OP PRO SURFING CHAMPIONSHIPS : This Could Be the Last Time Robb Has to Work His Magic in Darkness

It was an all-too-familiar scenario for Kalani Robb. A little surf, solitude and . . . darkness?

Robb, the world amateur surfing champion from Sunset Beach, Hawaii, got off to a quiet start at the Op Pro championships Tuesday, winning his first-round heat in the junior competition.

Too bad hardly anyone saw it.

Surfing the first heat of the contest, Robb emerged from the competition area on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier at 6:20 a.m. to find a couple dozen people on the beach.

“It was still dark out there,” said Robb, who edged Scott Finn, 17.76 to 17.73, to win the heat. “But the crowds really pick up later in the week.”

Robb, 17, learned first-hand last year when he finished second in the Op Junior. He surfed on the final day in front of more than 15,000 people.

“That was great,” he said. “We went off right before the men’s finals, and there were people everywhere.”

But was Tuesday’s solemn setting a disappointment for Robb, whose ocean creativity has earned him a pro contract and the attention of a Hollywood agent?

“It was a little nerve-wracking for me last year, with the big crowds,” he said. “I’m used to surfing back on the North Shore, when I’m sitting out at Pipeline or Rocky Point on a stormy day.

“It’s great, just me and a friend riding waves. Nobody would dare come out to watch in that weather.”

Most of the top amateur surfers have used the Op Junior as a springboard to the pro circuit, including world-tour stars Kelly Slater (1989 junior champion) and Rob Machado (1991 junior champion).

So Robb can hide in the cloak of obscurity for only so long. He has caught the eye of surfing’s top pros since he first started hanging out on the North Shore breaks as a 9 year old.

He befriended Machado eight years ago, when Machado was an amateur, and the two have surfed together at every opportunity. And when Machado’s not around, Robb is riding Pipeline with Sunny Garcia, a former Hawaiian triple-crown winner.

“Machado really got me interested in surfing,” Robb said. “I saw what he was doing out there (in the water) and I said, ‘I want to do that, too.’ ”

Robb polished his moves on the North Shore, rolling through barrels at Pipeline and making aerial moves in smaller waves.

Along the way, he developed a knack for creativity in small surf, just like Machado. He’s small and thin, just like Machado.

Those characteristics make for a versatile surfer who can compete in almost any conditions. And the Assn. of Surfing Professionals’ world tour certainly tests a surfer’s versatility.

“Kalani is just doing things that the other guys aren’t doing out there,” said Les Walker, a photographer from Newport Beach who shoots most of the top pros.

“He takes what Machado does and takes it to another level. He puts his signature on it. I don’t know where Kalani gets so much speed and agility on such a small wave.”

That ability has helped Robb win two national amateur titles before taking the world amateurs last May in Brazil, a prize only a few surfers have won on their way to the pro ranks. Former world pro champion Slater didn’t do it. Neither did Machado, the defending U.S. pro champion.

Robb’s success in Brazil, coupled with his results in Bud Pro Tour events the last two years, have convinced the surfing industry that he’s a potential pro star.

Rusty Surfboards has signed Robb to a three-year contract, which will pay him a salary when he turns pro next year. Hollywood agent Bryan Taylor, who has helped Slater land lucrative endorsement deals, is signing Robb as a client.

Rusty has already put Robb in a surf video, which will premiere Aug. 5. When asked about the footage of him surfing Rocky Point and Pipeline, Robb grins and says: “It’s insane.”

“It’s some pretty up-to-date stuff,” he said.

Mike Kingsbury, Op Pro media relations director, found some other adjectives to describe Robb’s surfing.

“He’s hot,” Kingsbury said. “I was watching it, and some of the stuff Kalani was doing is Slater-caliber. At first, I thought it was Slater.”

For now, Robb is doing just fine as an amateur, no comparisons please. He’s surfing the Bud Pro Tour but is accepting no prize money. He’s already ranked 19th after reaching the finals, semifinals and quarterfinals so far this year.

Besides being one of the favorites at the Op Junior, Robb also will surf in the men’s pro competition this week. He needs the Op qualifying points to make the world tour next year.

He will be free to travel as a pro, having received his high-school degree a year early. His parents schooled him at home, and he finished with the equivalent of a 3.8 grade-point average, not an easy task considering he studied and took tests while traveling the world to compete in amateur contests.

“I was never home, so I was always lugging these book bags everywhere,” he said.

But now, the only luggage Robb carries is the burden of being one of the top amateurs. At the Op Junior, everyone is gunning for Robb and defending junior champion Chris Strother.

“I made the final last year and got off to a good start,” Robb said, “but for the next 10 minutes, I couldn’t catch a wave. There was nothing. So I’m hoping I can do better this time.”

Robb had similar problems in his main-event heat at last year’s Op, and lost in the first round. That will provide a little motivation for this year.

“The Op (main event) is my main concern this year,” Robb said. “I’m looking at that even more than the junior competition this year.”