Waves Carry Pribram on a Dream Trip

It was the ultimate surfing trip for Laguna Beach’s James Pribram, with 10-foot waves rolling in by the dozen and water so clear he felt like a fish in an aquarium.

At night, the sky was so clear he watched satellites pass by. He ate mangoes he had picked himself.

“It was perfect,” he said. “A perfect trip.”

Pribram, an Irvine Valley College student, and San Clemente pro surfer Gavin Beschen were part of a 10-day trip to Tahiti organized in late May by ESPN and Surfer magazine.

“My sponsors at Gotcha phoned me that week and told me, ‘We’re sending you to Tahiti on Friday,’ ” Pribram said. “I wasn’t ready to go at all. I didn’t even have a passport.

“I spent two days in L.A., standing in line for five hours with my birth certificate, trying to get my passport. It was a nightmare.”

By the end of the week, the wait proved worth it. Pribram and Beschen were on a 50-foot sailboat, traveling to obscure and isolated surf spots off islands surrounding Tahiti.

Camera crews and a magazine photographer made the trip, documenting Beschen’s and Pribram’s moves in the picture-perfect waves.

Pribram played a dual role on the trip--both surfer and journalist. A regular contributor to Surfer, he’s writing a piece about surfing in the area.

He said he’s being careful with his copy. Tahitian locals don’t want their favorite surfing spots identified in a surfing magazine, fearing the isolated spots will be flooded by visitors.

ESPN taped the trip as part of its “Hot Summer Nights” series. It’s scheduled to air Sunday.

“The trip was a lot of fun and the photographers were great,” Pribram said.

Although most of the footage is of surfing, Pribram said they also took time to film some of the local atmosphere.

“They took pictures of us eating mangoes and taking showers on the beach,” he said. “The whole trip was unreal.”

Which made it harder to come home.

They were back by June 1, and Pribram surfed a heat at the Richie Collins contest the next day.

“My mind was still in Tahiti, though,” Pribram said. “The last day there was triple overhead, and we came home and Huntington Beach was one-foot close out, completely dribbly and mushy.”

He’s hoping for better waves at the Life’s A Beach Classic, which started Wednesday and continues through Sunday at the Oceanside Pier.

He’s using the contest as a tune-up for the Op Pro June 27-July 3 at the Huntington Beach Pier. In August, he will leave for the European leg of the world qualifying series in France, Spain, Portugal and England.

“This is my first Op,” he said. “It’s like a dream come true to surf in the Op. It makes it hard not to look past Life’s A Beach.”

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Add surfing: Although most of the top world tour surfers are skipping the Op women’s competition, five-time event champion Frieda Zamba has entered.

Zamba, of Flagler Beach, Fla., is semi-retired from the pro circuit but makes appearances at her favorite events, particularly the Op. She has won more Op titles than any other surfer, taking titles in 1984, 1986 and 1989-91.

Also entered are Huntington Beach’s Nea Post and Santa Barbara’s Kim Mearig. The women’s contest offers a $7,500 purse and no world tour or qualifying points, which is why several of the top pros are staying home.

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Last add surfing: Bryan Taylor, agent for world champion Kelly Slater, got an interesting phone call from a magazine reporter in early May, when Slater underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery in Australia.

“His first question to me was, ‘I heard they might have to amputate his leg, is that true?’ ” Taylor said. “And he was serious about it.”

End of rumor mill. No amputation necessary. The surgery removed scar tissue from Slater’s knee, which had been bothering him since last season. Taylor said Slater insisted on walking out of the doctor’s office that day.

Slater also is back on his hectic schedule in preparation for the Op Pro. He’s lifting weights, running and surfing daily and is currently on an East Coast promotional tour for Quiksilver, his sponsor.

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The New Wave: Sean Collins’ Surfline/Wavetrak FAX reminded all of us 18 and older to beware--school lets out in about a week.

“The gates to the cages will open next week releasing a flood of those little piranhas into the lineup,” the FAX warned. “You know, the grommet species. Get your watertime in this week while you can.”

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Surf report: According to Wavetrak, a new southwest swell from a New Zealand storm two weeks ago is expected to show up in California over the weekend with some head-high waves. Unfortunately, much of the swell’s energy was used up passing through the islands and reefs around Tahiti, so larger-set waves may be inconsistent at times.

Also, water temperatures off the coast of Baja are still fairly cool, meaning tropical storms off Mexico will shut down over the cooler water as they move northward, resulting in smaller waves for Southern California. By mid-July and August, expect larger swells from the tropics as the water temperatures warm up off the coast of Baja.

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Quotebook: Defending Op junior champion Tim Buechler, on the 7.4 earthquake that shook surfers out of their beds before last year’s finals: “I was in my hotel room when the first one hit. I thought somebody dropped a quarter in the bed’s massage machine.”

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Add quotebook: Legendary surfer Corky Carroll recently discussed the evolution of wave riding with Times Staff Writer John Weyler: “You know, I dreamed 20 years ago about doing the things these guys do now. I’d dream about flying over the edge of a collapsing section and still making the wave. But when you woke up, you were limited by your equipment. You couldn’t go fast enough or high enough to get up in the air the way they do now.

“And you know what? I still dream about doing it.”

Notes

Assn. of Surfing Professionals world championship tour standings (after two events): Men--1. Damien Hardman (Australia) 1,732, 2. Todd Holland (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) 1,600, 3. Barton Lynch (Australia) 1,592, 4. Vetea David (Tahiti) 1,532, 5. Flavio Padaratz (Brazil) 1,330, 5. Gary Elkerton (Australia) 1,330, 7. Dave Macaulay (Australia) 1,276, 8. Luke Egan (Australia) 1,232, 9. Sunny Garcia (Hawaii) 1,210, 10. Matt Hoy (Australia) 1,116. Women--1. Pam Burridge (Australia) 3,232, 2. Pauline Menczer (Australia) 2,980, 3. Neridah Falconer (Australia) 2,932, 4. Vanessa Osborne (Australia) 2,826, 5. Layne Beachley (Australia) 2,810, 6. Kylie Webb (Australia) 2,762, 7. Wendy Botha (Australia) 2,745, 8. Jodie Cooper (Australia) 2,397, 9. Lisa Andersen (Florida) 2,320, 10. Sandie Ryan (Australia) 2,176.