OP Newport Classic: Day 1 Wrap Up
 Photos

By: Alex Wilson

A chilly morning with hazy skies gave way to increasingly foggy conditions for Round 1 of the OP Newport Classic this morning, as lined-up, consistent, head-high-to-overhead lefts pushed off Newport 's 56 th Street jetty. Light winds kept things glassy early on, but a strong north pulling sweep, as well as a huge rip that was running through the lineup made conditions tricky for the competitors in the 1 st Round. Throughout the day all surfers were forced to battle the rip and the current, as well as work to find either the rare outside corner or a cleaner mid-sized runner towards the inside to nab a decent score.

Despite the tricky conditions, the first heated exchange of the contest came right off the bat in Heat 1, with Australia 's Dave Reardon-Smith going head to head with California local Jeremy Sherwin. The pair went back and forth, battling for the top slot, with Reardon-Smith getting the better of the exchange by posting a solid 8.0 and a 6.75, finding the tube and throwing up a series of big slam on his backhand. Sherwin, however, hung in to make the turn and advance in 2 nd with a 7.5 and a 6.5, courtesy of a few big backside lippers of his own.

Heat 3 saw the next big performance, as Costa Rican Luis Vindas stepped to the plate to take the win with a howling left hander that he pulled into on his forehand off the drop, came through, and then found a second barrel on the next section from which he escaped on the inside via the doggy door just ahead of the lip. That wave scored a 7.25, and in a relatively low scoring heat, Vindas was able to control the top slot with a back up score of just 2.75.

Heat 4 was another low scorer, with Hawaii 's Brian Frederico taking the win amidst the increasingly ripped and disorganized conditions, while Heat 5 saw Newport 's Josh Hoyer take 1st. “I'm so tired right now,” commented Hoyer afterwards. “It was pretty much just a workout out there. If you weren't paddling fighting the rip you were running up the beach to paddle back out. But I got lucky and found a few good ones.”

Thick fog rolled in at the close of Heat 6, putting the contest on delay till about 12:30, but once the sun burned through things kept rolling with the final two heats of the 1 st Round. Under clear skies it seemed as if conditions had cleaned up a bit but after a few sets rolled through it became clear there was still a bunch of water moving around in the lineup.

Both Heats 7 and 8 were dominated by Newport locals with a tireless looking “Punker” Pat Towersey nabbing multiple rides in Heat 7 to take the win with his two best scores, and Newport legend David Giddings dominating Heat 8.

The first heat of the 2 nd Round saw David Reardon-Smith build on the momentum he developed this morning, opening his account with a 9.0, which he then backed up on his third wave by connecting countless backhand slams 150-yards down the beach. The ride was easily the longest of the day and was also clearly the most solidly ridden, as the judges awarded Dave with a 9.5, giving him the highest heat score of the contest so far with a combined total of 18.5. “My board actually felt a little small on that second wave,” said Reardon-Smith. “I had to nurse it through a couple turns, but the wave just kept reeling.”

Conditions had begun to clean up a bit by Heat 4 as the rip laid down and the swell seemed to back off a touch on the draining tide, and Nick Johnson took full advantage of the improvements, taking down the win in that heat, while Sean Ward blazed through the next, Heat 5, locking up the win early and then lengthened his lead in the final seconds before the horn with a nice frontside cover up on a spitting left that reeled off the jetty. Luis Vindas advanced behind Ward in 2 nd from Heat 5.

Casey Brown, fresh off boosting his team to victory at the Quiksilver Shop Challenge, was in fine form in Heat 6, hooking his way to victory on the frothy lefts on his forehand, while Heats 8 and 9 were claimed by Jarrah Tutton and Josh Hoyer respectively.

Because of the fog delay, the contest ran long today with the final heats of the 2 nd Round scheduled to wrap up tomorrow morning. With the swell expected to hang around for the next few days, things will kick of in Newport early on Thursday at 7:30 am.