Sunset Beach: Day Two action wrap-up

Vans World Cup of Surfing

ASP Prime Men's event
Sunset Beach Oahu, Hawaii
25 November - 6 December 2012

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc

Day Two action wrap-up

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 2 December, 2012 : - - Honolulu - The VANS World Cup of Surfing Day 2 action had powerful surf with wave face heights of up to 15 feet providing the power that the Sunset is feared for, This event pre-dates the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series and this is the 38th year of the event. In that time, surfers from Australia and Hawaii have claimed 16 titles each at Sunset

Billy Kemper was the Friday's top scorer. Jay Thompson and Marc Lacomare were close behind. Next round, Kemper draws the Florence brothers - John and Nathan, and Fred Patacchia. John and Fred are 2012 Triple Crown contenders and John is the defending champion of this event. Aussie Jay Thompson was fired up by the power on tap and Sunset and draws his confidence from having put in the time over many years. He posted the highest individual wave score of the competition Friday: 9.7 points.

There has only ever been one surfer from the US Mainland to win here: CJ Hobgood, in 2008. Even Kelly Slater, who returns to compete at Sunset Beach in the round of 46 for the first time in six years, has struggled at this venue - his average result after 12 attempts is 25th; his best a 3rd in 1998.

While this event consists of 4-man heats, most will tell you you're on your own when it comes to Sunset. And who would know better than Sunny Garcia, who also enters the fray in the round of 64. Sunny has been competing here for 27 years and won in 1994 and 2000. He has his own ideas on why Slater has never tasted the success here that he has become so accustomed to over his 20+ year career.

"Kelly surfs every wave in Hawaii exceptionally well, but with 4-man heats and such a big playing field, he's not able to get into guys heads like he does on a small peak," says Garcia. "Sitting next to Kelly on a small peak can be very intimidating. At Sunset you're not worried about Kelly Slater, you're worried about the West Peak. I think he's the greatest surfer of all time. Do I think he's beatable? Yes. Do I want to beat him? Absolutely. Every chance I get, I want to give him a ribbing." 

There are 64 surfers in contention for the VANS World Cup: Hawaii holds 24 spots, and Australia 21, along with athletes from USA, Brazil, France, Tahiti, South Africa, Ireland, and Portugal. Other top seeds entering the draw in the next round nclude: John Florence, Gabriel Medina, and Triple Crown title contenders Sebastien Zietz and Alejo Muniz.

www.vanstriplecrownofsurfing.com

Previous reports:
# 1 : Tricky Sunset on order for Vans World Cup  
# 2 : Hawaiians/Aussie hold power at Vans World Cup
# 3 : Coming Soon
# 4 : Coming Soon

In celebration of 30 years of world class surfing, the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing hydrated by vitaminwater offers $1million in prize money this year, including a $100,000 bonus, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and a $10,000 custom Nixon watch for the overall series champion. Each of the three events of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing has a two-week holding period within which to run, requiring just 3-4 days of excellent surf to be completed.

The events are broadcast live on Oceanic Time Warner Cable around Hawaii on channels 250 & 1250HD; in Los Angeles on channel 101*; in San Diego on channel 411*; and in Desert Cities on channel 111*. *partial live coverage, subject to pre-emption for local CIF prep sports playoffs. To stay on Oahu's North Shore and witness the action in person, special rates are available at Turtle Bay Resort.

The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing is made possible with the support of: vitaminwater; Nixon; Skullcandy; GoPro; Turtle Bay Resort; Clif Bar; Mauli Ola Foundation; wavejet; the Association of Surfing Professionals; JN Automotive Group; Hawaii Tourism Authority; Oahu Visitors Bureau; Surfline.com; Surfing Magazine; Hawaiian Airlines; truth®; Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

Source: Vans

Author: The Editors

Tags: Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, Sunset Beach,

Prime: Surfersvillage