Surfing at Huntington Beach : Curren Gets Broken Board Fixed, Then Wins

Tom Curren’s hopes for a triumphant return to pro surfing nearly sank before he rode his first competitive wave Wednesday at the Op Pro Surfing Championships at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Curren, the defending Op champion, is competing for the first time since last December. He snapped his favorite board in half while warming up for his first-round heat against Michael Ho of Hawaii, and had only a few hours to have it repaired.

Curren insisted on using the board, one he had used while training in France the past five months. After gathering the broken pieces, he raced to a nearby surf shop, where the board was mended and reshaped. It was finished just in time for the heat.

“It had to be sanded, reshaped, the works,” he said. “I spent most of the day getting that done.”

Despite the panicked moments before the heat and a slip on his first wave, Curren rallied on his final two rides to easily defeat Ho, 88.5 to 55.3. Curren’s overall score, taken from a perfect 120 points, was the highest of the day. One judge awarded him an 8.5 (out of 10) on his fifth wave, also the highest score of the day.

Curren, seeded 30th despite winning three Op titles, advanced along with 15 others to today’s second round against the top 16 seeds. Curren will meet third-seeded Bryce Ellis of Australia.

“I was pretty nervous in the beginning,” Curren said of his first wave Wednesday. “Most of it was because I haven’t competed in a while. I spent all day trying to get (the board) fixed.”

After competing in the Billabong championships last December in Hawaii, Curren, a native of Santa Barbara, went to live and train in France.

Curren, 25, said he wanted to escape the travel and grind of the pro tour. He said he wanted to spend more time with his wife, Marie, who gave birth to their daughter Lee Ann a month ago. The eight-year pro plans to surf in “two or three” more events this year before joining the tour full-time again next season.

“I’ve been surfing for six years and I wanted to take an extended vacation,” he said. “I needed some time to recharge, to motivate myself for competition. It worked out real good.”

But little went well for Curren early in his heat with Ho. Curren crashed on his first wave after attempting two maneuvers, and judges awarded him an 11.5 out of a possible 30, the lowest score of the five waves he rode.

“I knew I was doing pretty poorly at the beginning,” Curren said. “I didn’t think either of us was doing very well.”

Surfing in the first round of the main event was something new for Curren. He’s normally guaranteed a seed in the main event because of his national ranking. But because he sat out the first 10 events of the tour, Op officials dropped him to the No. 30 seed.

Curren had surfed several times against Ho, a 14-year veteran, but usually in semifinals and finals. Ho, who’s semi-retired from surfing, battled through Tuesday’s qualifying rounds before being eliminated by Curren.

“I look at (Thursday) as the start of the competition,” Curren said. “I just wanted to build some momentum (in the first round).”

While Curren avoided an upset, several area surfers managed to pull off upsets of their own.

Huntington Beach’s Gary Clisby, seeded 37th, upset No. 28 seed Greg Anderson, 87.8 to 70.5. Clisby, 23, grew up in Marina Del Ray and competed as an amateur for four years on the National Scholastic Surfing Assn.’s national team.

“I got a few good waves,” said Clisby, whose best finish is third on the pro tour. “I’m pretty familiar with the surf here.”

San Clemente’s Dino Andino, seeded 42nd, edged No. 23-seed Nicky Wood of Australia, 76.8 to 62.5. Mike Parsons of Laguna Beach reached the second round by defeating Kaipo Jaquis of Hawaii, 76 to 61.5, and Chris Billy of Dana Point advanced by defeating Jeff Booth of Laguna Beach, 85.2 to 83.

Mike Lambresi of San Clemente, seeded 43rd, beat No. 22 seed Hans Hedemann, 84.2 to 73.3. Lambresi will face top-seeded Barton Lynch of Australia in the second round today.

Lynch, the 1987 Op and defending world champion, was knocked out in the first round of last year’s Op championships.

“I can’t do any worse than I did last year,” Lynch said. “Anything I do will be better than that.”

Although Lynch is taking a laid-back approach to the Op, he has suffered his share of setbacks. Like Curren, Lynch broke one of his favorite boards during a recent practice.

“It didn’t put me in very good spirits,” Lynch said. “But I have six more sitting (nearby) so it shouldn’t be too hard to find another.”

Wednesday’s Results

Heat 1--Mike Parsons (Laguna Beach) def. Kaipo Jaquis (Hawaii) 76-61.5. Heat 2--Graham Wilson (Australia) def. Walter Cerny (Pismo Beach) 57.5-56.5. Heat 3--Mitch Thorson def. Adam Sentes (Ventura) 60-48.5. Heat 4--Cheyne Horan (Australia) def. Todd Miller (Newport Beach) 77-56.1. Heat 5--Richard Marsh def. Doug Silva 84.5-66.8. Heat 6--Mike Lambresi (San Clemente) def. Hans Hedemann 84.2-73.3. Heat 7--Dino Andino (San Clemente) def. Nicky Wood (Australia) 76.8-62.5. Heat 8--Rob Page (Australia) def. Satoshi Sekino (Japan) 79.3-52.5. Heat 9--Simon Law def. Sean Yano 70.1-70.0. Heat 10--Flavio Padaratz (Brazil) def. Luke Egan 83.5-73.4. Heat 11--Fabio Gouveia (Brazil) def. S. Bedford Brown cq 78.5-69.3. Heat 12--Gary Clisby (Huntington Beach) def. Greg Anderson 87.8-70.5. Heat 13--Ted Robinson def. George Hulse (Dana Point) 77.8-68.6. Heat 14--Tom Curren (Santa Barbara) def. Michael Ho (Hawaii) 88.5-55.3. Heat 15--Chris Frohoff def. Vetea David 84.8-84.0. Heat 16--Jeff Booth (Laguna Beach) def. Chris Billy (Dana Point) 85.2-83.