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Veteran Ho Wows Hansen's Crowd, big surf persists
Author: ASP World Tour
Once again the ocean pulsed today with waves starting out at 8-10 feet and rising throughout the day to 12-15 feet (15-20 foot faces) by afternoon. The most ominous waves pushed through in Ho’s heat, washing all four competitors from the lineup almost to the shoreline. The worst hit was Ho, crushed by three massive waves and left sapped of air and energy. With just three-and-a-half minutes left on the clock, Ho had to make it all the way back out and wrestle a solid scoring ride from his rivals to stay in the game.
As he neared the take-off zone, a second set of huge waves marched onto the reef, about to explode. Nineteen year-old Makua Rothman spun for the first wave and survived a breath-taking drop on a 15-foot monster. Then with eight seconds left, Ho made a late stroke into the feathering lip of the second. His surfboard fluttered, skimming down the wave face. The crowd on the beach held its breath while Ho held his composure, cranking a turn on his surfboard to pull into the reeling, giant cylinder of a wave. An excellent final score of 7.83 shot him from fourth to first.
“Let’s just say the ocean is the master and I was just one of its little students out there today,” said a humble and relieved Ho. At around 5’5” and 140 pounds, he was definitely at the mercy of the ocean.
“But thankfully the ocean dished it up right when I needed it.
“I just about gave up after those outside ones caught me. It only takes one set like that during a 20-minute heat to finish you off. I thought the heat was over, but then the guys in the channel were calling out that there was still time. I was scratching and then it was a matter of take-off and hold on.”
Ho and Rothman advanced out of the heat with respective two-wave totals of 10.43 and 9.33 out of a maximum of 20 points.
Fred Patacchia came up with the highest score of the day in one of the most hotly contested heats against Norimasa Ohno (Japan), Kainoa McGee (Hawaii) and Bobby Martinez (Hawaii). He won over many new fans on the shoreline with an immaculate display of stylish tube-riding that saw him rewarded with 17.5 points out of 20 and a quarter final berth. Ohno advanced closely behind him with the second-highest score of the day of 17.44 points. McGee was third with a score of 14.1 points that would have seen him win most heats today.
“It’s a very serious contest but it’s so incredible out there that it’s a lot of fun,” said Patacchia. “I love to surf out here so to get it this good with only four guys out, compared to the usual million, is amazing.
“I’m feeling really good after that. It’s feeling like it could come together for me. I’ve never won an event here at Pipeline but I’d sure like to.”
Australian Shaun Cansdell, 21, was the only Aussie left standing at the completion of round four today, winning that head ahead of Eric Rebiere (France), Bernard Pigmeu (Brazil), and Billy Choi (Hawaii). Coming from Coffs Harbour, an area on the east coast of Australia that is best known for its beach breaks, Cansdell has surprised no-one more than himself with his results here.
"This whole experience has taken me by surprise," said Cansdell.
"I've been to Pipe about five times but there was no way I was expecting to do this well. The waves at home are nothing like this, so I've surprised myself making it to the quarters. I didn't think I'd be the only (Australia) left at this stage."
Event standout Jamie Sterling was eliminated in round four, despite scoring the only perfect 10 point ride awarded today for a seemingly impossible tube-ride on one of the larger sets of the day. The wave that Sterling rode was double overhead and the barrel was long, deep and winding. Most spectators had given up hoping for him to emerge from the end of the ride when he finally shot out and raised his arms. With conditions so perfect today, the judging panel was being ultra conservative with dishing out a perfect score, so there was no doubt the ride was the best of the day when it was finally awarded the only perfect 10. Unfortunately, Sterling was lacking a decent second ride and was bounced out of the event. He was a finalist here in last year’s Hansen’s Energy Pro.
Of the 16 surfers left in contention at quarter final stage, the original 144 international entries have been whittled down to 12 Hawaiians – Ho, Rothman, Patacchia, Mikey Bruneau, Dustin Barca, Kamalei Alexander, Tamayo Perry, Kawika Stillwell, Pancho Sullivan, Evan Valiere, Jamie O’Brien and Tom Dosland; one Mainland American – Chris Ward (California); one Australian – Shaun Cansdell; one Frenchman – Eric Rebiere; and Ohno (Japan).
With waves forecast to remain at heights of 10-12 feet tomorrow, organizers and competitors are ready for tomorrow’s final day of action, getting underway at 8am, with the final schedule for around noon.