Tranquil Seas Mar Opening

Dean Randazzo woke up Wednesday morning fighting jet lag--he had been surfing in South Africa only 40 hours earlier--but determined to make a splash on the first day of the Huntington Beach Bluetorch Pro.

Instead, the San Diego resident and other top Southern California surfers struggled against mushy, inconsistent two- to three-foot waves made worse by the onset of a red tide.

Randazzo, perhaps the hottest surfer on the West Coast, finished second against tournament favorite Sunny Garcia from Hawaii in the eighth heat. Randazzo goes off today at 8:40 a.m. in the first heat of the second round against Australian Luke Egan. Garcia advanced to Friday’s third round.

“It was a little disappointing out there. The water was so filthy,” Randazzo said. “The waves were too slow. I was OK but not overly impressive. I was a little tired from the trip back from South Africa.”

Florida native and part-time San Clemente resident Cory Lopez finished second in his heat, and Shea Lopez of San Clemente was third in his, as were Shane Beshen of San Clemente and Pat O’Connell of Laguna Niguel.

No one was eliminated Wednesday. Winners advanced to Friday’s third round; all others were seeded for today’s heats. The finals are Sunday.