Haakenson: Peters relies on patience, knowledge of the waves

Derek Peters has surfed in dozens, if not hundreds, of contests during his 23 years, but there is no contest as unique as the Men’s Trials at the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing.

It’s a 32-man contest with the winner not winning a trophy, a medal or any other type of trinket. The prize is becoming “surfer No. 112” — the final entry in the men’s main event.

A few locals were entered in the trials — Peters, Brad Ettinger and Matt Passaquindici of Huntington Beach, and Tyler Gunter of Newport Beach.

Ettinger, at 32 a sage veteran, and Gunter, only 16 and just getting started, both were eliminated in Round 1.

Passaquindici reached the semifinals before being ousted, but Peters, who graduated from Huntington Beach High, not only reached the finals, but won it, beating out Jake Marshall of Encinitas and two other surfers in an exciting final heat.

“Going into this heat, I knew how good these guys surf and it’s the trials finals. They’ve all been ripping the past couple days,” Peters said. “Before I paddled out I said to myself, you have to be on two waves that are going to give you a chance to win, two waves that have the quality to give you high scores.”

But it was Marshall who got the best wave early, putting up an 8.33 and setting the tone for the heat. Seth Moniz of Hawaii and Lucca Mesinas Peru were never factors in the heat.

Peters opened with a 5.33 but then finally got that wave he was looking for, scoring an 8.30 to make it a battle. By the time the 30-minute heat had wound down to the five-minute mark, Marshall still had a lead thanks to his 8.33 and a secondary score of 6.10.

Peters needed a score of at least 6.14, which wouldn’t be a problem as long as he got a worthy wave. He did. He scored a 7.00 and then waited out the final few minutes as the ocean went flat.

“I was trying to be patient, hopefully the waves would come to me,” Peters said. “I honestly had a hard time trying to find the good ones out there. Every time a good one came in, it seemed someone else had priority and it was their turn. I just stayed patient and I got that wave with five minutes left, and luckily after that it just went flat.

“These swells come from pretty far away, so I know that after a set there is going to be a long lull, especially since the swell is dying now. I knew there was a possibility it could go flat, and I was just hoping and praying the whole time, saying ‘Please, no waves come in!’”

Peters got the treatment all contest winners get upon reaching the shore — they get “chaired,” lifted onto the shoulders of their buddies and carried up the sand. Peters got a lift from his buddies and fellow pro surfers Kanoa Igarashi and Noe Mar.

The celebration, though, lasted only 24 hours for Peters. In his Round 1 heat in the men’s main event on Monday, Peters needed to finish in the top two in the four-man heat, but he finished fourth.

For the moment, he’ll go back to his day job, working 50 hours a week as a lifeguard for the city. But Peters will continue to put forth the effort to one day reach the World Championship Tour.

“It’s hard; this whole surfing’s a grind, especially for somebody on billboards and getting paid the big bucks on tour,” Peters said. “Traveling is expensive, airlines, hotels, taxis, food, insurance, boards, board bag fees. The list is endless.... It’s my dream; I don’t feel old enough to give it up yet. I feel like I feel to be in the 10,000 (Prime) events. I feel like my surfing’s there, so I’m trying to hit hit hard.”

ETTINGER’S PERSPECTIVE

While younger surfers like Peters go all in on a pro surfing career, there are those like Brad Ettinger, also a Huntington Beach High grad, who finds himself at a time in his career and life when decisions have to be made. But surfing in a contest like the U.S. Open is a no-brainer.

“I’ve done the whole tour, I’ve been all over the world, there’s nothing that compares to this event,” said Ettinger, 32. “It’s unique, it’s fun, you have the arena set up where you have guys yelling at you from the pier.

“You have all the best guys in the world showing up to surf in the spot you surf every day. I look at it now — this is probably my 12th year doing it — as a privilege.”

Ettinger, though, doesn’t surf in as many contests as he used to. He has a family now and more to think about each day other than finding the best wave.

“For me the last two years, it’s been like, what’s next?” he said. “I still love surfing, I still want to surf as much as I can, but I have two kids now. What do I do? How do I make money? I still love the sport, so now I’ve been thinking of a training/coaching role. There’s so much more demand now than when I was a kid. I definitely see a market for it, and I love doing it.”

COURT IS IN SESSION

Santa Ana’s Courtney Conlogue, ranked No. 1 in the world going into the contest, got a little wake-up call in Round 1 of the women’s event. She took second in her heat, beaten by Sage Erickson of Ojai, who jumped directly to Round 3.

That mean Conlogue had to surf in elimination Round 2 against 16-year-old Meah Collins of Newport Beach, who won the Women’s Trials heat to get into the main event.

Collins finished in third place behind Erickson and Conlogue in a Round 1 heat, setting up the elimination Round 2 matchup between Collins and Conlogue. Conlogue won to advance, eliminating Collins.

UPSET SPECIAL

While Conlogue survived an early scare, France’s Johanne Defay did not.

Defay, ranked No. 4 in the world and last year’s U.S. Open winner, finished third in her Round 1 heat Monday, then was beaten in an elimination Round 2 heat Tuesday by Keely Andrew of Australia.

REYES OUT, GUNTER STILL IN

Huntington’s Tim Reyes, who reached the round of 16 in last year’s Open, was eliminated in Round 1 of the men’s main draw on Monday.

Kanoa Igarashi and Brett Simpson, H.B.’s other main event surfers, were scheduled to surf later — Igarashi’s first heat on Tuesday afternoon and Simpson’s first heat on Wednesday morning.

Tyler Gunter, 16, of Newport Beach reached the quarterfinals of the Men’s Pro Junior event. His quarterfinal heat was scheduled for Wednesday.

STAY SAFE OUT THERE

Hawaii’s Keanu Asing of Hawaii won his heat Monday in the men’s main event, one day after getting into a car accident on the way to the beach. He came out of it OK, though he said his neck and back were sore.

Italy’s Leo Fioravanti was hit in the head just in front of his left ear by his own board while free surfing Saturday morning in the fog. He received several stitches but was hoping to be able to surf in his first heat on Tuesday.

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JOE HAAKENSON is a Huntington Beach-based sports writer and editor. He may be reached at joe@juvecreative.com.