A winter wonderland, Hawaii style, is upon us.
Sand instead of snow, surfboards instead of sleds and overhead barrelling waves instead of mistletoe in which anyone lucky enough to be slotted gets to kiss the lip of an overhanging 10-footer.
Baby, it’s warm outside … and it’s time for the 35th annual Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, three contests in which the most accomplished World Surf League competitors flock to Oahu’s North Shore to end the year.
This year, the spotlight is on Haleiwa’s John John Florence. The defending world title-holder is ranked No. 1 on the championship tour, and he will be going for a repeat at the Triple Crown’s third event — the Billabong Pipeline Pro, which runs Dec. 8-20.
No. 2 Gabriel Medina of Brazil is well within striking distance for the world title, and No. 3 Jordy Smith of South Africa and No. 4 Julian Wilson of Australia have a shot.
VANS TRIPLE CROWN OF SURFING
>> Hawaiian Pro, at Alii Beach Park, Nov. 12-24
>> Vans World Cup of Surfing, at Sunset Beach, Nov. 25 to Dec. 6
>> Billabong Pipeline Pro, at Ehukai Beach, Dec. 8-20
OTHER NORTH SHORE WINTER EVENTS
>> The Eddie, at Waimea Bay, holding period Dec. 1 through Feb. 28
>> Maui Women’s Pro, at Honolua Bay, Nov. 25 to Dec. 6
>> Red Bull Queen of the Bay, holding period ends Nov. 21
WSL MEN’S RANKINGS
1. John John Florence (Haleiwa) 53,350
2. Gabriel Medina (Brazil) 50,250
3. Jordy Smith (South Africa) 47,600
4. Julian Wilson (Australia) 45,200
WSL WOMEN’S RANKINGS
1. Sally Fitzgibbons (Australia) 52,900
2. Tyler Wright (Australia) 52,200
3. Courtney Conlogue (Santa Ana, Calif.) 50,000
4. Carissa Moore (Honolulu) 47,300
5. Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) 45,150
But first things first, and that is the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa’s Alii Beach Park, with a waiting period that starts today and ends Nov. 24. It’s the first leg of the three-event series in which the surfer with the best combined performance will become the Triple Crown champion. The middle contest, the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, goes from Nov. 25 to Dec. 6. Those first two Triple Crown events are part of the WSL’s qualifying series and have no bearing on the world-title race.
“I’m really excited to go surf Pipe and hopefully we get some good waves,” Florence told reporters after his quarterfinal loss in the Rip Curl Pro Portugal at Supertubos last month. “If I win at home it will be even more meaningful.”
The 25-year-old wunderkind had a chance to clinch the world title in Portugal, which is what he did a year ago. Instead, he left the door open. Medina, who has won the past two tour events and won the world title in 2014, is primed to take it away.
Aside from the Triple Crown, there are several other attention-grabbing contests scheduled. Five surfers are in the chase for the WSL women’s world title that will be decided at the Maui Women’s Pro at Honolua Bay (Nov. 25 through Dec. 6) — No. 1 Sally Fitzgibbons, No. 2. Tyler Wright and No 5 Stephanie Gilmore of Australia, No. 3 Courtney Conlogue of Santa Ana, Calif., and three-time world champ Carissa Moore of Honolulu.
Even if Moore wins the contest, she needs early exits from others to take her fourth world championship.
One of the world’s most famous contests, formerly known as the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, has a waiting period of Dec. 1 through Feb. 28 at Waimea Bay. Wave faces need to be 30 feet-plus with the right wind conditions for the green light.
Despite losing long-time sponsor Quiksilver, contest spokesperson Clyde Aikau (the brother of the late lifeguard and waterman Eddie Aikau) told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Oct. 9 that the contest will go on. The Aikau family is working on getting other sponsors, and there have been news reports that they have decided to shorten the name of the event to what many already call it: “The Eddie.”
The first women’s big wave contest at Waimea — the Red Bull Queen of the Bay — is on standby now and the waiting period ends Nov. 21.
