Big-wave surfer and World Surf League TV analyst Peter Mel of California was near the media center at the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau contest, preparing for his heat today at 9:30 a.m. at Waimea Bay.

Ross Clarke-Jones of Australia had just returned to shore, taking the early first-heat lead with 133 points for three rides in the 40-foot-plus wave faces.

The second heat competitors were in the water when Mel, who was changing from his Aloha shirt to his board shorts, contest jersey and life preserver, contemplated the day ahead for him:

“It’s always exciting, and it’s hard. You think you want to get amped up, but the reality is you’ve got to dial it down because there’s so much energy on the beach, so much energy leading up to it and energy from the ocean that it’s hard not to get caught up in it. So, for me, it’s like I’m trying to just calm myself down.

“This place is an amazing wave, but it also closes out so it’s a real cat and mouse today. There’s these bigger sets that you want to sit back and wait for because it’s going to be on the ledge, but they may break outside and all of a sudden you’re caught inside. So there’s this balance that you’ve got to play and that’ll be the challenge when I get out there.”