Surf is back in the States.
This week it’s time for the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro in Trestles, San Clemente California. The five-day contest has a purse prize of two-hundred fifty thousand dollars. With a rather slow season in regard to swell patterns, it will be crucial for the competitors to strategically place themselves on the board.
Waves have been awfully hard to come by lately and the heats have been described as dead and not producing much. Trestles, globally known for its perfect waves, is a beach everyone wants to surf. Unfortunately the riders of heat 19 weren’t feeling Mother Nature’s love—no one able to break single digit scores overall.
Following heats were a bit more prosperous and Kai Otton was the first to take advantage of water’s opportunities. Unfortunately Gabe Kling, last year’s victor, did not get such chances and fell out in the first round of 96. Kling also lost six-thousand five-hundred of his ranking points—we can expect he will drop considerably in global standings.
It seemed as though the rising tide did well to bring more action in the water. The competitors were rarely left drifting, waiting for something to wall up enough to ride on. Day two of the Pro was well on its way.
A slew of interferences, accidental and not so much, hit around the 21st heat. Most
of these surfers have been competing against each other their whole lives as much of the roster is made up of Aussies and Brazilians. This makes tensions more apparent than friendly competition.
Day three was just about as good as it had been in San Clemente. At least the Brazilians think so. They have been dominating in the rounds thus far. The ‘Brazzos’ will definitely be looking to capitalize on the great walls that are building on the waters in the final two days of the Lowers Pro.
Finally, surfers were glad to be competing one-on-one instead of fighting for waves with three others. Talents were shining as the swells have been setting up for clean carving and amped aerials.
All will be hoping for the best conditions in order to finish strong and to tack on some points to their global ranking—the purse isn’t too bad either.
