So many different things happened over the past few days that coming up with one encompassing theme is nearly impossible, except to say that Hawaii has been treating the surf world well and the local competitors have stepped up at the most opportune moments.
Since Sunday, we have crowned a WSL women’s world champion, enjoyed both the men’s and women’s Peahi Challenge contests during massive conditions, solved the 2019 women’s qualification puzzle and completed round one of the World Cup of Surfing. All of that ADHD action took place within roughly 48 hours at three different breaks on both Maui and Oahu.
Stephanie Gilmore earned her record-tying seventh world title, clinching the top spot on Monday thanks to a somewhat unexpected source. Alana Blanchard, making her first Championship Tour appearance since 2014, surfed great at Honolua Bay’s Maui Pro and took down Lakey Peterson in the duo’s second-round head-to-head matchup. Peterson needed to win the contest to have any chance at equaling Gilmore and forcing a championship surf-off, but Blanchard came in and removed all doubt, picking up the heat win and thereby securing the crown for Gilmore.
That achievement equals Layne Beachley’s seven world titles and the pair trails only Kelly Slater’s 11 for most all time.
While Gilmore was far and away the best surfer in 2018, this event was dominated by the Hawaii wahine. Blanchard’s effort in taking down a world title contender was doubly impressive due to her time off and her new motherhood lifestyle. She was then eliminated in round three, but it was a great event for her fans to be able to see her on the biggest stage, once again.
As is so often the case on Maui, Carissa Moore shined brightest and surfed her way to her second contest win of the season. It’s her third victory at Honolua Bay in the past five years and moved her up to third place for the season, despite a fairly disappointing campaign that didn’t seem to pick up until she was already out of contention.
For the second straight year, Kauai’s Malia Manuel reached the final of the Maui Pro, coming up just short against Moore this time around. The result equals Manuel’s best on the CT as she now has three career second-place finishes. She is still looking to break through with that first victory and her surfing would have gotten it done against many opponents, but Moore included a perfect 10-point ride in the final on her way to an 18.67 to 14.67 victory.
Manuel also secured her spot on the 2019 CT with her performance. Some very improbable results would have kept her out of a qualifying position, but she maintained control of her own destiny and finishes in ninth for the season to claim one of the automatic re-qualification positions.
This is now two years in a row where Manuel has finished the season surfing her best. Hopefully that will carry into 2019 for another successful campaign in what will be her eighth year on the CT.
Tatiana Weston-Webb reached the quarterfinals, ending the debut of Oahu’s Zoe McDougall and knocking out Nikki Van Dijk before falling to Courtney Conlogue in a tight battle. Weston-Webb finishes fourth for the year, equaling her best season (2016). Her string of five straight top-three results during the middle of this year went unmatched by any other wahine on tour.
Bethany Hamilton never had a chance to get going and she was eliminated in round two, as was Coco Ho. But the Hawaii women were the story of this contest, comprising eight of the 18 spots in the draw and ultimately taking the top two positions.
JAWS ATTACKS BUT KEMPER, KENNELLY ESCAPE: The Peahi Challenge required two days after Monday’s conditions became too dangerous to continue. But before the action was halted, Kauai’s Keala Kennelly charged for the victory in the women’s event, showing that her commitment on big waves is unrivaled by any other woman or man.
Before this contest was even thought to be a possibility, it would have seemed ludicrous to think that a women’s big-wave event would get the green light with the men’s contest then pushing back because the conditions were too dangerous. But that’s exactly what took place and Kennelly, despite not completing a wave in the final, earned the most respect with her brave displays and managed to take the title among an elite group of women.
The men came back Tuesday with some better conditions in place. The final heat was a true local showcase as five of the six competitors were from Hawaii. Big-wave mainstay Billy Kemper, who pulled double duty between Peahi and the World Cup of Surfing, came through with the victory by just barely outpointing Kai Lenny in second place. Lenny may have had the wave of the contest on Monday when he carved his way up a mammoth wall and dropped roughly 20 feet in the air, sticking the landing and continuing down the face to ride off safely.
There is little time to catch our collective breath after this action-packed few days, because the World Cup could resume today for the start of round two. Evan Valiere, Kainehe Hunt, Finn McGill, Imai Devault, Mason Ho, Josh Moniz and Kemper, among others, made it through round one successfully with a huge field of 96 surfers still in the mix. Joel Parkinson leads the Triple Crown after winning the Hawaiian Pro, but anyone making a deep run at Sunset Beach will also put themselves in the mix.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
