The water in the 2,000-foot-long pool was a ghastly yellow-green, and the ambience in the stadium, as the wave-generating locomotive raced down an elevated track, was more “Avengers” than “Endless Summer,” but Carissa Moore’s performances in the artificial waves were natural beauties.
As she surfed her way to first place at the inaugural Surf Ranch Pro Sept. 9, the three-time world champion’s maneuvers were as flowing and rhythmic as lines of music: staccato upward slashes alternating with the deep, sustained notes of long barrels — two per wave. On television, each wave seemed to peel for more than a minute.
“I think it’s around 47 seconds,” the Honolulu native said in an interview after returning from California, where the Surf Ranch sits in the desert city of Lemoore. “Definitely a lot longer than a normal wave in the ocean.”
Its closest natural counterpart, she thought, would be a sand-bottom point break. “Snapper Rocks on Australia’s Gold Coast is very similar, a super long wave. I’ve probably caught a 20-25 second wave there, and you can have multiple tubes on one wave.”
On Tuesday, after walking her dog on the beach and eating a big breakfast, the gracious 26-year-old took time out from her first morning at home to discuss pool versus ocean waves, the upcoming contest at Hossegor, France, which she won last year, and the first-ever Olympic surf event scheduled for 2020 in Japan. Her win at Lemoore was her first this year on the championship tour, raising her world ranking to fourth.
“Nothing’s better than being in the ocean, with the spontaneity the ocean provides,” she said, but she was thrilled with the new arena. “It’s definitely awesome to be able to compete in the pool, and have a different canvas.”
Although the ranch waves looked identical to an untrained eye, there were subtle variations, Moore said. “Every wave changes a little bit — with changes in the winds and currents in the pool — so you still have to think on your feet, adapt and flow.”
As with nature, the man-made waves didn’t always maintain their consistency: During the women’s final on the third day, the machine malfunctioned, pumping out smaller, misshapen waves. The resulting low scores weren’t counted, and, after repairs were made, the women had the opportunity to surf afresh.
MOORE SCORED 17.80 for her two best waves, while Gabriel Medina won the men’s title with a 17.86. Asked if their close scores in equal waves might merit a co-ed Surf Ranch contest, Moore thought not yet. “I think there is a little bit of difference in the way we were judged, even though the end scoring was very similar.” For instance, “The guys can perform more progressively in aerial maneuvers than we can, right now, but it’s only a matter of time until the girls catch up.” Indeed, Moore had ended her top-scoring, 9.2 right-hander wave with a reverse aerial.
Speaking of parity, she praised World Surf League for “all the opportunities they’ve given us to surf bigger, better waves and all the things they’ve done to elevate women and surfing in general.” She cited WSL’s decision that men and women will receive equal prize money in 2019.
In Hawaii for two weeks, she’ll train for the beach breaks of France, where she also plans to eat lots of mussels and fries with her husband Luke Untermann, co-owner of the Hawaii frozen dessert company Banan. “They just opened their first store in Japan,” Moore said with pride.
Speaking of Japan, does she want to surf in the 2020 Olympics?
“It would be a dream come true to qualify and represent our country,” Moore said. “I know there’s a lot of work to be done before then, but it would be so cool.”
For now, though, “I’m going to just enjoy home,” she said. “Winning’s awesome, but it’s the love you share, having fun and being happy that’s true success.”
The assurance in her bright, youthful voice was infectious and, one imagined, hard won.
“In the Lineup” features Hawaii’s oceangoers and their regular hangouts, from the beach to the deep blue sea. Reach Mindy Pennybacker at mpennybacker@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4772.
