Kemper leads way at Vans World Cup

Maui’s Billy Kemper led a charge of local and Australian surfers in pumping 6- to 10-foot waves on Friday at the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach.

Kemper won his heat by putting up the highest two-wave score (17 out of 20) of the event.

Kemper had great wave selection and surfed them with power and finesse.

"I never came into a winter feeling this confident before," Kemper said. "Luckily, Reef is backing me up, so it’s more confidence than anything. I have a really good girlfriend, she is amazing, keeps me out of trouble and focused."

Kemper also credits his coach, Kahea Hart, for his improvement.

"To have Kahea Hart in your corner makes me speechless, because no one really understands how much he does for people," Kemper said. "The training that he has been putting me through is as good as it gets."

Australia’s Nathan Hedge won his heat with some critical backhand surfing.

"I feel blessed, honored and grateful," Hedge said of being back in the Triple Crown after a two-year hiatus. "I have a new appreciation for it.

"Being an Australian surfer it’s very exciting coming to Hawaii," he continued. "It’s the stuff people dream of."

Maui’s Dusty Payne won his heat despite breaking two boards in the process. He looked comfortable in Sunset’s large walls, surfing crisply and with lots of power.

"I am so stoked to be back in Hawaii and competing again," said Payne, who missed much of the year with an ankle injury. "It was fun out there; it was on-shore, but there were a lot of waves and it was really contestable."

When competition resumes, 11-time world champ Kelly Slater, defending World Cup champ John John Florence and six-time Triple Crown winner Sunny Garcia enter the water for the round of 64.