News provided by ASP World Tour on 30 May 2005

NOW how should we decipher a headline like that? The third round of the Globe WCT Fiji is definitely on, back out at Cloudbreak in 4-6’ conditions, but it’s not all as plain and simple as you might think. It is very definitely sunny this morning, not a cloud in sight in the wide blue yonder, but there’s the issue of our ‘other’ Sunny…Garcia, that is. He’s not a happy boy this morning. He’d rather be surfing Tavarua’s magic Restaurant lefts.

You might have heard that while the event was ripping through round two at Cloudbreak yesterday, the perfect lefts in at Restaurants were also doing their thing. Kelly Slater, Andy Irons and Shane Dorian were standing at the Tavarua boatshed sizing it up about 10.30am, when a flawless 6’+ set steamed down the reef, entombing all game enough to paddle into the dry sucking machines.

The boys were straight out there, and apparently, for three hours plus thereafter, Restaurants served up set after set of impeccable tubular cuisine. Slater, Irons, Occy and O’Rafferty reportedly shining in the midst of a rave session that mentioned highlights like 15-second barrels.

Sunny obviously had his share of the joy out there as well, and dropped a few hints after his heat that maybe we could have had the second round out at Restaurants. It’s both an annual and event-by-event issue for contest directors here in deciding whether Cloudbreak or Restaurants is the go for a day’s competition, and Sunny is well known as one who tries to stick up for the surfer’s issues in ensuring the best waves are tapped into wherever we are on the Foster’s Men’s World Tour schedules.

“I would have liked to have surfed Restaurants because it was a lot better, but maybe tomorrow,” said Sunny yesterday afternoon after comfortably winning his round two heat against South African Greg Emslie. He went on to explain his approach to the heat, perhaps influenced, or out to belatedly question some comments from Head Judge Perry Hatchett the other day.

“Perry told me I was doing half turns that weren’t committed, and weren’t real turns, in my first round heat after I complained about my scores,” said Sunny.

Yes, indeed, you do have to have commitment to your opinion when you are the ASP Head Judge, or a contest director, and that goes for journalists too…(gulp!), even if it’s an icon like Sunny Garcia who might not necessarily agree with one’s opinion.

However, as good as Restaurants definitely was, the swell was bigger and more west yesterday, and great winds for Restaurants also made for prime conditions out on those world famous dry reef churners. The fact remains that it pumped through an ideal window of a few hours. In running the first three rounds of an event, we’re talking around eight hours of surfing for each round. If we had the event at Restaurants yesterday, there would have been multiples of barbequed surfers each side of that three-hour window. It’s smaller today, so one would be entitled to assume that the prime window might be of an even lesser duration.

So ladies and gentlemen, after all that, it is ‘Cloudy’ i.e., Cloudbreak, where the Globe WCT Fiji will resume this morning, at around 8.30am, dependant on the arrival of the mother ship from its distant port. Reports had it looking excellent for about a half hour for the dawn session today, though it is reportedly going through a bit of the morning sickness stage, with two distinct peaks, the better being the outside ledge. It’ll settle, and so will our big Hawaiian bear, who is at heart more of the benevolent teddy kind than the ferocious big brown species that he sometimes threatens as.

Get on line at www.globefiji.com and watch the boys doing their stuff as we move closer to crowning a victor in the Globe WCT Fiji. With that ‘Perfect Storm’ swell still on its way, the Foster’s Top 45 are sure to have the opportunity of an all-day dig at Restaurants before too long.